Belly fat is dangerous for one’s overall health, and seems to be an area on the body that many people wish to reduce. As people age, belly fat seems to be even harder to get rid of. Although challenging, there are ways in which to reduce belly fat and overall weight with a few tips and strategies. Many weight loss programs can help you to lose fat in your mid-section. Here are some ideas on how to firm up your mid-section:
1) Reduce Calories and Eat a Healthy Diet
This might be a no-brainer, but it an essential practice that must be done in order to achieve weight loss and a trimmer belly. In order to lose the weight, you should eat no more than 1500 calories per day in order to put your body in a calorie deficit. By consuming less calories than your body needs, your body will look to fat stores for energy sources, and will therefore cause fat loss.
Staying away from refined sugars and empty calories is another strategy you should practice. Sticking to a diet high in whole grains, fiber, lean proteins, and fresh fruits and vegetables will put you on the path to a healthy lifestyle and a slimmer mid-section.
2) Stop Eating After 7pm
Your metabolism slows down a bit after a certain time of the day due to a reduction in activity. Eating after this time will allow the food to sit on your stomach, and be stored as fat since these calories are not burned up as quickly as they would be had they been eaten earlier in the day. If you are very hungry before bed, try having a tea with some milk instead.
3) Eat Smaller Portions, More Frequently
Eating smaller portions at mealtime will help your body burn the calories much more efficiently, and will help keep your metabolism working properly as well to continuously burn calories and fat. In addition, eating smaller, more frequent meals will also help to keep the metabolic rate going, so it is constantly working to burn fat stores and calories consumed.
4) Exercise!
Working out on a regular basis is crucial to losing weight and trimming belly fat. Any 6-pack abs you may have can be covered in belly fat, so losing the weight is essential to uncover the muscle you may have been building up. Exercise will encourage the burning of fat and calories, and will further boost your weight loss efforts.
At least 30-40 minutes of aerobic exercise should be done in a day, about 4 or 5 times per week. In addition, weight training should be incorporated into your routine at least 3 times per week. In order to focus on your belly area, try to do ab work, such as crunches or any core exercises that target the mid-section. Pilates and yoga are especially useful for targeting the core area of your body.
Flattening your belly does not happen immediately. You need to stick to a few dieting and exercise rules. But with a little hard work and perseverance, you can achieve the lean look you desire.
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