Unsightly belly fat can ruin your look, especially if you're happy with the rest of your body. Clothes that otherwise fit you are tight around the waistline, creating belly bulge and muffin tops that are hard to hide. But belly fat, sometimes called visceral abdominal fat, can also be dangerous for your health, increasing your risk for diabetes and heart disease, according to the Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide. The good news is that belly fat is highly responsive to exercise when performed at the right intensity. Adding resistance training will help you maintain your weight while losing fat.
Step 1
Perform moderate to high-intensity cardio five to seven days per week.Photo Credit Creatas/Creatas/Getty Images
Perform moderate to high-intensity cardio five to seven days per week, for 30 to 60 minutes per session. A 2008 study of middle-aged obese women, published in "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise," compared the effects of low-intensity and moderate-to-high-intensity aerobic exercise on abdominal visceral fat. Participants exercised five days per week for 16 weeks. The moderate-to-high-intensity group, which alternated between walking and running, realized signifiant reductions in abdominal fat, while the low-intensity group saw no significant changes, even though both groups burned the same amount of calories per session.
Step 2
Intersperse short bursts of all-out intensity with longer bouts of moderate intensity.Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images
Intersperse short bursts of all-out intensity with longer bouts of moderate intensity. Interval training can lead to visceral abdominal fat loss over a shorter period of time. A 2011 review published in the "Journal of Obesity" found that high-intensity interval exercise had significant positive effects on reducing abdominal fat. Most of the studies reviewed used a stationary cycle with subjects exercising at moderate intensity for four minutes, then sprinting all-out for 30 seconds at a higher resistance. The bouts were typically repeated four to six times for a total of approximately 20 to 30 minutes.
Step 3
Engage in total-body resistance training on two to three non-consecutive days per week. Resistance exercise will help you maintain your weight while losing fat. In a 2012 study of young, overweight adults published in the "Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness," subjects who performed one weight training set of nine different exercises three times per week for six months increased their lean muscle mass and lowered their body fat percentage without losing weight.
Step 4
Eat a healthy diet.Photo Credit Thinkstock Images/Stockbyte/Getty Images
Eat a healthy diet. There is a saying that you can't out-train a bad diet, and it holds a lot of weight. Get rid of junk food, sugary drinks and snacks, and processed foods. Eat plenty of whole fresh fruits and vegetables and lean meats. Stay hydrated by drinking plain fresh water.
Warnings
If you are a novice exerciser, begin slowly and gradually work your way up to higher intensity levels.
To learn to use weights safely and correctly, seek guidance from a fitness professional.
Tips
A convenient way to monitor your exercise intensity is to use a 10-point rating of perceived exertion, or RPE scale. The Cleveland Clinic explains that RPE ranks your level of effort on a zero-to-10 scale, with zero being no effort at all and 10 being extremely difficult. On this scale, moderate intensity would rate a three to four, while high intensity would be rated higher than five.
Things You'll Need
Supportive athletic shoes
Resistance training equipment
For further information log on website : http://www.livestrong.com/article/82154-lose-belly-fat-losing-weight/
Carrying excess weight around your waistline is more than an aesthetic issue. Subcutaneous fat, or the fat you see around your belly, covers more dangerous visceral fat, which surrounds your organs. This type of belly fat affects your cardiovascular health, puts you at risk for various diseases and slows your metabolism. While you cannot target belly fat with exercise and diet, you can gradually decrease your percentage of body fat wherever you tend to store it. Follow a flexible, healthy fitness program and food plan at home to lose belly fat.
Step 1
Swap sweets, junk food and foods high in trans fat and saturated fat for fresh, unprocessed foods. Removing tempting snack foods and processed foods from your kitchen makes it easier to stick to a healthy food plan. If you cut 500 daily calories from your consumption, you'll be on track to lose 4 pounds per month.
Snack on citrus fruit, lightly dressed salads, berries, apples, pears, vegetables, legumes and unsweetened whole grains. These foods contain high amounts of insoluble and soluble fiber, which fill you and provide key nutrients without adding excess calories, fat and sugar to your diet. They also regulate digestion so you experience less belly bloating.
Step 3
Add activity to your daily life. Haul boxes or bags one at a time up the stairs. Squat and stretch while cleaning the house. Dance during commercial breaks when you watch TV. Play hide-and-seek with your children around the house. March in place while washing dishes and talking on the telephone.
Step 4
Exercise vigorously daily. Elevate your heart rate for a prolonged period by doing aerobic workouts such as dancing to fast music, running up and down the stairs, jumping rope, doing dynamic yoga stretches, jogging on your treadmill or doing calisthenics. If you exercise vigorously 300 minutes per week, you can lose between 2 and 3 pounds of body fat per month.
Step 5
Perform muscle-building calisthenics and stretches that use your body weight as resistance. Pushups, pullups, sun salutations, squats, lunges and triceps dips add muscle tissue that replaces excess fat. This shift in your body composition raises your basal metabolism so you burn more calories even while resting.
Warnings
Skip sweetened carbonated beverages, which add empty calories and contribute to belly bloat.
Tips
Follow the Centers for Disease Control's guidelines for the amount of activity a healthy adult needs. These guideline give suggestions as to what kinds of exercise, the intensity and duration.
For further information log on website : http://www.livestrong.com/article/539922-how-to-lose-belly-fat-inside-the-house/
You do not need gym equipment or fad diets to get a flat stomach. While aerobic exercise is your best option for burning thick belly fat, you can achieve results more slowly through changing your diet, limiting your calories and doing daily activities. Keep your diet plan healthy and easy to follow by consuming moderate portions of healthful foods you enjoy. The more flexible your plan, the more likely you will stick with it. Changing your eating habits for the better can burn excess body fat, but you cannot target thick belly fat only. You trim fat wherever you store it, including your stomach.
Step 1
Reduce your caloric intake. If you cut 500 calories per day from your current intake, you can lose 1 pound per week. Simple ways to lower your calories include eating fresh fruit instead of cake for dessert, drinking a nonfat latte instead of a sweetened coffee drink and snacking on fresh vegetables instead of junk food.
Step 2
Consume foods with high amounts of soluble and insoluble dietary fiber. Peas, lentils, beans, apples, pears, berries, kale, watercress, spinach, steel cut oats, quinoa and amaranth fill you up, reducing your chances of overeating. The fiber content improves digestion, reducing your chances of belly bloat.
Step 3
Drink water between and during meals. Plain water keeps you hydrated, aids in digestion and adds no calories to your daily total. Sweetened drinks add calories without providing nutritive value. Carbonated beverages make your stomach bloat.
Step 4
Practice deep breathing. Fill your stomach as well as your chest when you inhale, then exhale completely. Contract your stomach muscles as you inhale to tighten them. You also improve your posture, which makes you appear slimmer.
Step 5
Add activity to your daily schedule. You do not need to do killer workouts or pump iron to burn excess body fat. Make simple adjustments to your lifestyle to burn thick belly fat. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk your dog twice a day. Play with your children at the playground. Pace while talking on the telephone. Do errands by bicycle or on foot. Meet friends for a nature hike instead of for dinner. Work in your garden.
Warnings
Speak with your doctor before beginning any new diet regime.
