You can be in great shape, eat clean, and even workout four to five days a week, and still have stubborn belly fat that is seemingly impossible to lose. Well, I’m here to give you five proven ways on how to lose belly fat fast with a few tweaks to your diet and training program to help you lose those last few pounds that can make all the difference.
Your weight is largely determined by three factors
- How many calories you consume throughout the day
- How many calories you burn
- Your metabolic rate
And wouldn’t it be grand if it were as simple as that. Largely determined, means that there are more factors to consider, such as quality of food, hormonal balance, sleep, stress, and age.
As you age, your body tends to hold onto belly fat more readily, as your hormones will change, decreasing active testosterone levels, which will make it harder to maintain and keep lean muscle mass. The more muscle tissue you have, the more calories you burn at rest. Therefore, the decrease in muscle, will inevitably increase the amount of body fat you have. Loss of muscle essentially will slow down your metabolism. In women, especially after menopause, decreasing levels of estrogen will also influencer a greater distribution of belly fat.
Belly fat goes deeper, than just the surface level. Visceral fat lies beneath the subcutaneous layers or outer layers of fat, which surrounds your organs. Visceral fat can cause sever health issues such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Research also indicates that visceral fat, regardless of overall weight, can increase morality rates from cardiovascular disease.
How To Lose Belly Fat
1. Nutrition Plan
Having a nutrition plan specifically made for you, will be the best way to lose belly fat. And my guess, is that you don’t have one. The problem with conventional diets, such as atkins, keto, or even the paleo diet, is that no two people are ever the same. You may have dietary restrictions, dairy sensitives, or have a harder time metabolizing certain macronutrients than others. Food restriction and cutting calories to drastically low numbers, seen in diets such as the HCG diet, is incredibly unhealthy, and really just setting you up for failure in the long run. Diets are a short-term solution to a life-long challenge, and most of the time, you’ll end up gaining back any weight you lose. Working with a certified nutrition coach, that will help you develop healthy dietary lifestyle habits, by including lean proteins, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates and adjusting your macronutrients for your level of activity and sensitivities will be the most optimal way to lose belly fat fast.
2. Training Program
The number of calories you burn, or time you spend in burning calories is also a large determining factor in losing belly fat. Sitting at a desk all day, is not helping you now or in the future. Regardless of the training modality, or workout plan, simply moving and getting your heart rate in a fat burning zone for 30-45 minutes, is crucial to help you burn belly fat. Join a gym, grab a training program template, or hit a spin class, or HIIT class with one of your friends. It's been proven time and time again, that nutrition and exercise are the only ways you’re going to burn that belly fat once and for all.
3. Discipline Over Motivation
You can be motivated to get in the gym and eat healthy, but commitment, discipline, and consistency are three important factors to your overall success. Hitting the gym when you feel like it, one or two days a week, for a quick 20-minute workout, is not going to get you any closer to your goals. Remain disciplined, remember your why and you will see results. It’s important to remember, that a change in body fat can be slow when you don’t have much to lose.
4. Drink Water
Drinking enough water throughout the day can have a drastic effect on your results of losing belly fat. Replacing sugary drinks such as soda, energy drinks, and juice with water, will cut out hundreds of calories a day, helping you lose weight in a hurry. Water will naturally suppress your appetite, keeping you fuller for longer. Thirst is often confused with hunger by the brain, when your experiencing mild dehydration. Therefore, drinking more water, will help increase satiation and keep you hydrated, while cutting calories. What’s more, drinking water stimulates your body’s metabolism and energy expenditure, or thermogenesis.
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5. Track Your Macros
Whether you have 30lbs or 3lbs of belly fat to lose, tracking your macros will provide you with a better understanding of what you’re eating throughout the day. Making small changes to your nutrition and daily diet can have a sizeable impact on your weight loss. Without tracking those changes, you’ll never have the information you need to get you to your goals. If you're not sure how to track your macros, you can start with our free macro calculator for an estimate.
How To Lose Belly Fat: Takeaway
Losing belly fat can be frustrating, especially when you feel like you’re doing all the right things - drinking water, making health conscious food choices, and working out 4-5 days per week. Losing the last few pounds, can be as simple as tracking your food intake, increasing your workout intensity, or even hiring a nutrition coach to help you figure out the small details that you may have overlooked. Regardless, if you can’t hit your goals, and you’re tired of the not losing that stubborn belly fat, having an outsiders perspective and professional opinion could be all you need.
THE SWOLE KITCHEN provides 1:1 nutrition coaching, macro coaching, and custom meal plans to help guide you to becoming the best version of yourself.
We believe nutrition should be simplified and delicious. We give you the tools you’ve been missing to anticipate and meet your needs on a daily basis. Discover what if feels like to truly love your body and your life with personalized 1:1 nutrition coaching.