subject: Best Ways to Lose Belly Fat [print this page] Best Ways to Lose Belly Fat Best Ways to Lose Belly Fat
Many folks make the mistake of thinking that hundreds of sit ups will help them lose belly fat and get the great looking stomach they want. While crunches and situps are great, they alone cannot help you to loose belly fat.
If you want to eliminate that spare tire and get abs that look amazing, there are other important things you'll need to add to your lifestyle. Diet, lifestyle, exercise, and even stress levels can affect what happens to that fat around your middle.
To help you get the abs you've been dreaming of, here are five of the best ways to burn fat :
1. Portion Control is Essential (but avoid crash dieting)
Probably one of the best tips you can keep in mind if you want to shrink your middle is portion control. Even if you're eating nutritious foods, you won't accomplish the tight stomach you want if you are eating too much.
Of course, this doesn't mean you should start crash dieting, which can actually slow metabolism down and make it more difficult to lose fat. Take the time to learn proper portion sizes and stick to them when eating. This will help you enjoy all the great foods you want without eating more calories than you need to. Portion control will make a huge difference and help you lose belly fat fast when combined with other great methods.
2. Make Sure You're Getting Enough Fiber in Your Diet
Another of the best ways to lose belly fat is to make sure you're getting enough fiber in your diet. Many people today don't get the fiber their body needs. You should have about 25 grams of fiber each day if you want to lose some weight.
Fiber can help you to achieve the flat stomach you want for several reasons. First, it helps you to fill up fast without a huge amount of calories. This helps you eat less at meals and it also stays in your system longer, making you feel full for a longer period of time. Foods with fiber also take longer to chew and eat, so you'll feel full faster. You can add more fiber to your diet by eating fruits, veggies, beans, barely, and oats.
3. Cut Your Sodium and Increase Water Intake
While it's important that your body gets enough sodium, too much can end up making it difficult to get that flat stomach. Too much sodium causes bloating in the stomach area. When you have too much sodium, the body retains water and it can even raise your blood pressure.
Cutting back on sodium and increasing your water intake can together help you to loose belly fat. Drinking plenty of water helps to reduce bloat, especially in the stomach area. Staying hydrated is important to your health as well. You can stay hydrated and avoid bloat by drinking plenty of water, avoiding soft drinks and too much sodium, and by eating foods that are rich in water.
4. Combine Weight Training with Full Body Workouts
Of course, exercise definitely needs to be included in a good plan that will help you to lose belly fat. Combining weight training with full body workouts can provide you with the best results. Weight training is beneficial because it helps you to build more muscle.
As you gain muscle, your metabolism gets a boost and that muscle burns off more calories, even while your body is resting. This helps to blast away fat and give you the great stomach you want. Full body workouts are important as well.
To lose fat in the stomach area, you have to do workouts that focus on the entire body, since it is difficult to spot reduce fat. These exercises help to work all the muscle groups and blast fat all over your body, including the stomach area.
One of the best workouts to try is swimming, since it engages most of the muscles in your body, burning calories and blasting fat to help you loose belly fat.
5. Get Stress Levels Under Control
Lastly, you'll find that another of the best ways to lose belly fat fast is to get your stress levels under control. When you are under a lot of stress, the body begins to produce more cortisol, a hormone that can increase appetite and lead to fat being deposited in the stomach area.
Stress is the enemy if you want flat abs, which means you need to reduce your stress levels. Great ways to reduce stress include meditation, exercise, or even taking time out to do activities that you really enjoy.
Follow these tips and you'll lose belly fat in no time.
