HOW DO I LOSE MY BELLY FAT?
“How do I lose my belly fat”. You are not alone if you have ever asked someone that question or typed it into google…
This is the one area that most people want to “get rid of” when it comes to losing weight. And whilst you can’t specifically target just one area of your body with fat loss, there are ways that we can bring your overall body fat down which in turn should also decrease the fat on your belly.
Think of it like a swimming pool. You can’t just go and drain one little corner of the pool, you have to get rid of the overall amount of the pool for one of the corners to decrease.
This is the exact same when it comes to decreasing your body fat. Your body will choose where the fat comes from, and everyone holds it more in different places. For example, a lot of women will hold it more in their hips, and guys in their gut.
But here are 5 ways that you can get rid of your overall body fat, which in turn will also decrease your belly fat.
Firstly, make sure that you are eating in a calorie deficit.
As a rough guide - Multiply your bodyweight (in lbs) by 10 and this is how many calories you should be aiming to consume. From there, monitor your weight and make adjustments if necessary over time.
Start strength training.
When looking to lose weight, most people will just opt for doing loads and loads of cardio and HIIT sessions, and whilst these are useful methods to include, don’t neglect the benefits that strength training has to offer too. It’s a common misconception that lifting weights will leave you looking “big” & “bulky” but this is simply just not true. Lifting weights has so many benefits such as increasing your metabolism, improving your overall body shape. It will also help to maintain as much muscle as possible, which is one side effect when eating in a calorie deficit.
Increase your daily activity.
Be more active throughout the day. Especially if you have a sedentary office based job. Go for a walk on your lunch break or before/after work. Park your car further away from the supermarket when you go shopping. If you don’t live too far away from work, start cycling in instead. All of these are great ways to just increase your daily activity which in turn will burn more calories.
Make sure you get enough sleep.
Recovery is key in your journey. Without adequate sleep or rest, we cannot think clearly or perform basic daily jobs optimally. Sleep gives your body and your mind some well needed rest whilst allowing your muscles the time recover, repair and rebuild (which is an important part of strength training).
Drink more water!
This one is such an underrated tool when trying to lose weight. Water contains absolutely no calories at all, therefore drinking this on a constant basis throughout the day will save you hundred and hundreds of liquid calories. Sometimes when you are feeling a little peckish in the day, try just having a little glass of water. You might just be dehydrated, not hungry.
Multiply your bodyweight in (KG) x 0.033 and this will show you how many litres of water that you should be having per day*.
*Try & add another 500ml of water for every 30 minutes of exercise that you completed that day.