How To Lose Belly Fat

The diet and exercises for losing belly fat

The question “How to lose belly fat” is one that plagues many, and not because they have not lost weight. But because inspite of losing tens of pounds quite a chunk of it remains sat right there on the stomach. So what is it with this belly fat and how do you lose it?

To start with body fat is not just a mass of unwanted excess energy that messes up your appearance as previously thought. According to Wikipedia, one of the functional roles of fat “is to store energy in the form of lipids, although it also cushions and insulates the body. [And] far from hormonally inert, [fat] tissue has in recent years been recognized [as] a major endocrine organ, as it produces hormones such as leptin, resistin, and the cytokine TNFα. Moreover, adipose tissue can affect other organ systems of the body and may lead to disease.” So before we can think of how to lose belly fat, we need to understand this fat better.

How To Lose Belly Fat Pictures:

Belly fat in particular exists in two main forms -- visceral fat and subcutaneous fat.

Visceral fat is the kind found deep seated within the abdominal cavity packed in-between organs like the intestines, kidney, stomach, liver and heart. 

Its structural function includes cushioning these internal organs.

It is directly linked to poor health indicators like higher levels of total cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol, lower levels of HDL (good) cholesterol as well as insulin resistance all being antecedents of diabetes.

Subcutaneous fat on the other hand is the body fat you find just below the skin. It is the fat that exists around the thighs, buttock and the rest of the body. It is related to stretch marks and cellulite that often plagues women.

Compared to visceral fat, subcutaneous fat “is not related to many of the classic obesity-related pathologies, such as heart disease, cancer, and stroke, and there is even some evidence that it might be protective. The typically female (or gynecoid) pattern of body fat distribution around the hips, thighs, and buttocks, is subcutaneous fat, and therefore poses less of a health risk compared to visceral fat.” It explains why such diseases are less prevalent in women.

But unlike fat on the rest of the body, belly fat consist both visceral fat and subcutaneous fat. Visceral fat being the fat that pushed your stomach forward to protrude; while subcutaneous fat is the layer of “flesh” that you can pinch or grab with your hands all around your midsection.

How To Lose Belly Fat

Visceral fat and subcutaneous fat seem to respond somewhat differently to different weight loss strategies. It probably explains why belly fat can be pretty difficult to get rid of permanently; especially if you are only using one strategy. But here is some good news, whenever you start losing weight you tend to lose alot of it from the stomach.

WebMD reports, "There is no magic bullet, diet plan, specific food, or type of exercise that specifically targets belly fat. But the good news is belly fat is the first kind of fat you tend to lose when you lose weight…" says Michael Jensen, MD, a Mayo Clinic endocrinology specialist and obesity researcher.

“Whether you're an "apple" shape with excess belly fat, or a "pear" with wide hips and thighs, when you lose weight, you'll most likely lose proportionately more from the abdominal region than elsewhere.

"Ninety-nine percent of people who lose weight will lose it in the abdominal region before anywhere else -- and will lose proportionately more weight from the upper body," says Jensen, also a professor of medicine.

And why is that? "Visceral fat, the kind tucked deep inside your waistline, is more metabolically active and easier to lose than subcutaneous fat under the skin, especially if you have plenty of it," explains Penn State researcher Penny Kris-Etherton, PhD, RD.

And the more weight you have to lose, the more quickly you're likely to start losing your belly fat, experts say.

"People who are significantly overweight may see quicker results in their belly than someone who has less to lose in that area, such as a postmenopausal pouch," says Georgia State University nutrition professor, Christine Rosenbloom, PhD, RD.”

In addition, there is some evidence that visceral fat tend to respond much more easily to exercises. And the reverse could be true for fat under the skin.

In light of this, it seems it could be nearly impossible to get a flat stomach without somehow combining a diet strategy with an exercise strategy. So below we look at such strategies.

Diet for Losing Belly Fat

You cannot out-train a bad diet. Your body is made of what you eat. Though your exercises can re-arrange your body composition it still needs to work with what you eat. So diet is critical; and this, for two reasons. First excess calories come through your mouth. Belly fat is literally a lipid reserve for your body. Lipids or fat is how your body stores excess energy (calories) from the food you eat.

Secondly, the only way to get nourishment and stay healthy while still halting your body from packing any more body fat is through a diet. As such diet contributes a critical 70% of your effort to getting a flat stomach.

So here are some techniques that can help.  When it comes to choosing a flat belly diet be very choosy with grains; and this includes whole grains. Most already know that you should eliminate or atleast reduce to a minimum any highly processed grain. This includes wheat, corn and similar derivatives like cereals.

Grain tends to be very calorie dense, but even worse they tend to spike insulin in your blood that makes your body store body.

Another food to give a wide berth for the sake of a washboard tummy is soy. Infact avoid any soy food that is not fermented. Soy has been shown to mimic the hormone estrogen in your body. Estrogen is a female hormone that encourages your body to store body fat.

So what should you be eating to lose belly fat?

Focus on white meats, coconut, coconut milk, and coconut oil avocado or guacamole, nuts such as walnuts, pecans, almonds, etc peanut butter and other nut butters and yes, even certain types of chocolate or cocoa.

Exercises For Losing Belly Fat

Sweating it out is not a favorite among many, but if you want a flat stomach you need some level of exercising. It is granted diet alone will lose you body fat, but it will most likely not get you a flat stomach.

Completely losing belly fat is a consequence of having very low general body fat percentage. This is easiest achieved by some strategic exercising. But be careful here because not all exercises are created equal when it comes to losing you tonnes of body fat.

Though most recommended, cardio exercises are probably the least effective in getting you a flat stomach. They may be proven to burn you fat as you exercise, but there are much better ways.

You should also stay away from exercises that primarily target your abdominal muscles. As much as there are studies showing that exercising your abs lead to fat loss around your midsection, it is too little to get you the results you want.

Instead go for full body workouts. Use exercises that elevate your metabolism for elongated periods of time like High Intensity Training. The advantage here is that they are not only more effective in losing belly fat, but they take a much shorter time. A 15 minute HITT workout will out do a 60 minute cardio if done correctly.

The simple techniques quickly outlined here only capture a small part of a holistic flat belly diet. Ultimately when it comes to how to lose belly fat you just need two things. These two are guaranteed to get you a flat stomach fast, easily and permanently. These two are…

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