Who doesn’t want to enjoy having the ideal body? Nobody really plans on being overweight or dealing with excess belly fat, yet an overwhelming number of people find themselves dealing with exactly these types of problems on a daily basis.
To make matters worse, many people who don’t struggle with this problem think that excess belly fat is simply due to a lack of discipline.
How many times have you been told that if you’d just exercise more and eat less, you wouldn’t be overweight?
The truth is, it’s not always that easy. There are a number of reasons that you may be dealing with excess belly fat and not all of them can be solved by simply changing your diet or spending more time in the gym.
While these things can certainly help, there are times when you may need to use a number of techniques in order to truly see the results you’re looking for.
Here are 10 proven ways to lose belly fat fast. If you’re tired of being overweight and you’re tired of trying one thing after another, only to find that it doesn’t work for you, it’s time to get serious and look at this list.
Before you know it, you could be on your way to having the lean and healthy body you’ve always wanted to have.
Even if you’ve tried things in the past that didn’t work, these techniques could be the solution you’ve been searching for all along.
1. Use Meal Prep
It can be easy to derail your diet when you’re out and about.
Prepare meals in advance and then set specific portions aside in airtight containers that you can grab and take with you whenever you need to.
By using these meal prep techniques, you can prevent the many pitfalls of eating out. Most importantly, it keeps you indirect control of what you’re eating.
2. Get in Some Cardio
As previously mentioned, rest is vitally important. However, it’s also important that you burn more calories than you take in.
One of the best ways to accomplish this is to get in some cardiovascular training at least three days a week.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to practically kill yourself running on a treadmill everyday.
Choose some type of activity that will raise your heart rate and keep it there consistently for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Do this roughly three times a week and within a couple of months, you should start to notice a difference in the amount of belly fat you have.
There are many different types of cardiovascular exercises that you can do. Running on a treadmill is only one of them.
That works well for a lot of people and it may even be an exercise that you enjoy.
However, if you suffer from joint problems, it could make things worse instead of better. If that’s the case, consider using an elliptical or stationary bicycle to get your cardiovascular training in.
You might also want to change things up every once in a while. Add a dance routine that can serve as your cardiovascular training. It doesn’t have to be the same thing every time you do a cardiovascular session.
As a matter of fact, your body is likely to respond better to these exercise routines if you consistently change things up.
You’re also more likely to stick to it if you choose something that you enjoy.
3. Change the Way You Eat
Again, it all comes back to burning more calories than you consume. Changing the way you eat can be one of the most difficult things you will ever do, but it’s also one of the most rewarding.
The best way to lose belly fat quickly is to avoid processed foods as well as junk food.
In other words, you want to prepare your food from fresh ingredients as opposed to eating something that has been pre-packaged. Avoid sweets and don’t use too much salt.
It can be difficult to make all of these changes. The last thing you want to do is try to drastically change your eating habits all at once.
That’s an almost guaranteed recipe for failure.
Instead, make small changes over the course of a few weeks or months, depending on the number of adjustments you need to make. Allow yourself to have a cheat day every once in a while.
Completely cutting yourself off from the foods you enjoy most will only serve to make you crave them more.
The key to healthy eating is to eat foods in moderation and limit the amount of sweets and junk food that you take in.
That does not mean that you can’t have the occasional piece of cake or even a bag of chips, provided you don’t eat the entire bag at one time.
The best way to eat when you’re trying to lose belly fat is to consume lean protein and lots of fruits and vegetables.
For example, you can eat chicken or fish along with steamed vegetables. Incorporate an apple or some other piece of fruit for a snack.
It’s also a good idea to utilize protein shakes to keep your energy levels up and build lean muscle, especially if you’re watching your calories very closely.
4. Meditate
You may be wondering how meditation could possibly help you lose belly fat. It all comes back to controlling those stress levels.
Remember, the more stressed you are, the more likely you are to gain weight.
Meditation may be able to help you control the stress of your daily life so that you don’t have as many issues with stress hormones to begin with.
By the same token, daily meditation can also help you have more energy and get quality rest, meaning that you’re better prepared for your next workout.
It’s a good way to round out an all around healthy lifestyle while simultaneously giving yourself an opportunity to relax and simply be in the moment.
5. Don’t Starve Yourself
A lot of people that are trying to lose belly fat have a tendency to practically starve themselves.
They do it because they think that by not eating, they will drop belly fat faster. The truth is, this literally sends your body into starvation mode.
Your body believes that no food is coming so it stops utilizing what you’ve already consumed as energy and starts to store it as fat.
The end result is that you can actually stop losing weight when you starve yourself.
In some extreme cases, you might even find that you’ve put on a few pounds. Starving yourself isn’t healthy for a number of reasons and it won’t help you lose weight.
Instead of starving yourself, eat a healthy and balanced diet while incorporating regular exercise.
6. Drink Water
You’ve probably heard that drinking water can help you feel less hungry when you cut back on calories. To a certain extent, this is true.
However, there are more important reasons why you should drink water when you want to get rid of belly fat. What you perceive as belly fat may in fact be a problem with bloating.
Drinking enough water can help reduce bloating. In some cases, it can eliminate the problem altogether. In addition, drinking enough water can help you stay healthier.
7. Hire a Professional
If you have been doing all of these things for a few months and you’re not seeing much progress, it may be time to take advantage of hiring a professional.
Some people decide to hire a professional trainer.
Others hire a nutritionist. In reality, it’s a good idea to consider hiring both as opposed to merely hiring one or the other.
A personal trainer can help you truly maximize your workout, not to mention helping you break through any plateaus you may be dealing with.
By the same token, a good nutritionist can help you understand how to eat for optimal energy and health without overeating.
They can also help you sort out some recipes that are both delicious and healthy.
8. Remember Your Strength Training
Even if you’re getting enough rest, watching what you eat and getting in a good cardiovascular workout at least three times a week, you’re not likely to see a dramatic reduction in belly fat unless you incorporate strength training.
Why is strength training necessary?
It boosts your metabolism, not just during the workout itself, but for hours afterward. This helps you burn calories even when you’re not working out.
It also replaces fat with lean muscle. Since lean muscle requires a greater number of calories, strength training can slowly change your metabolism by allowing you to burn calories faster, even if you don’t work out at all that day.
What are some good strength training exercises to lose belly fat?
It’s a good idea to incorporate a well-rounded strength training routine that works your arms, your core and your legs.
Do your best not to focus on only one area, but to incorporate a strength training routine that truly focuses on the entire body. Again, it’s a good idea to do strength training roughly three days a week.
It’s also important to refrain from exercising the same group of muscles two days in a row. Therefore, you might do cardiovascular training one day and strength training the next.
In addition, you can work the entire body during each strength training session, all while putting an emphasis on a particular part of your body.
For instance, you might choose to do arms on Mondays, abs on Wednesdays and legs on Fridays.
This keeps you from getting bored and it proves to be more effective, as your body doesn’t become accustomed to what you’re doing as easily.
9. Get Enough Sleep
It might seem counterproductive to say that you need to make sure you’re getting enough sleep when everyone else is telling you that you need to spend more time in the gym.
However, you’re not doing your physical or mental health any favors if you skimp on sleep in order to get everything else done.
That includes going to the gym. Exercise is important and that will be discussed in this list. That said, you have to get enough sleep to get rid of belly fat.
Your body repairs itself when you sleep.
Adequate rest also helps you manage stress better, meaning there are fewer stress-related hormones like cortisol and adrenaline being pumped into your body.
Cortisol is often associated with excess belly fat. The more stress you have, the more cortisol your body produces.
If you want to lose belly fat and keep it off, you have to find a way to successfully manage your stress. Adequate rest is an excellent way to do exactly that.
Unfortunately, some people have the misconception that consistently getting enough rest equates to being lazy.
This isn’t true at all. In fact, it may even be better to skip a day at the gym in order to get rest if you are absolutely forced to choose between the two.
You should start to consider getting enough sleep as if it were the foundation that you will build everything else upon when it comes to losing belly fat.
Without it, everything starts to fall apart and you end up packing on the pounds.
10. See a Doctor
What if you’ve tried everything and you’re still not getting results? It may be time to make an appointment with your doctor.
Some people who have excess belly fat have a condition called insulin resistance.
This also ties back in with too much stress and excessive amounts of cortisol, as cortisol and insulin resistance are commonly linked.
If you’ve tried all kinds of exercise and diet routines to lose belly fat but you’re still struggling, it may be time to make an appointment and see if there is a medical explanation for it.
