Let’s face it, losing belly fat is not easy! Both men and women struggle to lose belly fat for various reasons. Our stomachs are typically one of the last places on our bodies to lose fat, which can make it harder to lose. For women, issues with hormones and pregnancy can make losing belly fat even more difficult.
The good news is that losing belly fat doesn’t have to be as difficult as it seems. Part of the problem is that most people approach their stomachs the wrong way, focusing on abs and crunches, lots of cardio, and low-fat or low-calorie diets. While these things will help to some extent, they are not the best way to tackle your belly bulge. Here are some tips on how to lose belly fat fast and get the toned, sleek tummy you want.
One mistake most people make is doing tons of sit-ups and sit-ups thinking it will help them shed fat from their stomachs. However, here’s the deal. While crunches will help build your stomach muscles, they do nothing to get rid of the fat you’re carrying around your midsection. That means that while you may have amazing abdominal muscles, they’re hidden under a layer of fat so you can’t see them.
To combat this, most people try cardio. Now, cardio exercise is a great way to burn lots of calories, but it’s not the best way to get rid of stomach fat. Instead of focusing your efforts solely on cardio, you should work on adding lean muscle mass to your body. See, muscle requires a lot more energy for your body to maintain than fat.
To give your muscles the energy they need, your body burns calories. That means the more lean muscle you have on your body, the more calories you will burn. Even better is that you not only burn extra calories while exercising, but also while sitting down watching TV or sleeping. Lean muscle will boost your metabolism and help fat begin to melt away.
For the biggest impact, focus on adding muscle to the largest muscle groups in your body, like your legs and rear. A great way to do this is by doing lunges and squats. And ladies, don’t worry, you won’t bulk up when you add muscle. Instead, your body will become sleek and toned, just like the bodies of models and celebrities.
Finally, you need to review your diet for the best fat loss results. Starvation, low-fat, low-carb diets are not the answer to losing belly fat. The problem is that most traditional diets focus on weight loss rather than fat loss, and that means you can lose both lean muscle and water weight along with fat.
Not only that, but most diets don’t give your body enough calories, and as a result, your metabolism slows down. That makes it harder to lose weight and easier to gain it back when you eat normally again.