Get rid of my belly fat - Getting stronger but not losing weight
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Updated: February 28,2022
9 Ways to Ditch Lower Belly Fat That Don’t Involve Crunches.
Done more crunches than you can count but still struggling to lose that lower belly fat? We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but you’re going about it all wrong.
Lower belly fat develops just like fat located elsewhere on your body. When your body regularly gets more calories than it needs to use for energy, the rest gets stored as fat for later.
Depending on your age, other factors might be at play too. We all tend to gain more body fat — including belly fat — as we get older. And women tend to store more fat in their middles after menopause. (Thanks, hormones.)
So, what can you do to get rid of it? The answer might be a whole lot simpler than you think. Here’s a look at nine proven strategies that can help you lose weight and get rid of lower belly fat.
Is there actually a way to get rid of fat just around your lower belly? Sadly, the answer is no, you can’t target fat on certain areas of your body. Instead, the focus has to be on shedding fat from head to toe.
Spot exercises (such as tons of crunches) can strengthen your abdominal muscles, but they won’t actually get rid of the fat that sits on top of your abs. For that, you’ve gotta make an effort to lose weight all over. Here’s how.
If hours of crunches won’t get the job done, what will help you lose lower belly fat? There are plenty of smart strategies that can help you slim down all over and reduce the amount of fat around your lower belly.
1. Cut your calories.
It’s the No. 1 rule for losing weight, period. To shed fat, you need to burn more calories than you consume. And that means eating less. That doesn’t mean crash dieting or skipping meals.
You can lose a pound per week by eating 500 fewer calories per day. Not interested in crunching the numbers all day? Trimming your portion sizes or not going back for seconds can help you take in fewer cals.
The same goes for filling half your plate with fruits and veggies. Why not challenge yourself by growing your own? Then you’ll have bragging rights.
2. And maybe cut your carbs too.
You don’t have to go low carb to lose body fat and lower belly fat. But breaking up with bread might help you reach your goal a little faster.
In a 2014 study, participants who ate a low carb diet lost more weight than those who ate a low fat diet. Bazzano LA. (2014). Effects of low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4428290/ Going low carb also seems to help people lose more fat while preserving calorie-torching lean muscle tissue.
3. Bump up your protein.
Adding a shot of lean protein to your meals and snacks helps you feel full longer. It also helps your body retain more lean muscle mass as you lose weight — and even gives your metabolism a little boost.
The National Academy of Sports Medicine recommends aiming for about 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight, or up to 1.5 grams of protein per pound if you’re super active.
Good sources include lean red meat, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and yogurt.
4. Stop drinking your calories.
Regularly sipping stuff other than water, black coffee, or unsweetened tea? Calorie-containing drinks can slow or straight-up stall your weight loss progress, making it almost impossible to get rid of lower belly fat.
Case in point? That 16-ounce latte you get with breakfast can pack about 250 calories. Grab a sugary cocktail after work and you’re looking at 300, 400, or even 500 more.
If you have those kinds of drinks on the reg, just cutting them out could be enough to start melting fat all over your body — including around your lower belly.
That’s especially true when it comes to booze, since research shows that drinking a lot of alcohol seems to cause fat to be stored around your belly. Dorn JM, et al. (2003). Alcohol drinking patterns differentially affect central adiposity as measured by abdominal height in women and men, https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/133/8/2655/4687991.
5. Try intermittent fasting.
There are different ways to go about it, ranging from doing a 24-hour fast once or twice a week to doing 16-hour fasting windows each day. Either way, giving your body regular, extended breaks from eating seems to help with overall fat loss.
What kinds of body benefits can you expect to reap? In a 2014 study, people who stuck with intermittent fasting or alternate-day fasting shed between 4 and 7 percent of their abdominal fat within 24 weeks. Barnosky AR, et al. (2014). Intermittent fasting vs daily calorie restriction for type 2 diabetes prevention: A review of human findings. https://www.translationalres.com/article/S1931-5244(14)00200-X/fulltext.
6. Go for high intensity intervals.
Any type of exercise can help you torch more calories and burn more fat. But high intensity intervals (HIIT) can be particularly potent.
Why? Alternating between hard and easy seems to help keep your insulin levels lower. That can encourage your body to use up fat instead of squirreling it away in your cells for the future.
You’ll also keep burning more calories even after you finish a workout. Best of all, you can turn almost any workout into HIIT.
7. Try resistance training.
Lifting weights and doing bodyweight exercises builds up lean muscle tissue, which boosts your body’s overall calorie burning — even when you’re at rest. And the more cals you burn, the more belly fat you’ll melt.
Only have time for cardio or weights? Believe it or not, the weights might actually be the way to go.
In a 2015 study, men who did 20 minutes of daily resistance training gained less belly fat over time than those who did cardio for the same amount of time. Mekary RA, et al. (2014). Weight training, aerobic physical activities, and long-term waist circumference change in men. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.20949.
8. Get enough sleep.
The science is pretty conclusive: Too little shut-eye has links to weight gain — including around your middle. Beccuti G & Pannain S. (2011). Sleep and obesity. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3632337/
Sleep deprivation can ramp up your hunger hormones, make you crave calorie-dense foods (hey, pizza and ice cream!), and zap your energy to exercise.
If you’re eating and exercising to fight belly fat, support those efforts by getting enough snooze time. That’s 7 to 9 hours, folks. Hirschkowitz M, et al. (2015). National Sleep Foundation’s sleep time duration recommendations: Methodology and results summary. https://www.sleephealthjournal.org/article/S2352-7218(15)00015-7/pdf.
9. Keep your stress situation in check.
Stress, like that which happens as a result of sleep deprivation, might mess with your weight. Unchecked tension or anxiety can drive you to eat more, especially when it comes to high calorie comfort foods.
Research also shows that high levels of the stress hormone cortisol may encourage your body to store fat around your middle. Warne JP. (2009). Shaping the stress response: Interplay of palatable food choices, glucocorticoids, insulin and abdominal obesity. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0303720708004498?via%3Dihub.
Your plan: Seek out stress management techniques that work for your lifestyle.
If you don’t have an hour to meditate or do yoga, that’s totally fine. There are plenty of short-term, effective strategies for feeling calmer, such as journaling, connecting with friends, or just watching a funny YouTube video.
11 Reasons You’re Not Losing Fat.
Burn fat, lose weight and start seeing real results by getting rid of these bad habits.
Losing fat is hard! When your fat loss stalls, it feels like everything goes to hell. “Why isn’t this working?” you’ll ask. “What else can I do to lose weight?” Over time, you’ll get frustrated and discouraged because you’ll feel like you’re still training hard and eating right, but getting zero results.
It’s time to break the cycle and reimagine your plan for losing fat. Truth is, you’re closer to getting ripped than you think—all you need is to uncover the devastating mistakes you’re making that ruin your progress and the easy changes you can do to switch your body into a fat-burning furnace.
9 Tips to Lose Weight Fast.
Strip away the pounds with these fat-burning tips.
Jonathan D. Goforth.
You Still Think Cardio is the Answer.
Traditional cardio sucks for fat loss: it doesn’t burn enough calories and the more cardio you do, the better your body becomes at it. Soon, you’ll actually burn less calories than before with the same amount of work .
Instead, do intervals. They burn more calories in the same amount of time, stimulate more fat loss, and create a huge metabolic effect that can increase your fat burn hours after your workout.
You’re Cheating All Wrong.
Cheating is fine, but you still need to cheat correctly. During a calorie deficit, your leptin level drops, which is a hormone that controls weight loss and defends against starvation. Low leptin not only makes it harder to lose weight, but can also lead to more fat gain—to restore your leptin, you need an occasional high-carb meal.
But the key phrase is “high-carb,” not “high-fat.” Binging on carb-heavy, high-fat foods will send nutrients to the fat cells and ruin your progress.
You’re Not Eating Enough Protein.
Skimping on protein will slow your fat loss because your body actually burns more calories to digest protein than any another macronutrient. Protein also keeps you feeling full and maintains muscle mass while shedding body fat.
In a study from the Journal of Nutrition , researchers found that a high-protein diet also improved body composition, cholesterol markers, and insulin levels more than a diet of moderate protein, even while keeping calories the same. Make sure to eat at least 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight while dieting.
You’re Not Getting Stronger.
Stop neglecting heavy strength training while trying to lose fat. During a calorie deficit, your body tends to lose muscle—the best way to prevent that is to train hard and heavy. Adding more muscle also increases your basal metabolic rate, which boosts the number of calories you burn throughout the day.
When you work out, focus on building strength and size to combat any muscle loss by using lower reps (4 – 8) and higher weights.
You’re Too Stressed.
Mental and physical stress limits fat loss because it elevates your cortisol. High levels of cortisol interfere with testosterone and growth hormone production, which reduces muscle growth, leads to fat gain (especially around the waist) and even weakens bones.
Take time to relax and decompress from daily life with things like yoga, stretching, mediation and breathing exercises. Also, make sure to take at least one day of rest per week from any exercise to prevent overtraining, which also spikes cortisol.
You’re Not Tracking What You Eat.
If you don’t track what you eat, you’re hurting your fat loss. Food journals reveal exactly what’s going into your body and what you need to change to improve things. It’ll also increase awareness to help you stay accountable and make better food choices. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh found that “all of the 15 studies that focused on dietary self-monitoring found significant associations between self-monitoring and weight loss.”
If writing in a journal is too tedious, take pictures with your smartphone and start a photo journal.
You’re Not Eating Enough Fat.
Stop cutting fat; you need it. In 2007, Australian researchers found that combining aerobic exercise with fish oil (which is a fat) dropped much more body fat than exercise alone. French researchers also discovered that fish oil led to an extra two pounds of fat loss in just three weeks.
Get your fats from healthy sources like olive oils, animal fats, avocados, coconut oils and fish. Avoid trans fats and hydrogenated oils, which are not real fats, but man-made.
You’re Not Drinking Enough Water.
Almost half of all Americans drink too little water. Yet even the smallest amount of dehydration cripples your fat loss because your metabolism will slow down to conserve water.
Drink lots of water to keep your body functioning optimally—this can even help you burn more calories . A 2003 study from Germany found that drinking half a liter of water spiked metabolism by 30%.
Carol Yepes / Getty.
You’re Eating “Healthy” Foods That Aren’t Healthy.
Not all “healthy” foods are healthy—many use clever marketing tactics to get you to buy them. Things like “healthy” breakfast cereals can push as much sugar as a candy bar and some varieties of fruit juices have more calories and sugar than a can of soda.
Also, many low-calorie options are filled with artificial sweeteners and oils to give them flavor and a natural texture, which could lead to numerous health problems.
For a list of the worst “healthy” offenders, check out this article.
Erik Witsoe / EyeEm / Getty.
You’re Cutting Carbs.
Avoiding all carbs hurts your physical performance and fat loss. For people who strength train several times a week (like you), you absolutely need carbs to provide the energy to perform your best, build mass and recover. Skipping carbs, however, will lead to flat workouts and missed muscle gains.
To promote fat loss, eat carbs only on your strength training days and choose clean sources like sweet potatoes, whole grains, fruits and quinoa.
To learn exactly how many carbs you need to eat a day to lose fat, 6. check out this article.
You’re Not Drinking a Post-Workout Shake.
It seems counterintuitive to drink calories to burn calories, but protein shakes build more muscle mass, which increase the number of calories you burn per day. They also boost your calorie burn after a workout.
If you’re averse to the calories of a protein shake, use BCAAs instead. French researchers found that BCAAs helped elite athletes shed more fat and maintain high performance while on a diet.
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Get rid of my belly fat - Getting stronger but not losing weight
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