Losing weight makes up 31% of America’s new year resolutions, putting in the top 5 along with eating healthier and exercising more. For most people, it is about looking better and feeling better.
Many of those dreams of being able to show off a washboard stomach are cut short when people realize just how hard it can be.
If you feel like you’re fighting a losing battle and you’re wondering how to get rid of extra belly fat then this guide is for you. Let’s take a closer look at everything you need to know for getting rid of fat and losing weight.
Calories In, Calories Out
The first thing you need to take into account when trying to lose fat is that you need be in a caloric deficit. To do this you need to be burning more calories than you are putting in your body.
You can approach this from two sides. The first of which is to eat less, which means that you have fewer calories to burn. The second is to burn more calories. The problem with just trying to eat less and not increasing the amount of exercise you get is that you don’t build any muscle.
The more lean muscle you have, the more calories you will burn, even when you’re resting. So, if you’re looking to lose stubborn belly fat then exercise is just as important as what you eat.
One pound of fat is made up of around 3,500 calories. While this isn’t an exact science, you can use it as a guideline to work out how many calories you need to burn to lose fat. If you wanted to lose 1lb of fat in a week then you’d need to reduce your caloric intake by 500 calories each day.
Crash dieting has several risks, but the main one where you’re concerned is sustainability. This is why instead of trying to cut 500 calories a day it can be more beneficial and sustainable to reduce your daily calories by around 200 and increase the time you spend exercising.
This will promote better overall health and you’re less likely to give in to cravings because you’re sitting around doing nothing apart from wishing you could eat!
Change Your Diet
If you’re thinking about getting rid of fat then you’re going to have to think about what you eat. Dieting isn’t all about starving yourself, it’s about what you eat. While we might build up some positive associations with sugary snacks over our lifetimes, they’re just not good for us.
The same diet that you should be following to lose fat should be the same diet that will keep you healthy.
No More Sugar
When you’re trying to lose fat there are a few foods you certainly need to avoid. First of all, sugar has to go. This includes fruit juices, drinks with added sugar, and all of those sugary snacks. Any sugar that you eat that your liver or muscles can’t store as glycogen will be converted to fat.
Remember that your body already gets glycogen from carbohydrates such as potatoes and rice. There are very few times when your body needs sugar.
At first, it might be difficult because our brains get addicted to sugar as they get addicted to drugs. But as you start to cut sugar out of your diet, you’ll notice that you crave it less and less.
Processed Foods
In addition to sugar, processed and refined foods are off the shopping list. The biggest problem with foods such as white bread and canned food is that they lack the nutrients you’d get with whole food. Essentially, it makes them a waste of calories.
If you’re looking to lose fat, then the easiest way is to start cooking. That way you can carefully monitor what is going into your meals and you can make sure all your ingredients are fresh.
Eat More of the Good Stuff
Your diet should focus on eating plenty of protein and lots of fresh vegetables. Fruits are important for vitamins and minerals, but be aware of the number of sugars in most fruits.
Healthy fats such as avocados and nuts are a great source of energy but try and eat them around your workouts. You should also aim to consume most of your carbohydrates in the first half of the day to try and ensure that they are used for energy as supposed to be stored as fat.
Step Up Your Cardio Game
If you’re new to the gym or exercise in general then it’s easy to get lost in steady-state cardio. This can mean hours at a time at a steady slow pace. This will help you to lose fat, but it is far from the most effective way. And it is probably the least fun.
First of all, you should find something you enjoy. This makes it more likely to become a sustainable part of your fat loss regime. Team sports, boxing, and martial arts are great ways to get fit and lose fat and have fun at the same time.
If you’re all about working out on your own then HIIT training is for you. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) uses short and rapid bursts of intensity followed by a brief rest. This is usually repeated over about 30 minutes. Multiple studies suggest that HIIT training is more effective at burning fat than steady-state cardio.
One of the reasons for this is that it focuses more on resistance, which helps to build muscles. As we stated early, more muscle means more fat is getting burnt even when you’re resting.
Stay Hydrated
Water is an essential component of life. It plays a part in every single process of the human body. This includes our metabolism and our digestive processes. Drinking water can also work as an appetite suppressant, so next time you think you are hungry try having a glass of water first.
Sleep Better
Sleep is a frequently overlooked factor when it comes to fat loss, but it is a lot more crucial than you might think. When we have underslept our bodies produce cortisol, the stress hormone.
Cortisol is often linked to an increased appetite, especially for fatty, salty, or sugary foods. This is mainly because increased cortisol levels cause your insulin levels to spike which is why you crave sugary food.
There is no magic number for the right amount of sleep, but it is recommended that anyone who is trying to lead a healthier lifestyle should try and get between 7-9 hours of good quality sleep each night.
Intermittent Fasting
If you’re looking at losing fat then you should give intermittent fasting a go. Intermittent fasting works by prolonging the amount of time between your last meal of the day and your first meal of the next day.
There are different ways to do it, but the most common way is a 16/8 ratio. This means that you eat for 8 hours and don’t eat for the remaining 16 hours in a day. The good news is, is that you’re asleep for most of your fasting hours.
By fasting like this it means that your body has more chance of using all of your daily calories for energy and then it will start to use your fat stores for energy.
This is the same principle around fasted cardio in the morning. By working out first thing in the morning without eating your body has to use your fat stores for energy to help fuel your workout.
Fat Loss Supplements
Fat loss supplements, no matter how well they’re advertised, will help you to lose fat on your own. Good fat loss supplements, such as the ones you can buy at Wilsonsupplements.com, can help you to lose fat when used as part of a healthy diet and effective exercise routine.
There are a plethora of different fat loss supplements out there, and not all of them are made equal. Here are a few different supplements that can help you to lose fat:
- CLA (conjugated linoleic acid)
- L-Carnitine
- Caffeine
- Cardarine (GW501516)
- Thermogenic supplements
- Raspberry Ketones
Different supplements work in different ways. Thermogenics are designed to raise your body temperature which increases the number of calories you burn while exercising and resting. SARMs like Cardarine help to increase your endurance which leads to burning more calories during exercise.
It is important that you research fat loss supplements before taking them. Some of them can come with unwanted side effects and can interfere with existing health conditions.
This Is How to Get Rid of Extra Belly Fat
When it comes to how to get rid of extra belly fat, this is everything you need to know. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts. The secret to losing weight and keeping it off is developing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Take control of your diet and exercise regularly. It won’t happen overnight, but it won’t be long before you notice the body that you always wanted standing in front of you in the mirror.
