Effective & Safe Ways to Reduce Belly Fat | Health & Wellness

Losing weight from your stomach will increase your self-esteem and lower your risk for diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure and heart disease. Men are more prone to storing fat in their belly than women, who store fat mainly in their thighs, hips and lower tummy area. Since naturally spot reducing you stomach is not possible, you have to start by reducing fat from all over your body. Once the loose skin on your tummy starts reducing itself, you can focus on toning and tightening your abdominal muscles.

Instructions

• 1

  Eliminate junk food from your diet and reduce your saturated fat and sugar intake. Have a "you are what you eat" approach when it comes to food. Avoid result-sabotaging foods because they quickly increase your blood sugar levels and lead to a slow metabolism and an increase in appetite.

• 2

  Know your good carbohydrates. Fill up on carbohydrates from vegetables and fruits. Choose slow release carbohydrates, including oats, brown rice and whole-grain bread. Stay away from white carbohydrates, such as white bread and white rice.

• 3

  Schedule your meals three hours apart and consume up to six of them per day to keep your metabolism burning fat. Include lean protein, good carbohydrates and unsaturated fats in each meal. Serve yourself small portions instead of large ones.

• 4

  Step up your cardiovascular exercise routine by doing at least 45 minutes per day, three days per week. Go swimming, ride a bike, run or use gym cardio equipment to increase your metabolic burn.

• 5

  Boost your body's resting metabolic rate by adding weight training to your training routine. Build muscle tissue because muscle burns more calories than fat and keeps your metabolism running even when you are resting. Weight train three days per week and target your whole body, not just your stomach. Suck in and tighten your abdominal muscles at all times when lifting weights for an added abdominal workout and to improve your stability.

• 6

  Tone up your tummy by doing reverse crunches for your lower belly, crunches for the upper abdomen muscles and elbow-to-knee crunches for your obliques. Stay in control of the exercises and focus on your form instead of on how many repetitions you can do.

• 7

  Drink alcohol in moderation because empty calories in alcoholic beverages can lead to fat gain. Consume one bottle of beer or one glass of wine if you have to have alcohol. Sip water since it flushes toxins out of the body, helps metabolize fat and keeps you feeling full.

• 8

  Watch the sodium content in your diet because sodium can make you retain water weight, which will make your belly look bloated regardless of how much exercising you do. Consume less than 1,500 mg of sodium as recommended by the American Heart Association.

• 9

  Avoid snacking late at night because late-night snacks are unnecessary cravings that you give into; you are not eating them for nourishment. Avoid food being stored as fat by not eating anything three hours before bedtime.