What is the secret sauce of reducing belly fat?

Why is belly fat hard to lose?

The biggest problem people face is losing belly fat, as it is most easy place in whole body to accumulate fat and most hard to lose. Calorie restriction or Calorie deficit along with some sort of exercise is the most effective and proven way to reduce overall weight and fat from the body. However, after reaching a threshold in terms of calorie reduction or hitting a plateau losing further weight (and fat) becomes hard, and many people get stuck.

Also, belly or abdomen area has higher number of fat cells compared to other part of body that doesn’t respond easily to lipolysis i.e., fat-breakdown process.

Cortisol, hormone released under stress, is another culprit that makes losing belly fat a hard thing. Cortisol causes fat cell to mature more quickly, which thereby encourages the body to store fat around internal organs including those in abdomen area.

Sedentary lifestyle is most negated yet one of the main culprits behind belly fat. If one is not very active or in other words mostly doing sitting work, means that they are not burning enough calories and that causes them to gain belly fat. Not exercising enough or having sedentary lifestyle makes one more prone to having excess lower belly fat.

And there are lot of other factors that makes it hard to lose belly fat.

5 easy solutions to overcome the problem of belly fat

A) Walking

When you do HIIT (High intensity interval training) or running, suppose you lose 300 calories in 20 minutes which is actually great thing but not sustainable enough for many people due to lack of consistency and being tiresome. But incorporating walking in one’s lifestyle is easy and very effective. Suppose, you walk for one hour at normal pace you tend to lose 300 calories which at first may not look time efficient compared to HIIT or running, but is highly doable by incorporating it in parts throughout the day is easy.

A video by Jeremy Ethier would be great help to understand how walking can lead to lose belly fat.

Now incorporating habit of walking daily for let say one hour in parts will burn extra calories apart from any exercise, one may be doing. These extra burnt calories will aid greatly in weight and fat loss simultaneously with good diet, and largely will help in reducing belly fat as well.

B) Reduce Stress Levels

As mentioned earlier, stress causes the adrenal glands to release cortisol, often known as the stress hormone, which causes you to accumulate belly fat.

To reduce stress, try some simple techniques such as meditation, yoga, walk in garden, converse with loved ones or friends, listen music, etc. They are simple yet very effective ways to reduce stress and hence cortisol levels making it easy to lose belly fat.

C) Reduce Sugar Intake

When sugar is ingested in excess, it includes fructose, which has been related to a number of chronic disorders.

Not everyone can have high protein diet, but reducing sugar intake on daily basis is doable and easy as well. Observational study has shown connection between high sugar intake and belly fat.

It’s crucial to remember that belly fat can be caused by more than simply refined sugar. Even healthy sweets like genuine honey should be used in moderation.

D) Have Restful Sleep

Sleeping is very important for your overall body in terms of proper functioning, but is also important for weight management.

Study shows that people not getting enough restful sleep tend to gain more weight and hence more belly fat as well.

Getting high quality restful sleep of at least 6 to 7 hours should be one’s priority who are looking to reduce their weight and belly fat, and also for having normal functioning of body.

E) Incorporate Some Kind of Exercise

It is very important to incorporate some kind of exercise whether body-weight exercise, yoga, Zumba, weigh-lifting etc. In order to lose weight and belly fat it is important to burn calories and in order to do so exercise is very important along with walking.

If you are burning more calories than you are consuming, you are highly likely to lose weight and belly fat fast rather than just doing either alone.

Bottom Line

Losing belly fat is not very easy but not difficult as well if proper approach is taken.

Incorporating simple yet effective steps, as mentioned, could be great aid in losing belly fat and overall weight.

Be consistent and results will come maybe slowly but surely.