There are a number of reasons why losing belly fat is on top of the list of the majority of the dieters. While a bulging belly is bad to look at, fat in the abdominal area can also cause several health related problems. Therefore, dieters must aspire for a flat stomach and work hard towards achieving it. However, working hard and putting in effort does not just mean doing thousands of crunches. Rather, it involves several steps and only then do the results come. Here are some of the best ways to burn the belly fat.
1. Stop focusing on spot reduction
It is a common sight in the gym to see overweight people lying on the floor doing crunches of all kinds in the hope that it would help them get a flat stomach. While crunches help strengthen the abdominal muscles, they are not an effective way of losing belly fat as spot reduction does not work when it comes to losing weight. Focusing on the stomach only is not a good idea because losing fat requires a complete body workout. Moreover, crunches require a lot effort yet they only burn a few calories, making them largely ineffective for obese people.
2. Eat healthy and avoid junk food
Having junk food is considered the single largest factor for gaining belly fat and it must be avoided at all costs. The reason why junk food is such a big contributor to a fats in the stomach is that it contains large amounts of refined carbohydrates and sugar, causing an immense increase in the blood sugar levels. This increase in the blood sugar levels in turn causes less fat to burn, leading to weight gain.
A diet consisting of healthy foods on the other is beneficial for losing belly fat because these foods do not contain unhealthy properties and they also have low amounts of calories. Thus, by eating these healthy food items dieters can lose weight, which results in the loss of fat from the abdominal area as well. Hence, dieters aiming for a flat stomach should refrain from having processed and unhealthy foods and consume more of healthy foods.
3. Getting more sleep
Contrary to the popular belief, sleeping more is actually beneficial for weight loss and there are a number of reasons why. When people stay up late in the night, they tend to indulge in unhealthy snacking which leads to weight gain. Also, when the body is tired due to a lack of sleep, it produces a hormone known as ghrelin, which increases cravings for sugar and fat building foods. Moreover, a lack of sleep also causes a hormonal change in the body and alters the cortisol level, leading to insulin sensitivity. This insulin sensitivity in turn results in more gains in the abdominal area.
4. Reduced alcohol consumption
For losing belly fat, drinking is as crucial as eating and for this reason alcohol consumption must be reduced. Alcohol is found to be detrimental to health because it has zero nutritional value. Thus, drinking alcohol results in the storage of fat. Alcohol is also a prime reason for a pear shaped body and a beer belly.
5. Exercise
Exercise is crucial for weight loss and it is no surprise why it is recommended by so many fitness trainers. Exercise is important because it helps burn greater amounts of fat by increasing the metabolism rate. While spot reduction does not work, certain types of exercises such as Cardio helps reduce belly fat greatly. Doing crunches strengthen the abdominal muscles and makes apps more visible. Moreover, in order to burn belly fat, people need to stimulate all their muscles and exercise helps them do exactly that.
Credit : Jafar Adam
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