How to Lose Tummy Fat
The big question is how can you lose tummy fat without starving yourself or needing to work out non-stop? Is it possible to lose tummy fat without going skinny all over for example?
Historically speaking, spot reduction was believed to be the answer to how to lose tummy fat. The theory was if you did enough ab exercises the weight would magically disappear from your tummy region. Science has since proven that to lose tummy fat you need to reduce fat deposits equally throughout your body. However, it is possible to learn how to reduce tummy fat and make your tummy look flatter with the right combination of food and exercise.
How to lose tummy fat with specific food choices
The types of foods you eat can have a dramatic effect on your waistline. Some foods are better than others of course.
Caffeine and nicotine are two popular substances that act as stimulants and put additional stress on our bodies. Theses substances increase our heart rate and blood pressure. When this occurs, our bodies automatically go into self-preservation mode by hanging on to extra calories and storing them as tummy fat.
Our bodies produce a stress hormone called cortisol. Cortisol accounts for extra fat storage, particularly around the waistline. This type of fat has been linked to cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Clearly its a health hazard.
Insulin production can compound the issue. Our bodies produce insulin in order to utilize glucose. Sweet flavors can trigger a release of insulin even when our blood glucose levels are low or normal, which is one reason why people report feeling hungrier after eating foods containing artificial sweeteners. The insulin in turn drives down blood glucose levels, making us feel hungry. This leads to excessive eating, and results in the accumulation of tummy fat.
Nutritious foods that don’t cause your body to release the above insulin levels are slowly-digestible foods such as whole grain breads and pastas, lean meat or tofu, whole nuts, fibrous fruits and vegetables, olive oil and avocados.
As for alternatives to caffeine rich drinks like coffee, try the obvious alternative and start drinking decaf. There are also a number of caffeine free alternative drinks similar to coffee that can be sourced from your local health food store. Green tea is also a good compromise. The tea contains enough caffeine to perk you up, plus phytonutrients and antioxidants that provide a host of other health benefits as well, including a faster metabolism!
How to lose tummy fat with exercise
Diet is just one part in learning how to lose tummy fat. The other is exercise. Cardio and muscle training will help you reduce your overall body fat percentage. Rather than focus alone on abdominal exercises, ensure you work your larger muscle groups as your primary focus as they will help you burn off more calories and help you in learning how to reduce tummy fat.
There are so many different types of exercise routines you can choose. Brisk walking, swimming, jogging, martial arts classes, or simply becoming more involved in your garden or community activities, are great ways to get moving and to learn how to reduce tummy fat. Its important to find an activity you enjoy doing. Even devoting as little as several hours a week to this will bring great results. Your heart health will improve, and you will start to see real weight loss results all over your body.
Strength and muscle training is a key component for burning fat as well. Its been scientifically proven that the more lean muscle mass you have, the more calories your body burns, and the less fat it stores. Find a training activity that helps you achieve this. It need not be a gym, however you will need to do some form of resistance work. This might be as simple as starting with push ups and pumping some hand weights at home. This will make a difference.
As little as half an hour, three times a week will produce very good results and visibly reduce tummy fat. An ideal routine targets different muscle groups on different days. For example, you might work your upper body on Monday, your midsection on Wednesday, and your legs and on Friday. Its that simple!
Take time in between sessions to rest, and always drink plenty of water! Your body will burn fat much more efficiently if you are drinking plenty of fluids. How to lose tummy fat is about taking a whole body approach inside and out and making it a part of your daily lifestyle. Do that and you will know how to reduce tummy fat because you will be experiencing it!