We all have our problem areas, and few of us are ever really satisfied with our shape. However, by taking some simple steps we can improve our body shape, health and general well being. If you are like me, and carry excess baggage round your middle you are probably very keen to lighten your luggage!
Not only is belly fat unsightly but it has been scientifically linked to many health problems such as bloating, heartburn, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer and dementia. And you thought having a muffin top was the worst part! The good news is there are a number of ways to reduce belly fat, to feel more attractive and avoid those scary health risks.
Let me outline twelve steps to take that belly down a notch!
This is going to sound crazy, but …
1. You need to eat more meals and more often!
Don’t get too excited because at the same time you need to reduce the size of your portions. Eating 5-6 small meals per day will first of all prevent you from binging or overeating at meal times and it also keeps your metabolism running as it is constantly burning up food. Check out 5 Tips on Eating Often and Losing Weight … for more information!
2. Never skip breakfast …
If you don’t eat after many hours of sleeping your body goes into ‘starvation mode’. This is bad news for shedding belly fat as it slows your metabolism down in an effort to save energy and burn less calories.
See what great healthy breakfast options you have in 15 Healthy Breakfast Ideas …
3. Carefully monitor the food you are eating …
Try to eat more fat burning foods such as brown rice, whole grains, vegetables, natural fruits, skimmed milk, lean poultry or meat, seafood and egg whites. I’m sure you already know all the ones to avoid as they are likely to be your favourites! The list includes pizzas, burgers, deep fried foods, bakery foods, fatty meats and all products that contain lots of sugar. Learn which foods are the worst in 10 Worst Foods for Your Hips …
4. Eat slowly …
Get into the habit of taking smaller bites and chewing them slowly. By doing this you will avoid overeating and bloating.
5. Do the most effective exercise efficiently …
Cardiovascular exercises are the ones that get your heart thumping and the fat burning, so cardio workouts such as brisk walking, jogging, aerobics and cycling are best for slimming your tum. If you exercise before breakfast your body will burn the excess fat in your body as there is no food available to burn, making it the best time to burn off that belly fat. To know which ones are the most effective, see this post: 10 Top Exercises to Lose Weight …
- 5 Tips on Eating Often and Losing Weight …
- 10 Things You Will Need for Fast Weight Loss …
- 7 Fastest Ways to Lose Weight …
6. Drink, drink and drink again!
Keeping your body hydrated is essential to losing belly fat as if you are dehydrated your liver won’t function and the fat burning process won’t be as effective. Drink lots of water and also hot green tea neutralizes the effects of fatty foods. Learn how this works in 10 Ways How Water Helps You to Lose Weight …
I have a big stomach and big love handles, but everything else isn’t too bad. Any recommendations on what exercises I should do?
Thank you!!!!!
Ashley,
I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this before but I’ll say it again. The harsh truth is that there is no such thing as spot reduction. Which means that to lose some fat on your stomach and those love handles, you are going to have to bring about an overall change in your routine. And that would mean lots of cardio, healthy eating habits and other great tips that have been mentioned in the post. Good luck :)
Sheila,
You are right about spot reduction. For some reason, the author of this article keeps deleting my posts noting this very crutial fact.
No exercise program, diet plan, or magic potion will help you change only one particular part of your body. These 12 tips are generally good things to incorporate into a healthy lifestyle, but they will not shrink your stomach and leave everything else the same.
As for muscle not weighing more than fat, you’re right! How could one pound of something possibly weigh more than one pound of something else?! Both equal one pound.
Sometimes people mistake this myth with the situation where someone exercises but does not see a change on the scale. Of course in this case, fat is used up and muscle mass gained, and both of these tissues have weight. And just to be clear, fat does not turn into muscle :)
There are no diet or exercise secrets.
Eat healthy.
Exercise 3-5 times per week.
Calories in minus calories out.
See your doctor or a qualified trainer if you are having difficulty maintaining a healthy body weight.
Morgan,
Love the way you concluded that. There are no secrets and there is no easy way out. Losing weight is hard work, harder for some of us than others. And you have to be willing to put in all that effort to see results. simple as that :)
hii
i had a query which is unsolved plz plz solve it. wanna kno more about loosing abdominal fat.will it b benefial if i drink green tea everyday twice to loose my fat.plzz suggest me exactly wat all i need to do just to burn xtra fat on my body.i’m 23 old girl with 57 kilos n my height is 5.4.plzz let me kno so dat i can gain my figure back as soon as possible
Surat,
Green tea is great for you yes but you need to do much more than just drink green tea. Read through our post and the comments for some great ideas that will help for sure!
Hello,
I am at age of 36 now. I have been working out for many reasons. I am trying to gain muscles, reshaping my body and stay healthy. Now, my tum is kinda big, I would say that I need to loss few more inches. So what I need to know is how would I do that simultaneously, in another word losing tummy and buliding muscule at the same time? Thanks
Frank,
Now this advice is only based on my gym days. I think as long as you’re doing your cardio and abs and lifting weights for your other parts, you’ll be fine. Also the great thing is, all the muscle you build will help burn more calories and that means a leaner tummy! If you go to a gym, I’d suggest asking a trainer or anyone with professional knowledge to help you out. Good luck :)
Frank,
It’s actually not as bad as you think. Right now I am currently working on gaining weight and am at the gym around 24-26 days out of the month. From my experience in order to gain muscle you first have to gain weight in general, this is the struggle for me. It sounds as though you have the weight, so now once you get on a routine of lifting weights regularly, have a diet that you watch, and do cardio, you should be seeing results. It will take work and I have found out that getting on a good diet is often the most difficult. Good luck to you.
Hi, I ear pretty well and I am in alot of sports and I weight lift, but my stomache is still flab. What can I do to get rid of side handles and my flabby stomache?
Kimmy,
I would include more cardio into my workouts if I were you. Also mix up your exercises. Never do the same stuff over and over because not only will you get bored, but your body will get too used to it for it to work anymore.
Hi my name is Kelsey, I am 12 years old and I want to do soccer but I have some extra baggage around the stomach area, how do I prevent eating junk foods? it’s not easy…
And what work outs should I do to get that flat stomach?
Hi Kelsey,
How do you prevent eating junkfood? Well the only way to do it is to stop yourself. Pure willpower hun. Why don’t you go easy on yourself and try cutting down on it instead of quitting alltogether. Allow yourself say one or two junk food items a day and gradually get it down to two a week to one a week. As for a flat stomach, I’d say go for cardio. Working out your entire body is the best way to lose that flab around your tummy. Good luck!
oh hey , my name is courtney and i am 13 , i too have a little extra fat around in my belly and around my back . i have acne too , and im so ashamed of myself even though it is not bad . i think u should just try soccer and do the best u can and not worry about what other people say .
hi im 14 and i have so much fat on my belly tell me the easiest way to reduce im slim and thin but i only have afat belly
Hi Mehwish,
Well hun cardio is your answer. You can’t just magically reduce fat in one spot. In other words, spot reduction is a myth. So get your sweats on and sweat it out!
i’m 5′6 weight around 11stone im happy with my weight but my i go on hoilday in 2 WEEKS and really want to lose 6ilbs could you suggest how i could do that
hi,,, i have a big problem with my fatty abdomen… i hate it. how can i flatten it in a working girl like me… i used to work in an office no time for exercise.
Hi Trixie,
Are you atleast eating healthy?? You need to find time for exercise. Even if you can’t go to the gym, find little ways to help yourself. Walk to work? Cycle if you can! Take the stairs. Try and find atleast 45 min-1 hr a day for a walk. Heck! even 20 mins will do. Assuming your weekends are free, take up some kind of fun classes then. Follow these and I’m sure you’ll do great :)
I weight about 135lbs. I like the way I look except one part of my body. I have belly fat and don’t know how to get rid of it without loosing weight. I do alot of walking. I love to rollerblade but I tend to loose alot of weight when I rollerblade or run and I don’t want to loose the weight. I just want to tone what I have and loose the belly. I must admit I have a very bad sweet tooth. I mean very bad! If I had a good method to loosing the belly fat I will be willing to give up alot of the sweets. Including my coffee every morning.
In fact I don’t mind gaining another 5lbs.
Hey, My name is Tonya and I just turned 18 recently. My body is not to bad but I really don’t like the little bit of flabb on my stomach. I really want to get rid of it but I don’t have the confidence and I give up way to easily. I was wondering what specific exercises I should do to get my flat stomach back. I would also love to know how to keep myself motivated?
Hi Tonya,
The fact of the matter is that there is no such thing as spot reduction. So you may spend your time doing a 100 crunches but your body is not going to respond to it till you include plenty of cardio as well. So spend that extra time on the treadmill or run up the stairs or go for a jog…you get the picture. As for motivation…It’s just that little flab on your stomach that’s keeping you from having the perfect body! That should be enough motivation. Good luck hun :)
Hi. I am a 11 year old girl and i do tennis & dance every week. When we stretch in dance, I always have this belly fat that comes over. Is there any way that I can add tennis to make my belly fat go away? I exercise at home and do cardio stuff. But it just won’t go away!
Please Help!
Hey Lily,
I went for tennis class for like 2 months and it really helped me lose a lot of weight! I guess the problem with you is that your body is used to your workout schedule. Why not try something new for a while. Challenge your body. Take it to the next level. I’m sure it’ll help lose that extra flab. Good luck! :)
hi, i am a 16 year old girl who is very active. i workout for an hour each morning, mixing up swimming and jogging every other day. i have been a bigger girl my whole life, and am currently 5′ 6″ and 165 lbs. i dont look like i weigh this much, however i have large hips and a stomach that bothers me alot. after everytime i eat i feel terrible, even if its something good for me like a salad. i eat well and exercise, but am seeing no results. im going to mexico in a month, and instead of being excited, i am dreading having to put a bathing suit on. is there anything i can do?
Ok so I am a very active high school student and I am in good physical condition, but I cen never get my stomach flat. I do sports six days a week for 2 or more hours each day…. does anyone have any personal tips for flattening your stomach quickly?
Thank You
Also LILY if you are 11 I would not worry about little things like that just stay active and be happy.
170 lbs 5′4 24 yrs old heeeellllllllllllppppp!!!! :””(
Hi Coco Chanel,
All I can say is only you can help yourself. What I can do is give you links to helpful posts that will keep you motivated and healthy.
http://allwomenstalk.com/7-fastest-ways-to-lose-weight/
http://allwomenstalk.com/10-ways-to-stay-motivated-on-a-diet/
http://allwomenstalk.com/tips-on-how-to-keep-to-your-diet/
http://allwomenstalk.com/10-easy-weight-loss-rules-you-must-know/
http://allwomenstalk.com/10-top-exercises-to-lose-weight/
Hi my names Emma im 12 and i weight 7 or 8 stone and i would love to be thin and feel good. but i need to know the right way on how to lose my belly fat. i eat 2-3 meals a day and that’s about it but its making me fatter.
please help
Hey Emma,
As the first point states… you need to eat MORE meals and not less meals to lose weight. So if you’re eating say 6 units of food per day in 3 meals, that doesnt mean that you’re going to end up eating 10 or more units of food per day. All you gotta do is, eat a little lesser in every meal, but the balance food, eat it in an extra meal or two.
You should also check out some of our other articles to help you get more information: e.g. http://allwomenstalk.com/10-top-exercises-to-lose-weight/ and http://allwomenstalk.com/losing-weight-the-healthy-way/
Hey I’m Sarah and I’m 15. I weigh 63 kilos but I’m not that tall. I do a little bit of exersize and I’m happy with my arms and legs but its my tummy and thighs that worry me. I recently got a gym membership but thats not helping me lose the spare tyre(s). I dont eat a lot of junk food, only the occasional McChicken meal when I’m out with my friends for lunch. What else should I do to reduce my stomach? Please reply.
Hey Sarah,
what you need to do amongst other things is let go of all of those sodas. They do you more harm than you can think of. Start having water (or fresh lemonade or iced tea if you can’t just go down to water) instead and you’ll see a huge change in the way you lose weight and even the way you feel!
also give your gym some time to take effect – also be regular with your cardio.
Hello!
I have quite the interesting body. I worked out for over a year and the only thing that changed was i got muscles in my legs. but my stomach still looks like im carring a baby.
im sick of it.
i talked to my doctor multiple times about it, and no matter what i do the weight just wont go away. my mother will not let me try diet pills and no matter how many time i ask she wont buy healthy food so i end up not eating much at all
im getting desperate
please help me
Hey rachael,
You might not be realising it, but you might not be losing weight BECAUSE of not eating much.. If you stop providing enough fuel (food) to your body, it assumes that you don’t have sufficient supply and goes into a ‘famine’ mode – where it starts storing all the energy that it can in the form of fat. You need to eat more meals than you normally do – 5-6 a day and then if you want, you can have a little lesser than your stomach would demand from you. Otherwise honey, you really aren’t going to lose much weight!
and also, even if you can’t lose weight with resistance training, you should try jogging/running – cardio does help a lot!