Lose Belly Fat

Belly fat can be some of the most stubborn fat cells to eliminate. You’ll see an interesting perspective of what I mean when you think about it this way..

Our extremities like arms and legs get a certain amount of exercise whether we are a regular at the gym or not. We will always need to pick up things here and there and our bodies will always need to move from one place to another.

Our mid-section, core, abs or whatever you call it is a part of our body that doesn’t get utilized a great deal outside of the gym. This makes it an ideal place for stored fat to accumulate. Makes sense?

There are other biological reasons why it is hard to lose belly fat, but let’s also look at it and see how it differs for women vs men.

Lose Belly Fat: Women

We can take a look at the biological child bearing argument for women where extra fat is stored in the abdominal area since this assures that there will be plenty of cushioning, warmth, room for growth, and additional calories for a growing baby.

I know how you women may be feeling about this one! Unfortunately, there is no way to explain to your body that you aren’t ready to start storing fat away for a someday baby. You’re just going to have to accept this biological fact and find ways to make it work, and hopefully this blog will be able to do just that for you through all the tips and workout routines.

Lose Belly Fat: Men

So what about men?

Men can store additional calories in the torso as well but this is generally dependent on their diets. Guys that drink a large amount of alcohol (specifically beer) and also have a high-fat diet will carry a good amount of their weight in their mid-section, hence terms such as “beer gut”.

I’m sure you’ll agree this is not a pretty picture right?

Lose Belly Fat: Exercises

As with all weight loss, to lose belly fat you will need to make some changes to your diet and your exercise routines. You may even already be following a fairly healthy meal plan and exercising regularly but the key is to not be discouraged if you are not seeing results as fast as you think you should, it will take some patience and dedication.

Let’s take this knowledge further and talk about certain exercises and foods that you can introduce into your regimen in order to boost your chances to lose belly fat.

It is important to recognize that your belly is actually made up of quite a few different muscle groups and in order to achieve the best results, i.e. the flattest stomach possible, you will need to tone each group individually.

The average stomach crunch, when done correctly, is actually focused only on the upper abdominal muscles. The lower abs and obliques may receive a slight impact but nowhere near what is needed to truly define them.

Lower abdominal work is critical to lose belly fat, especially for women. This is the specific area where the “pouch” is located. There are a variety of exercises that will isolate and tone these muscles. Lying with your back flat against the floor and lifting your legs several inches off the ground while contracting the abdomen is a popular exercise used by many trainers and athletic teams for toning and strengthening the core.

You can also do lower ab crunches, which entails you lifting you buttocks up and down using only your lower ab muscles. For other ideas check out one of the more popular articles on this site – Tone Lower Abs Workout

But wait, there’s more!

Lose Belly Fat: Diet

To lose belly fat through diet you can add healthy-fats to your daily meal plan.

Foods such as peanut butter and avocado have belly-fat busting oils and enzymes that you can’t get from other sources. These are calorie-heavy foods so it is important to limit your intake but introducing snacks like celery with peanut butter every other day or adding a few slices of avocado to a salad can go a long way toward helping you lose belly fat over time.

For other foods that can increase your metabolism and allow you to lose belly fat quicker read – Foods That Speed Metabolism.

I hope you enjoyed this article, if you have any questions or feedback please leave a comment below…

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