Belly fat — the Achilles heel for every weight watcher.
No matter how hard you try, the stubborn belly fat just won’t go away. Even if it does, it takes the longest time. Despite this, there are chances of it paying a visit again.
Duh!
There is a scientific reason. The belly fat is a region surrounding the organs and is metabolically active. This is why it takes longer to shed than other body parts.
In the last 8 months of my fitness journey, I shredded 7 kgs (15 lbs) and dropped 3–4 inches off my waist.
Here’s how I went about it.
Nutrition
I am not going to ask you to stop eating junk. Nor am I going to ask you to stuff yourself with proteins.
You decide the best diet for yourself. Something you can sustain over time. Because your diet will be the biggest contributor to a flat belly. It will decide when and how fast you get there.
In my journey, I have never compromised on the food I wanted to eat.
I adopt a balanced diet, ensuring my daily recommended levels of micronutrients, especially proteins and carbs and macronutrients are met.
Once that is in place, I give myself the freedom to have pizzas and donuts, whenever I feel like it. It is in moderation and controlled serving sizes. (3 slices of a medium pizza once or twice a month)
My point is you don’t need to compromise on life or starve yourself to death for a flat belly.
On the contrary, I lost fat by eating more than I used to. It’s about eating right with occasional breaks.
If a dessert junkie like me can do it, you, my friend, should have no excuses.
Eat right 85% of the time, and you’ll be there. As simple as that.
Exercise
Exercise is no secret.
But regular exercise is.
I have a simple training routine:
Weightlifting: 1 body part each day (5x a week)
Cardio (1x a week)
Your mantra for belly fat loss: Weight lifting >>> Cardio.
Screenshot by author
Each day I spend 60 minutes in the gym. This includes warm-up, stretching, and weight lifting.
As I write this, I look back at the last 8 months with pride. In those 8 months, the number of days I missed the gym is less than 8.
This little thing is my secret.
Consistency is highly underrated, isn’t it?
Walking
Walking is also an exercise.
But I include it separately because people wrongly assume you don’t need to walk if you exercise.
In 8 months, I averaged 9900 daily steps.
It’s no coincidence.
Walking helps me burn an extra 300 calories each day. (Now you know how I manage to eat those yummy desserts and still lose fat)
Needless to say, individuals who walk and weightlift lose belly fat quicker than those who only weightlift or walk.
If you cannot walk 10000 steps in one day, start with 3000 or 5000. But start somewhere.
Water
Drinking your way to belly fat loss couldn’t get easier.
During the time I lost 7 kgs, I doubled my daily water intake from 2 liters to 4 liters.
Again, no coincidence.
If you are still undermining the role of water, then consider the following ways hydration helps in belly fat loss:
Aids in fat metabolism
Prevents water retention, which is the cause of bloating
Aids in hunger management and appetite control
Supports a healthy gut
This is one of the least effort-highest return items on the list. So you don’t want to go wrong with it.
Sleep
Sleep is the most important physiological function of the body.
It boosts muscle recovery and metabolism, thereby aiding belly fat loss.
The less you sleep, the more you are likely to eat. Sleeping less than seven hours a night increases your probability of gaining weight, being overweight or obese, and significantly increases your likeihood of developing type 2 diabetes — Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep
If you are getting a good night of sleep:
You tend to make better food choices
You exercise better
Your energy levels are higher
You remain active throughout the day
These (seemingly insignificant) factors contribute to fat loss. So, grab this low-hanging fruit by sleeping for 7–8 hours.
Patience
This is the most difficult of all.
The problem is humans want short-term results.
The fastest way to lose belly fat is to actually reduce it slowly.
The way it works is, you get your nutrition, workout, sleep, and hydration in place.
And then wait.
Belly fat loss follows an exponential curve, not a linear one.
Image credit: James Clear on https://jamesclear.com/growth-curves
None of your efforts are going to waste. It’s just they are not visible to you.
For that to happen, you have to stay in the game for long and keep at it — that is when magic happens.
The bottom line is it will take time. If you expect a quick turnaround, please forget about losing belly fat.
Consistency
The results will not show by putting in hard work for 2 days and disappearing for the next 4 days.
To lose belly fat, you have to show up daily.
There have been times when I felt like not doing any of it. But I never gave myself an option. I went to the gym no matter how hard it rained or how strong the sun shined. I walked indoors when it rained outside.
The point was to get it done, no matter what.
This is what differentiates people who go the gym and those who go the gym and lose belly fat.
Keeping it off forever
Belly fat loss follows a yo-yo pattern for most of us.
Losing belly fat is easy compared to losing it and maintaining it over time.
This is because:
Losing fat becomes tougher with each kilogram lost.
You become complacent
You tend to celebrate by eating more junk
Remember what got you there is what will help you stay there.
You cannot skip workouts or eat junk once you’ve achieved the desired weight. You will stay the same forever if you maintain the same lifestyle. This is the most straightforward equation for sustaining belly fat loss.
Dan Go best summarizes it in this tweet below:
Screenshot by author
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