How to lose belly fat is the most asked about area of the body when it comes to fat loss. Next is the hips and butt. Unfortunately, you cannot spot lose fat. Losing fat in your belly will occur proportionately with the rest of your body – unless overriding genetics skew the even fat loss.
There are things you can do to make your belly look better and skinnier. By tightening the muscles of the stomach – abdominals or abs and obliques, you will regain a healthier, better looking shape. A healthy posture of stand / sit straight, shoulders back, gut sucked in (gently tightening stomach muscles) will also slenderize your mid-section.
To lose fat you must cut back your caloric intake. Cut back no more than 500 calories a day or your body will go into “starvation mode” and slow your metabolism to store fat for a potential famine (the body anticipates this). This is a survival mechanism that saves lives during famines, fortunately famine in “advanced” societies are rare. If you are at 2500 calories a day, cut back to 2000 calories. After a couple weeks you may cut calories gradually till you find your ultimate fat loss calorie zone.
The other angle of attack to lose weight / lose fat is to increase your metabolic rate. Your metabolic rate determines how many calories you burn even when at rest, even during sleep. Exercise is good for this. To achieve an all day long metabolic rate increase, you need to push your muscles past their comfort zones. Weight lifting, body weight exercises and sprinting all increase your body’s metabolic rate. Sprinting or wind sprints also improve lung and heart efficiency. The body was not designed for running long periods of time. You will have greater health and weight loss benefits doing sprints.
The third angle of attack is eating right. Not what the willy nilly “doctors” and “experts” tell you to eat. Do you know the average life expectancy of a doctor? It is about 20 years shorter than average – going to take their advice? Remember eggs are bad – wait, eggs are good, fats and butter are bad vegetable oils and margarine are better, wait vegetable oils and margarine are hydrogenated oils – cause weight gain, inflammation, heart disease… Notice how the food pyramid keeps changing? It depends who is funding the study. What your body needs to thrive and heal is protein, fat and fruit and vegetable based carbohydrates – not grains and breads. Think cave man diet – yep, back to basics not today’s processed “foods” that are completely void of any nutrition. If it comes in a box, a bag or a can – chances are there is little nutrition left.
Stay away from junk foods like cakes, donuts, candy, soda pop, chips… Besides the nutritionless high calorie content, chemicals and HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) disrupts your body’s natural hormonal balance and causes weight gain. Preservatives and flavor enhancers (MSG) fake sugars(Aspartame), fake fats(hydrogenated oils)and soy products all cause hormonal imbalances and increase your appetite even when your stomach is full. Avoid these and weight loss will be much easier.
In summary:
Reduce caloric intake
Increase your metabolism through exercise
Eat good, nutritious foods
Avoid poisons like preservatives, colors, flavor enhancers…
One of the doctors advice I follow bucks the “traditional” weight loss advice provided by most MDs. He promotes a low carb diet as apposed to most mainstream doctors that promote low fat and little meat. Humans were designed to eat meat (and fat). Grains, breads, sugar(s) are the bad carbohydrates that cause insulin spikes and eventual insulin resistance (diabetes) and weight gain.
Following is one of his email bulletins that explain his weight loss knowledge.
His name is Dr Al Sears.
From “Doctor’s House Call”:
I was reading The New York Times recently and came across an article, “Calories Do Count.”1 Doctors, public health officials, restaurant chain executives… are all jumping on the bandwagon about how much calories matter.
“Good old calorie counting is coming back into fashion,” the reporter wrote.
When it comes to your health, forget the fashion.
Your body treats calories differently depending on the source. A carbohydrate calorie is not the same as a protein calorie is not the same as a fat calorie. Your body “counts” them in completely different ways.
These three “macronutrients” provoke varying biological responses, some of them good, some not so good, depending on a number of factors.
You probably already know that carbohydrates kick your body’s insulin factory into gear.
Insulin is a complicated little hormone with surprisingly powerful effects. It’s your body’s central metabolic control. When you eat a slice of bread, insulin tells your liver, muscle, and fat cells to start absorbing the carbs from that bread as glucose—the form of sugar the body turns all carbs into—and to stop using fat as an energy source.
So some of the sugar gets used for energy… and the rest gets stored as fat. That fat might get used later. Or it might just sit there and make you fatter.
Calories that come from protein, on the other hand, play an entirely different role. The most important thing you need to bear in mind about them is that they’re “essential” forms of fuel for energy. Unlike energy from carbs—and most types of fat—your body can’t make them on its own.
So when you eat protein—especially a lot of protein—you’re “telling” your body that it doesn’t need to worry. It’s going to get plenty of the most essential form of energy it needs for living.
Guess what that does? It turns your body’s metabolic dial to “Fat Burn” mode. So not only does your body start running on protein-source calories… it also starts getting rid of fat stores, since they’re less efficient and more of a drag on your body, both physically (in terms of weight) and physiologically (in terms of health effects).
A recent study on the relationship between macronutrients and diet concluded, “Low carbohydrate diets result in more weight loss than low-fat/low-calorie diets after 6 months, with no adverse impact on lipids, bone density, or blood pressure.”2
In the end, all calories are not the same. Steer clear of carbs. Stick to proteins.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears MD
1. Severson, K. “Calories Do Count.” The New York Times. Oct. 28, 2008.
2. McCarter, D. “Low-carbohydrate diet effective for adults.” The Journal of Family Practice. 2003. 52(7):515.
For a catalog of Dr Sears formulated or endorsed health and weight loss products:
Here are 101 diet tips for fast weight loss and fast fat loss. It is far more important to lose fat than lose weight. Body weight should consist of less than approximately 20% body fat. During a fast weight loss diet, if it is not done correctly it can reduce muscle mass, especially if you are trying to lose weight fast. Muscle burns fat even during rest periods so it is obviously a good thing to maintain muscle while trying to lose weight. Fast diets and quick weight loss can cause you to lose muscle as well as lose pounds. That is why it is important to supplement with high quality protein to avoid muscle loss during a quick diet / fast diet.
These tips for diet are general recommendations as everyone is different and responds differently to weight loss diets based on age, gender, genetics, health, medications and a multitude of other factors. As always, check with your doctor before making any radical changes to your diet plan and “listen” to what your body tells you. Generally you do not want to lose fat at a rate of much more than 3 pounds a week. Toxins are stored in your body fat and by losing fat fast, you are overloading your body’s detoxification mechanisms – liver, kidneys, skin, bowels, lymph and other systems. The rest of your body suffers through the elevated toxins also – brain, organs, blood so it is best to go at it slow and steady and drink plenty of water. If you feel ill from the toxins from a weight loss diet, slow it down.
Basic Principals for Healthy Weight Loss are:
Slightly reduced caloric intake
Exercise to burn calories and increase metabolism
Healthy foods – plenty of fiber, fruits, vegetables, quality protein
Eating several smaller meals rather than one or more large meals
Adequate sleep
One or more bowel movements a day
Approximately 1/2 oz water per pound of body weight per day
101 Diet Tips to Lose Pounds
Don’t eat if you are not hungry – out of stress, habit, emotional need…
Avoid all sodas, especially diet sodas – empty calories and chemicals
Avoid foods with MSG – makes you add fat to your body
Fill your subconscious mind with positive subliminal messages
Mix it up – your diet and exercise
Beware of the “foo foo” drink – Lattes, frappucinos, caramel coolers…
Before you indulge, ask yourself, is it worth it
Drink ice water – your body burns calories maintaining body temp
Some of these diet tips to lose weight fast are probably foreign to you. They buck the traditional bad advice of the mainstream media and medical doctors. Remember – eggs are bad (cholesterol) – wait, now eggs are good again, butter is bad – margarine is good – now butter is good again and margarine is bad (trans-fat). Salt is bad (sodium chloride is bad), natural sea salt is not only good for you, it is absolutely necessary for life! Remember lard (animal fat) is bad, vegetable oils are good – NOPE, another complete reversal – vegetable oil throws off the Omega 3/6/9 balance. If you have been following their advice, your health will be suffering. Notice how heart disease has continued to climb despite all our “food science” ? How about another “brainchild” idea – we have an iodine shortage in our American diet which can cause hypothyroidism among other problems, lets supplement table salt with iodine, then tell everybody to avoid salt – what sense does that make?
As a general rule, the less man messes with a food, the healthier that food is. Somehow “scientists” think they can out do our creator and “improve” upon foods. It is getting scarier with genetically modified foods (Frankenfoods). Microwaves are another “advance” in science – there is controversy over their safety. I personally use them as little as possible, something about vibrating the atomic structure of the food does not appeal to me. NEVER microwave food in plastic containers or covered or wrapped in plastic wrap. Any fats or oils interact with the plastic and leach BPA at an accelerated level. BPA is a chemical which mimics estrogen (yes – the female hormone) and causes weight gain as well as unbalancing healthy hormonal levels in males and females.
There appears to be many factors that affect weight gain (fat in this case):
More calories consumed than needed
Hypothyroidism (slow metabolism) caused by many of the below mentioned “advances”
Chemicals throwing off bodily processes – pesticides, herbicides, preservatives, artificial colorings, antibiotics, steroids in animals, pharmaceuticals in our drinking water, mercury in our fillings in our teeth!
Those are some of the culprits of weight loss difficulty. Now you know what to avoid or minimize your exposure to. Eat organic whenever you can and avoid the hormones and antibiotics. Re-stock your gut with probiotics either via supplements or fermented foods (sauerkraut, kimchee, cheeses, yogurt, kefir, raw milk…). Get a water filter for your sink and your shower (or whole house). Basically stay close to nature and your body will function as it is supposed to / divinely designed.
If you apply one of the above weight loss tips, you will make progress towards your goal of fast weight loss / fast fat loss. Apply many of the above diet tips and your fat loss will increase exponentially. Keep in mind, food is life – don’t abuse it.
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