For all of you who don’t know, the midsection is known as a “trouble area”. And, this part of your body lives up to its moniker to the best of its ability. Belly fat is the most stubborn of all. It piles on very easily and at a very rapid rate. However, reversal of the same action can take time from a couple of weeks to a few months.
If the stomach and hips are the target areas of your weight loss goals, you needn’t despair. Losing weight around the midsection is challenging yet possible and we will show you how to do it.
1. The primary goal should be to reduce the overall body fat percentage. It is impossible to melt the fatty deposits in the target areas without lowering the fat percentage.
2. The first step to reduce the fat percentage includes restricting your calorie intake. Reduce your daily calorie intake by 500 calories. The calorie restriction should help you lose at least 1 pound per week.
3. Many mistake calorie restriction for severe dieting and starvation. Starvation sends your body into conservation mode thus promoting it to store the food rather than burn it. It will also lead to an uncontrolled appetite resulting in weight gain.
4. Replace unhealthy foods such as burgers, chips, candies, cookies and colas with healthier, low calorie varieties. Focus on fruit, vegetables, lean dairy and whole grains. Eat less of refined foods and those with sugar, fat and salt.
5. Add a judicious amount of protein and fiber to your diet. They help because they build muscle. Also, protein and fiber helps promote weight gain by controlling a voracious appetite.
6. Water is one of the most essential nutrients in the body and it helps for weight gain as it helps the body flush out toxins. You should drink a lot of water daily, about 8-10 glasses.
7. Avoid drinking excess alcohol as in many cases it is the cause of an expanding waistline.
8. You should add 30 minutes of cardio to your exercise schedule. Cardio exercises include running, swimming, brisk walking, jogging, cycling and swimming. Cardio workouts burn calories and thus boost metabolism. You should choose an exercise that suits your fitness level.
9. Opt for strength training at least twice a week. Strength training tones the body while also building muscle mass. Muscles in turn help the body burn calories in the resting state. Include exercises that engage the upper and lower body.
10. Many opt for spot reduction when trying to tone the hips and the stomach. The truth is that spot reduction does not offer any substantial results. However, this does not reduce the importance of abdominal exercises. Crunches and sit ups are the best exercises to train the lower and upper abs. In addition to this, you can do leg lifts, flutter kicks and side bends to strengthen the oblique muscles. For the thighs, you can do dead lifts, lunges, squats, leg curls and leg extensions.
11. Finally, get a good amount of sleep each night.
