8/24/2016

6EasyWaystoLoseBellyFat(FastandSafely)

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6EasyWaystoLoseBellyFat(FastandSafely)
ByKrisGunnars,BSc|13,697,211views
Overweightdoesnotnecessarilyequalunhealthy.
Thereareactuallyplentyofoverweightpeoplewhoareinexcellent
health(1).
Conversely,manynormalweightpeoplehavethemetabolicproblems
associatedwithobesity(2).
Thatsbecausethefatundertheskinisactuallynotthatbigofa
problem(atleastnotfromahealthstandpointitsmoreofa
cosmeticproblem).
Itsthefatintheabdominalcavity,thebellyfat,thatcausesthe
biggestissues(3).
Ifyouhavealotofexcessfataroundyourwaistline,evenifyourenot
veryheavy,thenyoushouldtakesomestepstogetridofit.
Bellyfatisusuallyestimatedbymeasuringthecircumferencearound
yourwaist.Thiscaneasilybedoneathomewithasimpletape
measure.
Anythingabove40inches(102cm)inmenand35inches(88cm)in
women,isknownasabdominalobesity.
Thereareactuallyafewprovenstrategiesthathavebeenshownto
targetthefatinthebellyareamorethanotherareasofthebody.
Hereare6evidencebasedwaystolosebellyfat.

1.Donteatsugarandavoidsugarsweetenedbeverageslikethe
plague
Addedsugarisextremelyunhealthy.
Studiesshowthatithasuniquelyharmfuleffectsonmetabolichealth(4).
Sugarishalfglucose,halffructoseandfructosecanonlybemetabolizedbytheliverinanysignificant
amount(5).
Whenyoueatalotofrefinedsugar,thelivergetsfloodedwithfructose,andisforcedtoturnitallinto
fat(6).

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6EasyWaystoLoseBellyFat(FastandSafely)

Numerousstudieshaveshownthatexcesssugar,mostlyduetothelarge
amountsoffructose,canleadtoincreasedaccumulationoffatinthebelly(7).
Somebelievethatthisistheprimarymechanismbehindsugarsharmfuleffects
onhealthitincreasesbellyfatandliverfat,whichleadstoinsulinresistance
andahostofmetabolicproblems(8).
Liquidsugarisevenworseinthisregard.Liquidcaloriesdontgetregisteredby
thebraininthesamewayassolidcalories,sowhenyoudrinksugarsweetened
beverages,youendupeatingmoretotalcalories(9,10).
Studiesshowthatsugarsweetenedbeveragesarelinkedtoa60%increasedrisk
ofobesityinchildrenpereachdailyserving(11).
Makeadecisiontominimizetheamountofsugarinyourdiet,andconsider
completelyeliminatingsugarydrinks.
Thisincludessugarsweetenedbeverages,fruitjuices,varioussportsdrinks,aswellascoffeesandteas
withsugaraddedtothem.
Keepinmindthatnoneofthisappliestowholefruit,whichareextremelyhealthyandhaveplentyof
fiberthatmitigatesthenegativeeffectsoffructose.
Theamountoffructoseyougetfromfruitisnegligiblecomparedtowhatyougetfromadiethighin
refinedsugar.
Btwifyouwanttocutbackonrefinedsugar,thenyoumuststartreadinglabels.Evenfoodsmarketed
ashealthfoodscancontainhugeamountsofsugar.
BottomLine:Excesssugarconsumptionmaybetheprimarydriverofbellyfat
accumulation,especiallysugarybeverageslikesoftdrinksandfruitjuices.

2.Eatingmoreproteinmaybethebestlongtermstrategyto
reducebellyfat
Proteinisthemostimportantmacronutrientwhenitcomestolosing
weight(12).
Ithasbeenshowntoreducecravingsby60%,boostmetabolismby80
100caloriesperdayandhelpyoueatupto441fewercaloriesperday
(13,14,15,16).
Ifweightlossisyourgoal,thenaddingproteintoyourdietisperhaps
thesinglemosteffectivechangeyoucando.
Notonlywillithelpyouloseitcanalsohelpyouavoidregaining
weightifyoueverdecidetoabandonyourweightlossefforts(17,18).
Thereisalsosomeevidencethatproteinisparticularlyeffectiveagainst
bellyfat.
Onestudyshowedthattheamountandqualityofproteinconsumed
wasinverselyrelatedtofatinthebelly.Thatis,peoplewhoatemore
andbetterproteinhadmuchlessbellyfat(19).
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6EasyWaystoLoseBellyFat(FastandSafely)

AnotherstudyinDenmarkshowedthatprotein,especiallyanimalprotein,waslinkedtosignificantly
reducedriskofbellyfatgainoveraperiodof5years(20).
Thisstudyalsoshowedthatrefinedcarbsandvegetableoilswerelinkedtoincreasedamountsofbelly
fat,butfruitsandvegetableslinkedtoreducedamounts.
Manyofthestudiesshowingproteintobeeffectivehadproteinat2530%ofcalories.Thatswhatyou
shouldaimfor.
Somakeanefforttoincreaseyourintakeofunprocessedeggs,fish,seafood,meats,poultryand
dairyproducts.Thesearethebestproteinsourcesinthediet.
Ifyoustrugglewithgettingenoughproteininyourdiet,thenaqualityproteinsupplement(likewhey
protein)isahealthyandconvenientwaytoboostyourtotalintake.
Ifyoureavegetarian,checkoutthisarticleonhowtoincreaseyourproteinintake.
Bonustip:Considercookingyourfoodsincoconutoil.Somestudieshaveshownthat30mL(about2
tablespoons)ofcoconutoilperdayreducesbellyfatslightly(21,22).
BottomLine:Eatingenoughproteinisaveryeffectivewaytoloseweight.Somestudies
suggestthatproteinisparticularlyeffectiveagainstbellyfataccumulation.

3.Cutcarbsfromyourdiet
Carbrestrictionisaveryeffectivewaytolosefat.
Thisissupportedbynumerousstudieswhenpeoplecutcarbs,theirappetitegoesdownandtheylose
weight(23).

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6EasyWaystoLoseBellyFat(FastandSafely)

Over20randomizedcontrolledtrialshavenowshownthatlowcarbdietsleadto23timesmoreweight
lossthanlowfatdiets(24,25,26).
Thisistrueevenwhenthelowcarbgroupsareallowedtoeatasmuchastheywant,whilethelowfat
groupsarecalorierestrictedandhungry.
Lowcarbdietsalsoleadtoquickreductionsinwaterweight,whichgivespeoplenearinstantresultsa
majordifferenceonthescaleisoftenseenwithinafewdays.
Therearealsostudiescomparinglowcarbandlowfatdiets,showingthatlowcarbdietsspecifically
targetthefatinthebelly,andaroundtheorgansandliver(27,28).
Whatthismeansisthataparticularlyhighproportionofthefatlostonalowcarbdietisthedangerous
anddiseasepromotingabdominalfat.
Justavoidingtherefinedcarbs(whitebreads,pastas,etc)shouldbesufficient,especiallyifyoukeep
yourproteinhigh.
Howeverifyouneedtoloseweightfast,thenconsiderdroppingyourcarbsdownto50gramsper
day.Thiswillputyourbodyintoketosis,killingyourappetiteandmakingyourbodystartburning
primarilyfatsforfuel.
Ofcourse,lowcarbdietshavemanyotherhealthbenefitsbesidesjustweightloss.Theycanhavelife
savingeffectsintype2diabetics,forexample(29,30).
BottomLine:Studieshaveshownthatlowcarbdietsareparticularlyeffectiveatgettingrid
ofthefatinthebellyarea,aroundtheorgansandintheliver.

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6EasyWaystoLoseBellyFat(FastandSafely)

4.Eatfoodsrichinfiber,especiallyviscousfiber
Dietaryfiberismostlyindigestibleplantmatter.
Itisoftenclaimedthateatingplentyoffibercanhelpwithweightloss.
Thisistruebutitsimportanttokeepinmindthatnotallfiberis
createdequal.
Itseemstobemostlytheviscousfibersthathaveaneffectonyour
weight.
Thesearefibersthatbindwaterandformathickgelthatsitsinthe
gut(31).
Thisgelcandramaticallyslowthemovementoffoodthroughyour
stomachandsmallbowel,andslowdownthedigestionandabsorption
ofnutrients.Theendresultisaprolongedfeelingoffullnessand
reducedappetite(32).
Onereviewstudyfoundthatanadditional14gramsoffiberperday
werelinkedtoa10%decreaseincalorieintakeandweightlossof2kg
(4.5lbs)over4months(33).
Inone5yearstudy,eating10gramsofsolublefiberperdaywaslinkedtoa3.7%reductioninthe
amountoffatintheabdominalcavity,butithadnoeffectontheamountoffatundertheskin(34).
Whatthisimplies,isthatsolublefibermaybeparticularlyeffectiveatreducingtheharmfulbellyfat.
Thebestwaytogetmorefiberistoeatalotofplantfoodslikevegetablesandfruit.Legumesarealsoa
goodsource,aswellassomecerealslikeoats.
Thenyoucouldalsotrytakingafibersupplementlikeglucomannan.Thisisoneofthemostviscous
dietaryfibersinexistence,andhasbeenshowntocauseweightlossinmanystudies(38,39).
BottomLine:Thereissomeevidencethatsolubledietaryfibermayleadtoreduced
amountsofbellyfat,whichshouldcausemajorimprovementsinmetabolichealth.

5.Aerobicexerciseisveryeffectiveatreducingbellyfat
Exerciseisimportantforvariousreasons.
Itisamongthebestthingsyoucandoifyouwanttolivealong,healthy
lifeandavoiddisease.
Gettingintoalloftheamazinghealthbenefitsofexerciseisbeyondthe
scopeofthisarticle,butexercisedoesappearstobeeffectiveat
reducingbellyfat.
HoweverkeepinmindthatImnottalkingaboutabdominalexercises
here.Spotreduction(losingfatinonespot)isnotpossible,anddoingendlessamountsofcruncheswill
notmakeyoulosefatfromthebelly.
Inonestudy,6weeksoftrainingjusttheabdominalmuscleshadnomeasurableeffectonwaist
circumferenceortheamountoffatintheabdominalcavity(40).
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Thatbeingsaid,othertypesofexercisecanbeveryeffective.
Aerobicexercise(likewalking,running,swimming,etc)hasbeenshowntocausemajorreductionsin
bellyfatinnumerousstudies(41,42).
Anotherstudyfoundthatexercisecompletelypreventedpeoplefromregainingabdominalfatafter
weightloss,implyingthatexerciseisparticularlyimportantduringweightmaintenance(43).
Exercisealsoleadstoreducedinflammation,bloodsugarlevelsandalltheothermetabolic
abnormalitiesthatareassociatedwithcentralobesity(44).
BottomLine:Exercisecanbeveryeffectiveifyouaretryingtolosebellyfat.Exercisealso
hasanumberofotherhealthbenefits.

6.Trackyourfoodsandfigureoutexactlywhatandhowmuch
youareeating
Whatyoueatisimportant.Prettymucheveryoneknowsthis.
Howeversurprisingly,mostpeopleactuallydonthaveaclue
whattheyarereallyeating.
Peoplethinktheyreeatinghighprotein,lowcarbor
whateverbuttendtodrasticallyoverorunderestimate.
Ithinkthatforanyonewhotrulywantstooptimizetheirdiet,
trackingthingsforawhileisabsolutelyessential.
Itdoesntmeanyouneedtoweighandmeasureeverythingfortherestofyourlife,butdoingitevery
nowandthenforafewdaysinarowcanhelpyourealizewhereyouneedtomakechanges.
Ifyouwanttoboostyourproteinintaketo2530%ofcalories,asrecommendedabove,justeatingmore
proteinrichfoodswontcutit.Youneedtoactuallymeasureandfinetuneinordertoreachthatgoal.
Checkoutthesearticleshereforacaloriecalculatorandalistoffreeonlinetoolsandappstotrackwhat
youareeating.
IpersonallydothiseveryfewmonthsIweighandmeasureeverythingIeattoseewhatmycurrent
dietislookinglike.
ThenIknowexactlywheretomakeadjustmentsinordertogetclosertomygoals.
Moreabouthowtolosebellyfat:
12ThingsThatMakeYouGainBellyFat(avoidthem!)
20EffectiveTipstoLoseBellyFat(BackedbyScience)
HowtoLoseWeightFast:3SimpleSteps,BasedonScience
The20MostWeightLossFriendlyFoodsonThePlanet
TheSurprisingTruthAboutAbExercisesandBellyFat
11FoodstoAvoidWhenTryingtoLoseFat
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