Aside from the parts of your body that you often cover with bags, clutches, corsets, cushions (when you’re sitting) or oversized tops, what else do you know about belly fat? What do we know about body fat? Is it good or bad? Now, before you start embracing diet tips and exercise to lose weight, it makes sense to understand what fat is. Doesn’t it?
By now, you’re probably used to seeing those relentless “fat loss” ads that continue to categorize your body type as pear, apple, or any fruit. Luring you to buy their products and wondering if you have a chance of losing the bags under your eyes. The funny thing is that everyone in this world has fat. Therefore, almost everyone has excess weight to lose.
Sounds good, right? I know. 😀
But, here are some facts that you should know about your body fat first. Because, when we talk about weight loss, we are essentially aiming to lose excess fat.
Your body has two main types of fat – subcutaneous fat and visceral fat.
Subcutaneous fat is the fat under your skin. While everyone is born with some subcutaneous fat, your genes tend to dictate which part of your body will have more subcutaneous fat. Well, in addition to regulating body temperature, subcutaneous fat stores energy and acts as a cushion for mechanical damage to the body.
Even models with scrubby abs have them. They do! They just don’t have that much.
It’s only when you have too much that it becomes a concern. Especially in your stomach/abdomen. This usually puts you at risk of developing the following health conditions sooner or later in life:
Diabetes
Sleep apnea
PCOS
High blood pressure or any heart problems
Dyslipidemia (high cholesterol)
Fatty liver
Visceral fat is the fat that surrounds the internal organs of the abdomen; such as the stomach, intestines, and liver. As the “active fat” that protects the internal organs, too much fat can cause greater health risks.
In addition, a person is more likely to have excess subcutaneous fat in the abdomen due to poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, stress or any underlying medical condition. But don’t worry! You could lose a lot. I can. So can a lot of women and men around the world. Trust me. It’s really not that hard at all if you just try.
The key tips for weight loss and belly fat are – reshape your mindset, introduce exercise and improve your diet.
Exercise – get moving! Exercise more than you used to. This is the first positive step. No exaggeration. 🙂
Keep upgrading your workouts. If you sit all day, start walking running for about 30 minutes a day, at least three times a week, depending on your endurance; it will only increase every week.
Well, these are not just exercises for weight loss, but they are equally good for your heart.
This will raise your heart rate, boost your metabolism tremendously and help you burn calories more efficiently. Start with simple exercises that burn fat by working most of your muscles.
However, don’t overdo the sit-ups. Especially without learning the proper form. You can read more about how to reduce belly fat with crunches.
Never neglect strength training. There is nothing like it to work out your body parts. These are equally important for women of all ages. Especially if you want to lose weight after childbirth or a c-section. Or if you want to lose arm fat.
Experts say that in addition to a good exercise routine, your diet contributes almost 80% to the weight loss process.
Diet tips and exercises to lose weight and belly fat.
Quality over quantity
It is true that calorie reduction over time will give you the desired results.
After evaluating your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), try to burn more calories than you consume on a daily basis. Either work out well or cut out unnecessary calories.
However, people often mistake this for avoiding food at all costs. This can do more harm than good to your weight loss journey. Nope! That’s not how things work. In fact, in order to maintain a healthy weight, you may be missing out on macronutrients and micronutrients that are important to your body. According to experts, reducing any macronutrient to < 20% is actually a FAD diet. Your body always needs macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins and fats) and micronutrients (zinc, magnesium, iron, copper, etc.) to stay in good shape.
Reduce your intake of simple carbohydrates. Not complex carbohydrates. Dietitians usually recommend that your diet contain 40% complex carbohydrates, 30% protein and 30% fat.
Replacement. You can’t eliminate.
I know that at some point in our lives we become addicted to certain foods like soda, packaged juices, French fries, ready-to-eat foods and many processed foods.
While eliminating them from your diet altogether seems like the best thing to do, after a few days or weeks of fasting, you will crave them. This will only exacerbate your frustration, cravings, and eventual binge eating, which will leave you feeling more guilty than ever.
So, what to do?
Focus more on replacing these “tasty” foods with healthier foods or alternatives.
For example, if you like chicken nuggets, fish fillets, Indian cheese fritters, Indian omelettes or Dal Vadas, you may want to cook them in a healthier way and put them in the right portions on your plate. Opt for shallow frying/ air frying/ baking/ grilling/ boiling or steaming these foods and add the desired spices or condiments.
Instead of Maida, use whole wheat/ Bajra/ Jowar/ Ragi or any other whole grain or millet.By the way, if you are from India, you can’t afford to ignore the healthiness and deliciousness of all Indian dishes. So many that you can keep changing your menu every day.
Instead of refined white sugar, use dates, coarse sugar, honey, palm sugar, molasses or any natural sweetener (not stevia or artificial saccharin). Never overlook the empty calories contained in bleached sugar compared to natural sweeteners. With it comes the risk of many lifestyle issues. You may be interested to know how I quit white sugar and how you can quit white sugar once and for all.
Plan your meals
You don’t need to have a huge budget to buy those exotic and often expensive “superfoods” to help you lose weight.
Eat where you eat. The nutritional value of imported foods is often lost during transportation. Sad, but true.
Be creative with your menu. You don’t need to spend a lot of time in the kitchen either.
Expand your list. Get rid of the junk snacks in the pantry. Think about how you can prepare dinner or lunch faster, healthier, and tastier than ever before.
For example, two slices of whole wheat bread or Indian naan or chapati with a bowl of your favorite salad will do the trick.
Snacks and fiber
Eat at least five to six small meals a day (including snack time). Include more fiber in your diet. Not only does this make it easier for your gut to digest, but it also helps keep you feeling fuller for longer periods of time. It also helps end constipation.
The Mindset Behind Exercise Weight Loss
Having a positive and affirming mindset that you can lose weight is almost half the battle! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise by laughing at your efforts. Rule of thumb – ignore these people! Let your results shut them up.
Always remember that SPOT-REDUCTION is impossible. To lose stubborn belly fat, you need to lose fat all over your body. Your belly fat is usually the last to go. So, until then stay consistent, cool and collected.
So, have you made up your mind to get up and lose all that fat? Do you know someone who has experienced an incredible weight loss transformation? Let me know what motivates you the most.