For both men and women, belly fat seems to be the most common enemy we face.  The accumulation of fat may be different across all areas of our body, but a desire to lose belly fat is the overwhelming goal I hear from clients and blog readers alike.  Just browse the checkout aisles of any supermarket or do a quick Google search for “belly fat” and your bound to find tons of magazines, blogs, and websites dedicating their pages to burning belly fat.

The problem is, much of this advice is generic copy, written and re-written a hundred times over.  Check out your favorite health and fitness magazine…it’s essentially the same information written in a different way.  How else could they continually run those “Lose 10 lbs of belly fat in 2 weeks!” articles?  While there isn’t one specific way to cut down on that spare tire, there are certainly efforts that will go a long way in your battle of the bulge.

Burning Fat, Not Just Belly Fat

One important thing to keep in mind is despite all that you may have read or been told, it is impossible to spot tone.  What that means is, there’s no way you can actively target the fat on your stomach when you work out.  No pill, exercise, or workout plan is going to change that.  Now, what you can do, is perform exercises and workouts that are geared towards a greater fat burning potential, which will result in a faster loss of belly fat.  So in reality, specific exercises aren’t necessarily targeting belly fat, they’re just helping you burn fat at a faster rate, which results in faster loss of belly fat.  Make sense?  Good.

Each individual is different, so some trial and error may be needed, but these are generally the fastest ways to burn fat and slim down your midsection in the process.  Again, these exercises don’t target belly fat specifically, they just help your overall fat burn, and result in a tightening of your soft belly. Lets Look at the 8 Best Ways To Lose Belly Fat.

8 Best Ways To Lose Belly Fat:

1.Swimming

Swimming is a total body exercise and relies a great deal on core strength.  By targeting your core muscles you’ll actively tighten and build your abdominal, lower back, and oblique muscles while shedding tons of calories in the process.  The result?  A slimmed down appearance and a beautifully toned core.  Shoot for 1-2 times per week to start.

2.Metabolic Conditioning

Metabolic conditioning is vital in the fight against belly fat because it helps speed up your metabolism in a way few other exercise methods can.  The quick shift between explosive cardio and heavy lifting taxes your body, blasts through calories, and tightens you up.  Performing core exercises as part of your metabolic conditioning circuit will further define your midsection..leaving you with a beautiful six-pack when you finally do burn away the fat hiding the muscle.  Shoot for 1-2 times per week to start.

3.HIIT Cardio

HIIT cardio is the shift between short periods of high-intensity cardio and longer periods low-intensity cardio.  Start substituting HIIT for those long, single-pace jogs, cycling sessions, or marathon elliptical workouts.  The act of sprinting/jogging/sprinting repeated X times over is great for burning far more calories in shorter period of time, bumping your post-exercise oxygen consumption (which results in more calories burned AFTER exercise), and improving your cardiovascular system.  This method of training is ideal for those who get a larger portion of their cardio via steady-state running, biking, etc.

4.Dead-lifts/Squats

Dead-lifts and squats are sometimes referred to as the “king of exercises”.  They target so many major and minor muscle groups in your body and are ideal for putting on lean muscle mass.  The benefit of adding lean muscle mass to your body is the effect it has on your metabolism.  Each pound of muscle will increase metabolism, thereby helping you burn exponentially more calories.  Have you ever noticed that muscular and fit people seem to have fast metabolisms?  It’s not a coincidence.  While some may be blessed with a speedy metabolism, others have worked long and hard to build their calorie burning buddy.

5.Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is the approach of including a 16-24 hour fast into your diet every few days, depending on your personal needs.  Numerous studies have replicated the many health benefits of intermittent fasting, including its effect on abdominal fat.  I encourage you to read up and talk to your doctor to determine if this lifestyle (it’s NOT a diet) is right for you.  However, from personal experience and working with clients of all shapes and sizes over the years, I can tell you this has been the single most effective tool in the belly fat fight.  Additionally, when combined with carb-less lunch and dinners once or twice a week, the effects have been even more beneficial.

6.Body Diversity Training

BDT is the fitness philosophy I developed several years ago in an attempt to help the overwhelming number of clients who simply couldn’t make any more progress in the gym.  Since then, this method has been changing the lives of my clients and blog readers alike.  It shares elements of muscle confusion, but goes a step further in that not just exercises, weights, and reps/sets are changed, but the entire disciplines in which you train are constantly varied.  Incorporating a wide variety of training methods, i.e. complex workouts, HIIT workouts, yoga, kickboxing, supersets, etc. has shown to be highly effective in helping people burn fat, build a healthy physique they can be proud of, and improve their overall health and well-being.  I would suggest you check out the link above and read up on the benefits of this manner of training.

7.Increased Fiber Intake

Increasing the fiber in your diet is something most everyone can stand to benefit from.  This is another medical study backed claim (1) that has enormous implications.  Not happy with you midsection?  Start getting more fiber in your diet.  Fiber acts to flush fat out of your body, not allowing it to find a home on your midsection.  Eating an extra half of cup of beans, lentils, or whole grains a day could make a huge difference in the proportion of your belly fat over the next 6 months.

8.Eliminate Sugar

Sugar, and other simple carbs, are great for spiking your insulin levels and causing a retention of, you guessed it…abdominal fat.  Avoiding sugary drinks, subbing veggies for fruits here or there, and choosing complex carbs over simple, is key.  When trying to lose belly fat, aim for no more than 15 grams of sugar per day.  Cutting down on your overall carb intake, and replacing with veggies and lean protein is also a beneficial strategy.  That said, don’t go on any crazy low-carb diets…you need something that you can adopt as a lifestyle change, not a quick-fix.

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