How to get rid of that darn belly fat?

Have you been exercising like crazy hoping to get a flat stomach and still have a big belly? That’s probably because you have it all wrong! Stubborn abdominal fat is the result of an unhealthy lifestyle, diet and can be caused by hormonal imbalance as well. Imbalances in hormone levels are linked to weight gain and difficulties to lose weight. High levels of estrogen, cortisol, and insulin and low levels of thyroxin can put on extra belly fat. But there are several ways to help reduce or get rid of that stubborn belly fat…

Drink at least 8 cups of water per day. I think it’s known that water is good for your body and getting the daily necessary quantity will only help you speed up your metabolism and get rid of toxins. By drinking the right amount of water, you will feel fuller and will be less prone to overeat. It is said that sometimes thirst can be mistaken for hunger, so to make sure you are really hungry, drink 1 or 2 glasses of water and wait 15 minutes to see if you still feel as hungry as you thought you were.

Limit your carb intake and stay away from anything refined. Carbohydrates are not bad for us, depending on which carbs we are talking about and the quantity we eat. We still need to have a few carbs since it’s our main source of energy, but we should stay away from any of the refined ones. Refined carbs are filled with flour, sugar and empty calories, as well as unpronounceable ingredients that are bad for you. They will only get you to pile up belly fat and overall body fat. Instead, you should opt for natural carbs such as fruits and vegetables like sweet potatoes that are filled with vitamins, minerals and help you feel full and burn body fat.

The pros of probiotics. Gut health is very important and can play a huge role in weight loss and maintenance. That’s why it is recommended to take pre-biotics as well as pro-biotics. It will allow you to keep the bad bacteria away, maintaining only the good ones at a high level, helping you reduce fat accumulation in your stomach.

Reduce your daily calories, within a certain limit. It’s all about quality in the end and not about quantity. Eating good healthy food that is lower in calories will allow you to eat more of it while getting the right nutrients and vitamins your body needs. Don’t cut your calories too low, because your body will learn to adapt and will only burn fewer calories to function normally. Therefore, you should only cut your calorie by a maximum of 500 calories per day to see a weight change, without going into starvation mode.

Your fiber intake is important too. Fiber slows down digestion, so it makes you feel full for a longer period. The way it works is that fiber expands in your stomach, taking up more space and giving you that fullness feeling. It also helps remove fat around your organs, lowering your risks of developing certain diseases. A good number of foods contain soluble fiber like oatmeal, oat bran, apples, citrus fruits, strawberries, beans, peas, and lentils, barley, and rice bran.

Build up those muscles with weight training. Cardio is good, but not good enough. Cardio is good for your heart, but will actually reduce your muscle mass, making your resting metabolic rate low (the number of calories you burn doing nothing). The idea is to get your body to burn fat even when you’re not hitting the gym and to do that, you need to increase your resting metabolic rate. But how you may ask? Well, the more muscles you have, the more calories you burn. In other words, you need to increase your muscle mass by lifting some weights to get your fat-burning machine fired up. Also, building muscles is beneficial to you, as it will protect your bones and give you strength as you get older. So, get off that treadmill and grab those dumbbells!

Get some HIIT in your routine. High-intensity interval training is cardio at a whole new level. Basically, you push as hard as you can for 20 to 30 seconds and rest for 60 seconds, repeating it for a total of 20 minutes. This will get you to build strength, burn calories and get rid of that belly fat. It will also help in increasing your resting metabolic rate. If you can’t do this type of workout and want to still get some cardio, the best sort of cardio you can get is walking. I’m not talking about a normal walk. You can walk at a fast pace for 45 minutes to an hour and get a good workout that tightens your core and will help you burn some fat off at the same time

Extra steps or unplanned workouts are a plus! Moving as much as possible will get you burning extra calories without even knowing. So go for a walk instead of taking your car when possible, try to stand up and move every now and then if you work in a sitting position all day, take the stairs instead of the elevator, basically use those legs baby! The more you move the more fat you will burn and you will start seeing results in no time…. promise… but you gotta do it😉! 
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