Carrying excess weight around your waistline
is more than an aesthetic issue. Subcutaneous fat, or the fat you see around
your belly, covers more dangerous visceral fat, which surrounds your organs.
This type of belly fat affects your cardiovascular health, puts you at risk for
various diseases and slows your metabolism. While you cannot target belly fat
with exercise and diet, you can gradually decrease your percentage of body fat
wherever you tend to store it. Follow a flexible, healthy fitness program and
food plan at home to lose belly fat.
Step 1
Swap sweets, junk food and foods high in Tran’s fat and saturated fat
for fresh, unprocessed foods. Removing tempting snack foods and processed foods
from your kitchen makes it easier to stick to a healthy food plan. If you cut
500 daily calories from your consumption, you'll be on track to lose 4 pounds
per month.
Step 2
Snack on citrus fruit, lightly dressed salads, berries, apples, pears,
vegetables, legumes and unsweetened whole grains. These foods contain high
amounts of insoluble and soluble fiber, which fill you and provide key
nutrients without adding excess calories, fat and sugar to your diet. They also
regulate digestion so you experience less belly bloating.
Step
3
Add activity to your daily life. Haul boxes
or bags one at a time up the stairs. Squat and stretch while cleaning the
house. Dance during commercial breaks when you watch TV. Play hide-and-seek
with your children around the house. March in place while washing dishes and
talking on the telephone.
Step 4
Exercise vigorously daily. Elevate your heart rate for a prolonged
period by doing aerobic workouts such as dancing to fast music, running up and
down the stairs, jumping rope, doing dynamic yoga stretches, jogging on your
treadmill or doing calisthenics. If you exercise vigorously 300 minutes per
week, you can lose between 2 and 3 pounds of body fat per month.
Step 5
Perform muscle-building calisthenics and stretches that use your body
weight as resistance. Pushups, pullups, sun salutations, squats, lunges and
triceps dips add muscle tissue that replaces excess fat. This shift in your
body composition raises your basal metabolism so you burn more calories even
while resting.
Warnings
Skip
sweetened carbonated beverages, which add empty calories and contribute to
belly bloat.
Tips
Follow
the Centers for Disease Control's guidelines for the amount of activity a
healthy adult needs. This guideline gives suggestions as to what kinds of
exercise, the intensity and duration.