Losing Weight and Feeling Great

‘exercise ball ab workout’

If you have a jelly belly, you probably want to know how to lose abdominal fat.  Not to worry, you have plenty of company.  But just how can you lose belly fat, and be slimmer and trimmer?  Let’s take a look.

Losing Belly Fat is a Two-Way Street

There are two components to losing the spare tire, or making the muffin top into a sleek top.  And you probably don’t want to hear it, but here goes:

Diet and exercise.

Diet Isn’t a 4-Letter Word

OK, so maybe literally it is, but “diet” has so many negative connotations (like, “I’ll starve!”).

What this really means is to keep tabs on what you are eating, and how much.  In other words, cut back (way back in many cases) on the junk food, and focus on what your body really needs!

• Fat: Yes, you want to cut back on the fat you take in, but cut back does not mean cut out!  Your body needs a certain amount of fat in order to lose weight; it’s just too much that’s too much.  But just say no to anything with trans-fat in it.
• Carbs: Really, they aren’t the enemy.  Your body needs carbohydrates to function properly.  However, the carbs you need to be focusing on are the complex carbs found in veggies, fruits and whole grains.  Not bagels, chips, sugars or white rice.
• Protein: Protein can be a star in a weight loss plan, because it helps to build muscle.  And with the correct balance of protein to carbs, the weight loss can be accelerated.   Your best protein sources, though, are the ones that don’t involve fatty meats.
• Water: Most people overlook simply drinking enough water, so that your body doesn’t hoard it (also known as the dreaded water weight).  Take your body weight in pounds, divide that number in half, and that’s the minimum amount of water in ounces your body needs.  (In other words, if you weight 200 pounds, you should be drinking at least 100 ounces of water a day.)

So really, your diet is more of an eating plan to help the pounds to melt off, but still stay healthy.  And that’s a good thing when it comes to losing abdominal fat!

Exercise is Your Friend

Obviously, exercise that burns calories helps you to lose weight — which includes the excess weight around your abdomen.  So some sort of aerobic exercise is in order.  But it doesn’t matter what that exercise is; just that it keeps your heart rate up.  Dance around your living room if that’s what pleases you!

Next is strength training, which crucial for bumping up your metabolism.  Aerobic exercise burns a lot of calories in a short period of time, but strength training helps your metabolism burn faster, day in and day out (including when you sleep).  Strength training can be as simple as using exercise resistance bands, all the way up to the bowflex home gym.

And of course, there are the abdominal exercises.  One great way to get a sleek middle is to do exercise ball ab workouts!  Not only does an exercise ball support your back better, but you get a bonus workout because your muscles constantly shift in order to keep you in balance.

Lose Abdominal Fat

You’ve now seen the two-fold way to lose abdominal fat and get a sleek core.  One without the other will be make things more difficult to lose belly fat.