Belly Fat: 5 Tips to Lose it FAST!
With the weather warming up, this is always the time of year when my patients start asking about weight-loss tips and how to lose belly fat. For the most part, we all want to look slimmer, feel younger and have more energy. But until the summer months roll around, we don’t necessarily think about it. Losing belly fat doesn’t have to be hard. Incorporate these five tips into your routine and watch your belly fat melt away.
1. Eat lots of Fiber-enriched foods: Soluble fiber is a secret weapon in weight-loss because it fills you up quicker so you eat less. Fiber is also great in lowering blood cholesterol and glucose levels. Fresh fruits, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and vegetables are generally full of fiber, so make sure you’re incorporating them into your diet.
2. Reduce stress levels: Stress is notorious for making you gain belly fat. Cortisol is the stress hormone that increases appetite and leads to weight gain. Finding ways to reduce your stress through physical exercise, meditation, or reading is a great way to clear your mind. Stress is increasing cortisole levels making your body hold on to belly fat. At Lilly PT, we use guided meditation to help our clients decrease stress levels so they can heal faster and lose belly fat.
3. Lower your sugary food intake: When you eat a lot of sugar, the fructose becomes metabolized by the liver, where it then turns to fat. At this point, it gets secreted into the blood and causes that stubborn belly fat. For the next 30 days, drink just water and tea and watch belly fat melt.
4. Get at least 8 hours of sleep: Skipping out on sleep is causing you to skip out on exercise due to being too tired and making unhealthy food choices due to laziness. Your sleepy brain sets you up for poor decisions because of the dull activity in the frontal lobe and it is craving fast energy (on average 500 Cal of fast energy according to research). Make sure to stick to a regular sleep schedule to avoid impulse decision making.
5. Switch up your work-out routine and make sure you sweat: If you stick to the same work-out routine, getting stuck in a rut is inevitable. When you become accustomed to the same movements, you eventually get bored and lose motivation to stick to a work-out plan. Incorporating high-intensity cardio with yoga and strengthening is a great place to start. Make sure your work out routine is intense enough to make you sweat.
Extra TIP: holding on to belly fat might have something to do with hip flexor tightness. Make sure you get manual release and stretch your hips to prevent your body from holding on to belly fat.
If you are struggling with losing belly fat and want to feel stronger, younger, and more confident, I’d like to offer you a free phone consultation to help determine a solution for you to reach your ultimate body goals. We have an amazing Medical Fitness program at my clinic designed to give you what you want to get you where you want to be. Learn more about the Medical Fitness program here. Call my office for a limited time only for this free phone consultation at (425) 224-2476.
