6EasyWaystoLoseBellyFat(FastandSafely)

ByKrisGunnars,BSc
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Overweightdoesnotnecessarilyequalunhealthy.
Thereareactuallyplentyofoverweightpeoplewhoarein
excellenthealth(1).
Conversely,manynormalweightpeoplehavethemetabolic
problemsassociatedwithobesity(2).
Thatsbecausethefatundertheskinisactuallynotthatbigofa
problem(atleastnotfromahealthstandpointitsmoreofa
cosmeticproblem).
Itsthefatintheabdominalcavity,thebellyfat,thatcausesthe
biggestissues(3).
Ifyouhavealotofexcessfataroundyourwaistline,evenif
yourenotveryheavy,thenyoushouldtakesomestepstogetrid
ofit.
Bellyfatisusuallyestimatedbymeasuringthecircumferencearoundyourwaist.Thiscaneasilybe
doneathomewithasimpletapemeasure.
Anythingabove40inches(102cm)inmenand35inches(88cm)inwomen,isknown
asabdominalobesity.
Thereareactuallyafewprovenstrategiesthathavebeenshowntotargetthefatinthebellyarea
morethanotherareasofthebody.
Hereare6evidencebasedwaystolosebellyfat.

1.Donteatsugarandavoidsugarsweetenedbeverageslikethe
plague
Addedsugarisextremelyunhealthy.
Studiesshowthatithasuniquelyharmfuleffectsonmetabolichealth(4).

Sugarishalfglucose,halffructoseandfructosecanonlybemetabolized
bytheliverinanysignificantamount(5).
Whenyoueatalotofrefinedsugar,thelivergetsfloodedwithfructose,and
isforcedtoturnitallintofat(6).
Numerousstudieshaveshownthatexcesssugar,mostlyduetothelarge
amountsoffructose,canleadtoincreasedaccumulationoffatinthebelly
(7).
Somebelievethatthisistheprimarymechanismbehindsugarsharmful
effectsonhealthitincreasesbellyfatandliverfat,whichleadstoinsulinresistanceandahostof
metabolicproblems(8).
Liquidsugarisevenworseinthisregard.Liquidcaloriesdontgetregisteredbythebraininthe
samewayassolidcalories,sowhenyoudrinksugarsweetenedbeverages,youendupeating
moretotalcalories(9,10).
Studiesshowthatsugarsweetenedbeveragesarelinkedtoa60%increasedriskofobesityin
childrenpereachdailyserving(11).
Makeadecisiontominimizetheamountofsugarinyourdiet,andconsidercompletely
eliminatingsugarydrinks.
Thisincludessugarsweetenedbeverages,fruitjuices,varioussportsdrinks,aswell
ascoffeesandteaswithsugaraddedtothem.
Keepinmindthatnoneofthisappliestowholefruit,whichareextremelyhealthyandhaveplenty
offiberthatmitigatesthenegativeeffectsoffructose.
Theamountoffructoseyougetfromfruitisnegligiblecomparedtowhatyougetfromadiethighin
refinedsugar.
Btwifyouwanttocutbackonrefinedsugar,thenyoumuststartreadinglabels.Evenfoods
marketedashealthfoodscancontainhugeamountsofsugar.

BottomLine:Excesssugarconsumptionmaybetheprimarydriverofbellyfataccumulation,
especiallysugarybeverageslikesoftdrinksandfruitjuices.

2.Eatingmoreproteinmaybethebestlongtermstrategyto
reducebellyfat

Proteinisthemostimportantmacronutrientwhenitcomesto
losingweight(12).
Ithasbeenshowntoreducecravingsby60%,boostmetabolism
by80100caloriesperdayandhelpyoueatupto441fewer
caloriesperday(13,14,15,16).
Ifweightlossisyourgoal,thenaddingproteintoyourdietis
perhapsthesinglemosteffectivechangeyoucando.
Notonlywillithelpyouloseitcanalsohelpyouavoidregaining
weightifyoueverdecidetoabandonyourweightlossefforts
(17,18).
Thereisalsosomeevidencethatproteinisparticularlyeffectiveagainstbellyfat.
Onestudyshowedthattheamountandqualityofproteinconsumedwasinverselyrelatedtofatin
thebelly.Thatis,peoplewhoatemoreandbetterproteinhadmuchlessbellyfat(19).
AnotherstudyinDenmarkshowedthatprotein,especiallyanimalprotein,waslinkedtosignificantly
reducedriskofbellyfatgainoveraperiodof5years(20).
Thisstudyalsoshowedthatrefinedcarbsandvegetableoilswerelinkedtoincreasedamountsof
bellyfat,butfruitsandvegetableslinkedtoreducedamounts.
Manyofthestudiesshowingproteintobeeffectivehadproteinat2530%ofcalories.Thatswhat
youshouldaimfor.
Somakeanefforttoincreaseyourintakeofunprocessedeggs,fish,seafood,meats,poultry
anddairyproducts.Thesearethebestproteinsourcesinthediet.
Ifyoustrugglewithgettingenoughproteininyourdiet,thenaqualityproteinsupplement(likewhey
protein)isahealthyandconvenientwaytoboostyourtotalintake.
Ifyoureavegetarian,checkoutthisarticleonhowtoincreaseyourproteinintake.
Bonustip:Considercookingyourfoodsincoconutoil.Somestudieshaveshownthat30mL(about
2tablespoons)ofcoconutoilperdayreducesbellyfatslightly(21,22).

BottomLine:Eatingenoughproteinisaveryeffectivewaytoloseweight.Somestudies
suggestthatproteinisparticularlyeffectiveagainstbellyfataccumulation.

3.Cutcarbsfromyourdiet
Carbrestrictionisaveryeffectivewaytolosefat.
Thisissupportedbynumerousstudieswhenpeoplecutcarbs,theirappetitegoesdownand
theyloseweight(23).

Over20randomizedcontrolledtrialshavenowshownthatlowcarbdietsleadto23timesmore
weightlossthanlowfatdiets(24,25,26).
Thisistrueevenwhenthelowcarbgroupsareallowedtoeatasmuchastheywant,whilethelow
fatgroupsarecalorierestrictedandhungry.
Lowcarbdietsalsoleadtoquickreductionsinwaterweight,whichgivespeoplenearinstant
resultsamajordifferenceonthescaleisoftenseenwithinafewdays.
Therearealsostudiescomparinglowcarbandlowfatdiets,showingthatlowcarbdiets
specificallytargetthefatinthebelly,andaroundtheorgansandliver(27,28).
Whatthismeansisthataparticularlyhighproportionofthefatlostonalowcarbdietisthe
dangerousanddiseasepromotingabdominalfat.

Justavoidingtherefinedcarbs(whitebreads,pastas,etc)shouldbesufficient,especiallyifyou
keepyourproteinhigh.
Howeverifyouneedtoloseweightfast,thenconsiderdroppingyourcarbsdownto50grams
perday.Thiswillputyourbodyintoketosis,killingyourappetiteandmakingyourbodystart
burningprimarilyfatsforfuel.
Ofcourse,lowcarbdietshavemanyotherhealthbenefitsbesidesjustweightloss.Theycan
havelifesavingeffectsintype2diabetics,forexample(29,30).

BottomLine:Studieshaveshownthatlowcarbdietsareparticularlyeffectiveatgettingridof
thefatinthebellyarea,aroundtheorgansandintheliver.

4.Eatfoodsrichinfiber,especiallyviscousfiber
Dietaryfiberismostlyindigestibleplantmatter.
Itisoftenclaimedthateatingplentyoffibercanhelpwithweight
loss.
Thisistruebutitsimportanttokeepinmindthatnotallfiberis
createdequal.
Itseemstobemostlytheviscousfibersthathaveaneffecton
yourweight.
Thesearefibersthatbindwaterandformathickgelthatsitsin
thegut(31).
Thisgelcandramaticallyslowthemovementoffoodthroughyourstomachandsmallbowel,and
slowdownthedigestionandabsorptionofnutrients.Theendresultisaprolongedfeelingof
fullnessandreducedappetite(32).
Onereviewstudyfoundthatanadditional14gramsoffiberperdaywerelinkedtoa10%decrease
incalorieintakeandweightlossof2kg(4.5lbs)over4months(33).
Inone5yearstudy,eating10gramsofsolublefiberperdaywaslinkedtoa3.7%reductioninthe
amountoffatintheabdominalcavity,butithadnoeffectontheamountoffatundertheskin(34).
Whatthisimplies,isthatsolublefibermaybeparticularlyeffectiveatreducingtheharmfulbellyfat.

Thebestwaytogetmorefiberistoeatalotofplantfoodslikevegetablesandfruit.Legumesare
alsoagoodsource,aswellassomecerealslikeoats.
Thenyoucouldalsotrytakingafibersupplementlikeglucomannan.Thisisoneofthemostviscous
dietaryfibersinexistence,andhasbeenshowntocauseweightlossinmanystudies(38,39).

BottomLine:Thereissomeevidencethatsolubledietaryfibermayleadtoreducedamounts
ofbellyfat,whichshouldcausemajorimprovementsinmetabolichealth.

5.Aerobicexerciseisveryeffectiveatreducingbellyfat
Exerciseisimportantforvariousreasons.
Itisamongthebestthingsyoucandoifyouwanttolivealong,
healthylifeandavoiddisease.
Gettingintoalloftheamazinghealthbenefitsofexerciseis
beyondthescopeofthisarticle,butexercisedoesappearstobe
effectiveatreducingbellyfat.
HoweverkeepinmindthatImnottalkingaboutabdominalexerciseshere.Spot
reduction(losingfatinonespot)isnotpossible,anddoingendlessamountsofcruncheswillnot
makeyoulosefatfromthebelly.
Inonestudy,6weeksoftrainingjusttheabdominalmuscleshadnomeasurableeffectonwaist
circumferenceortheamountoffatintheabdominalcavity(40).
Thatbeingsaid,othertypesofexercisecanbeveryeffective.
Aerobicexercise(likewalking,running,swimming,etc)hasbeenshowntocausemajorreductions
inbellyfatinnumerousstudies(41,42).
Anotherstudyfoundthatexercisecompletelypreventedpeoplefromregainingabdominalfatafter
weightloss,implyingthatexerciseisparticularlyimportantduringweightmaintenance(43).
Exercisealsoleadstoreducedinflammation,bloodsugarlevelsandalltheothermetabolic
abnormalitiesthatareassociatedwithcentralobesity(44).

BottomLine:Exercisecanbeveryeffectiveifyouaretryingtolosebellyfat.Exercisealso
hasanumberofotherhealthbenefits.

6.Trackyourfoodsandfigureoutexactlywhatandhowmuchyou
areeating
Whatyoueatisimportant.Prettymucheveryoneknowsthis.
Howeversurprisingly,mostpeopleactuallydonthavea
cluewhattheyarereallyeating.
Peoplethinktheyreeatinghighprotein,lowcarbor
whateverbuttendtodrasticallyoverorunderestimate.
Ithinkthatforanyonewhotrulywantstooptimizetheirdiet,trackingthingsforawhileis
absolutelyessential.
Itdoesntmeanyouneedtoweighandmeasureeverythingfortherestofyourlife,butdoingit
everynowandthenforafewdaysinarowcanhelpyourealizewhereyouneedtomakechanges.
Ifyouwanttoboostyourproteinintaketo2530%ofcalories,asrecommendedabove,justeating
moreproteinrichfoodswontcutit.Youneedtoactuallymeasureandfinetuneinordertoreach
thatgoal.
Checkoutthesearticleshereforacaloriecalculatorandalistoffreeonlinetoolsandappstotrack
whatyouareeating.
IpersonallydothiseveryfewmonthsIweighandmeasureeverythingIeattoseewhatmy
currentdietislookinglike.
ThenIknowexactlywheretomakeadjustmentsinordertogetclosertomygoals