Most people don’t consider themselves excessively fat or heavy, and therefore do not see the need to exercise. The fact that you’re normal weight doesn’t mean you’re not facing the risk of becoming obese. The fat under the skin isn’t really the big issue here, it’s the excess fat around your belly and abdomen you should be worried about. So the fact that you have a normal weight, might not exactly be the whole story.
To check for your belly fat, you can easily use a measurement tape to check for the circumference around your waist. Anything above 120 cm (40 inches) in men and 88 cm (35 inches) in women is known as abdominal obesity.
There are actually very few ways that have been proven to effectively help burn the fat in the belly region more than other areas of the body. However, these 5 ways have been tested and proven to be effective in burning belly fat.
1. Take sugar and sugary beverages as enemies
The Simple fact is that sugar is bad for your health. Sugar is half glucose and half fructose. The glucose is already in its simplest form, so the body does not expend much energy in breaking it down which causes it to get stored as fat quicker than most types of food.
But the fructose is the main problem here.Fructose can only be broken down by the liver in small amounts, so when you take in a lot of refined sugar, your liver is flooded with fructose and is forced to turn it all into fat. Excess fructose increases belly fat and also liver fat, which in turn leads to insulin resistance and other metabolic problems.
2. Eat more protein
Protein is generally the best food to eat if you plan on losing weight. Your body burns a lot of calories when it breaks down protein. And also, protein fills you up and therefore helps reduce cravings by about 60%.
A lot of research has been done with regards to this and the results have been the same. One study in fact showed that the amount of protein consumed was inversely proportional to the amount of fat in the belly. So the best thing you can do for your belly is to simply eat more protein.
3. Keep yourself hydrated by drinking a lot of water
A lot of times thirst might seem like hunger. So it’s important that you always keep yourself hydrated to avoid eating more. Staying well hydrated throughout the day will also help you deal with cravings. Another major reason why you should always have a bottle of water by your side all the time is because of it’s effects on your metabolism.
4. Eat foods rich in viscous fiber
Viscous fibers are good for your health in general. And they also help you burn more calories because they take a longer time to digest.
This fiber forms a gel that sits in your gut. This gel slow down the whole digestive process, thereby causing your body to expend more energy which in turn leads to burning more calories. This also causes you to feel full for a prolong period, therefore reducing cravings and hunger pangs.
The best way to eat more viscous fiber is by eating more legumes, vegetables, fruits and some cereals like whole grain oats.
5. Do more aerobic exercise
Effective dieting is a very efficient way of losing weight, but exercising is also as important. Aerobic exercises especially, will help you burn a lot of calories. Many people spend a lot of time doing abdominal exercises like crunches to help them lose belly fat.
Well that won’t really be of help for burning fat specifically. Abdominal exercises only help you build muscles and those muscles can’t be seen until the fats around your abdomen is gone.So spend more time doing cardio exercises like walking, swimming, jogging.
Conclusion
Losing belly fat should be one of your priorities because it puts you in danger of other health complications. These 5 tips are sure to see you making progress on your mission of burning belly fat.