The goal to lose belly fat can be long and frustrating. There are many ‘quick-fix’ options from weight loss pills to crash dieting and others remedies that often produce short-term results.
But oftentimes, losing belly fat requires just a few changes.
This article will be sharing 6 things that you can do to lose belly fat and see results as fast as the next few days. IN some situations, you might need some more time before you start seeing a flatter tummy.
Overall, the most important tip to apply when losing weight is to be persistent. If you didn’t gain weight overnight, it’s only fair that you won’t lose it overnight either.
However, there are some things that you can start today to get you the results that you want. Let’s dive in.
Here are 6 things you can do to lose belly fat
#1 Drink More Water
Drinking more water to lose belly fat is actually a genius idea that we don’t often do because it seems too easy. Go figure.
When we drink water before we eat, it helps us to eat less during our meals.
Sometimes after we a meal, we may feel the urge to eat again but that might actually be thirst that you’re feeling. To prevent yourself from overeating, try to drink a glass of water when you feel yourself getting hungry and see what happens. If you are still hungry after this, then you can have a second helping.
If you aren’t a person who normally stays hydrated, you’ll find that your body will hold on to whatever source of water it has which results in ‘water weight’.
You can get rid of this by drinking more water, and eat more water-rich foods like cucumber and watermelon.
Of course, increasing your water intake by itself isn’t the only key to lose belly fat. Here are some other options to consider.
Related: 7 Proven Ways To Lose Weight Naturally
#2 Reduce Your Carb intake
If you want a trim waist that’s actually easy to maintain, this is one of the few things that you’ll have to give up. That is unless you are very active and manage to use all the energy you get from carbs.
If you live a mostly sedentary lifestyle and you’re eating a lot of carbs, it might be just the thing that’s holding you back.
Related: How I Survived Going Sugar-Free For 3 Months
Bread, pasta, cake, rice, sugar, and sugary sodas should be some of the first things to go. This is because refined carbs are reduced to sugar after digestion. This sugar ferments in the belly, and contributes to bloating and so many other things, including general weight gain.
If you want the best carbs to lose belly fat, you can check out this list of no carb foods for weight loss.
Ideally, even as it related to plant-based carbohydrate sources, there are some, like fruits, that are fast-acting and will break down into sugar anyway. Sugar is sugar, no matter the source.
That’s why it’s best to lose belly fat by eating complex carbs and reducing the number of fruits like banana and mangoes, which are very high in fructose.
Related: 7 Ways To Enjoy Fruits on a Low Carb Diet
#3 Reduce Your Dairy- Especially Cheese
Cheese is a delicious treat that we sometimes overindulge in. I’m guilty of it too, but the side effects of eating cheese make it necessary to evaluate this staple in our diet.
Lactose intolerance is much more common than you think, and 75% of the world’s population loses the ability to digest milk after infancy. [1] This makes them lactose intolerant or lactose sensitive.
If you find that you experience bloating, flatulence, cramps, and gas after eating dairy-related products, then it’s time to try eliminating dairy for a few days to see if the bloat goes away.
You can replace regular milk with almond milk, and use other vegan products to replace the dairy in your diet.
When choosing dairy substitutes, try to go for the least processed options because overprocessed food products can still lead to inflammation and bloat.
Related: 3 Safe Ways To Lose Weight Faster Without Dieting
#4 Do More Cardio Exercise
Even if you’ve made some changes to your diet, you might still need a little help to lose belly fat. This is where cardio comes in.
Cardio will help you to lose weight from all over your body, not only your belly. It might be tempting to do exercises to lose belly fat only, but we can’t lose weight from one area. Our bodies weren’t made that way.
Of course, you can do a number of core exercises like planks and ab crunches, and those are perfect for persons wanting to lose belly fat.
You’ll also get some bonus health benefits if you choose to do cardio. Some of them include reduced stress, reduced risk of heart disease, and better sleep.
Related: How To Lose Weight With Intermittent Fasting
#5 Practice Yoga To Tighten Your Core
If you prefer to do something more relaxing than cardio, then yoga might be your best bet. You can even do both to reap the benefits of a stronger and more flexible body.
This is because yoga is a great tool for weight loss. Physically, it helps you to burn calories and mentally it helps to reduce stress, which leads to weight gain.
However, doing yoga willy-nilly isn’t going to get you any results. This is why people often discredit is as an effective way to lose belly fat or weight in general.
If you want to learn about the right way to use yoga to lose weight, this website has a ton a valuable information to help you lose belly fat.
#6 Drink Less Alcohol
Maybe you’ve already heard this one but refuse to accept it- alcohol and weight loss are a bad combination.
Alcohol causes slower digestion and there are certain types of alcoholic beverages, like beer that carry a double or triple threat.
There’s beer- which is alcoholic, is carbonated, and contains refined sugar. This causes bloating and makes ‘beer belly’ a real thing. Coolers like Smirnoff Ice and even sugary drinks have the same effects, so steer clear.
If you really need to get a drink, then it’s best to stick with low carb cocktails, have them few and far between, and have them with water.
Related: The 7 Habits For Successful Weight Loss
If none of these work…
Then you might have to look at some other underlying causes. It would be useful to get a check-up, but if you know that you have any of the following health issues, then that might be the problem.
#1 Diabetes– If you’re taking medication, then chances are they are covered in synthetic products, mostly sugar, that cause digestive problems. If you are able to get an alternative from your doctor, you might see a difference.
#2 Gluten Intolerance- If you have celiac disease or gluten intolerance without knowing, then you could be eating foods that are really causing you to bloat.
There are a lot of other side effects that come from celiac disease, which is an autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to attack the intestines whenever gluten is consumed.
If you feel notice anything strange that happens after eating gluten, which is mainly found in bread and wheat-based products, then you need to check it out ASAP.
I hope that you’ll be able to apply at least one of these tips so that you can start seeing the results in your weight loss goals. It might seem like a huge goal before you start, but remember that only you can take the action to make it happen.
After all, the time is only going to pass anyway.
Cheers,
Lailah