Finding your figure, being more comfortable in your jeans, or avoiding bloating, whatever, everyone has their reasons for wanting to get a flat stomach. Losing belly fat is a battle that can be fought at any time for any reason. However, the enemy can be tough and it is not the easiest battle to fight. We tell you how to do it. Here are our best tips to help you achieve your goals.
How does nutrition impact the loss of belly fat?
The most important thing when you want to lose belly fat is to improve your diet. To do this, a few good habits can be adopted quickly, and without making major concessions.
How to see a daily calorie deficit?
To lose fat, especially around the stomach, you must adapt your eating habits to have a slight daily calorie deficit. It is essential to manage your nutrition correctly. Basically, weigh the foods you eat and count the calories you eat each day. Feeling like you are “eating well” is not enough. Without paying attention, we too regularly exceed the necessary number of calories. For example, without practicing sports and for good health, a man needs around 2,000 calories and a woman 1,800 calories per day. On this point of reference, it will be difficult for you to see abdominal fat disappear if your daily calorie consumption exceeds these recommendations.
It is advisable to observe a deficit of 200 to 250 calories per day to lose fat over time without having too much impact on your muscle mass. At this level of deficit, it is not a draconian diet for your body. It is possible to establish this habit without feeling hungry, simply by slightly reducing the portion sizes when you prepare your meal, which does not represent a big change in your daily life. We are talking about a nutritional rebalancing diet.
What is the ideal plate?
Measuring calories consumed is a starting point if you want to lose belly fat. You will also need to balance your diet, this will also have a positive impact on your health. The composition of your plate can be:
- 50% devoted to seasonal vegetables with a good distribution of macronutrients (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates). Prefer cooking in water or steam, and seasoned with just a tablespoon of olive oil. Vary seasonal vegetables, they are important sources of vitamins and minerals for our body.
- 25% devoted to proteins (eg: a chicken fillet). Consuming proteins (animal or vegetable) helps maintain your muscle mass. Don’t hesitate to vary your protein sources.
- 25% devoted to carbohydrates (e.g. sweet potatoes)
Our tips for losing belly fat quickly:
- Eat good fats in reasonable amounts like avocado, salmon, olive oil or even oilseeds. Whenever possible, eat low-glycemic carbohydrate sources.
- Reduce your intake of foods containing simple carbohydrates, such as white bread, pasta or white rice
- Choose whole grain products such as whole grain bread, whole grain pasta or brown rice, which are sources of fiber.
- Ban sugar. It tends to be stored specifically in the stomach area. Also limit salt consumption.
- Drink plenty of water (2L/day)
Why is exercise essential to lose belly fat?
Optimizing your diet is a first step, but exercise is just as essential if you want to lose belly fat and get your flat stomach back. 3 to 4 sports sessions per week is already a very good pace to obtain good results quickly. Vary the exercises. Above all, the most important thing is to be regular. Favor a smaller number of sessions, or shorter sessions, which you can reproduce regularly over a longer term. This is the key to an effective result to avoid yoyoing.
Cross training to burn calories.
Cross training is ideal for people who want to discover several sports at the same time. The goal is to train not just one muscle, but multiple muscle chains during a workout. This type of program is ideal when looking to burn fat. In the cross training family we find Hiit ( High Intensity Interval Training). This method is based on a simple principle: very intense efforts over a short time, followed by a recovery phase between each exercise. For example, a 4-minute circuit is divided into 8 times 20 seconds of intense effort / 10 seconds of rest. You can also practice HIIT in the form of 30/30, 45/15... choose the working method that suits your level, but it is important to work at high intensity.
Due to the intensity produced and the limited recovery spaces, it allows greater energy expenditure compared to continuous work. Just 20 to 30 minutes of full strength training is enough to burn a lot of energy. We lose calories during and after exercise because the body must recover from the intensive session it has just undergone. This method :
- results in very high calorie consumption in a short time.
- increases metabolism several hours after training.
- allows you to both lose fat and gain muscle mass.
Doing abs does not make you lose belly fat.
We regularly believe that doing abs is the ideal way to get a flat stomach. Bad luck, that's not quite the case: with traditional "abs" you gain volume, which is not necessarily the desired goal.
Core exercises are more recommended, because these exercises train your deep abdominal muscles (pelvis, psoas, transverse abdominal muscles, obliques) and accentuate the desired flat stomach effect.
Swimming and Yoga: ideal allies
Swimming and yoga are a perfect pair of sports to lose fat.
Swimming regularly allows you to work your muscles differently, while preserving your joints. By using your muscles, abdominal fat will gradually melt. And, even if your stomach does not immediately reveal the famous chocolate bar you dream of, your abdominal belt will emerge firmer and better covered. In other words, you strengthen your entire body and improve your posture.
With yoga, you work on your flexibility and balance, while learning to control your breathing. A learning that takes on its full meaning in the practice of all kinds of sports, but also in everyday life. By learning to relax, you will facilitate the weight loss process that is important to you, and above all, it will make you feel good!
Cycling, running and walking: always a good idea.
Being in motion is an important habit to adopt for your health, even more so to prevent our body from storing fat. In addition, cycling, jogging regularly or walking (brisk or stroll) will have a positive impact on your cardiovascular system. You can easily integrate these activities into your daily life. As always, be progressive in the length and intensity of the sessions. All these endurance activities will eventually reduce your belly fat.
Good sleep and patience.
Too often neglected, sleep is very important in general but especially when you want to lose fat. It already allows us to be in good shape, thanks to better recovery from the fatigue of the day before, our body recovers and our metabolism improves. You should aim for 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night. This will also allow your body to produce growth hormones, which promotes weight loss.
Also, try to control your stress. This can have a detrimental impact on how your body stores fat. Stress can send bad signals to your body, which will store more fat due to a feeling of urgency. This can also have an impact on your feelings of hunger, and lead you to snack more. Avoid when you want to get rid of fat.
Above all, be patient. Even if there is no miracle recipe for targeting fat loss, these are the best habits to adopt to find a flat stomach. After a few weeks the work will pay off! 💪
