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How to Get Rid of Belly Fat

Most people want to get rid of belly fat. Stomach fat and lower belly fat are rather unsightly. Love handles they may be called, but few people want them on their body. Unfortunately, trying to get rid of stomach fat is not easy, except for the genetically gifted few who just don’t seem to gain any fat whatever they do (or don’t do).

If you want to lose the belly fat, read on. This article will teach you how to get rid of belly fat. Before you proceed, though, make sure that you are mentally prepared for all the hard work you’ll need to do to eliminate belly fat. Losing belly fat requires commitment, motivation and, most importantly, time.

Losing Fat Belly Takes Time

There’s one weight loss truth that you already probably know. Belly fat is one of the hardest things to get rid of.

For both men and women, the belly is one of the first places to get fat when you start gaining weight. It is also one of the last places to lose fat when you start losing weight. You can reduce belly fat only by reducing overall body fat.

The way it works, you lose the belly fat only after you’ve lost the fat everywhere else (except perhaps your hips and thighs). This is what makes getting rid of fat belly so hard. However, if you have the right mindset, there’s no reason you can’t get rid of fat belly. Just work toward eliminating body fat and you’ll ultimately lose that belly fat as well.

Lose The Belly Fat: The 4 Things You Must Do

1. Create a daily calorie deficit by dieting and exercising. To get rid of fat (belly fat as well), you must start burning more calories than you consume. Assuming you’re using up 2,000 calories per day, the following are your options:

• Option 1: Reduce your daily calorie intake below 2,000 calories per day. Just don’t go under 1,200 calories. That would be starving yourself and would put your body in survival mode. You not only burn fat but muscle mass as well.
• Option 2: Increase the number of calories you burn in a day beyond your usual 2,000 calories. Do this through aerobic exercises and strength training.
• Option 3: For even better results, combine Options 1 and 2. This option #3 is the best way to go. By consuming fewer calories than you need everyday, you create a daily calorie deficit. By exercising everyday, you increase the number of calories you burn and thus increase your daily calorie deficit.

In time your daily calorie deficit will add up and cause you to lose weight. Every net deficit of 3,500 calories is equivalent to a loss of approximately 1 pound of fat.

Important Lesson: Combine diet with exercise to lose fat faster. The faster you lose body fat, the sooner you will get rid of stomach fat and lower belly fat.

2. Cut back on the sweets.

According to studies, around 16% of an average American’s calorie intake is sugar. That’s 320 calories worth of sugar on a 2,000-calorie diet. These are calories you could have done without or calories you could have substituted eating something healthier. Remove 320 useless calories from your diet. Cut back on candies, chocolates, sodas, ice creams, and all kinds of sweets and you’ll get rid of belly fat faster.

3. Cut back on fatty foods.

If you’re having meat, opt for lean meat. Do you know that one gram of fat contributes 9 calories? That’s more than twice the number of calories you’ll get from one gram of protein (4 calories) or one gram of carbohydrates (4 calories). If you really, really want to get rid of belly fat, don’t even look at that ultra-fat burger.

4. Cut back on alcohol.

That small cocktail may look and taste yummy, but is it worth its calories? To someone who’s intent on getting rid of belly fat, it’s not. One gram of alcohol contributes 7 calories and, like calories you get from sugar, those are empty calories. If you want to lose belly fat, stop drinking beer or alcoholic beverages (or don’t have them as often).

Conclusion On How To Get Rid Of Belly Fat

Let me reiterate one basic principle that anyone trying to lose belly fat must remember. When trying to get rid of fat, belly fat usually comes off last. This is the reason why you won’t see results immediately after you start dieting and exercising. This doesn’t mean, however, that diet and exercise are ineffective against belly fat.

To get rid of belly fat, you simply must lose body fat continuously until your body starts using up the fat stored in your belly. To achieve this, you need to cut back your daily calorie intake (thus, you should go on a diet). You should also increase the number of calories you burn daily (thus you should exercise).

Your goal is to create a big net calorie deficit every day so that your body will start using up its energy reserves (fat). Once your body starts using up fats stored in your belly, you will start seeing results and will finally get rid of belly fat. That's when you begin to look at yourself and smile. Smile not only because you look better but also because you set your mind to doing it and you did it.

The previous article is on Fast Weight Loss Tips.

Other wiki resources:  weight loss diets; protein and weight loss; being overweight; water retention