There are many ads on social media claiming to have the secret to get rid of belly fat in one pill or trick. These ads seem so tempting and a lot of people spend hundreds and thousands of dollars trying everything and anything to shed the belly fat away and have a flat stomach. But are these effective? Do they work? Is there a magic trick to lose that fat fast? Well, in short, the answer is no. But there are ways to banish the belly fat.
When ads claim a one trick and fast solution, remember that their aim is to sell you the product regardless of whether it works or not. So these products don’t work, but I am going to give you some tips to reduce your belly fat.
Acquire a healthy lifestyle
Focus on adding healthy habits, and getting rid of bad one so you can move towards a healthy lifestyle. Start by changing or improving just one thing at a time. Go simple not to be overwhelmed by many tasks. Once you achieve your first goal, jump into the next.
Reduce stress
Chronic stress can cause you to store more fat in the abdomen due to the increase in inflammation levels and stress hormone cortisol. Try to limit or reduce stress as much as possible. Activities like exercise, yoga and meditation can help with this.
Target Sugar
Sugar increases belly fat. So the first thing you can do is to eliminate sugar and sugary drinks from your diet. This includes soda and all kind of juices. You can replace the sugary drinks with water, and you can flavor it with some mint, slices of lemons and ginger, or any other fruit or vegetable you want.
If you have a sweet tooth, you can have whole fresh fruits, as long as you don’t overdo it. Fruits do have sugar and eating too many fruits will make you gain weight.
Go Mediterranean
Follow the Mediterranean diet! It helps in everything from brain health to heart health. The Mediterranean diet is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids found in olive oil, nuts, avocados and fish, and that help in reducing belly fat. It is also rich in yogurt, whose regular consumption has also been found helpful in reducing belly fat.
Focus on Veggies
Start your meals with vegetables. It can be a seasoned salad or a vegetable soup. However, you have to make sure that the dressing of the salad doesn’t contain fatty and unhealthy ingredients. Vegetables are low in calories and they will leave less room for other foods that are higher in calories.
Be Active
Commit to an active lifestyle. Physical activity is the single most important thing people can do to prevent the buildup of fat in the belly, and get rid of existing belly fat. Moderate intensity physical activity is that magic pill a lot of people are looking for. It has a lot of health benefits that go beyond losing weight and trimming your waistline. Not only it can reduce your risk of cancer, stroke, diabetes and heart disease, but studies have shown that physical activity can significantly improve the moods.
However, over-training can be problematic when it comes to belly fat since it leads to overproduction of cortisol, a stress hormone associated with belly fat. Working out for an hour a day can have an impact by boosting the metabolism.
Move during the day
Move throughout the day, and try not to sit too much. All the moves you make during the day are considered non-exercise physical activity. Each move you make can add up to the calories you burn and make you lose the belly fat faster. You can take short walks during your break, use the stairs instead of the elevator, or do stretching exercises at your desk. Every small move matters.
Indulge in an active hobby
This is considered as a pleasant way to burn calories and be healthy. You will not feel that it’s an exercise that you have to do. When you do an activity you enjoy, you will not count the minutes and time will fly with lots of calories burned. So instead of watching a tennis match or a football or basketball game on TV, meet up with your friends and have one.
Instead of watching TV, go out for a hike or walk in nature, play a basketball game or indulge in any fun activity that makes you move.
Build Muscles
The more muscles you have, the more calories you can burn. This is because muscles are more metabolically active than fat. So indulge in weight lifting or resistance training to build more muscles.
Get some sleep
A recent study of 70,000 individuals showed that those getting less than five hours of sleep were more likely to gain weight.
Stay hydrated
Drinking enough water helps the cells and organs function optimally. It also enables the body to flush out all the harmful toxins out.
Forget about drugs and supplements
There is not a single FDA approved drug for reduction of belly fat. Supplements that claim a one trick are not strictly regulated, and a lot of the claims in ads are not backed up by research and may have lots of negative side effects.
Recommendations
Unfortunately, there are no quick fixes to help you lose belly fat. However, if you start to make changes with your eating habits, move your body more, sleep better, stress less and improve your lifestyle you should start to see and feel a difference. In short, the answer to losing belly fat is not in supplements or drugs. Enjoying a healthy lifestyle will make you lose the extra pounds and keep them off for a lifetime, unlike swallowing a pill whose effects, if any, will fade away as soon as you stop using it.