Author: Margaret Dew
July 20th, 2018 • 7 min read
Last Updated: August 11th, 2018
Inspiration of the article:
You've most likely been seeing information left and right about the dangers of belly fat and realizing how there's hundreds of thousands of posts out there that encourage the diminishment of belly fat around your stomach area. Well, the majority of these information are right and backed by science. You should try as hard as you can to diminish the belly fat around your waist area, as it is linked to health risks. No one wants to live with the ugly sight of belly fat showing anyways. You probably don't want to either.
A couple of years ago, research from Mayo Clinic revealed that being normal weight with excess belly fat is even riskier than just being obese.
This study involved a representative sample of the US population of more than 12,000 subjects, ages 18 or older. Making use of surveys, additional facts were acquired including weight, height, hip and waist measurements, lab tests, illnesses, and socioeconomic status. That data was matched to the National Death Index about 14 years later, and people with cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were not included in the analysis.
They then found that the subjects with a normal body mass index (BMI) who had a high waist-to-hip ratio (apple shaped) were more likely to die from any cause, even compared to people who are obese. In addition, this group was almost three times more likely to die from heart disease and 2x as likely to die from any causes compared with those with a healthy waist-to-hip ratio and normal BMI levels.
Now that you're (possibly) shaking in fear, here are 10 ways to help you diminish that belly fat within 24 hours:
Make sure you get your daily workout sessions clocked in! Regular exercise is one of the best ways to be successful in fast weight loss efforts and weight maintenance. And since there's no correct answer as to whether the ideal workout is resistance training or aerobic, your best option is to do a little bit of both. Resistance training is especially important for people over 30, who will otherwise begin to lose bone density.
Related: 7 Mistakes You’re Making on a Low-Carb Diet
Contrary to popular belief, abdominal crunches are not going to melt away belly fat, though they will help build muscle that could help define the area. And since muscle mass has a higher resting metabolic rate and energy expenditure than fat, it could help you trim down.
It's a great idea to incorporate more fiber into your diet plan (especially soluble fiber found in legumes, chia seeds, oats, fruits and vegetables). These can help reduce the accumulation of fat in the abdominal area. Fiber is infused with water, filling up the volumne of your stomach contents and giving you a a feeling of fullness. It also reduces the absorption of fat from food by binding with bile acids (required for digesting dietary fats).
Related: 9 Ways to Drink More Water
Fiber can also bind with sugars and other carbs, reducing or delaying their absorption into the bloodstream.
It’s called a beer belly for a reason! Alcohol consumption has long been associated with abdominal obesity and can easily derail your fat-loss efforts. Alcohol is not only high in calories, but it’s the body’s preferred fuel, so when you drink it, the other macronutrients in your food will be sent into storage (aka your belly, or possibly your thighs or butt).
Related: 9 Best Morning Habits to Lose Weight
Alcohol is also notorious for lowering your self-control and inhibitions, so you can easily end up eating and drinking too much.
When you understand how lack of sleep contributes to obesity, you’ll realize how important it is to get good sleep every night. Sleep regulates endocrine function, maintaining the right balance between the hunger hormone ghrelin and the satiety hormone leptin.
Sleep deprivation increases appetite, insulin resistance, and the stress hormone cortisol, all of which contribute to fat accumulation in the body. Make sure that you get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night. Here are 5 Ways Sleep Can Help Slim Your Body.
If you're regularly eating sugar, especially refined sugars such as the sugars added to sweetened food and beverages, you should probably cut down as they are the leading cause to an excess of visceral fat.
Related: Here Are 16 Ways To Lose Weight Fast
The fructose and glucose that come out of sugar are simple carbohydrates (commonly referred as carbs) that get absorbed quickly into the bloodstream and metabolized to release energy. When there's an excess intake, they get converted to glycogen to then be stored in fat tissue.
Consuming plenty of sugar also contributes to a spike in your blood sugar, which drives insulin to be released in large amounts, potentially leading to insulin resistance (which is actually associated with metabolic syndrome).
If you begin to cut out all sweetened foods and drinks (including fruit juices), you will greatly reduce the chances of potentially developing more belly fat. So if you wanted to lose belly fat fast , it's a good idea to start with this habit. As a healthier substitute, you can swap them with natural sweeteners such as raw honey, coconut crystals, and even fresh fruit.
Yoga and meditation can aid fat loss, but not so much from the physical effect of the movements as from their calming and relaxing effect. Several studies have linked high levels of the stress hormone cortisol to weight gain, particularly in the belly area. Practice yoga for at least 20 to 30 minutes a day for best results (try these yoga poses), or start a daily meditation practice.
Related: 10 Positive Benefits Drinking Enough Water Will Bring To Your Body
Protein is one macronutrient that can really help fight belly fat. When you eat more protein, it keeps you fuller longer and reduces the hunger hormone ghrelin, helping you slash the total calories you consume in a day. High-protein meals, with 20 to 30 grams of protein each, can also help you burn more calories by raising the body’s metabolic rate.
Related: Study: Protein Could Be Key to Weight Loss, Muscle Gain
Eat up to three protein-rich meals a day to keep your appetite and cravings in check. Good sources of protein include poultry, lean meat, eggs, fresh-caught fish and other seafood, cottage cheese, and yogurt. Include one or more of these in every meal.
Drinking several cups of tea everyday can help diminish your belly fat. Green tea is a common a great choice, but tea made from the leaves of Camellia sinensis, such as oolong tea and the unfermented white tea, are just as effective.
Catechins in the tea speed up metabolism and increase fat burning by stimulating the liver, especially when combined with exercise.
Related: 5 Teas You Should Drink To Boost Weight Loss
Other fat-burning teas are peppermint tea, which is known for its appetite suppressing effect, and Red Rooibos tea, which has a flavonoid called Aspalathin that lowers the kind of stress hormones that promote weight gain.
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Being sedentary is a major risk factor of metabolic syndrome, obesity, and diabetes. But every type of movement is helpful—even small gestures we make throughout the day, like tapping our toes or pacing while talking on the phone. These moves, known as non-exercise activity thermogenesis or NEAT, can constitute as much as 50 percent of the total energy expenditure of a person who keeps busy throughout the day.
Read: What is the Whole30 Diet And How Does it Work?
Simple things like taking the stairs instead of the elevator and taking a brisk walk on your lunch hour can help sizzle calories and reduce fat.
Stress can assist the accumulation of belly fat by triggering your adrenal glands to produce cortisol (which is known as the stress hormone).
Research has shown that high cortisol levels increases your appetite and is a huge cause to product fat storage in the abdominal (20).
Read: 9 Best Health Benefits of Flaxseeds
In addition, women who already have a large waist tend to produce more cortisol in response to stress. Increased cortisol further adds to fat gain around the middle (21).
To help burn belly fat fast, try engaging in pleasurable activities that relieve stress. Practicing meditation or yoga can be effective methods.
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