Want to lose lower belly fat fast? You aren't alone. The fad diet and exercise gimmicks industry make millions of dollars a year off of people who want quick fixes to one of the most stubborn areas on our bodies to lose fat from.
Put your check books and credit cards away. Turn off of those infomercials. Simply follow these five steps (notice the lack of the word easy) and you will be burning lower belly fat before you know it.
1.) Cardio! Cardio! Cardio! Find something you enjoy that raises your heart rate for at least forty five minutes and do it a minimum of 4 days a week. Walking isn't going to cut it unless you are walking at a rate of six plus miles per hour. Lower stomach fat is different than the fat that accumulates on other areas of our bodies. While sit-ups and abdominal workouts might help to build muscle they definitely don't aid in getting rid of fat. Do your
cardio workouts in combination with weight training and save the abdominal workouts until you have lost the belly fat.
2.) You need to watch what you are putting into your mouth during the day. Not a calorie counter? You don't have to be. Just notice how many calories are in a serving and how many servings are in a package then do the math in your head. If a normal healthy adult consumes 2000 calories a day and there are 650 calories in that microwaveable meal you just picked up for lunch, and you know you had 1000 calories in those two bacon egg and cheese biscuits you ate for breakfast, do you really think you are going to make it on 350 calories for the rest of the day? Sometimes just taking a look at what you are eating changes your mind about eating it.
3.) In addition to watching what you are putting in your mouth, you are also going to want to rethink the nutrition you are getting in your diet. Try to cut back on carbohydrates, and if it is possible, eliminate processed carbohydrates all together. If it comes out of a bag or box and is loaded with preservatives then put it back. Instead, reach for fresh fruits, vegetables, cheese, eggs, and lean meats. Get your carbs and your fiber from whole grains.
4.) Drink Water. It can be flavored water, or a fitness water like Propel, or you can squeeze a lemon wedge into your tap water to give it some flavor. But you don't want to be consuming a water beverage with a bunch of calories in it. Sports drinks, like Gatorade, are only going to give you more calories to burn off and make your kidneys work harder if you aren't doing strenuous exercises. The general rule is to drink eight 8 ounce glasses of fluid per day. Not all of those eight glasses needs to be water but water is one of your best bets because it's calorie-free, inexpensive and readily available.
5.) Last but not least, you also need to reduce stress and get plenty of sleep. Both of these factors are related to emotional eating and weight gain. As mentioned before, the fat in our lower abdomen is different from fat everywhere else on our bodies. That's because fat in the abdominal area has a greater blood supply as well as more receptors for cortisol, a stress hormone. Cortisol levels rise and fall throughout the day, but when you're under constant stress, the amount of the hormone you produce remains elevated. With high stress and high cortisol levels, more fat is deposited in the abdominal area since there are more cortisol receptors there. So try to get eight hours of sleep each night and stop sweating the small stuff. It will be good for your overall health as well as your abdomen.
It's not going to be easy. And even though incorporating these five steps into your daily routine will certainly show improvements to your lower belly, do not expect to do all of these things for a week and wake up with a six pack. Be realistic. Set attainable goals. And just enjoy the ride, you may not see the results but you will FEEL better, and then the physical results will come automatically before you know it.