NO matter what you do, it can seem like the stubborn fat around your middle just does not want to disappear.
While the usual healthy diet and exercise is the fundamental rule for weight loss, including stomach flab, sometimes, you just need other tricks to help speed up the belly-burning process.
Olivia WestPersonal trainer Lucy Gornall reveals the things you can do every day to lose belly fat[/caption]
As a personal trainer and health journalist, I’ve read every tip in the book when it comes to shedding unwanted belly fat.
Most do nothing. Or, they’re total nonsense.
So, here are my personal belly-budging tips, as well as other PT-approved hacks to help shed the weight from your middle in just four weeks.
Disclaimer: There isn’t a sit-up in sight.
1. Fill up on colour
The purple, orange, yellow, green and red foods you see around the outer edges of the supermarket are very rarely ‘unhealthy’.
These are the fruits and vegetables which pack in nutrients and fibre, but contain very few calories.
A word on fibre. Not only does it fill you up and therefore prevent overeating, but it can help reduce the risk of bowel cancer, type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease, the NHS says.
Fill your plate with as many of these colours as you can. Challenge yourself to see how colourful your meals can be.
Pick one vegetable you like, and find a recipe that incorporates it with an additional vegetable you’d like to try.
Other brightly coloured foods tend to be riddled with food colourings, and you don’t need me to tell you these foods are not conducive to burning belly fat.
2. Don’t do too much cardio
I have made this mistake too often, but going hard on runs, cycles and other types of cardio, is NOT the best way to burn belly fat.
It will leave you tired (you’ll be turning to high sugar snacks for energy), it will leave you sore, and it will leave you very hungry.
Whilst cardio does of course burn calories, and it has its benefits for cardiovascular fitness, it’s unlikely going to match the number of calories that you consume post-workout.
Do a maximum of three 30 to 45 minute sessions a week, which will benefit weight loss without stressing the body too much.
If you are a beginner, reduce this to three 15 minute cardio sessions per week.
But there’s another form of exercise you should focus on…
How do you get muscle? By lifting weights, Lucy saysNatalie Jeffcott/Stocksy
3. Lift weights
So often we think about burning fat when we should think about building muscle.
More muscle means more calories burnt at rest, meaning you burn off the food you eat easier than if you had less muscle.
How do you get muscle? By lifting weights.
Aim to include three 30 to 45 minute resistance-based training sessions each week, ensuring that the weight is challenging and your form is correct.
You will build muscle and look more toned, over time.
Yes, potatoes are a carbohydrate. In some diets, they would be classed the ‘devil’, but potatoes literally come from the ground – there’s nothing processed about them.
Lucy Gornall
Try to follow a plan if possible (my personal online favourites are The EC Method or Centr App by Chris Hemsworth) which will keep you accountable and of course, tell you what to do.
And if you’re a woman, I promise you that lifting weights won’t suddenly turn you into a macho man.
Women are built differently to men from a hormone perspective; we just don’t build muscle the same way.
4. Leave a gap between dinner and bed
The “don’t eat after 6pm” rule is old news now; after all, it doesn’t really have an impact on fat gain.
BUT, I will say, having a cut-off time to eat WILL stop you from reaching for the post-dinner, high-calorie sweet snacks, like cake, chocolate, biscuits and ice cream.
If you make it a rule to stop eating at 7pm, for example, then you might find it easier to put a stop to those nighttime munchies.
Plus, leaving a gap means your food has digested, so you’ll likely sleep better. You may also be more inclined to go to bed earlier, too.
Ever had a huge dinner right before rolling into bed? It’s not always the most comfortable of nights.
Better sleep also helps with weight loss, because sleep deprivation has been shown in studies to increase appetite and therefore, weight.
5. Enjoy potatoes
It always baffles me when people fear potatoes because of their high carb content.
Yes, potatoes are a carbohydrate. In some diets, they would be classed the ‘devil’, such as keto.
But potatoes literally come from the ground – there’s nothing processed about them.
Potatoes are low in calories (one spud contains around 100 calories), they’re filling (great at stopping the munchies), high in fibre and versatile.
Boiled, roasted, mashed, baked, cut into wedges – whatever takes your fancy – but avoid saturating it in oils, especially vegetable oils. Just a little drizzle will do.
The only caveat here is to remember that anything you top your potato with (hello handfuls of cheese and wedges of butter), might NOT be doing your waistline any favours, so keep this in mind.
A generous side of boiled baby potatoes doesn’t just help to keep me full, I also find it really comforting and far more enjoyable than just a piece of meat and some green veg.
GettyCutting back on alcohol will help get rid of stubborn belly fat, experts say[/caption]
6. Avoid hangovers
I’m not telling you to quit the booze here, because I know how hard that is and often, placing a ban on booze only means you want it more.
But if you’re anything like me, a couple of glasses of wine could leave you with a sore head the next day.
For me, any form of grogginess, tiredness or other hangover symptoms, results in me eating like a whale the next day.
Sadly, I’m not gorging on celery sticks but chocolate and anything cake-like – and these foods most certainly don’t help to burn belly fat.
If you’re going to drink while trying to lose weight, at least have a glass of water between each alcoholic beverage, before you go to bed, and consider some hangover supplements to ease the pain.
7. Eat enough protein
The most filling macronutrient – of protein, carbohydrates and fats – is protein.
Protein also helps with muscle repair and growth and could also boost your basal metabolic rate (BMR) – AKA the number of calories you burn without movement.
Lewis Paris, Level 3 PT and founder of Lewis Paris Fitness, says: “Adequate protein intake along with carbohydrates for fuel and good fats consumption for insulation is optimal to reach your goals.
“Consuming 1.6g to 2g of protein times your bodyweight in kg daily is a good place to start (i.e if you weigh 75kg, times that by 1.6 = 120g).”
When submerged in water below 15C for as little as one to three minutes, three to five days a week, you start the process of activating brown fat.
Lewis Paris
Look to include a source of protein in every meal and you won’t go too far wrong.
Here are some examples of foods and how much protein they contain (roughly):
Chicken breast: 34.8g
Lean turkey mince (100g): 25g
Lean beef mince (100g): 20.8g
Cooked king prawns (100g): 17.6g
Two pork sausages: 10g
Two large eggs: 14.5g
Plant-based sources
Tofu (100g): 16.5g
Greek yoghurt (100g): 9g
Tinned chickpeas (half a can): 8.1g
Tinned lentils (half a can): 8g
8. Have a very cold shower
It’s the trend that took off in 2023, and Lewis says that incorporating cold water therapy into your routine can help to speed up the process of reducing belly fat by boosting metabolism.
“When submerged in water below 15 degrees celsius for as little as one to three minutes, three to five days a week, you start the process of activating brown fat which can only be done through cold water therapy either submerged in an ice bath or under cold running water,” says Lewis.
“As well as physiological benefits which include reducing inflammation and boosting your immune system, cold water therapy helps with easing the symptoms of depression and boosts your mood.”
A good mood will generally help you stick to healthier habits more.
How to lose weight safely
Losing weight should be a long-term commitment to healthier living, rather than any drastic measures.
The NHS tips – which can be adopted slowly – include:
Get active for 150 minutes a week – you can break this up into shorter sessions
Aim to get your ‘5 a day’ – 80g of fresh, canned or frozen fruit or vegetables count as 1 portion
Aim to lose 1 to 2lbs, or 0.5 to 1kg, a week
Read food labels – products with more green colour coding than amber and red are often a healthier option
Swap sugary drinks for water – if you do not like the taste, add slices of lemon or lime for flavour
Cut down on food that’s high in sugar and fat – start by swapping sugary cereal for wholegrain alternatives
Share your weight loss plan with someone you trust – they can help motivate you when you have a bad day
Read about:
The five fat loss foundations
The calorie formula for weight loss
The perfect portion sizes for meals to lose weight
Sun Health’s 8-week weight loss kick start plan
9. Eat out less
The big pitfall to eating out is that you can never be fully certain what exactly has gone into your meal.
For example, you don’t know how much oil has been used and oil is incredibly calorific.
You don’t know the exact portion sizes and even if you order a seemingly healthy salad, you don’t know what has gone into your dressing.
When I want to shape up, I will eat out less. Instead, I’ll focus on home-cooked meals so I know exactly what I am eating.
Plus, you’ll save a stack of money too. So it’s a win win really.
If you’re keen to see friends, have them over for a dinner party. Date night? Use it as an excuse to learn a new healthy but indulgent recipe, such as Thai green curry, which has lots of vegetables.
10. Move more generally
Exercise is great, but you also need to focus on movement generally.
Lewis says: “Inactivity will make it harder to burn the necessary calories needed to lose belly fat, so moving more throughout the day will help you to reach your goal sooner.
“Look to increase your NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis), in other words, movement not conducive to the gym.”
He adds that you can increase your NEAT easily by taking the stairs and walking up the escalators, parking further away from the supermarket and shopping entrance, hourly five minute breaks from the desk, walking meetings, gardening, housework and playing with the kids at the park.