What is the best way to lose weight, particularly belly fat?
I get this question all the time. It seems like nothing says you’re getting old like having belly fat.
There are many ways to lose belly fat – extreme dieting, crazy food cleanses, fat loss pills, tea supplements etc but it is the rare person who has the patience to do a lifestyle overhaul to look at their habits that led them to having belly fat.
Instead of focusing on fast fixes and specific foods I’m going outline 5 key habit changes you need to know to not only lose the belly fat but to keep it off for life. So let’s get started!
Key Habit #1 - Eat fewer calories
How many calories we burn everyday is determined by our height, gender, age, and lean muscle mass. The heavier and taller we are the more calories we burn. Men burn more calories than women when they are of equal height and weight because of their muscle composition.
When I was younger I didn’t think about calories or about what I ate. My family cooked reasonably healthy and I would have pizza and McDonald’s here and there but it wasn’t an everyday occurrence. I ate a lot of rice with my meals because it was a staple in my Asian diet.
I didn’t realize that I was skinny fat until I went to college and got my bodyfat measured. I was wearing the same size clothes in college that I did in highschool so I thought that was a good thing until I wanted to put on lean muscle mass like the magazine covers.
This was when I realized that I was considered obese on the inside eventhough I looked skinny on the outside and I was eating healthy too.
I have female clients who come to me with the same circumstance, they eat healthy but then how come they still have a muffin top? I tell them that it’s not what they eat that determines whether they get a belly or not but how much they’re eating.
To really lose the belly fat you must know how many calories your body is burning. This number is your TDEE, total daily energy expenditure).
Google for a calorie calculator and it will tell you’re your TDEE then reduce the calories by about 10 to 15% so that you’re eating less than your body burns. This turns on the fat burning energy mode.
Key Habit #2 - Eat healthier
The quality of your diet is reflected in the amount of fat you have on your body. The poorer your diet the more easily you put on fat because you’re eating foods that are energy/calorically dense but have poor nutritional value.
Changing the quality of your diet alone can help you lose belly fat simply because you’re eating fewer calories in your diet. A healthy diet full of vegetables and lean protein contains fewer calories than Chinese take-out and will help keep you satiated.
Often times this change in diet is enough to spur on fat loss because it’ll make you seem like you’re eating more calories but in reality it’s less. Take a look at the image below and you’ll see how 400 calories looks different depending on what you’re eating.
Focus on whole nutrient dense foods to maximize the nutrient value of each calorie. Instead of going for the chicken nuggets go for the whole chicken breast. Abstain from granola and protein bars which are full of sugars and go for the loose trail mix instead.
Key Habit #3 - Exercise Especially Strength Training
Get moving in any way possible but mostly focus on strength training. Having more lean muscle mass helps you to burn more calories now and in the future as oppose to cardio in which you’ll stop burning calories the moment you stop.
Having a high lean muscle mass creates a bigger energy burn so that everything you do will cost more calories than if you had a higher bodyfat. A higher lean muscle mass also contributes to improvement health, fewer injuries, and a better quality of life as you grow older.
The best way to build lean muscle mass is to focus on heavy, compound movements like the ones below,
I was super intimidated when I first stepped into my college weight room because I didn’t know what to do and what equipment was what.
Took me a year to get somewhere and to figure it out. These days you can skip or even expedite your learning with a good personal trainer.
Make exercise a regular part of your life instead of a one-time temporary change.
Create this healthy habit of lifting weights at least 2X a week and work out with challenging weights. Your future you will thank you because everyone grows old but we can alter how we grow old.
Exercise is a way to help you burn extra calories to lose the belly fat but you cannot burn as many calories as you would by cutting them out of your diet. Focus on cleaning up your diet and figuring out how many calories you need then supplement with exercise.
Key Habit #4 - Sleep Better
Funny how we like to brag how little sleep we got last night as if staying up was a badge of honor. Your body needs 7 to 8 hours of sleep and getting enough sleep contributes to fat loss in multiple ways,
- More Willpower – when you’re sleep deprived you give in to your cravings more easily. Your body will crave sugars and carbs to make up for the lack of sleep the night before.
- Lower Cortisol Levels – the same pre-cursor that produces testosterone for building muscle also creates cortisol your stress hormones. You only have a limited amount of this pre-cursor everyday so when you lack sleep you’ll produce more cortisol instead of muscle.
In my early 20s I was able to live off of 6 hours of sleep a night but as I grow older I’m more sensitive to sleep deprivation. I notice how cranky I am when I sleep less than 7 hours and how I become more A.D.D. on tasks that require focus.
Getting enough sleep is crucial for continual fat loss. When we run low on sleep our stress hormone cortisol kicks in and we end up being sensitive to cravings, junk food binges, and store more fat as a result of cortisol.
A lack of sleep is taking a step backwards in your belly fat loss because your body is working against you.
Key Habit #5 - Lower your stress level
Cortisol is produced by your adrenal glands to increase blood sugar levels to prepare for a physical battle even if it's just excessive worry over tomorrow morning's board meeting. Your body doesn't know the difference.
Cortisol gets produced when we're stressed and when we constantly have excess sugar in our blood stream it promotes the storage of fat.
A sign that you have excess cortisol in your system? Belly fat.
In fact if you store most of your fat in your abdominal region as a skinny fat woman you're more vulnerable to the effects of stress compared to women who are generally overweight and store fat elsewhere.
Good luck!
