You're fed up with your belly fat, and you want it gone -- now. Your abdomen didn't expand in one week, so you can't expect it to slim down in that short time either. Use a week to introduce measures to help you lose belly fat over time and reduce bloating. You might feel a little lighter after seven days, but true loss of fat will take several weeks or months.
How to Lose Belly Fat
Belly fat is a metabolically active type of fat that sits deep inside the abdominal cavity. It surrounds internal organs and releases compounds that make you vulnerable to metabolic disturbances, heart disease and inflammation.
Belly fat may be dangerous, but it's also responsive to traditional weight-loss strategies of diet and exercise. One pound of fat equals 3,500 calories; thus, to lose a pound, you must consume 3,500 calories fewer than you burn. In a week, you can't afford much more than a 3,500- or 7,000-calorie deficit without severely depriving yourself of nutrients and solid food. This deficit means you'll lose 1 or 2 pounds per week.
Some people can lose more than 2 pounds in a week with a dedicated fitness program and serious dietary restrictions.The time and effort required to lose weight that quickly is grueling and usually unsustainable, though. Even if you can lose a notable amount of weight in a week, a lot of it will be water weight -- not true belly fat. Weight you lose quickly is likely to be regained quickly too.
Exercise to Lose Belly Fat
Belly fat is usually the first weight lost when you start an exercise program, explains Rush University Medical Center. If you are new to exercise or coming back from a long hiatus, you can't expect to hit the gym for hours at a time to burn off fat that first week. This only increases your risk of injury and burn out.
Instead, build up to at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity cardio, such as swimming, jogging or hiking. A duration of 250 minutes per week will lead to more significant weight loss, explains the American College of Sports Medicine. This means 250 minutes a week for several weeks or months, though; you're unlikely to see dramatic results after one week.
Strength training is another critical component in belly fat loss. You can't crunch your tummy away, but you can participate in a full-body strength-training program that addresses all the major muscle groups. Do this at least twice a week to build muscle, which helps boost your metabolism. The results of strength-training are gradual, however. One week of strength training won't induce the changes in your body necessary to improve your metabolism, but over the long haul you'll see improvements.
Dietary Changes to Reduce Visceral Fat
Belly fat also responds to a lower-calorie diet that's full of healthy, unprocessed foods. Go for lean protein, fresh produce and whole grains at meals. When you have just a week to lose as much as possible, ban all sweetened drinks -- including soda and juice -- bakery treats and ice cream. Also avoid refined grains, such as pizza and white bread, as well as alcohol. Keep your portion sizes to just 2 to 4 ounces for meats and other proteins and about 1/2 cup for grains. Over the long term, these dietary revisions help you drop belly fat.
Resist the urge to use a diet that promises quick results. Often they don't work, or they're so restrictive you can't handle them for more than a couple of days -- let alone a week. If you do stick to the plan, you may very well see a drop in pounds -- but it's not from a substantial amount of fat; it's mostly from water. A quick-fix diet teaches you nothing about sensible eating that will help you manage your belly fat and health forever. You'll likely gain all the weight back as soon as you resume your normal eating habits.
Reduce Bloating This Week
Although you can't lose substantial fat in a week, you can jump start the weight-loss process. Also make a few dietary and lifestyle changes to reduce bloating so your tummy feels flatter.
Avoid over stuffing yourself at meals; eat small meals throughout the day. Chewing gum and drinking with a straw can cause excess air to gather in the digestive tract. Carbonated beverages, spicy foods, large servings of beans or cruciferous vegetables, dried fruits and fruit juice often induce gas and bloating. If you're lactose intolerant, avoid dairy products to help reduce belly swelling; make sure you obtain important nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, from milk alternatives or other fortified foods.
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Is your fat tummy bothering you? Have you ever wondered if you could achieve an unbelievably flat tummy faster than any of your peers? Owing to today’s sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits, there is no wonder a fat tummy is something that has been bothering most of us.
What if you come across a way of getting rid of your belly in more than a week? Amazing, isn’t it? That is what this post is all about! Go ahead and give a read!
1. Eating Smaller Portions More Often:
This is a great way to lose belly fat in one week. We suggest that instead of eating 3 full meals and overloading your digestive system, you should switch to eating smaller portions about 2 to 3 hours apart. Benefits would be less expansion of your belly and a supercharged metabolism which will burn up more fat.
2. Reduce Intake Of High-Fibre Foods:
Sometimes most of us become victims of bloating, which causes a huge belly bulge (1). Bloating can be avoided by limiting the intake of bloat-causing high fibre foods, which include:
Broccoli
Beans
Brussels sprouts
Cauliflower
These high- fibre vegetables are good for the body, but lethal to your body shape. We would suggest that you eliminate them from your diet during this week as they cause gas and bloating. However, you may gradually re-introduce them into your diet after a week.
3. Regulate Intake Of Raw Fruits And Veggies:
We suggest that you don’t eat too many raw vegetables and fruits at one go. Better eat them in smaller portions spread throughout the day as they cause your stomach to stretch.
4. Cut Back On Dairy:
Dairy products, especially in lactose intolerant people (2), cause uncomfortable gas conditions and bloating. This happens because they have difficulty digesting ‘lactose’, the sugar found in dairy. We suggest that you have yogurt and stick to smaller portions of milk and its products. It will also be great for your shape if you eat milk products along with other foods.
5. Eat More Potassium-Rich Foods:
High potassium foods like avocados, bananas, papaya, mango, cantaloupe and yogurt have a number of bloat-reducing benefits. This is because potassium is a natural diuretic that helps reduce water retention and puffiness (3).
7. Drink More Water:
Water is great for health, but it’s even better when you are trying to lose weight and flatten your stomach. This is because when you drink enough water, you are actually helping your system to maintain proper water balance which helps in reducing water retention, a major cause of bloated bellies. Water also makes us feel full and reduces overeating.
8. Green Tea Helps:
Green tea comes packed with antioxidants called ‘catechins’ which are known to reduce belly fat. We suggest that you binge on green tea before you workout.
9. Start Your Day With A Smoothie:
Smoothies are a great way to stay healthy and hydrated. They are easy to make and one of the best ways to start your day. We suggest watermelon smoothie, as this fruit is rich in an amino acid called ‘arginine’ that is known to decrease body fat and increase lean muscle mass.
A pineapple smoothie piles you up with ‘bromelain’, an enzyme that helps break down protein and banishes bloating.
10. Make Ginger Your Friend:
Ginger not only helps calm your intestines and reduces bloating, but is also an excellent remedy for gas. You can take ginger by grating it and having it with your green tea, or you can boil small pieces of the root in water to make ginger tea. Peppermint works fine to fight bloat. You can have peppermint candies, drink peppermint tea or add peppermint leaves to water or green tea.
11. Stay Away From Alcohol And Carbonated Drinks:
We are not trying to be party poppers by suggesting that you stay away from your favorite beverages. Alcohol is not your friend if you want a flat tummy because it induces your body to store more of the fat you eat. And that’s not all; it also makes you burn about 36% less fat than you would when you are alcohol-free.
Alcohol can also inhibit your body’s production of fat-burning hormones. Carbonated beverages contain gas and hence after consuming them you end up naturally with more gas in your GI tract, leading to bloating.
Getting A Flat Belly With Exercises:
Wondering how to lose belly fat in a week? Exercises that focus on the entire body are best for losing weight on the abdomen. Having said this, there are a few specific exercises that you can do to get a fab and flat abdomen.
1. Cardio:
Aerobic exercise is your biggest weapon against belly fat. It is the best to get rid of the deep visceral fat stored in the abdomen. And studies prove that it is even better than resistance training or weight training. So, a brisk walk or swimming should be the way out if you want a flat belly in a week. We suggest that you clock up aerobic activity for 10 minutes each spread out over the day, rather than trying to exercise vigorously for a long time at a stretch.
2. Crunches:
These specific exercises are very good for flattening one’s belly as they work on the muscles on the front and sides of the abdomen. Here are a few crunches that you can do to get rid of stomach fat:
The Pelvic Tilt Crunch:
This is excellent for getting a flat stomach fast. You can do this crunch by lying face-up on a stability ball with your back and head pressed onto the ball. Keep your feet together on the floor and hold a 5- to 10 pound dumbbell in your hands against your chest. Now, tighten your abs and crunch up with your shoulders off the ball. Raise your hands up, trying to reach up to the sky. Repeat.
Arms Over Straight-Leg Crunch:
Lie on your back with your arms extended backwards, and your legs raised to a 45-degree angle. Bring your arms up and lift your shoulders off the mat while raising your legs until they are perpendicular to the floor. Return to your starting position. Do 3 sets of 15 repetitions and gradually build up.
3. Work Your Core:
The core is made up of abdominal muscles and the muscles of your lower back, pelvic floor and hips. It has a total of 15 muscles in all. So, to get a flat tummy, you need exercises like planks and push-ups to target all these muscles. These exercises include:
The Side Plank:
You can do this simple exercise by lying down on your left side with your elbow directly beneath your shoulder and your legs one on top of the other. Place your right hand on your right hip. Now, tighten your abs and lift your hips off the floor. This way, you will be directly working the abdominal muscles. Hold for a minimum of 30 seconds and repeat on the other side.
The Push-Up Workout:
Start the workout in the push-up position. Place your hands on the floor 2 inches wider than your shoulders. Now, with your feet in place, walk your hands out as far as possible till you feel a stretch in your abdomen. Walk back similarly. We suggest that you do 10-12 repetitions for a nice ab workout.
Stressing and anxiety should be avoided during this week. Stress produces a hormone called ‘cortisol’, which encourages weight gain about the belly area. So just stay calm and carry on!
Here are a few other ways in which you can reduce the appearance of a tummy:
1. Stand Up Straight:
This will require you to improve your posture. But, do work on your posture as standing up taller can make you look 5 pounds slimmer. Stand in such a way that your pelvis is relaxed. You can also stand against a wall to check whether your posture is straight. Make sure that your back is pressed up against the wall with no more than an inch between the wall and your lower back. A wider gap means your pelvis is not straight.
Also make sure that you line your rib cage up with your stomach. Now, roll your shoulders back and let them drop down gently and centre your head over your spine. Elongate your neck by imagining a string gently lifting the crown of your head.
How do you make standing up tall a habit? We suggest that you try Pilates. Research proves that Pilates is one of the best ways to improve posture and strengthen one’s ab and back muscles. Here is a Pilates move you can do while you are still in bed that will set your posture straight for the day.
Belly Ins:
Draw in your belly to your spine while you are lying on your bed. Slowly, flatten your lower back to the bed by using your core muscles. We suggest that you exhale while pressing your belly down and inhale on the release. Repeat at-leastten times for a straight posture.
2. Sleep Early:
Sleeping early has a number of benefits. Early sleepers are less likely to overeat. Eating right and exercising will give you a flat belly only if you’re getting enough sleep. We know now for a fact that getting less sleep can jack up the levels of the stress hormone ‘cortisol’, which increases fat storage around one’s midriff. It has also been linked to increasing the levels of deep abdominal fat.
3. Make Your Wardrobe Work For You:
Always choose belly-flattening clothes and fabrics. Choose fabrics that skim over your tummy. Use natural fabrics and ditch lycra that emphasizes each bulge.
Divert the eye away from the belly by choosing clothes that emphasize on the bust, for example. You can also go in for shape-wear to minimize your belly and shrink your waist.
[ Read: Yoga Asanas To Reduce Belly Fat ]
Diet For Rapid Weight Loss:
Following is the super-diet to reduce belly fat in a week!
The best diet for rapid weight loss will exclude the following foods:
All sugars, including refined as well as natural sugars. You must avoid all processed foods containing added sugars. Also cut back on honey, fruit juices, and dried fruits.
Also avoid all starchy foods like rice, noodles, pasta or bread. Switch to whole grains like brown rice and brown bread or leave them out if you want to reduce fat in a week. You can reintroduce brown rice once your week is up.
And following are the foods you can include in your diet:
Fruits and vegetables.
Stick to lean protein and vegetables this week. Include 1 portion of fruit and snack or nuts in between meals.
We would suggest that you season your meals with olive oil that makes you feel full.