Month: November 2021

Did you know that having a larger waist can lead to serious health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers? Having belly fat is not only unflattering but can also be hazardous for your health. Due to this, many people want to learn how to burn belly fat and do it fast.

On the other hand, belly fat is the most stubborn fat, and it’s not easy to eliminate it. If you’re ready to battle the unwanted belly fat and get the abs of your dreams, the following ten exercises will be your best allies.

Key Takeaways:

• Belly fat can cause serious health problems
• Belly fat is the most difficult fat to eliminate
• Regularly exercising can help you reduce abdominal fat and get your waist into perfect shape

In this article, we’ll cover the best belly fat-burning exercises to help you eliminate the accumulated fat in the abdominal area and the correct way to perform them.

Lying Leg Raises

This amazing belly fat-burning exercise targets the upper and lower abs, quads, and hamstrings.

How to Perform Lying Leg Raises?

• Lie down on the ground; we recommend using a mat for more comfort
• Put your thumbs under your hips with your palms on the floor
• Lift your feet off the floor a little, look up at the ceiling and engage your core
• Raise both legs to 90 degrees, and then slowly bring them back down
• Right before your legs touch the floor again, raise your legs again
• Don’t allow your legs to touch the floor

Burpee

The burpee engages all muscles in the body, from head to toe. It’s especially great for reducing fat in the abdominal area.

How to Perform Burpee?

• Stand straight with feet shoulder-width apart and your arms by your sides
• Lower your body into a squat position and place your hands on the floor
• Kick your legs back into the plank position
• Jump forward to returning to squad position
• Get back into the starting position

Kettlebell Swing

The kettlebell swing is excellent for burning calories and working on the muscles in your hips, glutes, and quads.

How to Perform KettleBell Swing?

• Grab a kettlebell with both hands at arm’s length down in front of you
• Bend at your hips
• Rock back slightly and move the kettlebell in between your legs
•  Squeeze your glutes, thrust your hips forward forcefully and swing the kettlebell to shoulder height

Russian Twist

The Russian twist will help you lose belly fat and shape your waist. It’s a great exercise for the upper and lowers abs.

How to Perform Russian Twist?

• Sit on a mat and lift both of your legs
• Lean back a little but keep your knees flexed; join your palms
• Twist your upper body to the right and then to the left
• Don’t hold your breath while doing the exercise

Plank

The plan is the greatest exercise for burning belly fat. It will help you shape your abdomen area but also strengthen your core, shoulders, and biceps.

How to Perform Plank?

• Kneel and place your elbows on the mat
• Extend your left leg back and then the right leg
• Your hips, back, and neck should be in the same line
• Keep your core engaged
• Hold the position for at least 30 seconds

Tuck Jumps

The explosive movement incorporated in tuck jumps will help you burn calories fast while reducing belly fat.

How to Perform Tuck Jumps?

• Stand with your feet slightly less than shoulder-width apart
• Bend your knees like you’re getting in a squat position and then jump in the air, tucking your knees as closer to the chest
• Keep your back straight
• Land as softly as possible

Side Plank

The side plan will engage your abs, core, shoulders, biceps, and glutes.

How to Perform Side Plank?

• Get into a side half-lying pose on your left, with your right foot across the left foot and on the floor
• Place your elbow below your shoulder and your right hand on your waist
• Lift your pelvis off the floor while keeping your neck and head in line
• Open your right-hand side and hold the position for at least 30 seconds
• Lower your body and take a 10-second break; change sides and repeat

Jackknife Crunch

Another incredible exercise that targets the abs, hamstring, and quads is the jackknife crunch.

How to Perform Jackknife Crunch?

• Lie down and extend your hands over your head
• Lift your upper body while keeping your neck and back in the same line
• Lift both your feet off the floor simultaneously
• Try to touch your kneed with your hands
• Get back into starting position

Heel Touch

Heel touch is a great exercise to help shape your upper abs.

How to Perform Heel Touch?

• Lie down with your legs flexed and feet wider than shoulder-width apart and flat
• Your hands should be y your sides, your shoulders relaxed, and your core engaged
• Bend sideways and touch your left heel with your left hand
• Bend towards the other side and touch the right heel with your right hand
• Don’t place your feet too close to your hips

Scissor Kicks

Scissor kick is a great exercise for burning fat and toning your lower and upper abs, glutes, hamstrings, and quads.

How to Perform Scissor Kicks?

• Lie down with your palms placed under your hips
• Lift your upper back, head, and legs off the floor
• Lower your right leg, and just before it reaches the floor, lift it again and lower your left leg

Final Recommendations

Belly fat is the most stubborn fat to eliminate, but with a little effort, you can burn belly fat and have the perfect abs. If you do these ten exercises regularly, eat nutritional food and drink tons of water, the results will be inevitable, and you’ll soon see those abs that have been hiding underneath the fat.

Everyone can have a flat belly and nice abs; it just takes hard work and dedication!

Who says you cannot lose weight quickly? You can! Today’s market offers plenty of diets to rapidly shed pounds. But should you? Probably not. These popular diets will most likely leave you hungry and deprived. Worse yet, you can easily regain the pounds as soon as you ‘finish the diet.’

The better alternative is to lose pounds healthily and permanently. The key to success in this regard is making small changes to your lifestyle without going on a diet. Let’s help you drop some weight!

10 Tips to Help You Lose Weight Without Going On A Diet

While we are all different, here are the top ten healthy tips that hold for almost all of us. Feel free to use one of the following painless strategies or combine them for the best possible results.

Plan Your Meals

It would be best to eat at regular times, starting with breakfast.

Try to build a balanced breakfast with fiber, protein, and healthy fats that will fill you up and keep you satisfied longer. It should be around 400-500 calories; think of eggs, nuts, veggies, fruits, or 100% whole grains. For instance, a whole-grain cereal topped with low-fat dairy and fruits is a quick and healthy way to start your day.

Eating consistently helps you burn calories faster, helps you refrain from oversized portions, and reduces the desire to snack on foods high in saturated fat and sugar.

Furthermore, studies consistently indicate that people who log everything they eat during meals are more likely to lose weight and keep it off for the long haul. Today, many tracking apps can help you keep a journal and stay accountable for what you eat throughout the day.

Eat More Produce

Fruits and vegetables are high in volume, nutrient-dense, and filling, yet low in calories. Eating large servings of fruits and vegetables will crowd out other foods higher in calories and fats off your plate.

Always start your meal with a vegetable salad or a bowl of broth-based soup, or pile up your plate with vegetables (at least 50%), so you have less space for meat and other foods. This practice will also help you enrich your diet with vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and fibers.

Switch To Lighter Alternatives

It would be best not to restrict any foods or food groups but replace them with lower-calorie versions. Using lighter products can help you cut down calories effortlessly. For instance, you can use low-fat versions of dairy products, salad dressings, and even sodas; most often, you won’t even notice the difference. As time goes by, you’ll get more used to these ingredients.

If you are willing to take a step further, you can also make smarter substitutions, such as mustard over mayonnaise, skim milk instead of cream, vinaigrette over a creamy dressing, and so on.

Choose Liquid Calories Wisely

While drinks might have the same calories as real food, they cannot reduce hunger to the same extent. For example, a bowl of veggies or protein-packed stir-fry can get you full. At the same time, you cannot expect the same effect from juice, caramel coffee, tea, or any other sweetened drink.

Alcohol is also a huge deal breaker because it can suppress fast metabolism, preventing you from burning calories. So, you can save a lot of calories by limiting alcohol to weekends or eliminating it altogether.

It can be hard to figure out how much sugar a single product contains since sugar can go by many names in the list of ingredients. A great way to improve your diet is to monitor your sugary beverage intake and minimize added sugars. Make sure you go through the ingredients carefully the next time you purchase something from the store. It will help you lose weight faster, improve your heart health, and prevent diabetes.

In addition, people frequently confuse thirst with hunger. So, before you rush into the kitchen, drink 1-2 glasses of water to avoid consuming unnecessary calories. If you drink water before you eat, you will reduce your calorie intake. In addition, water is good for losing weight since it replaces drinks that are high in sugar and calories. You can also get vegetable juice, skim, low-fat milk, or small 100% natural fruit juices.

Trim Your Portions

Most portions at home or in the restaurant are bigger than you need. You will lose weight if you do nothing else but reduce the size of your potions by 10% to 20%.

The best way to help yourself is by using a measuring cup to understand your usual portion size. You can also buy smaller plates and bowls to ‘fool’ your brain more easily; you will eat a whole portion (only a smaller one).

Control Your Environments

As the good old saying goes, ‘out of sight, out of mind,’ meaning if you don’t see something frequently, you will forget about it.

We recommend you pay attention to stocking your kitchen and choosing the right restaurants. If you stay away from high-calorie snacks and calorie-packed drinks at home and all-you-can-eat restaurants, you will be less tempted to cheat on your diet.

It would also help to eat a healthy snack before going to a party or a celebration so that you won’t be starving. This way, you’ll fill your plate more carefully at the buffet. Also, emphasize drinking water more frequently, especially before returning to the buffet.

Eat Slowly and Mindfully

When you’re eating food, chew deliberately and ensure that you taste each bit that goes into your mouth; you should only swallow once you’ve chewed up all food. Focusing on taste, textures, temperature, and smells can help you with portion control; you’ll know when you’ve had enough and can stop. As a bonus, you’ll enjoy the food more properly.

Mindful eating will also emphasize what and when you are eating. So, you can easily identify unnecessary munching moments and tacking on extra calories. Also, always eat food that you choose for yourself to shift the focus from external authorities’ control and listen to your body’s inner wisdom instead. It will help you make better choices!

Add Protein To Each Meal or Snack

Protein is the king of nutrients when it comes to weight loss. If you add lean or low-fat protein to your meals, you’ll be full longer and less likely to overeat. Good examples include eggs, beans, lean meat, nuts, and peanut butter.

Always Get Enough Sleep

If you sleep less than seven hours per night, you can easily slow down your metabolism. Lack of sleep increases the hunger hormone, also known as ghrelin, and decreases the satisfaction hormone leptin. Our cravings for higher energy or food intensify when we intensely feel hunger. So, if you are sleep deprived, you’ll crave more sweet and salty food, which contributes to gaining weight.

It is also well-known that improper sleep can affect how we process our emotions and think, so it’s easy to relate this with the reduced ability to make smart choices in different areas of life, including food.

Quality sleep will help you lose weight, boost alertness, and improve your mood and overall quality of life. If you sleep less than the desired amount, try to push your bedtime by 15 to 30 minutes every day until it becomes a habit.

Walk and Add More Steps

It would help to be more active throughout the day. Any type of exercise is good, but you can start walking and gradually add more steps until you reach 10,000 daily; this includes pacing while you talk on the phone, walking the dog, and marching in place during TV commercials. You can get a pedometer or use a phone app to help you track your activity and remind and motivate you.

Extra Tip: Start Strength Training

You can build lean muscle tissue with strength training. Lean muscle helps you burn more calories and lose weight faster. For instance, you can do push-ups, squats, lunges, bicep curls, or tricep extensions from home. Feel free to incorporate new moves for your abs, back, or legs; three to four workouts a week will also help you improve posture, stability, and motion.

The Bottom Line

Over the years, you’ve probably heard a lot of misguided weight loss advice, and often, these tips are given by people that don’t have any expertise in the field. But, just as there is a lot of crazy weight-loss advice that needs to be avoided, there is also expert-approved and research-based advice to facilitate your weight-loss journey.

The most important thing you should remember is that weight loss takes time, and you should not expect results overnight. The best way to speed up the process is to plan your meals, go for the grain, build a better breakfast, up your veggie intake, snack smart, skip added sugars, drink plenty of water, use a smaller plate, don’t ban foods, don’t stock junk food, cut down on alcohol, read food labels, and stay active. Does it seem like too much effort?

Take it step-by-step, give yourself time, and don’t try to change your life altogether in 24 hours. That’s the best advice anyone can give you!