A question I get asked a lot is how to lose weight but more specifically "how can I lose belly fat" or "how can I get abs?" And are abs made in the gym or the kitchen?
Here's the secret, you already have abs. They just might not be as big or as strong as you'd like or even noticeable. You have to shed the weight around the abdominal muscles in order to show them off. So is doing a 100 crunches a day make you lose belly fat or build abs? Yes but probably not the fastest way to get them to pop.
Research has shown that fat loss is not selective to the specific area that you are working out. So doing crunches will not spot reduce your belly fat. What I mean is that when you exercise for a prolonged period of time at high intensity, you are burning fat evenly all over your body.
A study conducted in 1971 at UCI in Irvine California found that tennis players' racket swinging arm had no less fat than their other not-so-much-used arm. Other studies have shown that working the muscle in a specific area does not dislodge or dissolve fat around it. Working out actually just burns fat all over your body.
Here are some tried and true ways to lose belly fat and get your abs to pop:
Cardio. Now before you skip this one just know that cardio can come in many other forms besides running. Such as biking, swimming, walking, rowing, jump roping. What you'll need to do is bring up your heart rate 50% for a prolonged period of time. This pushes oxygen into your cells creating more calorie burn.
My favorite kind of cardio is HIIT (high intensity interval training) which is exactly that, high intensity moves such as burpees, jump squats or lunges, for a period of time like 30 seconds and then lower intensity toe taps or skaters for 30 seconds, and continuing this for about 10 to 30 minutes with little recovery time between.
HIIT workouts increase your Resting Metabolic Rate which is the amount of calories your body needs to perform the most basic functions to survive, breathing, thinking, blood circulation, muscle contraction, etc. So when we do HIIT workouts our body needs to repair and recover faster which means we are increasing our RMR which means more calories burned. Not only that but HIIT increases your RMR for 24 hours so even after you are finished with your workout the calories keep on burning.
Eat healthy. Be conscious about food choices. Less sugar and processed crap. Less alcohol or at least giving your body an hour between drinks to process them. Increase your whole foods consumption. Fill your plate with more greens and veggies than anything else. Increase your fiber intake and be aware of which foods cause your body to go haywire or bloat. For me cutting our dairy and wheat has been a complete game changer. I do occasionally consume both and pay the price for it every time. Eat more healthy fats, such as avocado and small amounts of nuts. Watch your processed carb intake (breads, pastas). If you can determine your RMR or BMR then you can determine what your calorie needs are and what your calorie deficit should be for you to lose weight (I can help you with this if you are into calorie counting which I am NOT).
Managing stress. I'm sure you've heard that stress causes belly fat because of the increase in the hormone cortisol that gets produced during times of stress. Finding ways to control your stress or work through it will reduce your cortisol. I have to say that meditating and yoga have been a life saver. When I was in my 20s I was obsessed with the saying "stress kills" and I obsessed over that because of the high stress I was putting myself through at the time and I just knew that I had to get it under control or I would die younger than I wanted to. After almost a decade of trying a prescription and other herbal and natural supplements I found yoga and meditation. Completely changed my life. I was a ticking time bomb. Many of my friends today would not image me this way. I was an angry person who had been hurt, betrayed, berated, abused, criticized, beat down and I was ready to implode. Now I don't mean, that the second you start to stress go do yoga (by all means if you can then do), but if you practice yoga and meditation daily you will notice a greater sense of being able to handle the stressors of life. You won't be so reactive to it, you'll be like an observer. But find what works for you. Another great tool is doing personal development (reading or podcasts) and keeping a gratitude journal. And no, alcohol will never solve your problems, you'll still wake up with them.
Sleep. Something I myself need to work on. I go to bed late and wake up early. I am not getting quality sleep and I know it. Sleep is important to help you lose weight. How you ask? Well for starters when you are tired you are less likely to exercise or even move your body much. You are more likely to eat crap food because you're too tired to cook. Not only that but it increases your cravings for processed carbs and sugar. A study showed that people who didn't get adequate sleep had the hormone ghrelin (signals hunger) released more than necessary and the hormone leptin (signals fullness) decreased. This imbalance increases your appetite. Poor sleep also decreases your RMR which you know now you want to keep high, not down, in order to lose weight. And lack of sleep also decreases muscle mass which leads me to the next helpful tips.
Build muscle. Having more muscle in your body burns more fat. Look at the body
composition of healthy men in general. They have more muscle mass than women and less fat than women. A natural part of our gender makeup and nothing to get upset about (remember, stressing less is key). Muscle naturally burns more calories because you have a higher BMR and therefor burning more calories while at rest.
If you've made it this far then you get to be let in on a secret I discovered last year by accident. I had ordered a specific amino acid supplement to help me with muscle recovery but ordered the wrong one. When I looked it up I discovered that this particular amino acid helps convert fat into usable energy. I've looked it up several times and each time have seen it is a great addition to a healthy diet and exercise lifestyle to help lose fat. It can be found naturally in foods such as meat, fish, poultry and dairy. As a vegetarian I only consume fish out of those and not regularly. I no longer take the supplement but I think it was working. The amino acid I'm talking about is L-Carnitine.
Here are some other tips I'm just going to throw in here real fast because they are important to your overall health and therefor could help you lose weight in general:
~Drink half your body weight in water. If you weigh 150 lbs, drink 75 ounces of water or more per day. Not only does it increase fullness but you"ll be glowing and that always makes me happy!!
~Move your body more often than not.
~Go for walks. Not for exercise, but for fun.
~Love your body for everything that it has been through and helped you be able to do.
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Reference
http://www.yalescientific.org/2011/04/targeted-fat-loss-myth-or-reality/