Tips on Belly Fat Loss

Reduction of belly fat requires a healthful diet to enable weight and fat loss and exercise to tone the underlying muscles and reduce visceral fat. Visceral fat is unseen and lies deep within your stomach, where it accumulates around your organs. Visible or subcutaneous fat lies just beneath the skin, and although it is unsightly, it does not pose the health problems associated with visceral fat.

Diet

• Eat fresh fruits and vegetables to help reduce weight and increase fat loss.

  There is no diet capable of targeting one area of the body for fat loss. Loss of belly fat occurs with overall fat reduction by following a sensible diet. MayoClinic.com suggests eating a diet that includes fresh fruits and vegetables and reducing your consumption of starchy carbohydrates such as breads and pastas made with refined flours. They also recommend limiting the amount of saturated fats found in meats and dairy while increasing the percentage of polyunsaturated fats found in nuts, seeds and plant oils such as sunflower seed, safflower, sesame and soy oil.

Fats

• In July 2007, Diabetes Care published the results of a study by J.A. Paniagua, MD, Ph.D., et al, indicating the benefits of diets containing high monounsaturated fatty acids for preventing central or belly fat distribution. Plant oils such as olive, canola and peanut oil and avocados contain monounsaturated fats.

Exercise Deep Stomach Muscles

• Use the crawling position to exercise deep stomach muscles.

  MayoClinic.com recommends exercises that target the deeper stomach muscles and lower stomach muscles to get a flatter belly. To exercise the deeper stomach muscles, get down on your hands and knees in a crawling position and allow your stomach to hang down as you relax your muscles. Take a deep breath, and as you exhale tighten your stomach muscles, pulling your belly button up toward your spine. Hold this position for 10 seconds then relax. Repeat 10 times.

Pelvic Tilt Exercise for Lower Stomach Muscles

• MayoClinic.com suggests two types of exercises to tone the lower abdominal muscles. The pelvic tilt, performed while lying on your back with your knees bent, requires you to tighten your stomach muscles and tilt your pelvis slightly upward while pressing your back flat against the floor. Hold this position for five to 10 seconds, then relax. Repeat five times, and increase repetitions as the exercises become easier to perform.

Pelvic Lift Exercise for Lower Stomach Muscles

• Perform the pelvic lift in the same position as the pelvic tilt. With your arms at your sides, tighten your lower stomach muscles and lift your buttocks off the floor. Hold this position for five to 10 seconds, then relax.

Stress and Fat Accumulation

• On its website, the University of New Mexico presents an article by Christine A. Maglione-Graves, et al, linking cortisol to increased fat accumulation. Stress triggers production of cortisol enzymes, which reside in fat cells. Visceral fat cells have a greater accumulation of these enzymes than subcutaneous fat cells. During times of stress, cortisol production stimulates your appetite for sugar and high-fat foods, resulting in excess fat storage in the abdominal area.