How to Lose Belly Fat Without Diet Pills

The key to weight loss around your abdominal area is exercise, healthy food and stress reduction, rather than relying on diet pills to curb your appetite. Diet pills work against you, as your body requires vitamins and nutrients found in healthy food to maintain your metabolism. After all, it burns off fat, provides energy and prevents your body from going into starvation mode, according to Mehmet C. Oz and Michael F. Roizen, authors of "You: On a Diet." While healthy food and exercise reduce belly fat, stress management is a necessity due to its harmful effects on the body. Stress causes inflammation, which releases cortisol that contributes to the accumulation of visceral fat located around your organs.

Instructions

• 1

  Choose fish over red meat. Fish is high in omega-3 fatty acids to help combat inflammation (a factor of obesity), and it does not contain the saturated fat commonly found in beef and pork. Remove the skin from chicken prior to eating to reduce fat intake. Choose good carbs over bad carbs. "Good" carbohydrates contain whole wheat, which takes longer for your body to digest.

• 2

  Remove "fried" from your vocabulary. Deep-fried foods are loaded with trans fat and contribute to obesity. Opt for baked, broiled or grilled foods, to avoid trans fat.

• 3

  Increase consumption of monounsaturated fatty acids. According to Liz Vaccariello and Cynthia Sass, authors of "Flat Belly Diet," olive oil, olives, nuts, seeds, avocadoos and dark chocolate contain monounsaturated fatty acids. These acids lubricate your arterial walls and reduce the amount of fat that sticks to the walls. Saturated fat does the opposite by sticking to your arterial walls, which increases the amount of fat and reduces blood flow. When blood flow is restricted the arteries swell and can contribute to blood clots, stroke and other chronic diseases.

• 4

  Increase fresh vegetable consumption. Frozen or canned foods are often loaded with sodium to maintain its shelf life, and they aren't good for your waistline. Fresh vegetables and fruit retain their nutrients, without the unwanted addition of preservatives and additives.

• 5

  Eat throughout the day. Five to six small, healthy meals throughout the day keep your energy levels consistent, which prevents energy dips that often result in overeating. 

• 6

  Increase your exercise regimen. Staying active burns calories, which converts food to energy, rather than fat. Gardening, brisk walking, running or aerobic exercises for 20 to 30 minutes daily contribute to your daily required exercise. Swimming is also a helpful exercise that promotes weight loss, according to the American Heart Association.

• 7

  Perform resistance training daily. Resistance training strengthens your core by working the abdominal muscles to keep you balanced, which reduces belly fat and improves strength. Lie on the floor and rest your forearms flat against the floor. Raise your body using you toes, and lower your body to level your buttocks with your shoulders. Hold in your stomach while in the position for 30 seconds, and exhale. Repeat the stomach hold and release step 10 times, and increase the holding time by 10 seconds until you are able to hold your stomach for two minutes, according to US News.

• 8

  Crunch your stomach. Crunches exercise the abdominal muscles to reduce belly fat, and should be performed no more than three times a week according to Roizen and Oz. Lie flat on your back and place your feet flat on the floor. Raise your knees to point toward the ceiling, and lift your torso to a 45-degree angle. Return to the start position and repeat the move 10 to 12 times. Perform two to three sets with each set equalling 12 repetitions of the crunch.

• 9

  Get adequate sleep. According to Vaccariello and Sass, a lack of sleep increases the production of ghrelin, a chemical that increases your appetite and lowers leptin, which controls body fat. Seven to eight hours of sleep should manage your leptin and ghrelin levels, to reduce fat production.