Requirements for Reducing Belly Fat

How you look bears a very close relation to what you eat. If your diet is healthy, even with minimal exercise you will be able to lose a significant amount of weight. In short, there are three objectives you must satisfy involving your diet in order to reduce belly fat. First you need to improve your metabolism, which is the rate at which you burn calories. Then you must ensure that you are consuming fewer calories than you burn. And finally, you must make sure your diet contains the right nutrients for your body.

Metabolism

• To improve your metabolism and begin reducing belly fat, eat four or five small meals a day rather than one or two large ones. Digestion burns calories, so it's best if your body needs to digest food often. This way, you not only burn more calories but also improve your overall metabolic rate. It also helps to eat your heaviest meal in the morning and your lightest one at dinner, which you should have at least two or three hours before going to bed.

Calories

• To regulate your calorie consumption, replace calorie-dense foods (those with a lot of calories per gram) with foods that have low calorie densities. This means cutting down on the amount of refined, processed and fried foods you consume, as well as food with high sugar content. Replace white bread with whole wheat bread, fast-food meals with wholesome meals, sweetened juices with unsweetened ones, and have more fresh fruits, vegetables, beans, oats, lean meats and some milk products. By doing this, you will not only control your calorie intake but will also supply your body with the right kind of nutrients, thereby boosting your strength, general well-being and energy levels. Medical science has not yet found a better alternative to a balanced and wholesome diet.

  Don't try to make all these dietary changes overnight. Drastic change is neither sustainable nor advisable. Alter your diet pattern in gradual and sustainable steps instead. Also, consult a diet chart for specific information on the properties of different foods and your daily requirement of different nutrients.

Exercises

• Exercise is the other very important lifestyle component if you want to lose your fat belly. You particularly need two forms of exercise: weight training and cardiovascular exercises. Weight training, when done systematically and consistently four to five times a week, will tone and strengthen your muscles rapidly. Since muscles need to burn a lot more calories than fat does in order to flourish, this will directly result in a vastly improved metabolic rate. In fact, in the first few weeks you will experience dramatic improvement in your metabolism and muscle strength.

  Cardiovascular exercises such as running, swimming and cycling are direct calorie and fat burners. Try to do the cardiovascular exercise you enjoy the most four or five times a week for 30 minutes a day. Start slowly and gradually build up to better levels.

  For more specific diet and exercise advise, consult a qualified fitness trainer.

Obesity

• If you are obese, you are not in a hopeless situation. With permanent and sustainable changes in your lifestyle, you can burn away that excess fat. However, don't get taken in by the temptation of crash diets and other drastic measures. They don't work in the long run and are associated with serious health risks much worse than obesity. Instead, try to follow some of these practical diet and exercise tips.