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Muffin top. Belly pooch. Love handles. There are plenty of ways to describe lower belly weight gain, most of them with less-than-desirable nicknames.
If you’re ready to say goodbye to your lower belly pooch, it’s not enough to try a few sit-ups and call it a day (unfortunately). The hard truth? You can’t spot-reduce belly fat. If you want to lose fat, you have to lose it all over.
Getting rid of stubborn belly fat and sculpting the muscles underneath requires a healthy diet and ramping up your workouts.
Here are nine helpful lifestyle and exercise tips from experts to get rid of that annoying lower belly pooch!
1. Get 150 Minutes of Heart-Pumping Cardio Per Week
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To successfully lose weight all over, you have to shed your “extra layer” of visceral fat to see the muscles underneath. Cardio is a part of this weight-loss equation.
The CDC recommends 150 minutes of cardiovascular exercise per week, including anything from jogging, jumping rope, cycling, or a spin class. The good news? There is no “right” way to raise your heart rate, so pick what you like to do!
2. Fit in HIIT 1 to 2 Times Per Week
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If you are willing to try High-Intensity Interval Training (or HIIT) as part of your cardio prescription, it is a top choice for anyone looking to get rid of that lower belly pooch. HIIT helps you burn more fat and calories in less time!
Here’s how it works: You give maximum effort through quick, intense bursts of exercise followed by short recovery periods. HIIT workouts include some of the best exercises to train and condition your aerobic and anaerobic energy systems.
Consider HIIT your intense workouts, which you only need two to three times a week. Combine them with low-intensity exercise to maximize weight loss!
3. Do Ab-Toning Workouts
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While you can’t spot-reduce fat in any area of your body, you can absolutely work to tone (or spot-sculpt) specific areas (especially your lower abs) by using strength training and toning exercises.
Doing core exercises and lower ab workouts will strengthen and tighten your abs and allow you to age gracefully. Strong core muscles are important for better balance and most daily activities.
4. Create a Calorie Deficit
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It’s fairly straightforward: If you want to lose excess fat and get rid of that lower belly pooch fast, you need to burn more calories than you take in. This is what is referred to as a “calorie deficit”.
In addition to exercise, you also need to maintain a balanced diet, cut down on processed foods (such as frozen meals, deli meats, chips, cookies, etc.), and watch your liquid calorie intake (like alcohol, tea, and soda).
Journaling about your food intake will help you understand what you’re eating and the calories in each meal. If a journal isn’t your thing, try an app like MyFitnessPal.
5. Increase Protein and Fiber Intake
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Fiber has a wide range of benefits, including aiding weight loss. Some types of fiber slow the absorption of nutrients, allowing you to feel full longer, therefore consuming fewer calories throughout the day and helping achieve a deficit.
Foods high in fiber include fruits (raspberries, bananas, avocados, and pears), veggies (peas, broccoli, and turnip greens), grains (whole wheat pasta and quinoa), and legumes (lentils and black beans).
Protein is made up of amino acids and helps feed and repair our muscles; however, it’s where you are getting your protein that matters most! Try good protein sources such as fish, poultry, eggs, low-fat dairy, leafy greens, broccoli, and asparagus.
6. Limit Added Sugars and Refined Carbs
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It’s true: you can’t out-exercise a bad diet! To maximize weight loss, especially in your lower belly, you should significantly limit or eliminate added sugars and refined carbohydrates (or “empty” calories).
Foods high in refined carbs include white flour and bread, pastries, cookies, cakes, donuts, muffins, breakfast foods like waffles and pancakes, white rice, and pizza dough.
Added sugars like those in sugary drinks (such as soda and juice), processed meals, fast food, and candy increase your hunger and desire for more sugar, neither of which makes weight loss easier! Try sticking to the natural sugar found in fruits, veggies, and dairy products.
7. Drink More Water
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Water has plenty of benefits, including maintaining a healthy weight, aiding digestion (thus reducing belly bloat), improving energy, and reducing hunger.
And consider this: in a living, moving body, skeletal muscle is 75 to 80 percent water. In order to put healthy muscle on your body, drinking water is necessary!
On average, you should be drinking at least 8-10 glasses of water a day. If you exercise regularly, add another glass or two to that.
8. Minimize Stress Levels
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Although it’s not necessarily the first step in reducing belly fat, chronic stress can certainly be counterproductive to weight loss. Research suggests there is a correlation between high cortisol levels (also known as the stress hormone) and increased abdominal fat.
Some ways to help manage stress include meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, self-care, therapy, and exercise.
9. Get 7-9 Hours of Sleep
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You may not think sleep is connected to your weight loss journey, but research shows otherwise! A study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine found that when dieters got a full night’s sleep, more than half of their weight loss was fat, as opposed to sleep-deprived dieters whose fat loss only accounted for one-fourth of their total weight loss.
Adults should regularly get the recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep to stay healthy, alert, and energized.
Walking For Weight Loss | Your 14-Day Plan
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Guess what, my friends, walking works. Study after study proves that people who walk regularly stay more youthful, stronger, and happier in old age. To get started, try my free 14-day challenge and get walking for a weight loss plan.
Walking For Weight Loss | Your 14-Day Plan
Inspiration For Weight Loss – 12 Inspiring Tips to Get You Motivated
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Let’s get one thing straight: being healthy isn’t just about the number on your scale. There are tons of other factors that affect your health besides your weight, and every one is built differently.
However, if being overweight is affecting your day-to-day life, sometimes weight loss is the goal. Unfortunately, even if you know how to lose weight, finding the inspiration for weight loss and motivation to actually make those healthier choices can be another story.
Whether you’ve been in a rut for a few months or many years, we’ll help you find the weight loss motivation you need to finally make a change.
Inspiration For Weight Loss – 12 Inspiring Tips to Get You Motivated
53 Best Weight Loss Snacks
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To keep you from going crazy with calories even when the saltiest of cravings hit, my team and I rounded up our best weight loss snack recipes that are super easy to throw together. And when you don’t have time or you’re on the go, we also made a list of our favorite healthy purchased snacks too.
One of the keys when it comes to weight loss is preparation. If you get over-hungry, it can lead to over-eating at mealtimes which is why a healthy snack can actually aid in your weight loss goals.
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