- [Insert number] sit ups or crunches per day
- Purchasing commercialized ab machines or toners
- Simulating complicated ab workouts from fitness magazines
If you’ve tried at least ONE or ALLthe above, High Five! We’ve been in the same boat!
A boat to nowhere.
The Truth
The truth is, we can never target a specific part of our body to lose fat (at least, naturally). Spot reducing body fat is just a myth. Thus, all the time, if you’ve been told that doing specific ab workouts will help you burn belly fat or reduce them, you’ve been lied. I myself have learned this fact the hard way through trial and error.
Solution
Alright, enough for the nostalgic memories and myth busting. Let us get to the point right away. The true and proven way to lose stubborn belly fat is by consuming fewer calories than our body burns a.k.a creating a caloric deficit. Previously, we’ve learned that we cannot target fat loss specifically on our stomach. However, when we lose fat as a result of caloric deficit, eventually the fat loss will get to the belly fat one way or another. In terms of how long does it take, it depends on our genetics to some degree. So, how do we create a caloric deficit?
1. Proper Nutrition
Firstly, you need to calculate your daily maintenance calorie intake and then reduce it by 15-20%
For protein/carbohydrate/fat consumption, these are the general recommendations:
Protein: 1g per pound of bodyweight OR 2.2g per kg of bodyweight
Fat: 25% of total calories
Carbohydrates: Whatever is left after calculating protein and fat intake.
2. Exercise
In terms of exercising, I’d always recommend weightlifting as a first choice because it has tons of benefits such as better physique and health. In fact, weightlifting not only helps build muscle but also burn calories at the same time. Plus, if you have more muscle mass, you’d be able to consume more calories without gaining more fats. This is the same for women too, don’t be afraid to lift weights!
Next, cardiovascular exercise a.k.a cardio is also a great way to burn extra calories along with a proper nutrition and maintain a healthier heart. There are mainly two types of cardio which is high intensity interval training (HIIT) and low intensity steady state cardio (LISS). Both work well as long as they fit into your training routine. However, too much cardio is not good either because it will cause fatigue, muscle loss and hunger. Well, that’s probably why I’m not a big advocate of doing tons of cardio. So, try to balance them out properly and you’ll get the best results.
Bottom Line
Proper approach, hard work and consistency are all it takes!
If you find this post useful, feel free to share it and help spread the word!
If you find this post useful, feel free to share it and help spread the word!
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