Whats the best way to lose belly fat/my baby pooch/my stomach/what ever you want to call it”.

As a personal trainer I always get asked “Whats the best way to lose belly fat/my baby pooch/my stomach/what ever you want to call it”. So here is the thing, you can’t pick where you lose weight from. I wish, but we can’t and even though many diet products and exercise machines claim they can, they are false claims.

Here are some common myths I want to get out of the way:

• AB machines cannot develop Abs better than exercises done with our body. Abs machines are not very successful in working right muscles in right order and they can not eliminate belly fat. If you have to lose belly fat you must take proper nutrition along with training and cardio exercises.
• AB rollers do not work at all although Advertisements pitch that rollers can easily create amazing Abs. But the truth is that they may cause serious damage. They do not protect your neck and may cause painful/ devastating cervical injury.
• Sit-ups is not the solution to abs and are dangerous. With feet anchored to floor with you flexing at high speed, you may actually strain your hip flexor muscles. This is not a way to losing belly fat.
• Floor crunches work but the bad news is that they are overused; mediocre results can be expected. Excessive crunching can shorten the abdominal walls as you are pulling head forward drooping shoulders.
• Starvation diets/ crash diets don’t deliver. Correct nutrition is important.
• Fat burning pills are totally misguided. They may treat symptoms but don’t remove causes. You would soon gain back the fat you lost along with interest.
• Machine based equipment such as bicep curls makes muscles work while mind stay inactive and that may lower your neurological response.

To lose belly fat first and foremost step is to eliminate “five c’s: candy, cookies, cake, cola, and chips” from your lifestyle; limit fried foods.

You might feel that it is easy but that’s not all. Going gets tougher with regular strength training/ aerobic exercise are especially effective to stem the growth of belly fat. Working on all muscle groups (arms, shoulders, chest, abs, back and legs) reduces belly fat by 10-15 %. Length of workout must be increased slowly. To lose belly fat, aerobic exercises and methods such as HIIT and Tabata Protocol are also helpful. More exercise you perform, more belly fat you lose. Start by walking, swimming, cycling and lose belly fat.

Diet is of utmost importance where belly fat is concerned. Eating fat-friendly diet would not only stop enlargement of belly but would also help body to fight fat. You must start eating 5-6 mini meals in a day rather than 3 main and larger meals. It would help lose belly fat as we will be eating less during main meals. Small and regular interval meals also boost metabolism as body requires more energy in order to do frequent digestions. Apart from frequency of meals, type of meal is also important. Some foods help lose belly fat like fish/ vegetables/ fruits/ black chocolates etc. Contrary to this, few foods destroy the efforts to lose belly fat. Foods high in saturated fats/ sugar must not be included in our diet.

If you are looking on tips on how to lose belly fat, also look to drinking correct drink; best drink being water. Water is essential and vital for our body as it helps liver proper function and that accelerates fat burning process as liver has the ability to burn fat stored in reserves and convert it to energy. So drink lots and lots of water avoiding full dairy drinks like milk shakes or chocolate drinks and soft drinks. Better alternative is Fresh fruit juice but eating fruits is even better.
Exercise is key to losing belly fat. Combining resistance/strength training with cardio is the best and most effective way! Resistance training exercises: It includes various Weight lifting exercises that help body to fight fat along with building muscles. There are not any of specific or particular exercises to lose belly fat particularly without losing fat from other area. Working with abdominal exercises, stomach muscles may get tighter as well as stronger. Other weight lifting exercises include squats/ dumbbell rows/ chest presses etc.

Cardio exercises: These are also very beneficial if you plan to lose belly fat. Cardio exercises also accelerate heart rate making us breathe faster thus body spending more energy. While exercising, it is important to feel increasing heart rate and faster breathing. In case you are exercising without feeling any pressure, results won’t be that good. Exercising must be done regularly (at least 3-4 times/ week). Exercising only once and not doing it for a month is more like nothing done at all. To completely change your body an ideal plan of 4-6 times a week is more accurate.
A lot of people feel that a treadmill, elliptical for 30-60 minutes a day is going to help them burn the fat that they want. The truth is, you will burn more calories in a class like body pump, jazzerice, or zumba than you ever could on a treadmill.

Think of it this way: Which gets your car cleaner, a machine or by hand. Which gets you skinny quicker: by hand!