Goodbye Belly Fat ~ You Can Lose It!

by Tina Struthers

Helen sent in a question about getting rid of belly fat.  Since this problem is common among women this time of year, I thought an article might be just the ticket.  Please read the following:

It happens every year.  We spend all winter eating like there’s no tomorrow and getting very little exercise.  Come on.  Admit it.  You know it’s true.  As we get closer to spring we all start looking at our bellies.  We know that once summer gets here, a lot of other folks will be looking at our bellies too.  AAAKKK!  There are only so many new outfits we can buy to try and cover that belly up so let’s get rid of it!

The bad news is there really isn’t a quick way to get our unwanted belly fat, but it can be done.  Actually, it’s one of the hardest areas of our bodies to remove the fat from.  Why?  Your body itself wants it to be there.  Your belly is the first and best place to store all the extra fat we’ve accumulated and our bodies are programmed to do this perfectly!  After all, the calories from all of those delightful snacks and wonderful desserts we feasted on and haven’t used over the winter need to take up residence somewhere.  The belly it is!

The good news is, yes!  You can get rid of the belly fat, but you’re not going to get rid of it quickly or easily.  Your body wants to hold on to it so you’re going to be in for a fight.  You can win… with a help and perseverance!  I’ll give you the help, you provide the perseverance.  Here’s what you need to do to win the “Battle of the Bulge”.

You’ll need to prepare yourself for a fairly long battle, which is why you need to start working on this right away.  You spent all winter (maybe longer) storing your belly fat, so you certainly aren’t going to get rid of it overnight.  It’s going to take some consistent and persistent effort on your part.

First of all, say goodbye to the cookies, candies, pastries and all the other goodies until next winter.  The last thing we need is to continue with the wanton consumption at the same time we’re trying to get rid of this fat.  If you can’t cut down on the calories and eliminate the excessive eating, there isn’t any hope at all.  No amount of exercise, no matter how intense, is a substitute for putting yourself on a healthy diet.  So.  Commit to eliminating the “bad stuff” starting today.  

Understanding Fat

It’s important to understand why I’m recommending the exercise program that you are about to read.  We need to understand the nature of fat in order to do that.  Fat is simply stored energy that the body locks tightly away until it’s needed.  In the natural world, fat is used as wintertime fuel for hibernating creatures or as an energy storehouse, just in case the next meal doesn’t come along in the next few days.  When a meal is available, any of the excess calories not immediately needed are sent to fat storage.  If no food is available for consumption, the energy stored in fat is drawn to meet the body’s metabolic needs. 

With the exception of animals getting ready to hibernate, you are not likely to ever see fat critters running around.  There’s a certain balance to nature.  Nearly everything that is consumed is burned as fuel.  Unfortunately for us, we don’t live in the natural world.  We live in the unnatural world of food at every turn.  We do not hibernate and very few of us worry about whether we’ll be eating another meal in the next few days or not.  It’s our tendency to consume more fuel than we can possibly burn, unless we lead an active and highly healthy lifestyle.  Hence the fat bellies!

“There is one method, and one method only, for getting rid of fat.”

Since fat is purely an energy storage source, we need to force our bodies to need more energy than we are consuming with our daily food intake.  I’m not talking about starvation here, but that will work even though I don’t recommend it at all!  The better option is to force our bodies to require more energy through exercise.  I do need to tell you that not all exercises are created equal when it comes to getting rid of fat.  We will need to strictly focus our attention on exercises that raise our metabolism (create a bodily demand for stored energy).  That’s exactly what we’ll be doing with the exercise I’m recommending here. 

Without resorting to “drastic measures”, such as liposuction, we’ll need to start off with an exercise routine that really gets our metabolism going.  This is a very important point.  If we can’t get our metabolism rate up, we’ll never lose the belly fat… period!    While we want these exercises to be fairly intense, we don’t want them to be so strenuous that we won’t want to perform them daily.   

I’m going to present two different types of exercise programs here that will target the belly fat.  The method you choose is entirely up to you.  Even though these routines are entirely different, they will both help you to get rid of that belly!  So, there’s no need to be concerned that one set of exercises is better than the other.  Whichever method you choose, be consistent and above all, persistent.  You will win!

Here’s what you are trying to do with either of these exercise programs.  There are two parts, regardless the program you select; (1) getting the metabolism going, and (2) burning off the fat.  To start burning off the stubborn belly fat you need to first get your metabolism going by fairly intense, yet short, exercise routines.  Second, you need to switch to a more steady state cardio routine.  Neither of these by themselves will do the job but doing these in combination is a proven method for releasing the fatty acids and then burning them off.

Exercise Plan #1: 

Weight Lifting

If you have access to weights, then this is the program for you to follow.  Some of you may be fortunate enough to have these at home or have access to weights (or resistance machines) through your local gym or health club.  In either case, you’ll want to perform weight exercises on both the upper and lower body during the same session.   No.  You do not want to do a complete upper and lower body workout routine here.  Stick to simple routines that attack the major muscle groups.

I typically do bench presses, overhead presses and maybe even a few overhead pulls.  Then switch to your favorite leg routines.  Press and curls work well for this.  Don’t be a whimp about this.  You may need to use more weight than your typical workout routine.  The goal is to use as much weight as possible to achieve no more than 6-10 repetitions.  You do not need to do multiple sets of these!  If you do this correctly, only one set of each routine on both the upper and lower body will be more than enough to get your metabolism moving!

Cardio

Now that you’ve got your metabolism going, let’s get to the heart of the exercise program… burning off that stubborn fat!  At this point, move into your favorite cardio routine.  There are literally hundreds of these so I won’t go into discussions about these here. 

A good cardio routine is one that elevates your heart rate (to a reasonable level) and one that you can sustain for 20 minutes.  Step exercises, walking or even jazzercise will all work well for you.  20 minutes of these exercises, coupled with the exercise routine above, will burn major calories and the fat! 

Exercise Plan #2:  Without Using Weights

For many of us, using weights and resistance machines simply isn’t an option.  Don’t be discouraged!  This exercise plan will give you the same results.

Just as with the weight lifting exercise plan, we’ll need to exercise both the upper and lower body during the same session.  To work your upper body, I’d suggest using a combination of dips and doorknob pull-ups. 

Dips are nothing more than standing between two chairs with your hands on the back of the chairs.  Slowly bend your knees and resist the downward motion with your arms.  Push yourself back up to the standing position mainly using your arms (and upper body muscles).  You may need to do a couple sets of these, 8-10 repetitions each.  If you are extremely fit, you can do this exercise with your feet not touching the floor and supporting yourself (and dipping) with your arms only.

Doorknob pull-ups are easy to do but give great results!  Stand facing the edge of the door.  Grasp each of the doorknobs with your hands and place your feet on opposite sides of the door.  Slowly lower your body until your arms are fully outstretched and your knees parallel to the floor.  Pull yourself back into the standing position using your arms and back muscles as much as possible.  Again, you may need to do a couple of sets of 8-10 repetitions.

Now, on to the lower body.  I recommend two exercises here, deep knee bends and lunges.

To do the deep knee bends, stand with your hands on your hips and you feet a shoulder width apart.  Slowly lower yourself until your upper legs are parallel to the floor.  Press with your legs to return to the standing position.  Be sure to keep your back straight and your chin up throughout this motion.  Also, breath in on the way down and exhale as you return to the standing position.

Lunges are an excellent all around exercise!  Start with your body erect, your feet together and your hands on your hips.  Step forward with your right foot while keeping your left foot in place.  Lower yourself until your left knee nearly touches the floor.  Using only the strength of your right leg, push yourself up and backward into your original standing position.  Repeat using the left leg. 

(*Note:  If you are new to lunges, you can perform this exercise by placing a chair on either side of you.  Grasping the backs of the chairs will to help to stabilize yourself and you can then also use your arms with helping to return yourself to the standing position.)

Do two sets of 8-10 repetitions of both the deep knee bends and the lunges.

Cardio

(The cardio portion is exactly the same as outlined in Exercise Plan #1.)

There you have it!  The best routines for ridding yourself of belly fat once and for all.  Remember!  You’ll need to be realistic about the amount of time it will take to get rid of the fat.  The important point is to stick with the routine and be persistent.  You can do it!