Belly Fat! it's stubborn, it's frustrating, but you are not alone. it's a problem millions around the world are fighting every day.
But here's the good news. By the end of this blog, you'll learn the easiest, most effective strategies to get rid of your belly fat and NO it is not Cardio!
Trust me! I've seen all the fat loss struggles. I have been there myself multiple times and I've experienced it through the journeys of my clients. That is why today I will share with you the same fat loss strategies I use with my client that will change the fat loss game for you forever.
Alright, let's cut to the chase. The internet is packed with fat loss advice, but here's the kicker - a 2014 study found that less than 20% of these sites actually hit the mark on key stuff like nutrition, exercise, and weight loss tactics. (1) That’s right.
This is why it is very important to get your information from health professionals in the field. This will save you time and keep you away from wasting your energy on stuff that just doesn't work.
If have ever tried to lose weight, you will know that belly fat is typically the most stubborn. Let me briefly explain why:
1- Cell Receptors: Our fat cells have two types of receptors: Alpha and Beta. Alpha receptors slow down fat burning, while Beta receptors speed it up. And guess what? Our stubborn belly fat has more Alpha receptors. It's like having more brakes than gas pedals. But don't worry, I've got a way around these stubborn alphas, and I'll share that in this video.
2- Blood Flow: The problem here is that fat around our belly has less blood flow. Think of blood flow as highways for fat to be transported and used as energy in your body. Less blood flow means less highway access. This makes it tough for your body to transport and burn fat in these areas.
3- Insulin Sensitivity: Insulin is a hormone that helps our cells use sugars and promote fat storage. Now, our stubborn belly fat is super sensitive to insulin, meaning it stores fat more and releases it less.
To lose any kind of fat and especially that lower belly fat, it’s the first rule, you need to be on a calorie-deficit diet. This is where the total calories burned each day (exercise, non-exercise activity, metabolic rate) outweighs the calories you consume from food and drink.
A lot of people try cardio exercises to be in a caloric deficit and get rid of these stubborn tissues, but the truth is, there are smarter and more sustainable ways to do this
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
a 154-pound person can burn anywhere between 140 and 295 calories in 30 minutes doing cardiovascular exercise:
So many people do 30 minutes of running and expect magic to happen. But this is neither super effective nor sustainable for so many people.
So what if I told you, you can burn more calories while sitting down?
This happens when you speed up your metabolism.
In simple terms, metabolism which is scientifically called TDEE is the process through which your body converts the food you eat into the energy it needs to power everything you do, from moving to thinking to digesting the food.
Now, the speed of your metabolism is often referred to as metabolic rate - and this is where many people get stuck. You might be one of those who think, "I was just born with a slow metabolism. There's no way I can change it. Well, that is not entirely true.
But what does a slow metabolism mean?
Consider we have two men who are both 80 kilos and are 30 years old.
A person with a slow metabolism might have a metabolic rate of 2000, this means he has to eat between 1500-1600 in order to be in a caloric deficit and lose fat.
But a man with a fast metabolism has a metabolic rate of 3500, this means he can lose weight if they eat between 3000-3100 calories in a day.
So how can we speed his metabolism up in order to be able to eat more and lose weight?
1- Eating more protein:
On average, a person uses about 10% of their daily energy expenditure digesting and absorbing food.
Protein takes the most energy to digest (20-30%) of total calories in protein eaten go to digesting it). Next is carbohydrates (5-10%) and then fats (0-3%).
So protein is the most thermogenic and it can boost your metabolism.
Additionally, protein is more satiating, it helps you stay full for longer compared to carbs and fat, hence it helps you stay on track.
Protein also helps you preserve your muscle mass while you are in a caloric deficit. Meaning you will end up losing more from your body fat when the numbers go down on the scale.
A 2010 study compared the calories burned from eating processed food and whole food. So, 17 participants were randomly given either a whole food meal or a processed food meal that was equal in calories.
The whole meal sandwich had more protein, more fiber, and fewer carbs.
Eating whole food took 46.8% more energy to digest on average than processed food! (2). (137 Kcal vs 74 Kcal)
This is why all calories aren’t the same.
100g of chicken breast has 165 calories, but so does a small donut.
But they aren’t equal!
So how much protein to take?
If you are on a caloric deficit, a protein intake of 0.72-1 grams per pound of body weight is recommended.
That means, if you are 200 pounds, you need to take in the range of 144-200g/Day.
I recommend going as high as 1.3-1.5g of protein per lb of body weight if you are weight lifting while trying to lose fat
This way you will be losing fat and maintaining or gaining muscles simultaneously.
2- Weight training
More muscle tissues equals burning more calories at rest.
Weight training is one of the best ways to speed up your metabolism. If you have more muscle mass, you are burning more calories at this exact moment lying down watching this video compared to someone who has less muscle mass.
Having more muscles makes the road to weight loss less bumpy. Because muscles are metabolically active, the more muscles you have, the more calorie you burn just by sitting down.
Here is an interesting fact: 1 pound of muscle burns around 6-7 calories per day while 1 pound of fat only burns only 2 calories per day. This is three times the amount!
Consider this example, if someone has 45 pounds of muscle mass, that means they burn 315 calories from their muscle if they sit down for the whole day. But If someone has 80 pounds of muscle mass they will burn 580 calories while sitting down. This is true even if they are both 200 pounds.
So boosting your lean muscle mass through resistance and bodyweight exercises can increase your body's caloric burn rate.
So having more muscle mass is not just the aesthetic looks. When you build more muscle, it will improve your strength and your confidence, you can eat more and you’ll burn more calories at rest because your body has new muscle tissue to sustain.
So train hard, go heavy, and do more compound exercises.
3. Sleep
Burning fat by sleeping? Yes, you heard me right.
1. First: let’s talk calories
We burn calories while we are sleeping, the faster your metabolism, the more calories you burn while sleeping.
The amount of calories burned is calculated per hour, so if you sleep for 5 hours instead of 7 hours, you will burn less calories. Additionally, that also means you will be awake for more hours and increase the likelihood of consuming more calories.
A person who weighs 150 pounds might burn 46 calories an hour or between 322 and 414 calories a night. And a person who weighs 185 pounds might burn around 56 calories or between 392 and 504 calories for a full night of sleep. (4)
So make sure you get 7-8 hours of sleep
2. Reason number 2: Sleep is when most of the cell repair and hormone production happens.
Let me explain what happens in your body when you don’t get enough sleep:
When you sleep for less than 7 hours:
A 2012 Swedish study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (2) looked at the connection between sleep and junk food cravings and choosing bigger portions. This is very interesting, the study shows that lack of sleep does not only increase calorie intake by 250-300 calorie but also increase cravings for high-carb meals, Junk food, and sweets. (3, 4). So, there is a science behind why after a restless night of sleep or after only getting 4-5 hours in, you find yourself reaching for that chocolate muffin or large pizza.
Another study found short sleep duration to be significantly associated with greater waist circumference, which is an indicator of the accumulation of belly fat (5)
This is why not getting enough sleep can sabotage your weight loss journey and lead to weight gain.
The general guideline for adults is 7-9 hours of sleep a night. Prioritize your sleep and see how much easier your fat loss journey becomes.
(You can check my channel, for more sleep hygiene tips.)
4- Ramp up your NEAT
NEAT stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. It is the daily activities and movements that are not structured exercise, it includes typing at your desk, standing, bringing groceries to the car, fidgeting, standing up from your desk to even singing in the shower. just all the subconscious movements and light activity you do. This varies among people depending on your job and daily chores.
NEAT is different for everyone, but on average it's between 15% and 30%.
High levels of NEAT are advantageous from a fat loss perspective and are believed
to be largely responsible for the massive differences in the total metabolic rate we see.
When in a caloric deficit for an extended period of time, your body senses the decline in food intake and automatically decreases energy expenditure by down-regulating NEAT.
NEAT increases with overfeeding and decreases with underfeeding. So, as you continue to diet, your body finds subtle and subconscious ways to conserve energy and decrease your NEAT, which slows down your metabolism. This means that even though you may be doing intense workouts and hitting your macros, you may find yourself being sedentary for the rest of the day.
This is proven by a study done by Bouchard et. Al. The response to exercise with constant energy intake in identical twins. Research showed that although the twins had the exact same diet and training routine, the twin who moved more, stood up more, and had an overall higher NEAT lost 18 more pounds in 90 days.
So here is what I recommend to increase your NEAT:
1- Take the stairs whenever you have the option
2- park your car farther whenever you are going to the grocery store, gym, or work
3- Instead of taking a car for short trips, consider walking.
4- Walk in between sets at the gym
5- Walk while on the phone
So there you have it, losing belly fat doesn't have to be a battle of endless cardio and extreme dieting. Instead, the solution lies in comprehensively transforming the way your body functions, from the inside out.
These strategies help you build and preserve lean muscle mass, which boosts your caloric expenditure further. You can enjoy eating more food while losing fat!
This is not to say cardio isn’t useful, but you shouldn’t solely depend on cardio for fat loss.