Belly fat – it wiggles, it jiggles, but it’s not a laughing matter.  It may look cute on babies but on grownups, not so much.  If your weight is primarily concentrated in the abdominal area, you at least are not alone.  But this is one time when it not advised to follow the crowd.  Carrying excess weight as belly fat can be risky. 

The danger of belly fat

It is one thing to carry excess weight distributed throughout the body but it’s a whole different ballgame when it is concentrated in the abdominal area also known as central obesity or belly fat. 

Those excess pounds that get stored as belly fat are located deep within the abdominal region in and around major organs like the liver and pancreas.  This deeply stored fat has its own special name called visceral fat.  Visceral fat is harmful and worse for your health than fat located anywhere else in the body and is the type of fat that increases the risk for certain chronic diseases.  Regardless of your overall weight, having a large amount of belly fat increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

How you can tell if you have visceral fat

You may think just simply looking at your abdomen will tell you if you have too much belly fat.  But a more definitive way to find out is to use a tape measure, placing it around the largest diameter of the belly to get an accurate measure.  If a man has a waist circumference 40 inches or greater or a woman with a waist circumference 35 inches or greater has too much visceral fat and is putting their health at risk.

How to burn off belly fat          

Everyone is different when it comes to weight loss.  What works for one person may not necessarily work for another.  Sometimes it takes some trial and error to figure out what works for you to reduce belly fat and lose some inches.  Often, it depends on a variety of factors that when incorporated daily, will make it more likely for you to be successful at burning off belly fat for good and good for your overall health.

Here are 10 ways to get you started:

1.     Increase protein intake – At each meal eat between 25-30 grams of protein.  Protein helps to maintain muscle mass meaning you’ll burn more calories.  And protein provides satiety preventing us from overeating.

2.     Get to moving – There is no way to burn belly fat unless you exercise.  Exercise must be done consistently and on a regular basis in order to be effective.  Every little movement you make during the day helps.

3.     Do a variety of exercises – Physical activity is not just simply walking for 30 minutes, 3 times a week.  That is a great start but variety is the name of the game.  Keep on walking, but also add in lifting weights, yoga, sprints, jogging, bicycling, or swimming.

4.     Reduce carbohydrates – On the one hand we need carbs as it’s our body’s main fuel source.  But too many carbs can result in excess weight gain.  Carbs break down into glucose and excess glucose is stored in your fat tissue.  For weight and belly fat loss, women should aim for between 30-45 grams of carbohydrates at each meal and men between 45-60 grams of carbohydrates at each meal.   A snack should contain between 15-30 grams of carbohydrates. Find out the number of carbohydrates in foods by looking at the Nutrition Facts label under “Total Carbohydrates.”  Also choose healthy carbohydrate foods and reduce intake of refined and processed carbohydrate foods.

5.     Read Nutrition Facts Labels – The Nutrition Facts Labels is your window to what’s in your food.  Avoid foods where the words ‘sugar,” “high fructose corn syrup,” or “brown sugar,” -as examples – arelisted within the first three ingredients. 

6.     Make your workouts more challenging – If you do the same exercise routine day in and day out, it’s time to make it more challenging.  Walk an extra 5 minutes or put in a few more extra reps when lifting weights. Extra effort pays off as your body will start burning more calories from one workout to the next. 

7.     Use a smaller dinner plate – The average American dinner plate is about 12 inches in diameter.  Use instead dinner plates that measure no more than 10 inches in diameter.  This one small step will force you to reduce portion sizes of food reducing calories reducing belly fat.

8.     Never skip meals – During your waking hours, eat at least every 4-5 hours. Keep a consistent pattern of eating breakfast, lunch, dinner to avoid slowing down your metabolism and getting your body into a rhythm of eating.

9.     Pump iron – Just 10 minutes a day of lifting weights, three days a week will do wonders for your waistline.  A Harvard research team found that 20 minutes of weight training three times a week had a greater reduction on waist size than almost any other variable.

10.  Drink water before a meal – Before each meal drink a tall glass of water.  The water will take up room in your stomach, making you feel fuller and cuts your appetite.