What are the Best Exercises To Lose Belly Fat? We Asked Experts

Losing belly fat is a common fitness goal for everyone, even if you are not a gym freak. Having a fat belly doesn’t only kill your confidence but also causes some major health issues.

Having moderate fat in your belly is normal as it serves to protect your inner organs and provide insulation. Belly fat is a result of an overall increased body fat percentage.

If you want to lose weight around your waist then it’s only possible when you cut down the overall fat percentage from your body.

As compared to the rest of your body, only a small amount of fat is located in your stomach region. But, due to its stubborn nature, having a flat belly becomes a challenge.

We have compiled some of the best exercises to lose belly fat that is recommended and tried by fitness professionals. Follow these exercises with a low-calorie diet and you will start to see results within weeks.

A fat belly cannot be described in only one way. There are various easy ways to gain excess weight and all of them have different causes.

Understanding how your body gains weight is the first step in achieving a fat-free flat belly.

Being overweight doesn’t only affect your looks, it comes with serious health complications.

It affects your ability to move freely and perform daily life activities with ease. A high body-fat percentage can cause significant problems as you age.

Your bones start to lose strength and you can’t carry yourself without needing support.

The most harmful type of fat is visceral fat that is beneath the abdominal muscles and covers your organs.

These are some of the most common health risks that arise due to the increased fat percentage in your body.

The saturated fat in your body can cause cholesterol to build up in your arteries. Due to this smooth blood flow is sacrificed.

It can cause your blood pressure to rise. Hypertension is a common cause of heart attacks.

Obese people have a higher chance of falling prey to diabetes. High body fat leads to insulin resistance which is a common cause of type 2 diabetes.

Gaining upper belly fat can cause some serious breathing problems. The reason is that developing fat in your upper belly puts pressure on your lungs and can cause them to squeeze.

Moreover, if you suffer from overall increased body fat then probably you have extra fat around your neck.

It can cause difficulty in deep breathing, when your chest is squeezed, then the muscles have to do extra work for maintaining a smooth and steady breathing pattern.

We are not saying that every person with a fat belly is at the risk of getting cancer. But, if you fall in the category of obese then you have more chances of developing cancer as compared to other people.

The fat cells in your body increase inflammation and produce extra hormones. This growth factor causes cells in our body to divide more often due to which the chances of cancer cells being made is increased.

Common types of cancer which could be caused due to obesity are:

• Breast cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Thyroid cancer
• Colon cancer
• Pancreatic cancer

Eating more calories than you burn is not the only reason why you gain fat across your stomach. These are some of the common causes that lead to fat accumulation in your body.

Every one of us deals with stress due to various reasons. Stress is a normal part of our lives, so we need to learn innovative methods to manage stress.

The reason why stress is directly linked with gaining fat is that when you experience stress, your body releases cortisol. Repeated circulation of excess cortisol leads to increased abdominal fat storage.

Moreover, cortisol enables the body to mobilize fat from other areas of your body and direct them to your abdomen.

In most women, hormonal imbalance can cause significant changes in weight. This is most common during the menopause period.

A lot of women who have weight on their hips and thighs notice fat shifting towards their belly around menopause.

Drop-in estrogen levels can also cause you to gain belly fat rapidly.

Processed foods are everywhere these days. We are heavily surrounded by them while visiting a grocery store, restaurant, or any cafe.

As these foods are scrumptious so it’s difficult to keep your hands away from them.

All types of processed foods contain high amounts of fructose, corn syrup, and trans fats. These foods can increase inflammation in your body, cause insulin resistance and eventually fat accumulation.

If you are not getting the right amount of sleep then probably your body has slowed down the metabolism process.

The reason is that your body tends to preserve energy and for this, it starts accumulating fat. You should have seven to eight hours of sleep per night.

Sleeping more than the needs of your body is also bad for your health in the long run.

Leptin is a hormone that works for regulating the energy balance in your body. The right levels of insulin are necessary for maintaining a healthy weight.

In obese people, the levels of leptin are higher due to which it can’t tell the brain where the fat cells are stored.

This condition is known as leptin resistance and according to research, it’s a leading cause of obesity.

Most of the websites and social media platforms are sharing wrong information about health and nutrition.

Due to this reason, people worldwide practice the wrong ways to achieve their dream physique. But unfortunately, they end up spoiling their health.

A common myth that is still believed by some people is that they can reduce belly fat by doing core strengthening exercises. It’s not true because you can target a specific region in your body for burning fat.

Make sure that you only follow health and nutrition advice that comes from experts.

Always keep one thing in mind that in order to lose belly fat you need to cut down the overall fat percentage from your body.

These are some exercise regimens that have been proven to help you in losing overall body fat and cutting down those extra inches from your waist.

Physical activities that increase the heart rate and demand more supply of oxygen to the body are known as aerobic exercises.

Aerobic exercises need more energy as a result you burn more fats and carbs. While performing any exercise first your body burns carbs to provide you energy.

When the body needs more energy than it burns fat. It’s known as the fat burning zone.

All the aerobic exercises demand more energy and thus burn more fat. These are some aerobic exercises that you can try:

• Sprinting
• Cycling
• Dancing class
• Swimming
• Zumba

Start by doing any of these exercises daily for a minimum of 30 - 40 mins and you will start seeing results.

For burning more fat in less time, you can never go wrong with a HIIT session. It’s one of the best exercises to lose belly fat.

A major reason why HIIT workouts are very beneficial is that they put your body in the fat-burning zone very rapidly.

During a HIIT workout, your body starts to burn fat as opposed to carbs for providing energy.

Moreover, after a HIIT session, your body remains in a fat-burning mode for up to 24 hours after you have finished doing your workout.

The best part is that you can perform HIIT workouts anywhere. They can be done on a treadmill, spin bikes, rope jumping, and many other forms of aerobic exercises.

If you like to exercise using a bike then you must try a HIIT bike workout to shed maximum pounds

You should never be too busy that you can’t take some minutes out of your routine for exercise.

But, on days when you don’t feel like exercising then a little change in the routine activities can do the work.

• If you take a bus to your workplace, try getting off the bus one stop earlier than your destination and walking to your office.
• Doing regular cleaning of your apartment is also an effective way to utilize your energy and stop fat accumulation.
• Shoveling snow also counts as a good exercise as it involves the major muscles in your body.
• You can even practice core strengthening exercises. Tighten your core and try to suck it inwards as much as possible and then release.
• If you live in an apartment then that’s a bonus, ditch the elevators and make taking the stairs a routine.

After you have started burning fat around your belly, the next thing is to sculpt your abs through core strengthening exercises.

There is a long list of core strengthening exercises that you can try to have an aesthetic appeal.

If you are confused because of too many choices out there then don’t worry because we have shortlisted some of the best exercises to lose belly fat.

To have a detailed look at the best exercises to build abs, you must click here. We are sure that this article will help you a lot in understanding the concept behind

building abs.