How To Lose Belly Fat & Get A Flat, Toned Stomach In 7 Easy Steps

If you are like most women, especially most women over 40, getting rid of belly fat seems like an impossibility.  As a woman over 40 myself, I’m here to tell you, that it is not only possible but is much easier than you think.  Follow these tips, toss away these myths and I guarantee a flatter, more toned mid-section before you know it.

1. Pack in the Protein – Not only does Protein help to add body sculpting and butt-lifting muscle but it helps you feel fuller at each meal and curb hunger. Our clients generally eat 20-30% of their daily calories from protein a day. Eat a protein source at EVERY meal and try to incorporate some into snacks.
2. Ditch the boxed and pre-packed foods (yes, even “diet” foods) – They are often loaded with chemicals and preservatives which can wreak havoc with your fat loss efforts, and are full of salt which causes bloat and puffiness.
3. Don’t starve yourself – You can flatten your stomach and drop a full dress size or two in a month without taking drastic measures like low-calorie diets or crazy 6-day-a-week fitness programs. Less than 1,200 calories is usually not enough to support your basal metabolism and thus will slow your body’s calorie-burning ability and cause your body to burn muscle for energy.  Very low-calorie diets will help you lose weight in the short term but when your body has had enough of being starved, you will often binge, gaining all of your weight back and looking down at a MORE bloated belly.
4. Avoid Sugar-Free Foods – Artificially sweetened foods contain a lot of sugar and alcohol which causes bloating
5. Eat your fruits & Veggies – Freshness Counts – The packaging and processing generally found in “convenience” foods generally reduce the nutrient values of foods and substantially raise the caloric content. The simple sugars found in processed foods generally leave people feeling hungry and craving carbohydrates. Fruits & vegetables are nutritionally dense and full of fiber leaving you fuller and longer
6. Follow the 90% to 10% rule. If you watch what you eat 90% of the time, the other 10% is not going to affect your belly-busting efforts.  The influx in calories from that 10% will also stoke your metabolism, keep you from feeling deprived, and keep you on track7.

Ditch These Myths:

Myth #1: You need to train your abs every day.

Fact: When it comes to training, your abs are like every other muscle. In order to get the most benefit, you have to train them hard and allow sufficient rest between sessions. You also have to make them work harder. They also grow just like any other muscle and training them disproportionately will cause them to grow disproportionate to your other musculature which can cause muscle imbalances and other issues.

Myth #2: Doing sit-ups, twists & sidebands will trim your waistline.

Fact: You can’t reduce waistline fat simply by doing ab exercises. Spot reduction just does not happen! Yes, you need to do ab exercises to develop the abdominal muscles. They need to be strengthened just like your glutes or your biceps but in order to actually see those ab muscles, you need to strip the fat that’s covering them.

Myth #3: You need to do many more reps for ab exercises.

Fact:  This is just not so. The most common training mistake when it comes to the abs is ineffective exercises. The next is poor technique. Exercises like crunches, sit-ups, and leg lifts are old school and the majority of the time, the actual abdominals are not even being worked.  Substitute old school, ineffective exercises like sit-ups, crunches, leg lifts, or, god forbid that archaic ab crunch machine for exercises like planks, ball rolls, burpees, or even good old fashioned push-ups and I will guarantee you flatter more defined abs in no time.

 

Copyright © Custom Bodies, Inc.  2014

The article was written by Dianne Villano, a MExPhys, NASM CFT, and author of “How To Lose Fat & Reshape Your Body in 21 Days” and “The Ultimate Belly Blast Program”.  She is president of Custom Bodies and has been serving the Tampa Bay with cutting-edge nutrition & fitness programs for 18 years. Miss Villano is a frequent speaker on health and fitness-related topics with articles published in over 20 media outlets. You can grab a copy of her special Report “22 Big Fat Lies Keeping You from The Body You Want” at http://mypersonalfitnesscoach.com/