Yes it’s true. It really is the hardest thing to lose belly fat because it’s almost always the last place to go when we diet. As women we are genetically gifted/cursed with a rounded belly. And the trials of pregnancy don’t do our stomach any favours in this fashion and size conscious world we live in! You can also read about the different types of stomach fat here
We wished there was an easier way, but unless you have a few thousand dollars for a liposuction procedure you’ll have to put some work into this one.
The good thing is that once you get into a healthy routine and tip the balance between what you put in your body and what you put out, you WILL lose weight. When a healthy eating plan and regular exercise becomes a way of life you can lose your stomach fat surprisingly quickly.
Now to the practical advice.
First, you have to learn how to build lean muscle in your body. You need to use your whole core and your whole body. Why? It’s a pretty simple concept really:
- The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn.
- The more muscles you use per exercise, the more calories you burn.
- The more calories you burn the more weight you lose.
- The more weight you lose the quicker your belly will start shrinking.
So, if you want to build lean muscle and burn as many calories as you can, you’re going to have to become best friends with the infamous squat! Yes, squats use the largest muscle group in your body (your bum and your thighs), which means it’s going to burn the maximum amount of calories every time you do them.
So when you’re doing squats it basically burning that stomach fat as well!
How to do a perfect squat:
- Spread your legs apart about hip width.
- Keep your weight on your heels.
- Brace your core/pelvic floor muscles
- Imagine you are about to sit on a bench
- Keep your chest out, look forward
- Now squat and repeat 15 times (don’t worry if your knees creak, ours do too!)
While you are doing this, your knees shouldn’t go past your feet or you wont get the full benefit of this exercise
Once you’ve mastered that, to take it a level higher, do your repetitions, then hold that squat position for a moment and very SLIGHTLY bounce into it for 15 seconds and feel those thighs burn!
Tip: Make sure your buttocks are engaged, if you’re not feeling them, they aren’t switched on! A way to switch them on is to flex them a few times and really concentrate on them while you squat down.
For more exercise tips check out our lose baby weight exercise page and don’t forget to check out our weight loss plans too and see our 28 Day Diet & Exercise Plan
