How To Get Rid Of Lower Belly Fat After Having A Baby
Toning your abdomen after pregnancy may pose additional challenges. Wait until you get clearance from your doctor before jumping into any kind of diet and exercise routine.
Its not uncommon to have loose skin or an additional fat layer over your belly after pregnancy, especially if you had a cesarean delivery.
During pregnancy, many women gain weight. After delivery, youll most likely have an extra layer of fat left as an energy store for breastfeeding and the birth recovery process.
This is part of your bodys natural instinct and is normal. Its important to be patient with yourself.
You can, for the most part, follow the same protocols as you would before you were pregnant to lose postpartum weight, with a few exceptions.
Dont restrict calories while youre breastfeeding. It can reduce your breast milk supply.
If it appears that the muscles in your lower abs have been separated by pregnancy, you may have a condition called diastasis recti.
It can worsen with traditional crunch exercises. Ask your doctor about workouts and physical therapy options if you believe you might have this condition.
Your sex may have something to do with the reasons why you gain belly fat. Females tend to store fat in the lower belly because of hormones, genetics, and age, and may be difficult to reduce in some cases.
However, everyone should take the same basic approach to lose weight, regardless of sex or gender.
Can You Lose Belly Fat In A Week
Diets and trends that claim to reduce belly fat within days are unrealistic and unhealthy.
In terms of exercise, ab exercises can help tone your stomach, but you’ll still need to lose weight overall to significantly reduce your stomach fat.
Since there’s no way to control where your body loses weight, to lose belly fat, you have to reduce overall body fat.
“The best practices to lose belly fat will be a balance of an active lifestyle, a nutritious diet, and maintaining low stress levels,” says Lapaix.
In order to lose overall body fat, you’ll need to be in a caloric deficit, which means you burn more calories than you consume.
Important: Taking drastic measures to reduce weight can lead to some unhealthy eating behaviors. Before making major changes to your diet or lifestyle, be sure to check in with your primary care doctor or a dietitian for advice and guidance.
Avoid Foods That Contain Trans Fats
Trans fats are created by pumping hydrogen into unsaturated fats, such as soybean oil.
Theyre found in some and spreads and also often added to packaged foods, but many food producers have stopped using them.
These fats have been linked to inflammation, heart disease, insulin resistance, and abdominal fat gain in observational and animal studies .
A 6-year study found that monkeys who ate a high trans fat diet gained 33% more abdominal fat than those eating a diet high in monounsaturated fat .
To help reduce belly fat and protect your health, read ingredient labels carefully and stay away from products that contain trans fats. These are often listed as partially hydrogenated fats.
SUMMARY
Some studies have linked a high intake of trans fat to increased belly fat gain. Regardless of whether youre trying to lose weight, limiting your intake of trans fat is a good idea.
Alcohol can have health benefits in small amounts, but its seriously harmful if you drink too much.
Research suggests that too much alcohol can also make you gain belly fat.
Observational studies link heavy alcohol consumption to a significantly increased risk of developing central obesity that is, excess fat storage around the waist .
Cutting back on alcohol may help reduce your waist size. You dont need to give it up altogether, but limiting the amount you drink in a single day can help.
One study on alcohol use involved more than 2,000 people.
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Add Cardio And Weight Training
The best belly fat burner, according to researchers at Northwestern University’s Women’s Health Research Institute, is to work out for at least 45 minutes per day, five days per week. This can be done at home or in the gym, and should include both cardiovascular activities and weight training. Finding a workout routine that you enjoy can go a long way toward helping you stick with it.
Cardiovascular exercise, or cardio, raises your heart rate and can help re-energize a sluggish metabolism. This can be accomplished by walking, jogging, running, bicycling or using a stationary bike, swimming, dancing or any other activity that leaves you slightly out of breath but still able to hold a conversation. Walking is an excellent way to start, if you are physically able to and are not used to more structured exercise.
Weight training is valuable not only to strengthen muscles, but because lean muscle tissue requires more calories to maintain while at rest than stored fat does. Building a bit of muscle also makes you appear leaner, and the extra strength can make even simple tasks such as blow drying your hair or carrying groceries a little easier.
Read more:Exercises to Get Rid of Lower Belly Fat
Research Shows Losing Weight Leads To Heart Health
A diet thats low in fat and carbohydrates can improve artery function,according to a 2012 study by Johns Hopkins researchers. After six months,those on the low-carb diet had lost more weight, and at a faster pace. Butin both groups, when weight was lostand especially when belly fatshrankthe arteries were able to expand better, allowing blood to travel more freely. The studyshows that you dont have to cut out all dietary fat to shrink belly fat.For heart health, simply losing weight and exercising seems to be key.
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Flavor Your Food With Garlic
A little garlic in your meals could mean a lot less weight around your middle. The results of a Korean study found that mice given a high-fat diet supplemented with garlic lost significantly more weight and abdominal fat than those who just ate fatty foods. Even better, they also improved their liver health, making it easier to stay healthy and burn off that excess fat in the long term. For more flavorful ways to make your food more enjoyable, turn to the metabolism-boosting spicy recipes and watch those pounds melt away.
How To Measure Abdominal Or Visceral Fat
MRI or CT scanning are currently considered the gold standards for measuring visceral and abdominal fat.5 A DEXA scan, which uses a low-dose x-ray beam, produces similar results and may be more accessible. Other tools like bioimpedance scales are less accurate and provide less information about visceral fat, but are widely available.6
For those who dont have access to imaging tools, a simple technique is to measure your waist circumference. General recommendations are for men to keep their waist measurement below 40 inches and women to keep their measurement below 35 inches . However, some ethnic groups, such as South Asians, have lower cutoffs of 35 inches for men and 31 inches for women.7
However, we suggest aiming for an even smaller waist circumference, most notably, one that will keep your waist-to-height ratio in a healthy range. Studies show that a waist-to-height ratio less than 0.5 may be an even better measurement for predicting a lower risk of health complications.8
| Low risk |
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- heart disease13
Belly fat is even associated with a shorter life.15 Even normal weight people, as defined by BMI, with extra belly fat are at increased risk of health complications.16
As we saw in 2020, more visceral fat is associated with a higher risk of severe Covid-19 complications.17
Fortunately, excess belly fat can be reduced. Studies show that reducing it improves metabolic health and is likely to improve overall health.18
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Cut Back On Simple Carbs
Simple carbs like those found in breakfast cereal, white bread, and cookies, convert into sugar in your body, and that can mess with your blood sugar balance and contribute to bodily inflammation, Cording says. If your blood sugar is all over the place because youre eating too many simple carbs, that can play a role in the formation of belly fat, she says.
Healthy Habits: Belly Fat Healthy Eating Plan
Eating healthy is not just eating in moderation, its about choosing the correct type of foods. A common focus is to be on a low-carb diet, low-fat diet, or high protein foods.
But what is most important is to have a variety of foods of the healthy type.
Focus on adding good fats that can be found in avocado, nuts, seeds, and fatty fish.
Increase lean protein intake, from plant-based protein sources like legumes and nuts, but also animal sources like fatty fish, chicken breast, and turkey.
Lastly, grains and a type of fiber that helps with the feeling of fullness are known as soluble fiber.
A good switch is by following a Mediterranean diet and avoiding high-fat intake.
On the contrary, a low-fat diet may also not be the most beneficial.
Remember, some fats are good, like unsaturated fats, including monounsaturated fat , and polyunsaturated fats.
Plenty of fiber is very important to your gut health, Eat 25 30 grams of fiber per day from food, not supplements. T
Two different types of fiber can contribute to your digestive health. Soluble fiber and insoluble fiber.
Soluble fiber can dissolve in water making a type of gel that travels through the digestive system, allowing for easy bowel movements.
There arent exact recommendations of grams of soluble fiber but having a variety of vegetables throughout the day can help.
Insoluble fiber, on the other hand, does not dissolve in water.
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Olive Oiland Other Healthy Fats
Though it may seem counterintuitive to add fat to a meal if you’re trying to lose fat, eating a moderate portion of unsaturated fats, like the kind found in olive oil, avocados, and nuts, can ward off the munchies and keep you full by regulating hunger hormones. A study published in Nutrition Journal found that participants who ate half a fresh avocado with lunch reported a 40% decreased desire to eat for hours afterward.
Changing the kind of fat in your diet will also help you increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids while reducing omega-6 fats upping your ratio of omega-3s to omega-6s has been proven to improve metabolic health and reduce inflammation.
How Much Exercise Does It Take To Lose Belly Fat
Incorporating exercise into your wellness routine in tandem with appropriate dietary changes is paramount when it comes to sustainable weight loss, and the overall health benefits of regular exercise extend beyond shedding poundsfrom lowering cholesterol and blood glucose levels to improving insulin resistance. The question is: How much exercise is enough?
A 2016 review in the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine found that without changes to the amount of calories consumed per day, low-intensity exercise for 60 minutes most days of the week resulted in weight loss of .5 pounds per week. The same review found exercising at a higher intensity or for a longer duration could result in losing up to 3 pounds per weekHiggins J, Higgins L. Prescribing exercise to help your patients lose weight. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine. 2016 83.. .
As with diet, consistency is key when it comes to exercise when your goal is to lose weight, including belly fat. Committing to low- to moderate-intensity exercise most days of the week could help you see results when it comes to losing excess weight in your midsection.
If youre a newcomer to exercise, speak with your health care provider to first determine safe and sustainable exercise intensities, durations and formats for you.
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Snack On Tart Cherries
That sour cherry is pretty sweet when it comes to your health. The results of a study conducted at the University of Michigan found that rats given high-fat foods along with tart cherries ditched nine percent more body fat than those in a control group over just 12 weeks. Cherries are also a good source of antioxidant pigment resveratrol, which has been linked to reductions in belly fat, dementia risk, and lower rates of macular degeneration among the elderly.
Eat More Berries Loaded With Antioxidants
Instead of satisfying your sweet tooth with refined sugar, turn to berries and enjoy a slimmer waistline in no time without exercise. Berries are loaded with antioxidants, which can help reduce inflammation throughout the body, and research from the University of Michigan reveals that rats given a cherry-rich diet shaved off a significant proportion of their belly fat when compared to a control group. Berries like strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries are also loaded with resveratrol, an antioxidant pigment that has been linked to reductions in belly fat and a reduced risk of dementia, to boot.
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Try To Limit Your Stress
Stress can mess with every part of your bodybut how you deal with it can make or break your weight loss goals. I think most of the effect of stress is behavioral rather than neurochemical, says Dr. Cheskin. It makes us eat more, because we use food as a substitute for dealing with stress.
The truth is, eating food to make yourself feel better is usually a whole lot easier than actually facing the stress head-on. People gravitate toward something that doesnt require anybody else to do it, is immediately satisfying, and doesnt take a whole lot of effort, especially if youre just opening up a package or box, says Dr. Cheskin.
Stress-eating can only lead to one thing: growing your belly rather than whittling it. If you find yourself stress eating, take a step back and think: Whats causing my stress, and what can I do about it? Find a way to remedy the solution or talk through it with a therapist rather than turning to a bag of Doritos.
Limit Added Sugar And High
Consuming too much added sugar is associated with excess weight thats likely to accumulate around your waist. Sugar-sweetened beverages and drinking too much fruit juice can be particularly harmful.
When we drink our calories, especially with soda or juice, we dont feel as full or satisfied compared to chewing those calories, notes Dr. Creel. For instance, you may eat three oranges for the same amount of calories as a large glass of orange juice and feel much fuller for a longer period of time.
Watch how much of these liquid calories you consume and try to cut back where you can.
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Eat Fewer Refined Carbohydrates
Limit foods high in refined carbohydrates and refined sugar , and replace them with high fibre complex carbs think: whole grains, brown rice, sweet potato, oats, beans and pulses. Fill your boots with as many vegetables as possible theyre low calorie, high in micronutrients, and the fibre in them will keep you full.
Snack on portion-controlled fruit, seeds and nuts. One study found that snacking on 42g of almonds per day helped to reduce belly fat and improved cholesterol levels. The high levels of fibre are proven to combat excess calorie consumption later in the day, says registered dietitian Lucy Jones.
Try Curbing Carbs Instead Of Fats
When Johns Hopkins researchers compared the effects on the heart of losingweight through a low-carbohydrate diet versus a low-fat diet for sixmonthseach containing the same amount of caloriesthose on a low-carb dietlost an average of 10 pounds more than those on a low-fat diet28.9 poundsversus 18.7 pounds. An extra benefit of the low-carb diet is that itproduced a higher quality of weight loss, Stewart says. With weight loss,fat is reduced, but there is also often a loss of lean tissue ,which is not desirable. On both diets, there was a loss of about 2 to 3pounds of good lean tissue along with the fat, which means that the fatloss percentage was much higher on the low-carb diet.
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High Fiber Bread And Pasta
Contrary to popular belief, carbs are nothing to fear! . While people are still a little scared of eating bread and pasta, I am here to set the record straightcarbs dont make you fat, Dr. Melendez-Klinger explains. Actually, when carbs have fiber, they can actually help you lose weight and contribute to other health benefits.
Reduce Your Abdomen With A Healthy Diet
To reduce the abdomen effectively, it is essential to expend more energy than is consumed. For this reason, in addition to reducing the number of total calories in the diet, it is necessary to adopt a physical training plan.
Together, these habits boost the activity of the metabolism and improve its ability to transform nutrients into sources of energy. Thus, little by little, the weight decreases and the abdomen flattens out.
Keep in mind that hydration daily consumption of water stimulates digestion and promotes the elimination of fluids and toxins that cause inflammation disorders.
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Try A New Eating Plan
Everybody’s body is different when it comes to losing belly fat. If what you’ve been trying isn’t working, you could experiment with a new eating plan.
Some people swear by plans like intermittent fasting. Others find that a ketogenic diet works best for their body.
There are different variations of intermittent fasting, all involving a time window when you eat and a time window when you fast. Intermittent fasting shows promise as a treatment for obesity, but more studies need to be done.
The ketogenic diet has shown success at helping some people lose weight quickly. This type of diet focuses on eating foods that are very low in carbohydrates and high in fat. The ketogenic diet may not be right for everyone, so always consult with a physician before making dietary changes.
