What makes this even more challenging is the fact that your trouble spots are usually the last to disappear when you start losing weight.
So don't be surprised when you start losing weight to see it coming off of areas you didn't expect. For example, when I start losing weight it always comes off my face, neck, hands and calves first.
You need to stay realistic about this fact and don't be too hard on yourself. Your belly fat will come off as long as you stick with your healthy diet and exercise plan.
Building muscle is the most important factor in losing weight. The more muscle you have the more fat you burn.
Unlike fat, muscle tissue is always active, meaning that it requires calories to be maintained. Fat uses up no calories.
If you were starving your body would not feed off fat, instead it would eat your muscles first. This is why cutting too many calories can actually back fire on you.
So keep in mind that as you build more and more muscle mass your body will turn into a calorie burning machine.
Another point to thing about is how active you are. The more active you are throughout the day the more you can eat without gaining weight. The same rule applies with muscle mass.
Some people say that a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat. This is not true. A pound weighs a pound no matter how you weigh it. The only difference is a pound of muscle is smaller than a pound of fat because it is more compact, plus it gives you the added bonus of calorie burning.
Two women right next to each other who weigh the same amount, but have different fat ratios will look considerably different. The one with more fat will be larger than the one with more muscle.
Instead of only focusing on weight, you should also look at fat percentage. This will give you a better idea of how in shape you really are. The numbers on the scale only say a little bit.
As you work to reduce belly fat, think about all the components that come into play.
How to Remove Belly Fat
#1 Thing to Do: Avoid using an "extreme" diet
An example of this is a "starvation" diet. A starvation diet is basically depriving your self of food so that it helps you lose weight. A lot of people eat only one meal a day and keep this up consistently. The only thing that this will do is "down regulate" your metabolism and make your body not burn as many calories. You may lose some belly fat but in the long run you will lose muscle mass and possibly even gain weight.
A better alternative to the starvation diet is to try eating 5-6 smaller meals in a day. Make each meal consist of protein, fruit, and vegetables. When you do this, you will be eating so often that it will prevent sharp spikes in your blood sugar and you will not feel hungry.
High quality protein is a key factor in helping you remove belly fat because it requires a large amount of energy to digest it. High quality proteins to include in your diet are things like chicken, turkey, fish, tuna, etc.
Fruits and vegetables have a lot of nutritional value, vitamins and minerals. These will also help you lose weight because they are not very calorie dense, which means you can eat more food and still not take in a significant amount of calories.
Tip #2 - Really push yourself when you workout!
You need to have challenging workouts if you want to remove your belly fat as quickly as possible. Challenging yourself with more intense workouts will elevate your metabolism and will have you burning calories long after you are done your workout.
When you do the workout in the same order with the exact reps, you have done one "round". Try doing as many rounds as you can in 10 minutes and only rest when you need to!
Tip 3 - Replace your current cardio routine with a shorter and more intense method of cardio
Interval training, which is similar to circuit training, will help you remove belly fat because it boosts your metabolism so you are still burning calories long after you are done working out. Interval training alternates back and for the between high and low intensities in a specific way. For example, you might go 90 seconds slow, then 30 seconds really fast, then repeat.
This is what makes it different from slow cardio. The short bursts of high intensity (30 seconds of really pushing it) will get you out of your comfort zone. If you work hard enough, you will still be burning calories for hours after you are done.
Impacting your resting metabolism is a great way for you to remove belly fat with exercise, especially if you combine it with a healthy diet such as the one listed above.
Both Judith Turner & are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.