Losing Belly Fat
Belly fat may or may not be the most difficult body fat to trim away, but losing belly fat at all requires effort and rethinking—beginning with the knowledge that it will not happen fast. You can work toward the so-called classic six-pack abs, but if you prefer to think in terms of how to get rid of stomach fat alone, the effort and the rethinking may be easier for you.
Generally, those who want to lose stomach fat first decide—though often with great struggle—to get rid of the junk food. Cookies, chips, candy, snack cakes, similar foods. The idea is that if they are not around the house, you will not keep thinking about them and, perhaps, rid yourself of the idea of eating them altogether. The high sugar content is a prime reason, but the mix of sugar and refined carbohydrate hikes blood sugar and lowers fat burning.
This is not to say that you should live without carbohydrates—you need those in fresh fruits and vegetables, and you can be helped by the slow-release carbohydrates in such foods as oats, brown rice, and sweet potatoes, not to mention whole grain bread rather than white bread. Your body at its normal pace metabolizes the slow release carbohydrates, without inflating your insulin levels.
Even if you eliminate the junk food and re-orient your carbohydrate thinking, you will not burn off stomach fat if you cannot give up the late-night snacks. Because you have little to no activity after you have one, the excess sugar in even a junk-and-carb-free late snack will turn into fat even if you sleep actively.
Nor will you burn off stomach fat if you drink a lot. The booze meets the belly and not to your benefit: excess alcohol can put a beer belly on you even if you do not drink beer. One gram equals seven calories according to most analyses and, because alcohol includes no nutrients, the calories you consume in your drinks end up as fat storage. If you are trying to lose belly fat, you do not have to give up a good mixed drink, a glass of wine, or a bottle of beer—but the key is “a”: limit yourself to one such drink and do not have one every day.
Now that you have decided to reorient your diet, you should remember that that alone is not going to burn as much belly fat away as you hope. You need exercise. If joining a gym, hiring a trainer, or investing in exercise equipment is not an option, there are all kinds of exercise you can get just living your life. You can walk for good distances at brisk paces. You can use various implements around your house for exercise, especially if they are somewhat heavy. You can jog; assuming that you begin moderately and not push yourself past your normal physical endurance too swiftly—over exercise can be as dangerous to your health as a lack of exercise.
You can even consider taking supplements aimed at helping you burn belly fat. Fat burners help burn fat in tandem with smart diet and exercise, but these are usually brought into the new regimen only if a dieter is training hard but still finding weight loss difficult. The prospective risks, however, include stomachache, diarrhea, and possible interference with other medications you may be prescribed for other conditions. They can also interfere with your absorption of certain vitamins. Vitamin and mineral supplements have always been popular but serious dieters looking to burn belly fat and otherwise maintain sensible weight turn to them to help their energy levels and overall well-being as well as for help in sustaining any weight-loss program.
However, whether or not you consider fat burners as part of your regimen, you should consult your doctor before you begin such a serious diet and exercise plan, because losing belly fat should not entail losing your health.


