QuickDietHowTo Community

After measuring my waistline this morning, I’ve decided to go in a slightly different direction with today’s post in my weekly weight loss series. I’m going to discuss belly fat.

Having a “spare tire” around the middle is an area of concern for many folks as they get older–it is for me. However, with a reality check on the diet and a commitment to exercise, the worrying can be reduced–along with the waistline. Yes, if you really want–need–to lose belly fat you must commit to, and stick with, some necessary lifestyle changes.

We’re all told that a major contributing factor to heart disease is being overweight. And the experts at the NIH say that the risk is even greater if you are carrying that extra weight around your mid-section. Men, apparently, have more to worry about, but it’s not something women are completely immune to.

Diet to Lose Belly Fat

So, now that we’ve decided we need to lose belly fat, how do we go about doing it? Well, do like I’m doing; devise a plan and then hopefully stick with it. If you folks reading this are anything like me, you know that diet is difficult to change. I’ve become habitual in my eating habits, and many of these foods are not good for me. Fast food restaurants used to be a favorite of mine, yet they serve foods that have too much fat and carbs and little nutritional value. If you are going to lose belly fat, fast food has to go. No pun intended.

I’ve been trying to make fruits, vegetables and whole grains the foundation of my diet. Along with, lean meats for protein. If you ignore this week’s weight gain, you’ll see that I’ve made some progress on this front–15.4 pounds lost, so far (see below). A better diet equals weight loss and fat reduction

About the importance of drinking eight glasses of water every day: This seems excessive to me, but I have increased my H2O intake. I’ve heard that adding calcium to the diet helps eliminate belly fat–I’ll keep you posted.

Exercise to Lose Belly Fat

Exercise can be a foreign word to many people but it’s a requirement for reducing your waistline. If you don’t go in for sports, consider–at least–walking in your overall plan to lose belly fat. I’ve found that by just walking fifty minutes three or four times a week, I look and feel much better. Consistency is key.

When you start noticing your mid-section shrinking, use that as encouragement to stick with your plan to lose weight. As I very well know, it can be tempting to cheat on the diet or skip the exercise when you see yourself becoming thinner, but that will undermine the progress you’ve made up to that point. If you have a real desire to lose belly fat and become thinner, you must stick with the lifestyle changes you’ve made…for the rest of your life.

Aside from looking great when you’ve reached your target weight, you will also be much healthier. The ultimate reward for losing that belly fat may, just be, a few more years alive with the ones you love.

This week’s numbers (I’ve added the ‘overall’ weight loss to the weekly numbers):

• Average calories: 2066/day
• Average exercise: 16 mins/day
• Today’s weight: 273.8 (lbs)
• Last week’s weight: 272
• Body fat: 33.1%
• Weekly weight loss (gain): (2.8)
• Total weight loss: 15.4