How to Burn Belly Fat

A diet high in refined carbohydrates and saturated or trans fat contributes to belly fat. Refined carbohydrates are found in soda, pastries, bagels, pizza and more. Studies show that these foods are linked to an increase in visceral belly fat. This is partly because they are calorie-dense and easy to overeat. And partly because they lead to blood sugar and insulin spikes, which over time, can cause insulin resistance and excess fat gain.

Saturated and trans fat are found in butter, biscuits, cakes, processed meats and fried food. They are inflammatory and have been shown to increase visceral belly fat.

A high-protein diet is linked to weight loss for a few key reasons. Protein consumption increases the speed of your metabolism, increases satiety and reduces your appetite. It does this by boosting thermogenesis and altering the production of a number of hormones such as ghrelin and leptin, both associated with hunger and fullness signaling.

A study published in the International Journal of Obesity compared a group of participants eating a high protein diet versus a group eating a normal protein diet, both in a caloric deficit. The high protein diet group lost more weight, were able to sustain the weight loss over the span of a year and decreased their blood pressure, blood lipids and inflammation more so than the group on a normal protein diet. Protein-rich foods include poultry, red meat, eggs, tempeh, whey protein powder and beans.

Here’s the thing: if you want to burn belly fat, your body has to be in a fat-burning rather than fat-storing state. How can you do that? By being in a calorie deficit. Your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) tells you how many calories you need to consume to influence your body weight.

If you eat more than your TDEE, you’ll gain weight. If you eat less, you’ll be burning fat stores for fuel, and you’ll lose weight. Remember: There’s no such thing as fat spot reduction. So if you want to lose belly fat, you’ve got to make sure your body is in a calorie deficit, which requires it to draw on stored energy.

Calculate your TDEE by using an online calculator or speaking with a professional. Following a meal plan or counting calories/macros can ensure that you are sticking to a low-calorie diet.

Adopting a low-carb diet can be an effective way to burn belly fat. As mentioned, excess refined carbohydrates can contribute to belly fat accumulation, so by limiting this and adopting a low-carb diet with plenty of healthy fats (unsaturated) you may get good results. This is supported in research.

A study published in the Journal of Nutrition in 2015 found that a low-carb, high-fat diet reduced more abdominal fat than a group who followed a low-fat, high-carb diet. This is because reducing carbohydrates increased insulin sensitivity and accelerated the burning of visceral belly fat.

If you have a healthy diet and exercise regularly but still have stubborn belly fat that you can’t shift, you might have a vitamin deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency is linked to increased belly fat. This is because fat cells have vitamin D receptors. When vitamin D levels are low, your body can’t efficiently mobilize fat stores and more energy is stored as fat rather than burned for fuel, adding to fat mass. This excess fat is disproportionately stored around the abdomen.

It’s not just your vitamin D levels that affect belly fat. In fact, cortisol, the stress hormone, has been shown to contribute to abdominal fat. Cortisol affects fat distribution, increasing the amount of centrally located visceral fat. When you’re stressed, you’re also more likely to "stress eat" and move less, causing greater weight gain.

Exercise is powerful! It can help relieve stress to combat high cortisol levels. It’s also a way to create and enhance an energy deficit. It mobilizes fat stores. It builds muscle, which increases your metabolic rate. It has a number of health benefits that go beyond the physical. If you want to lose belly fat, exercising daily needs to be part of your plan. When it comes to the best exercise to reduce belly fat, you have a few options:

• High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): HIIT is great for fat loss. It gets your heart rate up and creates an oxygen deficit. This high intensity burns fat during and post-workout. A study published in Sports Medicine in 2018 found that in 39 studies on HIIT and fat loss, HIIT significantly reduced abdominal and visceral fat mass.
• Aerobic Exercise: Aerobic exercise such as walking, cycling and rowing are ideal ways to hit your daily movement goal. You could try walking 10,000 steps a day, or cycling to work instead of driving. Even though aerobic exercise is performed at a lower intensity than HIIT, it still has notable benefits for fighting belly fat. A study found that aerobic exercise reduced abdominal fat and improved insulin sensitivity in a group of participants experiencing belly fat. These participants were doing 12 miles per week of aerobic training at 75 percent peak O2 uptake (low to moderate-intensity).
• Resistance Training: Resistance training can be done with free weights or your body weight. It helps to build lean muscle, which boosts your metabolic rate to mobilize fat stores more effectively. Aim to do this three to five times per week.