8 Ways to Lose Belly Fat and Live a Healthier Life

Having a slim waistline isn’t just about making you look good, it can also help you live longer.

An enlarged waistline is linked to serious health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer. Losing belly fat, in particular, can improve blood vessel function and sleep quality. However, diet alone isn’t the only way to target belly fat. Losing weight will slim your waist, but more importantly, it will reduce visceral fat, the fat you can’t see but that’s a serious health risk. That’s what Carrie Stewart, Ed.D., director of clinical and research physiology at Johns Hopkins University, says.

Cut fat instead of carbs

Johns Hopkins researchers looked at the effects of low-carb and low-fat diets over a period of six months. Both diets had the same calorie content. The results found that those on the low-carb diet lost an average of 10 pounds more—28.9 pounds versus 18.7 pounds. Another benefit of low-carb diets is that the quality of weight loss is better. Weight loss is fat loss, but often muscle loss is also lost, which is not a good thing. Both diets lost 2 to 3 pounds of lean tissue (muscle), but the percentage of fat loss was higher on the low-carb diet.

Adopt an eating plan instead of a diet

You should follow a healthy eating plan that you can follow for a long time. The beauty of a low-carb diet is that it does not require counting calories. This diet moves you away from high-carb and sugary foods, such as bread, bagels and soda, and toward high-fiber or high-protein foods, such as vegetables, beans and healthy meats.

Increase physical activity

Exercise helps reduce belly fat. Stewart says the biggest benefit of exercise is that it improves body composition. Exercise lowers insulin levels in the body, which signals the body not to store fat. This allows the liver to use fatty acids, especially from visceral fat around the belly.

How much exercise is needed to lose weight depends on your goals. For most people, this can mean 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise almost every day.

Lift weights

8 Ways to Lose Belly Fat and Live a Healthier Life

Combining light weight training with aerobic exercise helps build muscle. It also burns more calories throughout the day, even at rest.

Get into the habit of reading labels

Compare food brands. Some yogurts claim to be low-fat, but they are high in carbs and sugar. Foods such as gravy, mayonnaise, sauces and salad dressings are often high in fat and calories.

Avoid processed foods

Packaged and snack foods often contain high amounts of trans fat, sugar, and salt or sodium, which can make weight loss more difficult.

Focus more on your clothes than on the scale

Gaining muscle and losing fat may not change your weight on the scale, but your clothes may become looser. That’s the true sign of progress. Waist measurements should be less than 35 inches for women and less than 40 inches for men to reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Spend time with health-minded friends

Research shows that if your friends and family are eating well and exercising, you’re more motivated to do the same.

Definitions

Insulin: This is a hormone made by the cells in your pancreas. Insulin helps your body store glucose (sugar) from food. If your pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin because of diabetes, you may be given medicines that help the liver make more insulin.

Blood vessels: This is a system of flexible tubes (such as arteries, capillaries and veins) that carry blood throughout the body. Arteries carry oxygen and nutrients to the cells. Veins carry blood back to the heart and lungs, where carbon dioxide is exhaled.

Arteries: These are the blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the rest of the body. Their walls are made up of a strong outer layer, a muscular middle layer and a smooth inner layer, which allows blood to flow easily.

2025 Maruti Celerio: A Blend of Elegance and Fuel Economy

FAQs

What makes abdominal fat dangerous to health?

Both subcutaneous and visceral fat increase the risk of developing heart disease and diabetes, and various types of cancer. It also has a detrimental effect on blood vessel response and on sleep.

Is it possible to drive calories to belly fat?

Absolutely not, you cannot just target one specific area and lose fat off it. But achieving overall loss of weight assists in the loss of excess fats particularly the visceral fats which are dangerous for your health.

A what kind of diet aids in the loss of belly fat?

Low-carb diets have been proven to help shed the abdominal fat. They help to achieve better quality weight loss as they help spot fat while sparing the muscles.