How to eliminate belly fat completely (6 ways that actually work)

You can’t find anything to wear even though you have several beautiful jeans you can wear. However, you remember the last time you wore them, you loosened your belt, and it didn't work. You eventually had to unzip and pull your sweater down continuously to hide the gaping shame. Your bulging stomach caused all this though it once used to accommodate your favorites clothes.

Apart from not fitting in your favorite outfits, excess fat around your stomach is linked to heart disease and type 2 diabetes. We are talking a waist that’s anything above 35cm for women and 40 cm for males.

I know you want your slender self back and also to avoid these life-altering diseases. In this article, I am going to show you how to get rid of belly fat completely.

What causes fat rolls?

Belly fat or fat rolls around your stomach are caused by several things. Among the causes are a poor diet, lack of exercise, and stress. Pregnancy and menopause also cause fat to accumulate around the belly.

Things to do more of in order to eliminate belly fat

1.     Eat more fruits and veg

Fruits and vegetables contain fiber, which is digested slowly, making you feel full and not crave food. Legumes like are also a great source of fiber. Similarly, fruits and vegetables also contain essential minerals and vitamins that make metabolism faster thus burning belly fat.

2.     Exercise to get rid of belly fat quickly and completely

I am not here to teach you how to lose belly fat overnight but to show you how to get rid of it forever eventually. The most guaranteed way is by exercising. There are specific exercises to help you lose fat around your waist. These include arm plank with knee-deep, boat pose, side plank, reverse crunch plank crawl out. You can check these out on Youtube and exercise alongside.

3.     Meditate

Meditation sounds counter intuitive, right? Just sitting down and inhaling in and out? How can this simple gesture help you lose belly fat? Here’s how: Doing the inner work enables you to focus on why you drift towards unhealthy eating habits. This will help you come up with ways to avoid stress eating. Additionally, meditation reduces stress, thus regulating production of cortisol and adrenaline. This, in turn, causes insulin resistance and eventually, accumulation of body fat if left unchecked.

4.     Drink lots of water

The way water works to help reduce your mid-section is very straight forward. Drinking water before meals makes you eat less, which leads to weight loss in your body, including the belly. Similarly, water will help you lose belly fat if you drink it instead of the sugar-laden drinks like soda and juices.

5.     Drink bone broth

Bone broth is known as a treatment for a host of diseases. As you may have known already, most diseases are caused by inflammation. The reason bone soup works so well is because it has anti-inflammatory anti-acids namely arginine and glycine. Additionally, it keeps you feeling full longer and helps you evade binge eating.

Things to moderate so as to eliminate belly fat completely

You don’t have to avoid these items completely, but consuming the following them in moderation is the key.

1.     Refined carbohydrates

These include pasta, cookies, white bread and bagels among others. These carbs have no nutrients and fiber because they have been processed ridding them of energy-giving germ and bran. Refined carbs become digested quickly and absorbed as sugar triggering release of insulin which makes you store belly fat.

2.     Meat intake

Meat is a great source of proteins, a key requirement to maintain a healthy body. Meat contains so much fat, and it is unsaturated. This disrupts the digestion process leading to accumulation of fat around your waist.

It is therefore advisable to limit the quantity of meat you consume and substitute it with beans and other grains rich in proteins.

3.     Alcohol 

According to Michael Jensen, MD, the simple reason alcohol is not suitable for your mid-section is because the liver literally burns alcohol instead of fat. Beer also has many calories, and they are the culprits for your big waist. You can avoid the harmful effects of alcohol by drinking moderately.

Things to completely kick out of your life

The following should be totally eliminated from your diet if you are serious on getting rid of belly fat completely.

1.     Unhealthy fats

Unhealthy fats include saturated fats, omega-6 fats, and trans fats.

Trans fats are found in baked and fried foods. Foods that contain saturated fats include meat, chicken, milk products and tropical oils like coconut and palm oil.

Omega-6 fats are found in vegetable oils and include soybean oil, corn oil, safflower oil,grape-seed oil and sunflower oil.

Omega-6 oils are essential for the body as they enhance protective HDL and reduce dangerous LDL cholesterol. They also improve the body’s sensitivity to insulin controlling blood sugar. It's, therefore, essential to consume omega-6 oils but even more Omega-3 to strike a healthy balance.

2.     Stress

Stress affects you by making you search for comfort in food, which in turn are mostly unhealthy. The excess energy from the food gets converted into fat that lodges around the belly and other body parts.

Similarly, stress leads to production of more cortisol than the body requires. When produced in large quantities, cortisol leads to adverse effects, among them weight gain, most of which goes to the belly.

3.     Sugar

Sugar leads to high levels of insulin, which inhibits leptin, a hormone that controls energy. A decrease in leptin leads to a higher appetite, and you think you are hungry making you eat unnecessarily. The excess food that you consume and the body doesn’t use is stored as belly fat.

You can easily reduce sugar in your diet by eating healthy snacks like nuts instead of reaching for sugary alternatives. The nuts will also leave you feeling fuller for longer.

4.     Being a couch potato

You should avoid sitting for long periods. Make it a habit to take a stroll or just stand up and stretch every few minutes. If possible, get a standing desk as this will boost your metabolism and burn fat in your body.

5.     Smoking

A study by scientists from the University of Glasglow showed that excess fat for smokers tends to go to the belly. Though their BMI is lower, smoking drives weight to the center of their bodies, enlarging the waist.

Other causes of belly fat

Midriff bulge after menopause

Sex hormones are altered after menopause leading to low levels of estrogen. This slows down metabolism and leads to weight gain, particularly around your tummy. To beat menopause belly fat, the above-discussed measures will work.

Reduce tummy after delivery

Belly fat during pregnancy results from changes in the hormone estrogen, just like during menopause. The body prepares to nourish the baby after it is born, and there is weight gain around your belly and breasts.

In Summary

We have seen that belly fat does more than deny you from wearing fitting clothes. It causes life-threatening diseases, as well. There is a lot you can do to get rid of fat around your waist. You can take control by starting with the easiest thing as you go on to the things that are harder to do or give up. So what simple thing are you going to adopt immediately? Is it eating more vegetables, reducing your portion of meat or using one less spoon of sugar?