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7 super effective ways to get rid of belly fat!
With the festive season around the corner, it's easy to put on those kilos. Weight-loss expert Dr Vidyut Sodha tells us how you can lose that very weight.
Belly fat like any other fat is basically fat stored around the abdomen of any individual. Such people with fat stored around their abdomen area are known as people having apple shaped bodies.
These people generally have the tendency to store fat around the abdomen of the area and 80 per cent men and 20 per cent women fall under this category.
To understand the ways we can get rid of belly fat, let's first understand the types of fat that tend to accumulate around the belly.
There are two layers of fat around the belly: superficial fat called the subcutaneous fat between the skin and the muscle and visceral fat, the deeper fat covering the visceral organs like the heart, liver, kidneys, lungs etc.
Men are more prone to be affected by the visceral fat layer while women with subcutaneous fat layer that forms cellulite.
These are the best ways to get rid of these two kinds of fat around the belly.
Lifestyle modification
Going on a basic diet and doing exercise for a few minutes and reducing some weight will take care of the visceral fat and a little of the subcutaneous fat thereby reducing the tummy inches overall.
Having less salty foods
Foods that are high in sodium should be avoided as these foods generally cause water retention and thereby even if the person is exercising he/she will have a bloated feeling of the tummy all throughout due to retention of water.
Having foods that are alkaline in nature
Foods which are acidic in nature generally cause the pH of the body to shift towards the acidic index thereby increasing the acid levels in the stomach, due to which the belly appears bloated all the time and appears protruded. Avoid foods like onions, cabbage etc which are acidic and cause gas formation in the stomach.
Cardio exercises with a healthy diet
In a research carried out between two groups of ladies in which one group went on a diet without cardio and the other group went on a diet with cardio exercise, it was found that women who exercised regularly and dieted and lost weight lost 18 per cent fat around their belly region whereas the women who dieted alone just lost weight but not the belly fat!
Drink enough water
Water plays an important role whereas targeting fatloss is concerned or inch loss is concerned.
Muscles need 70 per cent water for obtaining complete hydration and once they are hydrated they burn more calories and thereby increasing overall metabolism.
Also water flushes out extra and unwanted toxins of the body. Having more water prevents cellulite formation.
Ab exercises
According to a research if a person generally follows a healthy diet and does cardio the person will lose overall weight. To specifically target abs (since they are also muscles) doing 5 minutes of abs exercises 3-4 times a week is enough for good abs definition.
If a person does 5 mins of abs exercise first thing in the morning as soon after he/she wakes up, more fat is burnt and a good abs definition is achieved.
Doing just this isn't enough. Combination of diet and exercise is equally necessary.
Useful abs exercises include:
Ab crunches: 3 sets of 15 reps with a gap of 30 seconds targets upper and middle abs.
Side crunches: 3 sets of 15 reps with a gap of 30 seconds targets the oblique muscles.
Leg raises or reverse crunches: 3 sets of 15 reps with a gap of 30 seconds targets the lower abs
Planks: Targets the inner core ab muscles
Fat-loss exercises
To burn fat, exercise performed at 69-72 per cent of the target heart rate (THR) have to be done for at least 30-45 mins. Fat needs oxygen to be burnt and this is possible by doing more cardio in your routine.
Exercises like walking, running, jogging, swimming, cycling etc are excellent sources of reducing belly fat.
Finally one should understand that no one thing works for belly fat.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle with a healthy diet and exercise will help a person lose weight and target belly fat over a period of time.