As we get older, we gain weight, for women, particularly around our middle. Belly fat. It’s the curse of post-menopausal women everywhere. It’s caused by slowing metabolism and our body’s predisposition to deposit fat in our midsection.
Our metabolism slows as we age in large part to the fact that we lose muscle mass. Muscle burns calories. The less muscle we have, the fewer calories we burn. Knowing that, how do we lose that stubborn tire around our middle?
First, it's important to understand the difference between the two types of fat - subcutaneous and visceral. Subcutaneous fat is on the surface - you can pinch it. Visceral fat is deep in the abdominal area and surrounds the organs. Visceral fat is much more dangerous than subcutaneous fat.
It's important to know we can’t spot reduce. We can’t target one specific area to lose from. When the weight comes off, it comes from everywhere. And as you may have experienced, the tummy seems to be the last place it comes from!
So, how do females lose belly fat naturally?
Four ways:
Drink enough water
Pay attention to what you’re eating
Burn more calories than you consume
Strength train
First, make sure you’re drinking enough water.
The more water you drink, the less likely you’ll be to experience bloating. It may seem the opposite, but if you’re not drinking enough water, your body holds onto it. If it’s not sure that enough will be coming, it conserves what it has.
One way to lose inches from your tummy overnight is to make sure you’re drink enough water. The standard is eight – eight ounce glasses of water each day. But a better measure is the color of your urine. It should be very light yellow. If it’s darker, drink more.
Next, make sure you’re not eating too much salt (which causes water retention) or other foods that can cause bloating.
These include beans, some cruciferous veggies – broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower. If you have trouble digesting dairy (lactose intolerance), that can be a big cause of bloating. And some sweeteners can cause bloating. Pay attention when you eat any of these and notice if you feel more bloated afterward. If so, you know what to do to reduce the bloating and potentially lose tummy fat overnight.
Then comes exercise. Cardio in particular.
Cardio exercise is the fat burning component of exercise. It has lots of great benefits for us, but for this topic we’ll focus on the fat burning. To lose weight it comes down to calories in versus calories out. You may read that it’s more complicated than that.
Avoiding carbs. Avoiding fat. Eating only at certain times of the day. Eating certain foods together (or never together). The list goes on.
But the simple math is burn more calories than you consume. And yes, of course they should be healthy calories, but that’s another article! To lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories, burn more calories, or, better yet, a combination of both.
And last, but definitely not least, my number one method to lose tummy fat, including that lower belly fat– strength training!
Strength training has soooo many benefits. For weight loss, it’s crucial to avoiding and reversing the muscle loss we all experience as we get older.
Remember that one of the reasons we gain weight as we age is the loss of muscle which causes our metabolism to slow. The way to increase our metabolism and lose weight, including our belly fat is to strength train.
And not countless crunches! Even though that’s a must too. When we strength train our muscles get stronger. Muscle mass grows. And our metabolism increases. Sure, go ahead and do stomach crunches, but doing only ab exercises is not the way to see that belly fat disappear. It will strengthen the muscles underneath, but with excess belly fat they won’t show.
Drink water. Pay attention to, and avoid, foods that cause bloating. Burn more calories than you’re eating. And strength train. The not so secret ways to get rid of that stubborn belly fat!
If you'd like to talk more about how I can help you, book a free call with me!
