How To Burn Abdominal Fat? 7 Science-Based Tips + 3 Exercises

How to burn abdominal fat? 7 science-based tips + 3 exercises

Burning belly fat not only allows your abs to start to appear (which we all love), but it is a health symptom.

If looking down you don’t like what you see, maybe you are considering losing excess abdominal fat at once but you have some doubts …

• Can you lose abdominal fat locally?
• Is there a special diet to lose fat?
• What foods, exercises, and habits are the best to burn belly fat?

In this article, you will discover how to lose abdominal fat by combining exercise and diet to have defined abs. If you have discipline and follow these tips, you may be mistaken for a Men’s Health torso (but in your case without photoshop.

Why it is not possible to lose only abdominal fat (even if it hurts)

In the world of weight loss, there is a lot of fraudulent advertising that promises us to lose localized fat …

Here’s a painful truth: I’m sorry, but it’s impossible to tell your body that you want to remove just belly fat.

What’s more, it could happen that you are losing weight, but your abdominal fat doesn’t even know …

And why does this happen? — You may be wondering …

Because your weight is not only fat. It is the result of adding:

• Your muscle mass
• Fatty tissue
• Organs, bones …
• And the accumulated water

That is, you could be losing weight because you are losing muscle or water, but not a drop of fat …

And, as I said before, it is not possible to lose fat in a localized way.

When we activate the mechanisms to burn fat (which I will tell you below) the elimination of this adipose tissue will be global and unfortunately, the one that covers our “six-pack” is the last one that will leave us (in fact it is called rebellious fat because it resists disappearing).

Then I will tell you how we are going to do it so this does not happen.

But let’s go step by step.

The 7 Science-Based Fat Burning Tips (Notice to Boaters: Not Magic Recipes)

With these 7 tips, you will be able to lose excess fat in any part of the body. You can see that these are not weird diets, pseudosciences, or miracle products.

I recommend that you take 1 or 2 tips that suit you the most and start with them. Don’t try to implement too many because you will end up not doing any.

If you want to lose belly fat you are going to need a lot of perseverance and hard work, but I am convinced that you can achieve it if you take it seriously.

Warning: It is true that there are some fat-burning supplements (in this article we analyze the most effective ones) but I only recommend them if you are carrying out the strategies that I am going to tell you about now. If you rely on these supplements as your only strategy, you will be wasting your money.

#Tip 1: Caloric Restriction — “Eat less than you spend”

Despite being a classic, calorie restriction is necessary to lose fat. If our body does not receive enough energy from the diet it will have to touch the fat stores sooner or later.

To generate the caloric deficit (eat less than what you spend), you have 2 options:

• You eat fewer calories (eat less amount)
• Or you spend more (you move more, you exercise more …)

Strategy 1: eat less: The general rule of thumb is to eat about 500 fewer calories than you normally consume. You can start by skipping one meal of the day (such as a snack or lunch), skipping a dessert, or eating less at each meal. If you maintain this deficit for a few months, you will see how your belly flattens without stopping.

Be careful: Remember that it is not only important to reduce the number of calories, but they must come from quality food.

Let’s see the pros and cons of this approach:

Pros

• It is easy to apply, it does not require knowledge
• You don’t have to invest time

Cons

• You starve at first
• It is somewhat cumbersome if you count calories

It is difficult for it to be sustainable over time

• It is not effective if you already consume few calories

Strategy 2: exercise or move more: consists of increasing your energy expenditure, that is, moving more or exercising more. If you already did some of this, the idea would be to do it at a higher intensity.

You could start walking a minimum of 8,000 steps a day (you can monitor it with an activity bracelet ), practice a sport that you like, or train with your own body. You can also start running if it catches your eye.

Pros

• You are less hungry
• Easy to implement
• Benefits of exercise/mobility for your health

Cons

• You have to invest some time
• It costs to be constant

Tip # 2: Try the ketogenic diet

With the ketogenic diet, we make our body consume ketones as the main source of energy, whose origin is in the breakdown of fats. This state is called ketosis and it is usually a widely used approach because of its rapid effect on fat burning and because it produces a lot of satiety (you do not starve).

Most people are used to working only with carbohydrates (glucose) as their main source of energy, and their body does not know how to use fat for fuel.

However, using glucose as fuel is always inefficient (we can store a small amount in our body) and we do not teach our body to get rid of excess fat.

And what do we do to be in ketosis?

In short, you have to limit the consumption of foods rich in carbohydrates and prioritize the consumption of foods rich in fat and protein.

Note: if you want to know what foods to eat, which ones not, and learn in-depth what the ketogenic diet consists of, we will tell you in detail in this article.

Let’s see the pros and cons of this approach:

Pros

• Even if you eat fewer calories, you are not as hungry
• Change your metabolism so that your body is more efficient burning fat
• It is a safe diet and supported by current science
• Visible results in a short time

Cons

• Requires some prior training
• It is quite restrictive (you can only eat certain foods)
• It is to do it for certain periods of time (a few weeks or months)

Tip # 3: Practice Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is to try not to eat anything for a few hours and concentrate on all meals in a particular period. Are you not sure? I give you some examples:

• You skip breakfast (or have breakfast a few hours later)
• You have dinner early, around 7 pm, and you don’t have anything until 11 am the next day.
• You are without eating anything for 24 hours (you eat dinner at night and do not eat anything again until dinner the next day)

And this could be done several days a week, for example.

Sure, what bullshit! With this, what we do is eat less, it is normal for me to lose weight …

Not exactly … I’ll explain:

Eye: with not necessarily go fasting to eat less because you can divide the calories in the food you jump into another, but that leaving your body in this do state that you go metabolism becomes more efficient at burning grease.

And how much fasting? 24 hours seems like a lot …

You don’t have to start with such long fasts. I advise you to start with fasts of about 12 hours (delay breakfast a bit and advance dinner) and then you can increase until 16h (this is the most typical, concentrate meals in 8 hours).

Note: if that weren’t enough, fasting has benefits beyond fat loss: it improves neural plasticity, autophagy, reduces inflammation … even backed by a review in the prestigious New England Journal. All this just to make your dinner early and breakfast late. Without a doubt, there are plenty of reasons for you to try it. In this article, we go deeper into the subject.

Let’s see the advantages and disadvantages of this approach:

Pros

• The concept is very simple
• You have many alternatives to put it into practice
• It does not carry risks
• Save time cooking
• Additional health benefits

Cons

• You can go hungry, especially the first few times
• Results are not visible in the very short term

# Tip 4: Take care of your intestinal microbiota

The intestinal microbiota is the set of microorganisms that live in our intestines (yes, we have tenants in our body even if we do not see them ).

Our microbiota begins to form from the moment we are born (some studies suggest that even earlier, during pregnancy).

Let’s say that there is a symbiotic relationship between these bacteria and us: we give them shelter and food and in return, they help us:

• Improve the absorption of some micronutrients, such as calcium
• They help us with the production of certain vitamins
• Protection against pathogens, being part of the immune system

But of course, we have to make sure that we give them food that they like. If not, they would not be able to perform these important functions. We could even hurt them.

All this is very good but… what relationship do these bacteria have with fat?

If your diet is based mainly on sugars and ultra-processed foods, an imbalance (dysbiosis) will be generated between the bacteria (some will proliferate and others will die) and there will be a release of toxins into the bloodstream (endotoxemia), which favors the appearance of processes inflammatory diseases that could be responsible for generating insulin resistance and weight gain.

Some foods our bacteria love:

Tip # 5: Fasting Training

Going for a run first thing in the morning without having eaten can be a tough strategy at first. And it is.

However, you will see that the first days you go with “your tongue out” but little by little you get used to it. And this will be a very good sign. What is happening?

When we exercise, our body initially uses glucose as a source of energy, either that found in the bloodstream or that stored in the muscles and liver. But once these deposits are finished, it begins to work from fat.

With fasting training, we make it easier for the body to start working with fats. Cool, huh?

Tip: The idea is that you arrive at your morning exercise with just enough glycogen stores so that your body has to “pull fat.” So, the day before, light dinner and low carb, to ensure a workout at the point you are looking for.

Let’s see the pros and cons of this approach:

Pros

• No knowledge required
• It is a safe practice
• You improve performance in endurance sports

Cons

• Psychologically it’s hard at first
• You have to set aside time when you get up to do the exercise

Tip # 6: High-Intensity Training (HIIT)

With the popularization of CrossFit, of which I declare myself a fan, high-intensity interval training sessions (HIIT) have become fashionable.

But… what exactly is HIIT?

A HIIT session consists of working for a short period of time at a high intensity. Point.

They could be, for example, a series of sprints. You run 10 seconds at your maximum intensity, rest 10, run 10, rest 10. And so on.

This type of training makes our body have great energy demands, at the cardiovascular and muscular level. It is very demanding, making it a true metabolism booster. Below are some examples of exercises that you can do at high intensity.

How does it work? With HIIT, energy is acquired anaerobically and lactic acid is produced. This means that, despite having finished the training, the body continues to burn energy to recover its state of rest … Do you know that moment, as soon as you get home after hard training, that you lie on the sofa and do not want to know anything from no one? Well even then, you are still burning fat. That’s the magic of HIIT.

Let’s do a review of the pros and cons:

Pros

• You burn a lot of calories in a short time
• You can increase muscle mass while losing fat
• You can do it with many types of exercise

Cons

• It is not for everyone, you have to be in the good physical condition
• It is advisable that someone with experience advise you so as not to injure yourself
• Not everyone is able to complete HIIT sessions due to physical and mental exhaustion

Tip # 7: Strength Training

Muscles are an “expensive” resource for our body. They cost a lot to maintain, like a high-end car.

What does this mean?

That you need large doses of energy (and training) for your body to conserve them.

Therefore, if you work strongly, your muscles will grow requiring more energy and your basal metabolism will increase to maintain the increase in muscle mass (you can start training with your own body or with kettlebells ).

Why do you think a sprinter is muscular and a marathoner is very lean and stringy?

The first case requires explosiveness, the other efficiency, and resistance. Both consume large amounts of energy in a competition, the difference is that the first, in proportion, do it in much less time.

Be careful: thinking that only strict “cardio” work will help us lose fat is a myth. Combine your running outings with bodybuilding work and your results in fat loss will multiply. I assure you that legs capable of squatting more than 200 kilos require a large daily calorie intake.

It’s a good idea if you want to eat more and burn more fat at the same time, who told you that to lose weight you would always have to starve?

Pros

• You can burn fat and increase muscle mass at the same time
• Strength training increases bone density
• You can train with little equipment

Cons

• It requires planning to obtain good results (Don’t worry, there are programs that can help you. Take a look at this program or this one to train with your own body ).
• You need at least 2 or 3 days a week (about 30–40 minutes)

How to burn fat fast? 3 Exercises that help you lose belly fat

Any exercise that increases your heart rate and breathing to the point where you think you can’t do one more rep is a good idea to burn fat quickly.

Next, I want to share with you 3 exercises that I consider to be calorie-eating beasts.

# Exercise 1: Burpee

Still don’t know him? The combination of a push-up with a jump. Burpees do not require any special equipment and yet they are a very effective exercise when it comes to burning calories and improving our physical condition.

I invite you to try the “death by burpees”. Consists of:

• First minute 1 Burpee
• Second minute 2 Burpees
• Third minute 3 Burpees
• … and so on until the minute you are not able to perform a burpee any more than in the previous round

In each minute you must do the number of burpees proposed. As you can see they go up one by one, the rest of the minute that you have left is used to rest. As rounds and minutes go by, you will need those seconds of rest more and more.

Very easy for you? Try going up each round of 2 On 2 burpees. Can you spend 30 minutes doing burpees?

# Exercise 2: Thruster

Strength, endurance, explosiveness … I think about it and it’s the perfect exercise to burn fat, I love it.

One day someone came up with combining a squat clean with a shoulder push press, once at the top you continue to do a deep front squat with the push press.

I know you are going to hate them, but this exercise turns you into a machine. It is true that initially it requires mastering your technique, so I recommend you first familiarize yourself with the front squat and the push press, before moving on to combining them.

# Exercise 3: Air Bike

There are many machines for cardio, but Air Bike has been created to burn calories.

It is a bicycle where when pedaling the front wheel begins to turn. This wheel has been modified with blades, which generate resistance against the wind.

The faster you pedal, the greater the resistance, so the greater the effort and calories you consume.

Can you do a thousand calories in less than 1 hour?

If so, leave a comment, we want to meet you

To warm up I leave you homework: accumulate 8000 meters or 5 miles with the Air Bike in maximum intervals of 2 minutes, every time you have 2 minutes and have not reached the indicated distance, perform:

• 50 Free Squats (Air Squat)
• 50 Flexiones (Push up)
• 50 Abdominales (Sit up)

Have fun, but don’t curse me

Is there a specific diet to lose abdominal fat?

I’ll be honest … There is no diet that is above others to eliminate abdominal fat. If someone wants to sell you the unique and special diet to mark abs, be suspicious. It is pure marketing.

Although there is no specific diet, there are certain habits that can help you.

Habit 1. Cut back on sugar

Our society is configured so that we consume sugar continuously. Many foods include sugar as their main ingredient. Learning to identify them and eliminate them from your shopping list will be essential.

How? On the label, you can get an idea by checking the section “carbohydrates -> of which sugars” or in the list of ingredients if any of its variants appear: syrup, honey, syrup, fructose, dextrin, malt, sucralose, concentrated puree of fruits … there are hundreds and all of them are equally “sugary”.

Without realizing it, in a year you will be cutting hundreds of unhealthy calories from your diet. As healthy sweeteners, you can use polyalcohols, such as maltitol, xylitol, or erythritol.

Habit 2. Moderate the consumption of carbohydrates

If you want to lose fat, you are interested in reducing your carb intake, as we have already seen.

It is true that if you are very athletic, you are interested in consuming a certain amount of carbs to perform better. But, for the general population, we eat more carbohydrates than we need.

And do you know where the glucose released from these carbohydrates ends up?

Exactly, in your fat reserves.

Cookies, excess bread, abuse of pasta and rice, cereals, refined flours … there are endless products and foods that are easy to overeat. They are foods that generate many swings in your insulin, making you hungry shortly after eating them.

As you can see, we are talking about ultra-processed foods and refined flours. However, you won’t have to worry about fruits, vegetables, and tubers.

Moderate the amounts and you will certainly lose weight.

Habit 3. Switch to green tea

Green tea is a stimulating drink that contains caffeine (it was discovered a while ago that theine and caffeine are the same things) and other interesting substances.

In addition to increasing your performance by caffeine itself, it improves fat oxidation thanks to its EGCg catechin ( study, study ) and it also has a diuretic effect that will help you reduce accumulated fluids.

You can take it without problems after meals or on fasting days, to notice less hunger and promote fat burning.

Habit 4. Coffee? Yes thanks

Coffee is one of the products that can be adulterated the most, so I recommend that you drink coffee alone and buy quality.

Like tea, it is stimulating thanks to the caffeine it contains, so a cup is perfect as a pre-workout.

It will slightly increase your heart rate, keep you alert, and stimulate your senses, which translates into training with greater intensity and greater energy expenditure. Perfect to promote fat burning!

It also contains polyphenols, antioxidant agents that will help you fight against oxidative stress of metabolism (aging).

To end…

The secret to losing abdominal fat and finally marking your abs is …

Hard work and perseverance. Like almost everything in life.

But it is true that if you carry out the right strategies, you can achieve it in a faster (and healthier) way.

Stay with this

There is no specific diet or exercise that will make you lose only belly fat. Be wary if someone tries to sell you this idea. Fat is lost globally, and abdominal fat is the hardest to lose in men.

If you eat an adequate amount of calories, train hard and resort to strategies such as intermittent fasting or periods of the ketogenic diet, your love handles have their days numbered

Extra: Men and women: are there differences when it comes to losing fat?

Men and women have hormonal differences that cause different fat accumulation patterns.

In women, the tendency is for this fat to accumulate in the hips and in men in the abdomen.

Look at this example of percentages. Which one do you identify with and where would you like to be?

Being strict, the strategies to lose weight are the same in men as in women, but the results will vary from one to another due to their special characteristics.

The most obvious difference between men and women is the menstrual cycle, but there are other situations in which metabolically it has variations:

• Contraceptives
• Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
• Hyperandrogenism
• Menopause and postmenopause
• Alterations of the menstrual cycle: amenorrhea, oligomenorrhea

Seeing the differences between men and women, everyone will lose weight by following the same nutritional and training strategies and recommendations. But due to the hormonal characteristics of women, it will be more difficult for them to lose fat, which some researchers point to as an inheritance from the past, which would ensure the survival of women in periods of famine in pursuit of the perpetuation of the species.

Final tip

If you think you could use a workout or exercise but you lack motivation and don’t have much time, take a look at this article. It may be helpful

DISCLAIMER: All the articles on this site as a whole are for educational purposes only.
Individual results may vary. The fact that I have made results from these programs does not mean that you too can make the same amount of results.
You might get more or less, it all depends on experience, determination, and a lot of other things.
It is very important for you to know that everything you do and get from this is at your own risk and depends on how much work you are willing to put in.
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