How do you know if you're losing belly fat?

Answer 1

Attempting to reduce fat in just one part of your body at a time is likely to be disappointing.

Fat reduction works like this: When you try to lose fat, the reduction occurs all throughout your body. Unlike muscle-building, it cannot be specifically targeted to one region. Also, the reduction in fat will not be quickly apparent because it will not be focused on only one spot on your body. So it's helpful to have a "slowly but surely" attitude.

Note that exercises mostly serve to tone the muscle underneath the fat. But if you want to slim down, the fat has to be burned off. For that, the main thing is to ditch the junk food and the sweetened drinks. Exercise alone might not be sufficient.

Here's a program for the period in which you want to lose weight:

Plenty of moderate aerobic exercise, no sweetened liquids at all, and no junk food at all. Preferably no sugar, and as little added salt and processed foods as possible. Eat 3 small-portioned meals/day; do not skip breakfast; and avoid snacks. Limit your calories (better to consult a doctor or nutritionist concerning the amount), and weigh yourself 2-3 times/week. Ignore the sensation of hunger. If you see your weight diminishing at a safe, reasonable rate (1-2 pounds/week), keep it up.

Once you've reached your target weight, increase your calorie intake somewhat. And you can then have small amounts of sweetened foods or junk food on occasion (if at all), along with your regular foods (not instead of them). But keep checking your weight 2-3 times/week.

Avoid crash diets, diet pills etc. Avoid fatty cuts of meat. Walk as much as possible. Bicycling and swimming are good too.

More guidelines:

Don't concentrate on specific foods so much as on a balanced, healthy diet plus exercise. Plenty of moderate exercise rather than intense exercise, which can damage your joints.

Good nutrition means eating what your body needs, while ingesting as few harmful things as possible. It has also been described as getting enough of each of the major food categories (grains, fruits, vegetables, protein, dairy, etc.; plus plenty of water).

This will vary somewhat from one person to another; and I don't believe that there's any universal diet that can be prescribed for everyone. Avoid best-sellers with their perennial fad diets. And think twice before using any dietary supplements or weight-loss pills.

In general, one's starting point can be a menu of whole grains, whole-wheat bread, a good amount of vegetables, some fruits and nuts, fish, lean meats (in not-large amounts), and some dairy. However, this must be tweaked according to one's health, weight and other factors at the outset; and also adjusted over time, as one sees what works for him/her in particular.