How to Lose Belly fat in 5 Steps

​You might very well have the talent to be your local Gareth Bale, but there comes a point where talent isn’t enough. Conditioning is essential to blitzing it on the pitch. Your mates on the 5-a-side team might not be able to get you in the same kind of intensive training programmes used for Premier League players, but that doesn’t mean can’t start seeing some real improvements. If you’re looking to get back to your glory days, trounce the competition, and to start loving the game that little bit more, it’s time to lose the belly.

Research conducted on animals in laboratory conditions suggest that maintaining a healthy weight is one of the best ways to reduce the risk of a number of serious medical conditions and diseases, including cancer.

​Scientist seem to have found a link between being overweight or obese and the overgrowth of specific cells that can turn malignous in mice. Further studies and research is required to understand this mechanism better in humans, but you have nothing to lose by shedding the excess fat. Here is how to do it in 5 steps:

Calories count

The thought of skipping a steak and cutting back on the beers might not be the most pleasant place to start off, but it is the most important. When it comes to losing weight, your diet is 80% of the battle, or even more. You have to create a calorie deficiency. The best way to do that is to start figuring out how much you should be eating a day.

There are plenty of tools online to help you figure out your Body Mass Index based on height, weight, age, and exercise levels. Many of them will also tell you how many calories you should be eating a day. It takes planning and a bit of mental resilience to do a diet well. Not only should you buy meals that better fit the calorie count. You should control your cravings, too.

​Low calorie, high mass foods like turkey, noodles, and apples are great for keeping your belly from rumbling. Popcorn makes for a great treat for the same reason, too. Just make sure you’re measuring what you eat. Cut back on junk, as much as possible.

​The food you eat should have real nutritional value. It’s going to help fuel your workouts, decrease the risk of injury, and make you feel a lot more fit. Sugar, in particular, is all empty calories. It’s going to go straight to fat. The same can be said of the booze. Alcohol has a lot more calories than you might think.

Increase the pacE

You might think that the more exercise you do, the better. Yes, it’s always good to be more active. But the truth is that by working harder for shorter periods of time, you’re likely to see the results sooner. Our Accelerated Fat Loss clients could tell you how much you can get done in one hour instead of spending ages in the gym.

It is also important to include HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) at least once a week and stay active on rest days by walking to places, carrying your bags, using stairs instead of lifts and escalators and generally choose the activity that take more effort. For instance if you can commit to 3 workout sessions a week, make sure you keep them varied in terms of intensity. Your fitness needs to improve on all levels so it can become more efficient overall.

Strength training matters too​

Strength training is essential to make sure you get the power behind your shots. But it’s also a lot moer efficient at burning fat than cardio alone. It’s all about the right kind of strength training. Don’t focus on isolated muscles like you might if you were body building or aiming for an aesthetic.

​Train as much of your body as you can with compound exercises like barbell squats and dumbbell lunges for the lower body and bench presses and pullups for the upper body. Make sure you include resistance training at least twice a week into your workouts.

Proteins – go or no?​

​You might have taken protein powders in the past for improved results at the gym or you know someone who does. You might not be thinking about building muscles now so you don’t think you need it. However, the fact is that bigger muscles burn more fat.

The body burns more calories maintaining muscle than it does to keep fat. That means your body will naturally burn more calories to sustain those muscles. Protein powders help you maximise the gains from strength training, improving both the production of muscles the healing process.

​Saying that, these shakes should be taken to complement an otherwise balanced nutrition regime to boost your protein intake and fill the gaps in terms of calories when needed. If adding a shake to your diet means you won;t be in calorie deficit, it won't make much of a difference. Balance is key.

Snooze and lose​

A good night’s sleep is essential to weight loss and survival too. Our body doesn’t burn calories just because we want it to. It’s a complex series of hormonal processes that ensure we’re losing as much fat as we can. Sleep regulates those hormones. In particular, lack of sleep produces cortisol, the stress hormone.

​Not only will it make your mood terrible, but higher cortisol levels will also increase your cravings, particularly for highly sugary foods and push you to reach for quick solutions instead of nutritious food. If you want to lose weight, a good night’s sleep is a must.

In summary

​Here’s how you lose that belly:

• Know your BMI and how many calories you have to eat a day and stick to them
• Eat low-calorie, high-volume foods to keep your appetite in check
• Design your workouts to include a combination of low and high intensity cardio, mobility exercises and strength training
• Build muscles to improve cardio results and burn more calories naturally
• Use protein powder to help that process
• Get a full night’s sleep

 
And here are the behaviours you want to avoid

• Don’t eat junk food
• Control your drinking
• Don’t ignore strength training

 
You have the power to make yourself a force to be reckoned with on the pitch. You just need to start putting these tips into action with a conditioning plan of your own.

Do you have questions about how to follow these steps or fat loss in general, feel free to message me.