Almost everyone knows the best way to lose abdominal fat is to eat right and exercise regularly. There is an immense amount of research showing the fastest way to burn off the fat from the belly is with a combination of weight training and aerobic exercise.
A good example is the research published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. I this particular study, researchers compared the success of two exercise and diet programs. Subjects participating in the study were assigned to one of two groups.
- Group one consumed a diet based on the traditional food guide pyramid (50-55% carbohydrate; 15-20% protein; less than 30% fat). Exercise included a cardiovascular workout 4-6 days per week at 50-75% of their maximal heart rate. Each workout lasted 30-60 minutes.
- Group two consumed a higher protein and lower in carbohydrate and fat diet. Their exercise regiment included alternating days of resistance and cardiovascular interval training at six days per week.
Group two, the cardio and resistance group who ate more protein lost more fat overall (-20.6%) than the normal group (-10.1%). Additionally, they gained 2 pounds of muscle (0.9 kilograms) while group one lost muscle, no surprise in that fact.
More interesting abdominal fat dropped by 26% in group two and merely 13.5% in group one. In summary, group two participants lost almost twice as much belly fat as those in group one.
Things to consider, even though the subjects were told to record what they ate, there’s no way of knowing if the participants accurately recorded results. In other words, the researchers did not require a tightly controlled diet. Generally, self-reported food intake is a notoriously inaccurate way to measure calorie intake.
Remember, belly fat is stored energy. To shed that fat, burn more energy (calories) than you eat. Do exercises that will burn enough calories to make a difference to the appearance of your waist and stomach.
So, if you want to lose stomach fat fast what can you do? Partake in a diet that is tailored to you and do high energy burning exercises at least four time a week. Whatever you decide, stay away from drugs that claim you will lose stomach fat fast without proper diet and exercise. I’m just sayin’ I haven’t found one piece of legitimate research to prove they work.
