Why People Often Fail To Lose Belly Fat

Losing belly fat always seems to be a hard task. One reason is that there are many myths that make people’s efforts wasted. Below are 4 common ones .

Myth #1 Ab exercise is the most effective way

Many people believe in “spot reduction”, which means losing fat in an area by exercising that part. However, such exercise only strengthens the muscles there. Still, it would be covered by a thick layer of fat. This applies to all kinds of body fat.

So doing sit-ups or crunches wouldn’t be particularly effective if the aim is to burn belly fat.

The best exercise for fat loss is actually whole-body aerobic exercise. It can speed up our metabolism and hence burn calories faster.

Myth #2 Avoiding meat is a must

Many people think that meat makes us fat, probably due to its relatively high fat content. However, fat doesn’t make us fat. Excessive fat does. In fact, fat is one of the three key nutrients we need to ensure we have enough every day. The ideal ratio is roughly like this:

Carbohydrates: 50%

Fat: 30%

Protein: 20%

Fat is responsible for a lot of bodily functions like forming part of our cells. Instead of aiming at avoiding fat, look for healthy fats like those in fatty fish or egg.

Apart from fat, meat also contains a lot of nutrients like protein and iron. Lean meats like chicken are recommended. For red meat it is advised to be consumed once or twice a week.

Myth #3 Drastically cutting calories helps

If a person only eats an apple a day, he will lose weight soon and the belly would become smaller. But such change isn’t sustainable. Because when our bodies are getting far from required, metabolism will be automatically slowed down, which means the progress of losing weight will become slower, as the body learns how not to burn energies quickly.

Instead of drastically cutting calories, just have the right amount of calories.

Myth #4 Following one special diet works

From time to time a magic potion will appear and go viral. Headlines like these are common:

Drinking This Before Going to Bed Burns Belly Fat Like Crazy

Magic Drink To Lose Belly Fat In a WEEK

But there’s no one trick to lose belly fat. The only way out is balanced diet plus exercise.

Even if we’re talking about green tea which was proven by studies that three cups of it a day can help losing weight, it is still not enough to burn belly fat if we don’t pay attention to what we eat.

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Source: Lifehack.org