How to Lose Belly Fat in 6 simple steps And See Your six-pack Come Out of Hiding Within a Matter of Weeks.

The quickest way to fail your fat-fighting mission is by flaking out on your commitments and lacking discipline. But even if you are properly motivated, you need to ensure you aren’t making silly mistakes that will stall your belly fat burning progress. We've come up with ten of the most common, critical errors even the most ardent gym-goer could still make, and the simple changes that could see your six-pack come out of hiding within a matter of weeks.

Are you sitting comfortably? Let’s begin…


1. Banish stress :

Minimising stress lowers your cortisol levels. It's been understood for ages that chronically high cortisol results in fat gain, particularly around the middle. No matter how much you exercise or how healthy your diet, you’ll struggle to lose weight if your cortisol is elevated. And unfortunately for us gentlemen, we're more prone to stress-related cortisol and belly fat so reducing stress levels is a surefire way to help attack the belly flab. Of course, reducing stress is easier said than done, but three scientifically proven ways you can do it are: yoga, laughter and listening to music. So, hit a yoga class, watch a comedy and keep some headphones handy.

2. Get plenty of vitamin C:

Vitamin C can help balance the cortisol spikes that occur while you're stressed. And as well as being a good way to boost you immune system and prevent colds, Vitamin C is also essential for making carnitine, a compound that helps your body with the process of turning fat into fuel. If you’re going through a particularly stressful period then increase your vitamin C and it’ll go some way to help counteract the negative side-effects. However, don't just neck a load of orange juice to up your intake. OJ may be a great vitamin C source but it's also full of sugar (even though it's naturally occurring it will still hamper your weight-loss efforts). Try including more chilli peppers, tomatoes, kale and kiwi fruit in your diet. These all have even more vitamin C than oranges, along with a host of other healthy nutrients.

3. Start strength training:

Strength training isn't just about building bulging biceps that look good in the mirror. It's essential for weight loss because it burns calories while improving insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake. It's preferable to steady state cardio training because it produces a more favourable muscle-building response and burns more fat. For the best results, follow a periodised strength training programme that changes regularly – so you are not doing the same thing for longer than two months – and include sprint training.

4. Don’t avoid fat:

Avoiding fat in your diet to shift fat from your body may seem logical, but when you appreciate the role of fat in the body you’ll realise it isn’t. You need a decent amount of ‘good’ fat in your diet because all the cells in your body are made up of two layers of fats, or lipids, which are composed of good fats or bad fats depending on the type that’s predominant in your diet. If the cell lipid layers are made up of healthy fats, it will make them more sensitive to insulin and allow the receptors to bind more easily, which is necessary for good metabolism and energy production. Of course, removing trans fats from your diet is essential because they will make you fat and then they will kill you.


5. Balance your healthy fat intake:

To get a balanced intake you ideally want a nearly equal ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 fats. Most people get way too many omega 6 fats because they are abundantly found in the most commonly used vegetable oils. Omega 3 fatty acids are those that come from fish oil (usually known as DHA, EPA and ALA) but they also are found in grass-fed beef and wild meats. So for better insulin health and body composition, eat wild meat and fish and take an omega 3 supplement.

6. Take a probiotic :

Probiotics are tiny bacteria that live naturally in the gastrointestinal tract and are commonly found in dairy products such as yogurt. It’s difficult to lose weight if you don’t have a healthy gut. Why? More than half the neurotransmitters that send messages from the brain to cells and hormone receptors throughout the body are made in the gastrointestinal lining. If your gut is not healthy, it negatively affects the production of the neurotransmitters, leading to poor cognitive function, low mood and lack of motivation to exercise. Gut health is also essential because it improves digestion. Your metabolism will be supported so that nutrients are broken down, absorbed and used by the body effectively. A recent study even found that the probiotics found in fermented kimchi and yoghurt can naturally speed up your metabolism.