The only way to reduce belly fat is to reduce fat from your entire body. No matter how many situps and crunches you do, spot-reducing fat from one area of the body isn't possible. Eliminating excess fat around the middle benefits your health, because according to Harvard Medical School, visceral fat, which lies around your abdominal organs, increases your risk of diseases and medical conditions, such as high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, hypertension, stroke and heart disease. With a proper diet, regular exercise and small lifestyle adjustments, you can rapidly reduce belly fat. Consult your doctor before changing your eating habits or starting a new exercise routine, especially if you have a preexisting health condition.
Cutting Calories
Experts generally recommend creating a daily deficit of 500 to 1,000 calories for safe, gradual weight loss of one to two pounds per week. Faster weight loss is possible, but you must avoid dangerous crash diets that drastically cut calories and eliminate entire food groups. For safe, fast weight loss of three to five pounds per week, Michael Dansinger, M.D., suggests eating about 1,050 to 1,200 calories per day and exercising one hour per day. Eating fewer calories is not recommended, unless you're under a doctor's supervision.
What to Eat
To lose weight, consume a healthy diet consisting of fruits, skinless chicken, vegetables, egg whites, fish, lean meat and nonfat dairy. Also eat whole grains, such as oatmeal, barley and brown rice, because these digest slowly and keep your blood sugar stable and insulin levels low. According to Heather Katcher, a registered dietitian, low insulin levels decrease the size of abdominal fat cells. Consume essential fatty acids, found in fish, nuts and flaxseed oil, to slow down digestion and speed up your metabolism. Avoid eating too much sugar, fat, salt, processed foods and trans fat.
Cardio Exercise
For the best health benefits, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend performing one hour of moderate cardio on five days of the week. Cardio can include jogging, riding a bike, swimming, jumping rope or exercising on an elliptical machine. To quickly blast belly fat and optimize caloric burn, incorporate high-intensity intervals into your cardio workout. For instance, when jogging, accelerate to a one-minute sprint before going back to a two-minute jog. Go back and forth between intensities for the duration of your workout.
Strength Training
When strength training, perform three sets of each exercise and use enough resistance so the last repetition of each set is difficult to complete. Perform strength training on at least two days of the week, as recommended by the CDC. To blast belly fat, include compound exercises, such as lunges and pushups, to work multiple muscles at the same time. Minimize your rest in between exercises, or perform super sets, where upon completing a set you immediately move to the next exercise without resting. To tone the stomach muscles underneath that layer of fat, perform crunches, leg raises and the plank exercise, or take a Pilates class, which focuses on strengthening the core.
Adjusting Your Lifestyle
Stress might be to blame for your excess belly fat. Dr. Marilyn Glenville, founder of the Natural Health Website for Women, states that cortisol, which triggers cravings for unhealthy fare, releases in the body when you're stressed. Glenville states that the fat you gain stores around your middle, where it's near the liver, in case it needs to be converted to energy. Delegating tasks, yoga, meditation, breathing deeply and getting enough sleep can help you manage stress and prevent weight gain.
