Many people, especially men, believe that by doing several exercises for abdominal muscles, will finally manage to loose stomach fat. But they ignore that even if you manage to gain strong abdominal muscles, this does not mean that it reduces also visceral fat. There are no special or spot specific exercises to loose stomach fat . Abdominal exercises create tightened ab muscles that leads us to the illusion that we had lost stomach fat. Most people, however, that lose weight, they first lose fat from the abdomen, by following any form of exercise because by doing this they change their body energy balance. With regards to diet and nutrition, an improvement is needed also in this area to loose stomach fat. The solution is to intake fewer calories than those consumed. Therefore, we need to reduce excessive fatty foods and carbohydrates, and also consume less quantities of food. We should also reduce the amount of alcohol consumed, not only because alcohol drinking is fattening, but also because excessive consumption of alcohol is a key to increase waist line fat. The reason why this happens remains unknown at present. We should therefore be restricted to a maximum of 2 drinks per day. It is proven that the key to losing weight and stomach fat is to combine healthy eating and physical activity. 30 minutes of medium-intensity physical activity five times a week will enhance health considerably. To loose stomach fat and also get rid of those love handles, we need more cardio exercise especially at the beginning. Aerobic exercises (the type of exercise which accelerates the respiration and heart rate), such as cycling, running, football etc are better for burning fat.

Having ribbed abs is the target dream of many men but unfortunately abdomen region fat is much more persistent even in the most harsh diets and exercise.

When we lose weight we tend to lose it evenly throughout the body. However, because there are much more fat cells in the abdominal region compared with the rest of the body, belly fat tends to be more visible.

While we spend endless hours in the gym, eat healthy and low fat food etc, still the belly is there without any improvement. If this happens to you, perhaps you should consider the following:

Consider Eating Whole Grain Cereal:

A recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that a reduced-calorie diet based on whole grain cereal had the expected results in overweight people.

The secret in cereals is that they release glucose slower compared with processed carbohydrates, therefore giving our body the opportunity to use “fat reserves” for energy. This results in burning these “fat reserves” faster. To the contrary, processed carbohydrates release glucose more quickly, raising blood sugar levels and promoting fat accumulation.

Monounsaturated fats:

No diet is healthy and safe without fat but some fats appear to reduce waist and abdomen weight and help also to reduce fat accumulation. These are monounsaturated fats found in plant food such as olives, nuts and avocados.

A survey published in July 2007 in Diabetes Care, showed that diets based on monounsaturated fats have a better result in reducing the perimeter waist, compared with diets based on carbohydrates.

So we don’t need to avoid fats, but to choose the right ones with the right quantities.

Stress:

Experts know that high levels of cortisol, the hormone that is excreted in response to stress, promote belly fat accumulation. This is because abdomen fat has a dominating energy role in the body compared with other parts of the body. The secret to reducing stress is exercise, proper rest and other activities such as meditation.

Avoid Trans Fat:

Trans fat is mainly responsible for the increase in adipose tissue and belly fat. Diets rich in Trans Fat cause redistribution of fat deposition in the abdomen and increase the overall weight even when calories are controlled.

Foods that contain Trans fat and should be avoided at all costs are the following:
Margarines
Hamburgers and cheeseburgers
Chips, pop-corn
Fried meat
Sweets

Smoking

Although many people believe that smoking helps weight reduction, there are several studies that argue the opposite. While the reason is still unknown, there is a strong statistical association of smoking and the deposition of fat in belly region. Studies in Britain had proven that association despite the fact that on average smokers weigh less than non-smokers.