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Men, Here’s How You Can Lose Belly Fat

By Soumik Ghosh

Grab a tape right away, wrap it around yourself just below your belly button, and check if the measurement reads 94 cm (37 in) or more. If it does, it's high time you take action.

Belly fat is much more than a bulk of stubborn, unsightly weight in your body's abdominal region. Carrying fat around your midsection, even if you're slim elsewhere, actually goes much beyond.

how to reduce belly fat in men

Belly fat also open doors to a plethora of health issues which include but are not limited to heart attack, stroke, or diabetes. If the surface is cracked open, there are at least 39 different diseases linked to abdominal obesity that even includes risks of cancer.

Quite evidently now, it's time to get down to a healthier weight. Read up on the following tips to get lean with healthy meal plans and workout suggestions that will keep you at your best.

Better Diet, Slimmer Belly

The two major reasons why diets generally fail are either because they're too restrictive about the kind of food you eat, or they leave you feeling as if you haven't eaten anything at all.

In either case, you usually end up breaking from the plan and hit your old bad habits back. And, that's exactly where the mishap happens. What do you do? Let us break it down for you.

To get rid of that unwanted belly fat, you instantly need to cut down on sugary and processed foods and bring in whole foods and high-fibre foods. You also need to put a leash on your carbohydrates intake.

Consumption of at the most 40 per cent of calories from carbs has been proven to be effective for trimming belly fat.

How Exactly Do You Need To Eat To Lose Belly Fat?

  • Start by adding more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans to your diet-that will uplift your fibre intake naturally.
  • Eat enough high-quality protein that constitutes all the essential amino acids. Such protein can be found profoundly in poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, etc.
    Do not ignore healthy fats as part of your belly fat diet. You'll get them from vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, and avocados.
  • Seriously, limit your consumption of cake, cookies, candy, and soda. Fast food, hot dogs, bacon, and high-fat snacks such as chips are also unhealthy because they're generally rich in fat and calorie content but of lower nutritional value.

An Ideal Diet Plan

For Breakfast:

Whole grain cereal or oatmeal (1 1/4 cup), fat-free milk (2 cups), almonds or other nuts (4 Tbsp), and raisins (2 Tbsp). That sums up to 591 calories, 29 grams of protein, 78 grams of carbohydrates, and 18 grams of fat.

For Lunch:

Sandwich made with whole grain bread (2 slices), meat or canned tuna (5 oz), reduced-fat cheese (1 slice), tomato (2 slices), mayonnaise (1 Tbsp), carrot (1), and orange juice (1 cup). That represents a total of 666 calories, 41 grams of protein, 71 grams of carbohydrates, and 25 grams of fat.

For Dinner:

Meat such as pork, chicken, or seafood (5 oz), salad (1 cup), green leafy vegetables (1 cup), starch like bread, potato, or pasta (1 slice or 1 cup), and fruit (3/4 cup). And you've consumed 379-953 calories, 23-53 grams of protein, 33-109 grams of carbohydrates, and 12-43 grams of fat.

For Snacks (you can split it into two):

Whole grain bread (2 slices), peanut butter (2 Tbsp), fat-free milk (2 cups), and apple (1 medium). That's equivalent to 629 calories, 31 grams of protein, 83 grams of carbohydrates, and 20 grams fat.

Work Out Smarter

Diet alone is not enough to help you reduce belly fat. Cardio can be one of the best things for men to lose the belly fat. To get best results, you should perform 30 to 60 minutes of cardio exercise daily, five days a week. A brisk walk or a game of doubles tennis also counts as moderate-intensity activities. You should also take yourself through more non-exercise activities too, like taking the stairs, getting up from your desk every hour to stretch and stroll, pacing when you're on the phone or parking at the far end of the lot.

And as far as muscle-building activities are concerned, don't limit yourself to sit-ups. Work out on all your major muscles-arms, legs, back, shoulders, and abs-twice a week through push-ups, pull-ups, and squats.

It's understandable that people now are quite aware of what their belly fat looks like and they have developed enough self-confidence to not care, regardless. But abdominal obesity is not okay. That is because it's associated with some legitimate medical reasons and it's not just about how you look in the mirror.

Follow the above tips to keep your belly fat at bay and let us know how it works for you or even if you have some suggestions for us, in the comments section below.

Story first published: Wednesday, June 27, 2018, 16:32 [IST]
Read more about: belly fat weight loss health