How to Lose Belly Fat Fast: The Complete Guide (Honestly!)

Belly fat doesn’t just make you unattractive, it’s also linked to a variety of lifestyle disorders. In this complete guide on how to lose belly fat, you'll get general tips, exercises types you should target and diet changes to help you lose weight and burn belly fat, fast.

Note: I’m not a personal trainer. I don't have any training in its related fields. I have read about this topic online and try to summarise the top findings so that you don't have to look this information in multiple sites. This post is not meant to be taken as advise, maybe just a starting point for your own research!

Exercise is one of the most important pillars in losing belly weight, but your diet and lifestyle are important too

Belly fat makes you look unattractive and (probably) causes a variety of lifestyle disorders. Many studies have linked cancer, diabetes & heart related diseases directly to the amount of belly (or visceral) fat we have.

Here's what I'll talk about in this guide on how best to lose belly fat fast:

Basic points to lose belly fat
Exercise tips to lose belly fat
Diet control to lose belly fat

Diet and exercise are the most important way to lose belly fat fast, but the basics are essential too (that’s why they’re mentioned first). Do read through them.

Related Post: Did you know? Aerobic exercise benefits brain health!

1. Basic Points to Lose Belly Fat

These basic points are essential for losing belly fat and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Regular Meals: Eating Breakfast

Eating to lose weight? I know this might not make sense, but unhealthy eating habits isn't the way to lose weight.

Having a nutritious breakfast (read rich in proteins & fibre & low in processed foods & refined sugar) helps in many ways in losing weight.

Relieve Stress

Stress is one of the reasons for the accumulation of belly fat or visceral fat, particularly in women. So, to lose belly fat, you need to:

Get adequate amounts of sleep (6-8 hours).
Get enough rest days between exercise.
Unwind enough to stay stress free.

Routine Exercise

Getting enough exercise on a routine basis (i.e. consistently) is essentially the main way to lose belly fat.

I’ll speak more on this in the next section, but if you have trouble maintaining a routine then you need to make sure you have an active lifestyle instead.

Aim for at least 10,000 steps daily, park the car further away than usual, avoid taking the elevator, cycle more often...there's a bunch of stuff you can do, the list is endless.

Eat Better

Diet control is also a major factor in belly fat loss. Check the sections below for more details.

The secret is to avoid any form of processed or refined sugar (simple sugars).

Track Progress

Another essential and often overlooked point is to track your weight loss progress consistently.

Sooner or later, you will (like everyone else) face motivation issues. Having proof of the changes your new lifestyle has brought about will be great.

Also, tracking your progress means that you can see what works best for you and with experimentation arrive on the perfect weight loss plan which suits your body.

2. Exercise Tips to Lose Belly Fat

Make exercise a part of your routine -- aim for an exercise session at least 3 times a week. Any exercise regime will only work if it is part of your routine.

You don't need to work out 7-days-a-week, but if your schedule is 3 times a week, then you should get a session 3 times every week.

And the best regime? It's one with sufficient cardio plus some weight training!

Incorporate Regular Cardio

Cardio or aerobic exercise is exercise which increases your rate of breathing and your heart-rate for a sufficient period of time, usually a minimum of 10-15 minutes.

This is one of the foundations of fat loss and helps in burning calories fast. So, get some regular cardio workouts like swimming, running, cycling and hiking, 3 times a week to start with and ramp up gently.

Build Some Muscle

Another secret to belly fat loss is building some muscle.

Including muscle building activity like weight training (even using light weights), resistance training, free-weight training (like push-ups & pull ups) works better for losing belly fat!

Avoid Spot Exercises

Avoid spot exercise which targets one specific spot in your body only, like crunches.

These will not help you more than any other exercise (at best!) in losing belly fat. Instead try compound exercises (which target multiple muscles of your body) like planks, squats and lunges.

Interval Training

Here's another term you should remember. Interval training means working out in comparatively short bursts of high intensity (like running sprints) and in sets which are evenly spaced out with brief periods of rest.

It may even help lose weight faster because it’s more intense & builds muscle faster.

3. Diet control to lose belly fat

Dietary changes have a long term impact on keeping off belly fat. Quitting refined sugars, avoiding trans-fat and drinking adequate water are healthy eating habits.

If you’re just starting out your journey of weight loss, this is something you can't avoid (sorry!).

Reducing your empty calories & simple sugar intake should be the aim. And this coupled with your new active lifestyle or exercise regime will result in fat loss!

Reduce Carbohydrates

The quickest way to reducing the number of calories you ingest is to cut down on your processed foods and excess carbohydrate (or carbs) intake.

But be careful. Too little nutrition can work out to be a recipe for serious muscle injury

Instead, eat well on the days you exercise and cut your carb intake on the days you rest your body.

Increase Proteins

Cutting down on carbs and increasing your protein intake may help you lose weight faster. Proteins naturally let your body recover faster from your exercise routines.

Also, you will be able to retain better muscle mass in spite of exercise. But don't start taking protein supplements because I said so, it may cause more harm than good.

Related Post: Read how much protein is too much
Anyways, I don't think a person working out moderately needs supplements for proteins.

The easiest source of proteins is meat like chicken, mutton, beef & fish and foods like soy, dairy and legumes like beans.

Avoid Trans-Fats

Trans fats are mostly found in processed and packaged foods and may be a source of visceral fats.

Trans fats are also known as partially hydrogenated oils. Avoid these vehemently.

Prefer mono-saturated fats or good fats like those found in nuts, seeds and even a little bit in fishes and fish oils are good for you.

Quit Refined Sugar

Refined sugars are the worst form of calories to consume.

They taste good (and produce cravings!), they are loaded with calories and they don’t have other nutrients.

Also, they are most certainly linked to belly fat gain, over and above usual weight-gains.

Quitting refined sugars in your drinks is also a good idea since we tend to consistently ignore the calories we drink.

Consume More Fibre

Upping your fibre ingestion slowly means a better chance at restricting your calorie intake, and more importantly gives your better gut health which makes a lot of difference.

Also, soluble fibre, like the peels of fruits, are known to reduce your insulin levels and boost lose belly fat.

Drink Water

Drinking adequate amounts of water is essential. Believe it or not, dehydration may mess with your fat burning, and again drinking water contributes directly to your good gut health.

Conclusion: How to Lose Belly Fat Fast

There is no easy way to lose belly fat, regardless of what anyone tells you.

You’ll need to combine more than one of the methods I've mentioned (preferably follow most!) and exhibit sufficient motivation (read that as consistency!) to make this a routine.

However, rest assured, it is a certainty that with consistent effort (in maybe as soon as 2-3 months) you’ll be able to see changes in your body (especially if you track your weight loss progress).

So good luck! Also, tell me what you think in the comments section below.