“What Can I Do To Reduce Belly Fat?”

“I have lost 25lbs and my belly has been reduced in size. Now, I am at an ideal weight by all standards, but my belly is not flat. What should I do? I am fine everywhere else.”

Congratulations on losing the weight you wanted to lose!

Weight and body composition are two different things. This is important. You can be what a generic chart recommends for body weight but have poor muscle mass and higher levels of body fat. You could also be at the same weight with low body fat and much higher muscle mass.

The second body composition with higher muscle mass and lower body fat is generally a healthier state. Muscle provides stability to your body and allows you to better perform many tasks. Higher muscle mass (as compared to lower muscle mass) means better health outcomes and reduced risk of injuries.

Body fat in greater amounts is inflammatory and associated with many chronic diseases.

Some people have higher levels of internal, visceral fat that is around the organs, even when the outer subcutaneous fat isn’t at high levels. Subcutaneous fat is a serious problem. It is related to many health problems.

Losing fat is somewhat complicated in that there can be many individual factors that effect the amount of fat that a person may store. In general, calories matter but they matter within the context of other factors that govern the storage of fat in the body in addition to things that drive hunger and satiety.

Higher blood sugar and higher insulin levels will drive the storage of body fat. Insulin is a storage hormone that reduces access to using body fat while causing more storage of fat (among other things).

Monitoring blood sugar and keeping it down/avoiding spikes is an important factor.

So many other factors exist that effect body fat accumulation too.

The other side of the equation in body composition is increasing muscle mass.

Strength training is a very important part of this. This involves weights and different exercises. If a person hasn’t lifted weights before and doesn’t have some condition preventing it then often getting a good personal trainer is the way to go at least initially so that you can lift safely and develop a good plan to lift.

Everyone is different and there isn’t a one size fits all approach. It’s important to look at doing lifestyle things which improve health and not destroy it over time. There’s no magic pill or supplement to do the work for someone, despite what might be marketed as the next magic bullet from the deep jungles of the Amazon or whatever. If you need help, get someone locally that can help you. If you have a medical condition, see a competent doctor first for advice.

The secret to body composition in general is to lose fat and gain muscle, unless you’re a sumo wrestler in which case you might want to gain both.

This was a long answer to a seemingly quick, easy question.