2523: How Long Will It Take Me to Lose Excess Belly Fat? by Ann Pietrangelo with Healthline on Weight Loss & Physique Improvement

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[00:01:08] This is Optimal Health Daily, episode 2523.

[00:01:12] How long will it take me to lose excess belly fat?

[00:01:16] By Ann Pietrangelo with Healthline dot com and I'm Dr. Neil Malik,

[00:01:20] reading you some of the most popular health and fitness blogs out there with permission from the websites and always with a bit of my commentary at the end.

[00:01:28] Now I'm going to keep this intro nice and short, so let's get right to today's post as we optimize your life.

[00:01:39] How long will it take me to lose excess belly fat? By Ann Pietrangelo with Healthline dot com.

[00:01:47] Having some body fat is healthy, but there's good reason to want to lose extra weight around your waist.

[00:01:53] About 90% of body fat is just below the skin in most people. This is according to Harvard Medical School.

[00:02:00] This is known as subcutaneous fat. The other 10% is called visceral fat.

[00:02:07] It sits underneath the abdominal wall and in spaces surrounding organs.

[00:02:11] That's the fat associated with various health problems like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

[00:02:18] If your goal is to lose belly fat there's no easy or quick method. Crash diets and supplements won't do the trick

[00:02:26] and targeting a single area of the body for fat reduction isn't likely to work.

[00:02:31] Your best bet is to work on losing overall body fat through diet and exercise.

[00:02:37] Once you start losing weight there's a chance that some will come from your belly.

[00:02:41] How long that takes is different for everybody. Listen on to learn the average time it takes to lose excess belly fat

[00:02:48] and how you can get started. How long does it take to burn fat?

[00:02:53] Let's use this example. Let's say you have to burn about 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound of fat.

[00:03:02] That means to lose 1 pound of fat a week you have to eliminate 500 calories from your diet every day.

[00:03:09] At that pace you could lose about 4 pounds in a month.

[00:03:13] Increasing physical activity will help you burn more calories. Exercise also builds muscle mass.

[00:03:20] Muscle is more dense than fat so even though you're looking and feeling leaner it might not show on the scale.

[00:03:27] Everyone is different. There are many variables in how much physical activity it takes to burn a calorie.

[00:03:33] The larger you are the more calories you burn doing anything.

[00:03:37] Those identified at birth as male have more muscle than those that were identified as female of the same size

[00:03:45] so that helps males burn more calories.

[00:03:48] How to create a caloric deficiency?

[00:03:51] Calories are units of energy from food.

[00:03:54] The more energy you use the more calories you burn. Unused calories are stored as fat.

[00:04:01] You can burn fat stores by taking in fewer calories and using more energy.

[00:04:06] Here are some ways to cut calories that you can start today.

[00:04:10] Switch drinks.

[00:04:12] Drink water instead of regular soda.

[00:04:15] Try black coffee instead of coffee flavored with added cream and sugar.

[00:04:19] And cut down on alcohol.

[00:04:22] Avoid high calorie foods.

[00:04:24] Avoid fast food and ultra processed foods.

[00:04:28] Eat fruit instead of baked goods and packaged sweets.

[00:04:32] Choose low fat dairy foods over high fat ones.

[00:04:35] Eat grilled or broiled foods instead of fried foods.

[00:04:39] Check calorie counts on restaurant menus.

[00:04:42] You might be surprised at how many calories are in a standard restaurant meal.

[00:04:47] And use a free calorie counting app.

[00:04:50] And you can reduce portions.

[00:04:53] Measure oils used for cooking.

[00:04:56] Cut down on use of salad dressings.

[00:04:58] Use a smaller plate or bowl.

[00:05:01] Eat slower and wait 20 minutes after eating to make sure you're full.

[00:05:05] At restaurants take half of your meal home.

[00:05:09] And don't eat in front of the television where it's easy to keep snacking.

[00:05:14] Consider food density too.

[00:05:17] For example, one cup of grapes has around 100 calories.

[00:05:21] But a cup of raisins has around 480 calories.

[00:05:25] Fresh vegetables and fruits are full of water and fiber.

[00:05:29] So they'll help you feel full without a lot of calories.

[00:05:32] To retain lean muscle mass protein is helpful.

[00:05:36] In 2016 researchers performed a meta analysis of 20 randomized control trials involving diet and weight loss.

[00:05:44] They concluded that adults ages 50 and older lost more fat and kept more lean mass on energy restricted, higher protein diets rather than diets with normal protein intakes.

[00:05:57] In addition to a regular exercise routine, try these calorie burners.

[00:06:02] Part farther away and walk the extra steps.

[00:06:05] Better yet bike or walk rather than drive.

[00:06:09] Use the stairs instead of elevators and escalators if you can.

[00:06:13] Take a walk after meals.

[00:06:15] And if you work at a desk, get up at least once every hour for a short walk or stretch.

[00:06:21] Many pleasurable activities help you burn calories like hiking, dancing and even golfing.

[00:06:27] For instance, in 30 minutes of general gardening, a 125 pound person can burn 135 calories and a 185 pound person can burn 200 calories.

[00:06:41] The more you move, the more calories you burn and the more likely it is you'll lose some belly fat.

[00:06:47] How to measure success.

[00:06:49] Weigh yourself once a week at the same time of day to track overall weight loss.

[00:06:55] If you're eating a good amount of protein and exercising regularly, you're likely building muscle.

[00:07:00] But remember, the scale doesn't tell the whole story.

[00:07:04] To see if you're actually losing belly fat, use a tape measure.

[00:07:08] And always measure in the same place.

[00:07:11] Stand straight but without sucking in your belly.

[00:07:14] Try not to pull the tape hard enough to pinch the skin.

[00:07:17] Measure around the level of your belly button.

[00:07:20] Another telltale sign is that your clothes fit better and you're starting to feel better too.

[00:07:26] Exercises to burn belly fat.

[00:07:29] Research published in the Journal of Obesity suggests that high-intensity intermittent exercise may be more effective at reducing subcutaneous and abdominal body fat when compared with other types of exercise.

[00:07:42] Exercises that target the abdomen may not affect your visceral fat, but they can help strengthen your muscles and that's a good thing.

[00:07:50] The important thing is to keep moving and build exercise into your day.

[00:07:55] You don't have to stick with one thing either. Mix it up so you don't get bored.

[00:07:59] For example, try 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise on most days, make sure it's a aerobic exercise at least twice a week,

[00:08:07] include strength training to build muscle mass, and include stretches first thing in the morning and again before bed.

[00:08:14] Takeaway.

[00:08:16] Targeting only belly fat may not be the best plan.

[00:08:19] To lose weight and keep it off, you have to make changes you can stick with.

[00:08:24] If it sounds like too much, start with one small change and add others when you're ready.

[00:08:30] If you backslide, all isn't lost.

[00:08:33] Remember, it's not a diet, it's a new way of life.

[00:08:36] And slow and steady is a good plan.

[00:08:43] You just listened to the post titled, How Long Will It Take Me To Lose Excess Belly Fat?

[00:08:48] by Ann Pietrangelo with Healthline.com

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[00:10:05] Dr. Neal here for my commentary.

[00:10:07] It's important to remember that the body will eventually give up the fat

[00:10:12] in the areas you want it to.

[00:10:14] It just doesn't happen right away.

[00:10:16] In my experience, when people start to lose weight,

[00:10:19] they don't lose it in the places they really want to.

[00:10:23] So instead of losing fat around the belly button area or around the hips,

[00:10:27] they may find that their wrists get smaller

[00:10:30] and so their watch doesn't fit as well

[00:10:32] or they lose fat around the chest.

[00:10:35] But losing fat in those areas is still progress.

[00:10:38] It means your body is burning fat.

[00:10:41] And if you keep it up, the body will eventually turn to letting go of the fat

[00:10:45] around the belly and hips.

[00:10:48] It just needs to get through the wrists and chest for example first.

[00:10:53] And remember when it comes to weight loss and fat burning,

[00:10:56] slow and steady wins the race.

[00:10:59] Alright that'll do it for today.

[00:11:01] Don't forget I'll be back here tomorrow for our usual Friday Q&A.

[00:11:05] So stay tuned for that where your optimal life awaits.