Decreasing abdominal fat is a common goal both for people looking to lose a large amount of weight and those working to improve their overall health and wellness. Belly fat carries a reputation as being some of the hardest fat to lose — because it really requires intentional changes to both diet and exercise plans. 

The Skinny on Belly Fat 

The first thing to know about body fat is that everyone has it. Fat is actually essential for our bodies. It cushions our joints and important organs, keeps us warm when it’s cold, and also stores extra calories. Fat is an energy reserve. 

For men, 18-24% body fat is considered a healthy range. The healthy body fat percentage for women is higher at 25-31%. Problems with body fat come if we have too little or too much. Most people struggle with excess body fat. 

So, what is body fat? There are actually two types of body fat: subcutaneous fat and visceral fat. We find subcutaneous fat resides beneath the skin; it’s actually the deepest layer of the skin, under both the epidermis and dermis. Visceral fat is in the abdominal cavity, surrounding the organs. While both subcutaneous and visceral fat can lead to health problems if in excess, visceral fat comes with a higher risk. 

While we can’t “see” visceral fat, if someone has a large amount of subcutaneous fat, it is likely that they also have a large amount of visceral fat. The danger of visceral fat is why paying attention to belly fat is so important. 

How Can We Measure Belly Fat? 

While a body fat percentage measurement can give you insight on your overall health and wellness, it isn’t the best way to account specifically for body fat. The hip-to-waist ratio is better for just measuring your belly fat and tracking belly fat reduction progress over time. 

To measure your waist-to-hip ratio, divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement. For women, a ratio below 0.85 is considered healthy. For me, 0.90 or lower is healthy. 

We recommend obtaining the waist and hip measurements using ZOZOFIT. The 3D body scanning technology that the ZOZOFIT app provides you with accurate measurements and is easy to use. 

It is a good idea to calculate your waist-to-hip ratio before you begin losing belly fat. This will give you a baseline ratio and help you see your progress over time. As you continue your belly fat loss plan, take measurements every 2-4 weeks to track how the work you put in makes a difference in your body composition.

5 Exercises to Kick Start Belly Fat Loss

One of the hardest things about starting any kind of weight loss or fat reduction journey is knowing where to begin. There are so many different workouts and diets, all of which claim to be the key to success. The truth is the simple combination of diet and exercise — in tandem with your intimate knowledge of your own body — are really what leads to individuals successfully losing their belly fat. 

The following effective exercises will help you lose belly fat — and keep it off. 

Running 

Running is one of the best fat-burning exercises. While you run, the body uses both carbohydrates and fat as energy, burning a lot of calories in the process. A steady long run will have the most fat-burning potential. 

Many watches and fitness tracking devices can assist you in finding the perfect pace for fat loss. The “fat burning zone” is a heart rate range, which is about 70-85% of your maximum heart rate. You will want to work on hitting this heart rate during your workouts to maximize the amount of fat you can burn. 

We recommend running at least 3-4 times a week to really dig into the fat burning processes. If you aren’t able to run or have bad knees/ankles, swimming is a great low-impact alternative. 

Cycling 

Cycling is another popular cardio exercise and it is also effective at helping individuals lose belly fat. Like running, there is a heart rate range you can hit while cycling that will maximize fat loss. 

Cycling for a long, sustained period of time will be the best way to promote fat loss. You can ride a normal bicycle outside or you can use either an upright or stationary recumbent bike. Pop in your earbuds and turn on a TV show and get settled for a nice, long cardio session. 

HIIT Workouts 

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts are some of the most effective fat-burning activities. In HIIT training, you alternate between intense, high energy exercises and short breaks. The high intensity of HIIT workouts mean that they are more effective at burning calories. 

One of the great things about HIIT training is that you can switch up the workouts, letting you focus on different parts of the body while still burning belly fat. Popular choices include mountain climbers, burpees, bicycle crunches, and squat jumps. Having a rotation of exercises will keep things interesting. 

Weight Lifting 

Most of the time, we think about cardio workouts when considering the best workouts for losing belly fat. However, weight lifting is an important tool in the toolbox of fat reduction. When you lift weights, you burn calories and use the body’s energy stores just like any other workout. But weightlifting has added benefits. 

Muscles use up a lot of energy in the body which means if you are building muscles, you increase your metabolism — or the amount of calories your body burns while at rest. This makes it easier to enter a calorie deficit and burn more fat all day long. 

Ab Exercises 

Ab exercises themselves don’t get rid of belly fat, but they do burn calories and help you sculpt your torso, which can reduce your waistline. 

There are so many different abdominal exercises, so you just need to find which ones work for you and your lifestyle. Still, we recommend choosing exercises that target a variety of abdominal muscles. A good mix includes exercises like both regular and side planks, crunches, twists, and dead bugs.