Belly fat is one of those arch enemies that so many of us have. You may be completely toned and muscular everywhere, but that belly fat is just hanging around. What does it take to get rid of that? What is is going to take to get a flat stomach you don't have to suck in all the time and wrap around to this lovely love handles?
Well, I will tell you first of all, it can't be done with one short-term and extreme diet. It is going to take consistency of exercise and nutrition. If you are willing to do that, then here are some tips for you.
Check out this really useful infographic from Precision Nutrition.
I'll sum this up for you. To get to a lean (not quite ripped yet) physique that looks and feels healthy:
You need to care about nutrition first, getting a balance of quality nutritious foods at 90% of your meals.
You need to be consistent at working out at high intensity at least 3-4 days a week but you need to be generally active and moving a lot outside of workouts.
You need 7-8 hours of sleep per night.
You need to limit your desserts, processed foods, and caloric beverages (alcohol, beer, sweet drinks, energy drinks, sweet drinks) to once or twice a week.
Now, that seems like a pretty decent about of discipline. If you just make activity a habit, eat unprocessed foods, limit your desserts, and sleep enough, you can stay pretty lean!
What if you want to see those abs coming through? You will have to take it to the next level. Take a look at this infographic.
I'll sum this one up for you:
You need to care about nutrition first, getting a balance of quality nutritious foods at 95% of your meals. Not much room for error there.
You need more time of physical activity in general and 4-5 intense workouts per week.
You need to sleep at least 8 hours per night.
You will need to limit carbs somewhat. Only eat enough to fuel performance.
You will have to limit your sweets and caloric beverages to once every 1-2 weeks.
You will have to be the socially awkward one sometimes and give up some other hobbies to make time to exercise.
These above reasons are a big reason why a lot of people struggle to get or maintain those 6-pack abs. It takes commitment and sacrifice.
Now you know what it takes. Knowledge is power and now, if you so choose, you have the power to make a change. Which will you go for?