Do you want to know how to lose lower belly fat?
This can be a challenge even for the most athletic bodies. This fat forms between the organs, deep in the abdominal cavity. The body tends to naturally put on weight here for various reasons including stress and child-bearing. These factors makes it one of the last areas to burn off fat in the body.
If you’re looking for a flatter stomach, a lower body fat percentage, and a healthier overall wellbeing, we have the right guide for you. The right diet and exercises are key. Keep reading to learn how to lose your FUPA.
In this article:
- Diet to Lose Belly Fat
- The Belly Fat Workout
- Exercises for Separated Abdominal Muscles
- The Right Posture
- Relax
How to Lose Lower Belly Fat
Diet to Lose Belly Fat
You can go on a variety of diets that are designed to help you lose fat, but unfortunately, you can’t necessarily choose where you want to lose the fat. Genetics plays a big role in that process. Luckily, however, there are a few things that you can do to encourage fat loss in that area.
In particular, try to reduce your sugar intake. Numerous studies indicate that excess sugar leads to a buildup of fat around the belly and liver areas.
Additionally, sugar causes metabolic problems, meaning that it reduces your chances of losing weight. Sugary drinks are the worst culprit because your body doesn’t really know what to do with liquid sugar.
Also, try to increase the amount of protein in your diet. Healthy proteins can boost your metabolism and reduce your cravings. In fact, in one study, researchers found that people who eat healthy protein are less likely to have a lot of belly fat. Ideally, you want to focus on foods that have 25 to 30% of their calories from protein.
Keep in mind that, sometimes, lower belly fat is built up waste and bloating. The best way to reduce that is by consuming more soluble dietary fiber, and foods that reduce bloat. You might even want to take a fiber supplement. Be sure to drink plenty of water to help flush your body of waste.
The Belly Fat Workout
To tighten your abs and help get rid of a FUPA, you need a workout that’s designed to target your middle. Check out these exercises:
- The Roll Up — With this modified sit up, you lie on the ground with your legs straight. Then, you extend your arms behind your head just until your torso starts to lift off the ground. Finally, you slowly sit up, let your arms rise above your head, and roll forward until your hands are touching your toes. Repeat, but keep your reps slow and steady so that you can feel your abdominal muscles contracting.
- Straight Leg Raise — Again, lie on your back with your legs straight in front of you. Then, place your hands under your bum with your palms on the floor to stabilize yourself. Use your abdominal muscles to lift your legs up toward the ceiling until they are at a right angle with your body. Slowly lower your legs back to the floor. Make sure your lower back is pressed firmly to the floor and repeat.
- Hip Lift — To do a hip lift, start with your back on the ground and your knees bent. Then, pull your abs in and lift your pelvis toward the ceiling. When your pelvis is raised, your body should be supported by your feet and shoulders.
- Reverse Crunches — With reverse crunches, you pull your legs toward your abdomen. Again, start by lying on the ground with your knees bent at a 90-degree angle. Then, contract your abs and pull your knees toward your chest.
- Flutter Kicks — Lie on your back with your legs stretched out in front of you. Then, raise your head and shoulders off the floor. Put your hands behind your head for neck support if needed. Then, slowly lift both legs a few inches off the floor. Raise your right leg so that it’s closer to the ceiling. Then, switch so that your left leg is closer to the ceiling. Repeat, using slow and steady motions.
- Double Leg Circles — From the same position you did your flutter kicks, you should also try double leg circles. This time, just lift one leg off the floor and rotate it in a circle. Don’t just move your ankle. Make sure that you are moving your entire foot in a circle. Then repeat with the other leg. To get maximum impact on your abdominal muscles, make sure that you keep the small of your back against the floor.
- V-Sits — Start by lying on the ground with your legs stretched out in front of you and your arms over your head. Then, pull your legs upward while also sitting up. Ultimately, your legs and upper body should form a v-shape, and your arms should be parallel with your legs for balance. Bring your arms toward your legs and tighten the v-shape a bit. Finally, bring your arms down so that they are near the floor, and then, repeat the motion.
Exercises for Separated Abdominal Muscles
A lot of moms struggle with lower belly fat. Sometimes after they have a baby, their abdominal muscles separate, this is called diastasis recti.
Ideally, your abdominal muscles should be next to each other, lined up vertically on either side of your belly button. However, after carrying a baby, these muscles often shift apart from each other. At the same time, your weakened core can lead to back pain.
Research shows that women can lose 2 inches off their waists within three weeks using the right exercises. You shouldn’t do crossover crunches or bicycle crunches. Both of those exercises can splay the abs further apart. Instead, you should try an exercise program designed to help diastasis recti.
Basically, these exercises involve sitting on the floor cross-legged. Then, you place your hands on your belly, take a deep breath, and allow everything to expand. As you exhale, pull in your abdominal muscles toward your spine and hold them.
Continue to take tiny breaths and as you exhale, pull your stomach back further and further. Do these exercises for 10 minutes a day for 12 weeks, and your separated abdominal muscles should come back together.
The Right Posture
Sometimes, your posture can exacerbate the look of belly fat. If your pelvis is tilted too far forward, that can make you look shorter and your lower belly look bigger.
To address anterior pelvic tilt, try strengthening your glutes and try lying on your back with your knees bent. Then, push your lower back into the ground. As you get used to the feeling of your pelvis in a neutral or posterior position, you can try standing pelvic tilt exercises and planks.
To ensure you’re getting into the right alignment with these exercises, you may want to work with a personal yoga trainer. Even just an hour or two with a personal trainer can be ideal. They can really help to put you on the right path.
In general, any workouts that focus on your core such as pilates and yoga can help to improve your posture, while also making your body stronger and leaner. If you struggle from excessive anterior pelvic tilt, you may want to contact a chiropractor for help.
Relax
Relaxing is easier said than done, but it’s essential if you want to lose lower belly fat. Stress increases cortisol levels. That reduces your metabolism in general, but it also encourages your body to store fat in the lower belly area in particular.
To minimize stress from a dietary perspective, focus on whole grains. When you eat carbs, your body releases serotonin. This happiness hormone helps to alleviate the stress you feel.
However, if you eat simple carbs such as sugar and white flour, you’re likely to get a burst of feel-good hormones followed by a drop in your mood. This is in contrast with whole grains, where you get a steady release of serotonin.
Additionally, add more avocados, almonds, and blueberries to your diet. Food with magnesium also helps to keep cortisol low. Moreover, if you treat yourself to an Epsom salts bath, you get to absorb magnesium through your skin while also enjoying a nice soak. That detoxifies and relaxes you at the same time.
Beyond dietary measures, find other ways to reduce the stress in your life if possible. Exercise can help to reduce stress. You also may want to try supplements.
Lemon balm, omega-3 fatty acids, valerian root, and a variety of other ingredients can all be helpful. Most importantly, try to find activities that you enjoy.
If you’re trying to cut back on things that make you feel stressed, try to substitute stressful activities with a feel-good hobby. For instance, if you notice feeling stressed after checking social media, you might want to try texting a friend, reading a chapter of a book, watching a funny video, or doing something else you find fun.
Find out how to lose lower belly fat with this 5 lower ab exercises instructional video:
If you’re curious about how to lose lower belly fat, there is more than one answer. You should do exercises to lose belly fat, but you should also consider permanent dietary and lifestyle changes for a healthier happier you.
To ensure you’re taking the right steps for your body, let us help. At V Shred, we can customize a diet and training program that is just right for your body and your fitness goals. Answer this quiz to know your body type so we can create that program for you. Contact us today to learn more. Then, shred the excess fat and build lean muscle all over your body.
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