How To Get Rid of Belly Fat: 5 Common Mistakes to Avoid.

by | Jan 19, 2017 | Fitness, Nutrition

How To Get Rid of Belly Fat: 5 Common Mistakes to Avoid.

I once heard someone say: “More men should train like women; men should do cardiovascular exercises because they have more belly fat and die more often from cardiovascular disease. And more women should train like men and lift weights; because they have less muscle mass and that would help increase their metabolism.” 

1- Only doing cardiovascular exercises

Most women wanting to get rid of belly fat will focus on cardiovascular exercises at the gym like the treadmill, bike, and elliptical machine. Doing cardio is great to get started, but it should not be the only thing you do.

I once heard someone say: “More men should train like women; men should do cardiovascular exercises because they have more belly fat and die more often from cardiovascular disease. And more women should train like men and lift weights; because they have less muscle mass and that would help increase their metabolism.” Only doing cardio will simply create a “skinny fat” version of you, check out muscle versus fat post to learn more. You need to lift weights to increase your lean muscle mass, tone your body and burn more calories. Check out my post about strength training benefit and also how does muscle affect your metabolism to know more.

2- Spending hours at the gym

I don’t believe in endless hours at the gym unless you are training for an ironman or something like that. An hour at the gym is enough. Over the years I have noticed people take lots of rests between exercises, maybe more rest between sets than the actual workout. I believe in circuit training, interval, tri-set and superset training with minimal rest. It will maximize the time you have at the gym, will keep your heart rate elevated and give you better results. Also doing it a little everyday will have more impact than doing too much for a while and then giving up.

3- Not getting out of your comfort zone

So often I see people at the gym texting while being on a treadmill or using weights too light to see any results. Use your time at the gym wisely. If you do cardiovascular exercises integrate interval training.When you lift weight, challenge yourself and, use heavier weights. For example, I see women using 5-10lbs dumbbells to perform a single arm body row. Most women can easily use 15+ lbs. I usually use 30 lbs dumbell with good form and no problem.

4- Putting 100% effort at the gym with exercise and 0% in clean eating.

There is a reason people say that “abs are made in the kitchen.” What you eat is as important, and probably more important, than how you exercise when it comes to your body fat percentage. If you put 80-90% effort in eating clean and 10-20% in the gym you might see the result you are looking for. Cut refined, processed food, sugar, unhealthy fat and choose plant based diet as much as possible.

5- Setting unrealistic goals

People want instant results and that is not realistic, and can be quite discouraging. A pound equals 3500 calories, so a pound a week can be realistic, if weight loss is your goal. You might also want to consider body fat percentage or measurements as alternative goals: Check out my post about goal setting to know more about how to set a realistic goal.

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