Eating a healthy, varied diet that is high in fruits and vegetables — including soluble fiber, vitamin D, and probiotics — is the best plan for losing weight from your waistline. Avoiding refined carbohydrates, sugar, and processed foods whenever possible will help you cut calories and get rid of fat more quickly.
1. Crunches: The most effective exercise to burn stomach fat is crunches. Crunches rank top when we talk of fat-burning exercises.
One of the most effective ways to reduce belly fat is to regularly take part in aerobic exercise, such as walking ( 19 , 20 ). In one small study, women with obesity who walked for 50–70 minutes three times per week for 12 weeks, on average, reduced their waist circumference and their body fat.
Causes of a High Waist Circumference
A larger waist circumference is often caused by intra-abdominal visceral fat. Visceral fat is fat that develops between and around internal organs. This type of fat differs from "regular" fat that sits just beneath the skin and can be pinched.
Remember, the CDC recommends pacing yourself at 1 to 2 pounds of overall weight loss per week. So, it could take 1 to 2 months before you notice your waistline shrinking.
"It is possible to lose inches from your waistline within two weeks of beginning a diet and exercise program, with the caveat that those with more abdominal fat will see larger decreases more quickly."
In both men and women, waist and waist-to- hip ratio increase with aging. A large portion of this increase is driven by gains in body weight, but the increases observed are larger than those would be predicted from increases in BMI alone, and increases in WC are seen with aging in the absence of weight gain.
Gaining weight solely in your stomach may be the result of specific lifestyle choices. The two S's — stress and sugar — play a significant role in the size of your midsection. Certain medical conditions and hormonal changes can contribute to abdominal weight gain.
Water can be really helpful for weight loss. It is 100% calorie-free, helps you burn more calories and may even suppress your appetite if consumed before meals. The benefits are even greater when you replace sugary beverages with water. It is a very easy way to cut back on sugar and calories.
It's possible to gain muscle and reduce body fat without actually seeing a change in your weight. This happens when you lose body fat while gaining muscle. Your weight may stay the same, even as you lose inches, a sign that you're moving in the right direction.
A combination of things happens as we age. We tend to lose muscle mass, so our abdominal muscles aren't as tight as they once were, and the loss of elastin and collagen in our skin allows gravity to have its way so skin starts to sag. Both can cause the waistline to expand.
Unintentional weight gain occurs when you put on weight without increasing your consumption of food or liquid and without decreasing your activity. This occurs when you're not trying to gain weight. It's often due to fluid retention, abnormal growths, constipation, or pregnancy.
What should your waist measurement be? For men, a waist circumference below 94cm (37in) is 'low risk', 94–102cm (37-40in) is 'high risk' and more than 102cm (40in) is 'very high'. For women, below 80cm (31.5in) is low risk, 80–88cm (31.5-34.6in) is high risk and more than 88cm (34.6in) is very high.
Waist Circumference
If most of your fat is around your waist rather than at your hips, you're at a higher risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes. This risk goes up with a waist size that is greater than 35 inches for women or greater than 40 inches for men.
While exercises can tone and firm the muscles underneath your belly fat, you won't see results at your waistline without overall weight loss that affects your whole body. A combination of healthy living, eating, and exercise will give you the best results.
Multiple regression tells us that on average, for every 8.5 pounds lost, people dropped an inch off their waist. (And for every 1.5 kilograms lost, people dropped a centimeter off their waist.) Every 10 pounds lost was accompanied by 1.18 inches of waistline reduction.
Mostly, losing weight is an internal process. You will first lose hard fat that surrounds your organs like liver, kidneys and then you will start to lose soft fat like waistline and thigh fat. The fat loss from around the organs makes you leaner and stronger.