Belly Be Gone! The 8 Best Ways to Get Rid of Belly Fat.

Infomercials and TV shopping channels have declined in popularity thanks to the internet. Nowadays consumers can scroll through a seemingly endless list of shopping websites and every conceivable item can be ordered with a couple of clicks of the mouse.

In the days before high speed internet, shopping via media was the domain of the late night infomercial, and avid shoppers probably have a few items purchased from these shows gathering dust in a corner of their home.

The most popular things on offer seemed to be kitchen gadgets and exercise equipment; products to help you become fat, and products to help you become fit. You might remember the Ab Roller – a gadget that seemed to dominate TV shopping in the 90’s.

belly fat measuringMeasuring body fat by measuring waist circumference; source: healthiack.com

While abdominal machines have existed in gyms for decades, here was a simple version that you could buy for three easy payments that would allow you to be like the models demonstrating the gadget on TV – with perfect hair, gleaming white teeth and abdominal muscles that seemed to be carved from rock.

It’s a shame that the Ab Roller didn’t work as expected.

Repeated use of the device would certainly strengthen your abdominal muscles, but they did little to remove the belly fat that many users had covering those muscles.

The Ab Roller joins a long list of methods that promised and failed to blast belly fat. While you might not strive for a stomach that looks like something you could grate cheese with, you are probably interested in learning the best ways to get rid of belly fat.

It’s certainly achievable, but it will take more than something you buy from a TV show.

1. Get Off My Plate!

Unsurprisingly, the best ways to get rid of belly fat should be found on your plate. There are some foods and drinks that should only be enjoyed in moderation.

Soda, white bread, pasta, white rice, full fat milk, full fat cheese, beer, chips/fries, candy and indeed all junk foods should only make an occasional appearance on your plate.

We say that these foods should be enjoyed “in moderation,” which tends to be a vague term. Moderation varies greatly depending on your age and metabolism. Younger people with faster metabolisms can enjoy these items more often than those who are a bit more advanced in years.

2. Get On My Plate!

It’s not all doom and gloom, and there are some types of food that are awesome when it comes to burning belly fat. Hopefully there are a few things on the list that you really find delicious!

Eggs (just so long as your cholesterol is under control), oatmeal (without sugar), beans, berries (all fresh fruits and vegetables are good), whole grain bread, lean meat, avocados and even a small serving of peanut butter are great for stimulating weight loss around your belly.

3. The Most Important Meal of The Day

While we’re talking about eating, one of the best ways to burn belly fat is to eat… breakfast.

Don’t be tempted to skip a meal in the hope it will help you to lose a little extra weight.

MensHealth.com reported on a study by the Harvard and Boston Children’s Hospital that showed that those who eat a regular breakfast have obesity rates 35% to 50% lower than those who don’t.

4. Get Some Rest

Some people seem to brag about the fact that they can get by on minimal sleep. Margaret Thatcher used to lead the United Kingdom on just four hours per night.

If she had a fat gut, she hid it well, but a lack of sleep triggers your body’s sugar and fat cravings. It’s not always possible to get a full eight hours, but perhaps you should switch off that late night infomercial and get to bed.

5. One of The Best Ways to Get Rid of Belly Fat: Get Rid of Stress

You should accommodate more sleep into your life – many of us don’t get enough, and no, you can’t catch up on the weekend. More sleep is good, but when combined with less stress, it’s one of the best ways to get rid of belly fat.

Stress eating and seeking comfort in food is a fairly major problem for a lot of us, and it can be so tempting to drown in saturated fat after a long day – food that goes straight to your belly.

De-stress wherever possible, and you might need to make some changes at home and the office to achieve this.

6. The Importance of Cardio

Dropping that belly fat is all about cardio, which will also help to remove flab from other parts of your body. The simplest way is to go for a simple run.

If your level of physical fitness isn’t what it used to be and the idea of a long run is enough to make you want to curl up on the couch and whimper, don’t worry.

woman exercising on a baloon

Exercising in short bursts is better for stimulating your metabolism, so one of the best ways to burn belly fat is to run, then walk, then run, and so on, in five minute intervals, increasing each day. You could also locate a short aerobics session on YouTube if running isn’t your thing.

Related: basal metabolic rate calculator – calculate your BMR.
Basal metabolic rate represents the amount of calories your organism would burn if you were to stay in bed the whole day.

7. Blast Those Abs

While cardio is excellent for all round weight loss and improved health, you also need to actually do some exercises that target your stomach, and yes – if you have an Ab Roller you can use it.

You might need to undergo a little trial and error to find exercises that suit you, as some are more strenuous than others and are not suitable for all age groups. Fitness Magazine has compiled a list of the best abdominal exercises, all with instructional videos for the complete novice.

8. You Deserve A Treat

You can always rely on Cosmopolitan Magazine to try and bring chocolate into areas where you thought chocolate might not be appropriate. They tell us that dark chocolate (the kind that’s low in added sugar) is actually beneficial for burning belly fat.

It contains large amounts of zinc, which increases your body’s level of a hormone called leptin, which is great news for getting rid of that annoying belly flab.

Of course, you should enjoy dark chocolate in moderation, and you could probably just take a zinc supplement pill… but chocolate is way more fun.


Revision 24.7.2020 – dead link removed

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