How to Get Rid of Lower Belly Fat and Keep It Off

Shed fat and keep it away!

Pesky lower belly fat can be hard to shed. In fact, certain body types will hold on to fat stores around the stomach longer than anywhere else. You can lose fat on your thighs, arms, and chest before you even notice a difference in your lower belly.

Losing belly fat can be a challenge. Nevertheless, it’s not hopeless. Eating healthy and following a strong workout plan helps you get rid of lower belly fat and keep it off. The most important aspect of weight loss is a balanced diet. Eating too many calories (even if it’s healthy food) will make you to gain weight, while too few calories may cause your body to hold on to pesky fat stores as a measure against starvation. To get rid of lower belly fat, you need to eat the right amount of food, and the right kind of food.

Read on to learn more about the diets and exercises that help you lose belly fat and keep it off!

Step 1: Limit the junk food.
You don’t have to eliminate junk food from your life. In fact, the occasional treat can help you stay on track with your eating. However, daily burgers and ice cream will add inches to your waist line. Even if you’re cutting calories from other parts of your life, a daily junk food fix can stop you from losing belly fat.

Start by replacing junk food with healthy alternatives. Have a banana instead of dessert, or veggies with hummus instead of salty chips. If you currently eat junk food every day of the week, but begin limiting it to three nights a week, you’ve already cut your junk food consumption by more than half!

Need a little help? Check out our these 10 ways to resist junk food.

Step 2: Make Your Diet a Lifestyle.
Not only do our bodies react differently to diets, so do our brains. For one person, frequent meals can help prevent cravings. For someone else, constant grazing can be the cause of weight gain. Some people benefit from tracking their intake and counting calories. Others can find this stifling. Find a diet that works for you and make it a lifestyle.

Avoid crash diets and restrictive meal plans.

Step 3: Stick to it.
Once you’ve found a plan that works for you, the trick is to stick to it long-term. Constantly vacillating between diets can lead to a vicious weight gain cycle and unhealthy relationships to food. In fact, it can cause you to hold on to stubborn lower belly fat longer. When you put your body on a restrictive diet, your brain can interpret the lack of sustenance for a famine. If this happens, it will slow down your metabolism and hold on to fat stores in case of emergencies.

Instead of cycling through restrictive and binging periods, try sticking to a healthy diet for an extended period of time. You’ll be able to eat when hungry, you’ll be full of energy, and you’ll see better results.

Step 4: Add exercise.
Once you’re settled into healthy eating habits, try adding an exercise plan. We have many beginner workouts as well as 5K training plans.

When it comes to losing belly fat, you want to do a combination of cardio, ab workouts, and strength training. Cardio helps you shed excess weight. Ab workouts tone your abdominal muscles for a tight, strong core. Finally, strength training builds muscle, and more muscle means you’ll burn more calories while at rest.

Step 5: Stay confident!
Our final step to losing belly fat is to stay confident. Chances are you’re more self-conscious of your belly fat than you should be. Don’t waste time and energy putting yourself down. Instead, focus on the positive. Learn to love your body at every point of the journey and you’ll find that eating healthy and exercising regularly become easier than ever!

This post may include affiliate links.

SkinnyMs.

The SkinnyMs. team believes that all people, regardless of age, size, and fitness level, have the power to transform their lives — they just need the resources to do so. The SkinnyMs. method promotes healthy living through a combination of clean eating and regular exercise. We offer everything you need to be successful.

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37 Comments

  1. I think a solid juice fast can get rid of that lower belly fat quickly and effectively and is a great transition into a healthy lifestyle 🙂

  2. I am 7 kg heavier than my ideal weight n my main concern is lower belly pooch,will i be able to shed the kgs n loose belly pooch by doing hiit alone?wats ur suggestion?

  3. I need to shed almost 60 lbs…Im tired of trying various diet plans and nothing worked out till now..Can someone pls suggest me a perfect eating plan with the intervals i need to maintain?

    1. Nitha, I highly recommend an eating plan for life, not a diet. Look for a plan that includes lean protein, healthy fats, and good carbs. I personally lost 30 pounds almost 10 years ago and have kept it off. Here are four posts that I recommend:

      Read this post first: https://skinnyms.com/4-step-weight-loss-challenge/
      2nd: https://skinnyms.com/how-i-lost-30-pounds-and-kept-it-off-heres-how-you-can-too/
      3rd: https://skinnyms.com/5-daily-menus-how-ive-maintained-my-ideal-weight-for-5-years/
      4th: https://skinnyms.com/how-ive-maintained-my-ideal-weight-for-5-years-part-2/

  4. Gale, this is awesome and helpful information. You have also included awesome resources. I have a one and a half year old and have yet to lose all of my pooch. Your article will definitely help.
    Thank you!

  5. This is a great read. I’ve recently started a life change. (Again). I’m totally committed to eating better and exercising more. I’ve even started to make better choices for and with my children. Can’t wait to learn more from your references. THANK YOU!!

  6. Great article. I love weight training. I call it my time, but it truly is all about what you eat. Thanks for the great read?

  7. Thanks for the great tips! My current issue is after babe #3 (2 & 3 were only 18 months apart and were BIG babies), I’m suffering from distasis recti. Everything I have read has said to avoid hard on the core workouts. However, everything I’ve read to help get rid of the pooch includes hard core workouts. Any suggestions on exercises to pull my core back together? I don’t want to end up doing more damage, or permanent damage. From what I understand, it is correctible over time.

  8. I am in my ideal weight, i eat clean ,exercise 3 to 5 times a week and absolutely no junk food.
    Yet, the belly fat does not seem to move. Don’t know what i am doing wrong.gets demotivating:(

  9. I suffer from Chronic Fatigue and Pain. Do you have any recommendations to help me shed the 10-15kg that I would like to lose which Id say half is on my stomach??
    Cheers

    1. Erika, Please check with your doctor for specific recommendations. Feel free to show your doctor workouts on the site! 🙂

      Best to you! 🙂

  10. Very good read! When do you think it is better to workout and to eat after a workout because in the morning I don’t have enought time to do it and I can’t go to the gym in the middle of the day (or at all) but when do you suggest I do it. I already eat healthy and I love fruits and vegetables but the problem is that I either eat to much of it or I don’t get protien in. I think that I need a plan to help me get all my meals in and still feel happy with my body so what should I do?

  11. All sounds good girls, but disabled and have back an leg issues. I was doing water work outs three times a week for strengthing and helping me with my balance. I love it, but I still have this under belly fat that mother nature gravity just hangs down an causes me to lose feelings in my legs when I sit too long. So is there a drink that I can drink to help me lose weight?

  12. I’ve already reduced my body fat % from 21 to 14 and gained around 6 kg in last 8 months, but still my abs aren’t visible, what can be done ….. I can’t do plank cause my shoulder hurts ……. Any suggestion

  13. Good read!
    I have scoliosis. Would back workouts relieve some of the pain?
    I’m doing some core & legs& arm workouts

  14. I am a sports lady and after given birth i became so big just in five months and don’t know what to do

    1. Adawen, Be patient with yourself. By following a healthy eating and excercise plan, it should come off.
      Please look over our meal plans and workouts to see what best works for your schedule.

  15. I pumped up press (made relief) in just 3-4 months (or even faster). All that you need for 100% result is to limit the flour and sweet in the diet, and to do each workout “Plank”, “Prayer” and the legs raising in a hanging position (you can have your knees bent). An elastic and flat stomach looks really great))

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