Track Your Nutrition
I always love the saying, “You don’t know what you don’t know.” It is so true when it comes to nutrition. Do you know right now how many calories you are consuming each day? I don’t want a guesstimate, I want an actual number. You probably can’t, right? That’s because you have no idea how many calories you are consuming. So again, like what was mentioned in #2, how do you know if you’re in a caloric deficit? I’ll answer that for you… You don’t.
Use a free tool like MyFitnessPal to track your nutrition. Put in all of your meals, including those tiny snacks and bites of things you have throughout the day. Every bite and sip needs to be accounted for, otherwise, your numbers will not be accurate, which can stall your progress with eliminating abdominal fat.
Reduce Stress
Something not many people think about when it comes to weight loss and trying to eliminate stubborn abdominal fat is stress. Stress can cause a rise in cortisol (a stress hormone) which can cause you to hold onto and even store more body fat. This is counterproductive to what you are trying to accomplish.
While reducing stress can be easier said than done, take time each day to unwind and relax. We all live crazy and busy lives, and it’s crucial for all of us to have some downtime. Find a quiet room to sit in silence, read a book, meditate, take a walk, or do whatever you enjoy and find relaxing.
Supplements such as KSM-66 Ashwagandha can also help to support your body’s healthy balanced cortisol levels.
Make Time To Exercise
Save your breath with all of the excuses as to why you don’t exercise – I’ve heard them all a million times. It’s great that you believe them, but I don’t. Here’s the reason for my lack of compassion when it comes to excuses – they’re just that, excuses. If you truly wanted to improve your health and reduce your abdominal fat, you would make exercise a priority. If it’s not a priority, then clearly, it doesn’t mean that much to you.
If you’re serious about hitting your goals, schedule your workouts each day like you would meetings. Put them in your calendar to ensure nothing else takes up that time slot and get it done – no excuses.
Make sure you are lifting heavy when resistance training, and don’t forget to hit some cardio as well. A minimum of three days should be dedicated to resistance training (including abs), and cardio can be done as needed, as much as seven days a week if you want, to ignite your fat-burning potential.
Get Enough Sleep
Are you getting the recommended minimum of seven hours of sleep each night? Probably not, right? You’re probably busy getting work done or catching up on all of your Netflix or television shows you have DVR’d. I get it. But at the same time, you need to focus on your sleep if you really want to improve your overall health and reduce your abdominal fat.
Lack of sleep increases cortisol levels which can cause you to more easily store body fat, as well as increase ghrelin levels (a hunger hormone) that can cause you to overeat and send you in the wrong direction from where you want to go.
Just like with your workouts, plan your sleep schedule and make sure you’re in bed early enough to get in a full seven (or more) hours of quality sleep each night.
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