If you have tried dieting and exercise to reduce the fat around your belly but still it won’t budge, here are some possible reasons:
Your exercise is not challenging enough: To remove that stubborn fat, you need to increase your exercise intensity. Go all out for as long as you can and train at full intensity because your end goal is to burn more calories. If this sounds too much then just think of it this way, the more you push yourself the more calories you burn in less time.
Too much processed food: Snacks and food such as chips, pizza, burgers, refined grains like white bread, refined sugars in sweetened drinks and desserts increase inflammation in our body therefore eating too much of such will just hinder your ability to lose that stubborn belly fat. Opt for natural foods like veggies, fruits and whole grains which are full of antioxidants which have anti-inflammatory properties necessary to prevent belly fat.
Eating the wrong fats: Eating saturated fat like those found in animal products can increase your body fat percentage therefore affecting your belly area. Unsaturated fat like that found in nuts, fish and olive oil have anti-inflammatory effect in the body and if eaten correctly may just do you good. One thing though, eating too much fat of any kind increases your caloric intake and could lead to weight gain, so eat health fats in moderation.
Concentrating on cardio exercise alone: Any cardio exercise like running, walking and aerobics alone won’t do much for your belly and waist line. You need a combination of both weights and cardiovascular training to reap full benefits. Weight training increases your body tone, which sets your body up to burn more fat.
You need to do approximately 250 minutes of moderate intensity exercise or 125 minutes of high intensity exercise per week. Incorporate also functional exercises that use the core muscles more like the abdominals, back, obliques (side abdominal muscles) as well as other body parts because you tend to burn calories more in these areas when you do this.
Your body shape: If you are apple-shaped, you tend to pack some kilos around your middle rather than your thighs, hips and other body parts. This genetic pre-disposition means ridding fat in this area will be a little bit harder but not that impossible. You just have to put in extra effort compared to people with other body types.
Lack of motivation: Reducing your belly fat takes a combining approach of cardio workout, weight training and low calorie diet that is high in fiber and low carbohydrates and sugar. If you are willing to do the work, you can even move past your genetics and lose it.