How to Exercise to Lose Belly Fat

It happens to the best of us.

You wake up one day after a few months or a year out of the gym.

You take a look in the mirror.

And what used to resemble a flat stomach or a few abs.

Now more closely resembles the spare tire in the truck of your car.

And you’re left asking yourself “when did I fall off the wagon?”

Well you didn’t fall off the wagon.

You just stepped off the health and fitness wagon for a little bit.

But the “wagon” is still there waiting for you… I promise.

Now in all seriousness, this is a very common question.

“How do I lose my belly fat?”

I would love to be able to tell you that the answer is quick and easy.

And that, all you have to do is stare at your belly intently for it to magically burn off and disappear. 

But, while modern medicine has brought us a lot of great interventions and techniques, fat loss by staring intently is unfortunately not one of them.

So let’s start by getting one thing straight about fat loss as a broad topic.

It is NOT targeted.

Here’s what I mean by that.

If you do certain movements focused on one body part or region, specifically a body part or region in which you would like to lose body fat…

This will not cause you to lose body fat specifically in this region.

There is no fat loss program specifically for belly fat, or love handle fat, or thigh fat. 

And if anyone tells you otherwise, there’s a high likelihood that they are either A.) uneducated, B.) trying to sell you some gimmick, or C.) a combination of both.

A great fat loss program executed with consistency will help you lose body fat, no doubt about it.

But you will lose this body fat throughout the entirety of your body.

It can feel like it's random for a lot of people, which it kind of is. 

In many cases (BUT NOT ALL), people will start by losing body fat in their extremities (arms and legs).

This means you might notice your arms and legs getting more lean or toned before the rest of your body does.

Unfortunately, for a lot of people, the absolute LAST part of their body in which they lose fat is, you guessed it, the belly area. 

It sucks I know. Trust me, I know.

Especially because the main reason a lot of people decide to start a fat loss program is to lose fat specifically on their belly.

And it commonly is the area that takes the LONGEST to see visible fat loss.

So, now that that’s out of the way, you might be wondering when we’re going to get to the ‘exercise to lose belly fat’ part.

Well we’re here, so here it is. 

The best exercise to lose belly fat is actually not an exercise. Not unless you consider ‘plate push-aways’ an exercise.

The best exercise for fat loss is eating in a calorie deficit.

As a matter of fact, the ONLY way to lose fat is by eating in a calorie deficit.

Sounds like a hot take I know. I’m sure you’ve heard things like ‘keto is the best way to lose fat’ or ‘intermittent fasting is the best way to lose fat.’

There are numerous diets that can be effective at losing body fat, BUT, the only reason those diets are able to successfully cause fat loss is because they create a calorie deficit - which then leads to fat loss.

A calorie deficit, put simply is consuming less calories than you burn, thus creating a deficit from calories consumed to calories burned. 

So, the best exercise to lose belly fat is, eating in a calorie deficit. This means tracking your calories and eating a little less each day than you would at ‘maintenance’ calories. 

Thus, plate push-always as a fat loss exercise… EXTREMELY effective.

Now I’m not saying exercise isn’t beneficial if your goal is to lose belly fat, it 100% is.

I went into detail on fat loss in my recent article “How to Lose Fat - The Ultimate Guide to Fat Loss” so if fat loss is a goal of yours I would HIGHLY reccomend giving that a read once you finish this one!

But, when trying to get yourself into a deficit, eating less is one way to do this. But so is moving more. This is why I reccomend a combination of the two for my online coaching clients who have the goal of fat loss.

Move a little more, and eat a little less. For example, get 10k steps per day, and eat in a 300-500 calorie deficit (300-500 calories below maintenance). 

Strength training is also extremely beneficial for someone whose goal is fat loss. 

Not from a calorie burn perspective necessarily though, lifting weights isn’t going to do much in helping you create that deficit that we were just talking about. Mainly because you don't burn a ton of calories in your typical strength session.

However, strength training and building muscle will do a few things for you. 

1. It will drastically improve your physique, so when you lose that belly fat you look even better. 

2. It will increase your resting metabolic rate, thus helping you burn body fat. Simply by having more lean muscle mass, your body burns more calories at rest. 

So while this article may not have told you what you wanted to hear, I can guarantee it told you what you NEEDED to hear. 

I could lie to you and say “if your goal is to lose belly fat, do some ab exercises and try doing keto.”

But that would leave you in the same place you are now, frustrated and seeking a change.

So please trust me when I say, I have just outlined a foolproof way to lose belly fat. 

Remember I never said it would be easy, nor would it be particularly quick.

But it will be worth it at the end of the line, THAT I can guarantee.

Thanks so much for reading! I hope this helps you and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out. 

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