How Much Time It Takes To Loose Excess Body Fat

If you aim to lose excess body fat, there’s no easy or quick method. Crash diets and supplements won’t do the trick. And targeting a single area of the body for fat reduction isn’t likely to work.

Your best bet is to work on losing overall body fat through diet and exercise. Once you start losing weight, there’s a good chance some will come from your belly.

How long that takes is different for everyone. Read on to learn the average time it takes to lose excess belly fat and how you can get started.

How long does it take to burn fat?

It takes a deficit of at least 3500 kcal  if you aim to lose 1 pound of body fat.

So to simplify, to lose 1 pound body fat in a week, a deficit of at least 500 calories every day is required, and if you continue with that pace, its possible to lose 4 pounds in a month, isnt it amazing.

By incorporating physical exercise in your day to day you can help speed up the process. Exercise also builds muscle mass. Muscle is heavier than fat, so even though you’re looking and feeling leaner, it might not show on the scale.

The larger you are, the more calories you burn doing anything. Males have more muscle than females of the same size, so that helps males burn more calories.

How to Create a Caloric Deficiency?

Calories are units of energy from food. The more energy you use, the more calories you burn. Unused calories are stored as fat. You can burn fat stores by taking in fewer calories and using more energy.

Here are some ways to cut calories that you can start today:

• Switch your liquids

• Drink water instead of soda.

• Try black coffee instead of coffee flavoured with added cream and sugar.

• Cut down on alcohol.

• Avoid consuming high-calorie foods

• Avoid fast food and ultra-processed foods.

• Eat fruit instead of baked goods and packaged sweets.

• Choose low-fat dairy foods over high-fat ones.

• Eat grilled or broiled foods instead of fried foods.

• Check calorie counts on restaurant menus. You'll literally be mind blown once you know how many calories a standard restaurant meal contains.

• Use a free calorie-counting app.

• Minimize portions

• Measure oils used for cooking.

• Cut down on oil and other salad dressings.

• Use a smaller plate or bowl.

• Eat slower, and wait 20 minutes after eating to make sure you’re full.

• At restaurants, take half your meal home.

• Don’t eat in front of the TV, where it’s easy to keep snacking.

Consider food density, too. For example, there is around 100 calories in 1 cup of grapes, but a cup of raisins has around 480. Fresh vegetables and fruits are full of water and fibre, so they’ll help you feel full without a lot of calories.

To retain lean muscle mass, you’ll need plenty of protein.

A meta analysis was conducted in 2016 in which 20 control trails were randomly picked. They concluded that adults ages 50 and older lost more fat and kept more lean mass on energy-restricted, higher-protein diets rather than diets with normal protein intakes.

In addition to a regular exercise routine, try these calorie burners:

To add on extra steps, park farther away.

Better yet, bike or walk rather than drive.

Avoid using elevators or escalator instead of stairs for short distance.

Take a stroll after meals.

If you work at a desk, get up at least once every hour for a short walk or stretch.

Many pleasurable activities help you burn calories, like hiking, dancing, and even golfing. For instance, in 30 minutes of general gardening, a 56kg person can burn 135 calories, and a 84kg person can burn 200.

The more you move, the more calories you burn. And the more likely it is, you’ll lose some belly fat.

How to measure success

Weigh yourself once a week at the same time of day to track overall weight loss.

If you’re eating a good amount of protein and exercising regularly, you’re likely building muscle. But remember that the scale doesn’t tell the whole story.

To see if you’re actually losing belly fat, use a tape measure. Always measure in the same place.

Stand straight, but without sucking in your belly. Try not to pull the tape hard enough to pinch the skin. Measure around your belly button level.

Another sign is that your clothes fit better, and you’re starting to feel better, too.

Exercises to burn belly fat

As suggested by the research published in the journal of obesity, high-intensity intermittent exercise delivers more prominent results at reducing abdominal fat as compared to other forms of exercise.

Exercises that specifically target the abdomen area might not be effective in removing visceral fat, but they can help strengthen your muscles, and that’s a good thing.

The important thing is to keep moving and try to engage in some form of exercise every day. You don’t have to stick with one thing, either. Mix it up so you don’t get bored. Try:

moderate-intensity exercises for at least 30 minutes

Aerobics- 2 times a week

Strength training

Stretching- Morning and again before bed