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The issue of how to lose belly fat is an existing concern over the age of 30. With age our metabolism changes and by the time we hit 50 it will end up dropping by 30% (1.).

I experienced increased belly fat after I hit 31, although it wasn’t really a problem for me before even though at one point I was overweight.

Besides the fact that a lot of us want to look fit and feel comfortable, there are other major reasons why excessive belly fat is detrimental.

An excess in abdominal fat can lead to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes (2.). THAT IS A FACT!

But HERE is a good thing! There are 13 evidence-based steps on how to lose belly fat over the age of 30 and if you follow all of them that should lead you to success in taking care of the problem.

SO LET’S JUMP INTO THEM!

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FOOD CONSIDERATIONS

Establishing healthy nutritional habits is the number one rule to lose belly fat.

No wonder that the first seven steps all refer to healthy eating.

1.Drink enough water

The first step I would definitely start with regarding how to lose belly fat is to consume enough water.

Water means CLEAN and UNSWEETENED water.

The reason why this is the first step is because if you have an increased amount of abdominal fat you should probably have to focus on losing weight as well.

And as I mentioned in my other post drinking a sufficient amount – at least 8 glasses – of water is a major help for weight-loss since  it helps you manage your calorie intake and outtake, by making you feel less hungry.

2.Less Carbs & NO Refined Carbs

Carbs is a very important thing to talk about when it comes to abdominal fat.

Actually, there is scientific evidence behind the fact that a low carb diet leads to a more effective weight-loss, especially reducing harmful belly fat around the liver.

But don’t think about going on a strict low carb diet, since there is no scientific evidence that carbohydrate intake can lead to obesity.

However, scientific studies suggest going on a grain-free diet by consuming whole foods such as leaves and fruits (3.), helps get rid of belly fat.

Another efficient way of losing belly fat is to simply avoid refined carbs– such as pasta, white bread, and sugar – and increase your protein intake.

But why does protein matter so much? I will discuss it in the next paragraph!

3. Increase protein intake

You can benefit from increasing your protein intake to 25-30% of calories if you reduce the consumed amount of the refined carbs when it comes to the question of how to lose belly fat over the age of 30.

A protein intake of 25-30% of total daily calories is still considered healthy according to the USDA nutritional guidelines.

The dietary guideline suggests that 10-35% of your daily calories should come from protein.

Healthy eating patterns also suggest that seafood, lean meat, beans, peas, and nuts are good sources of protein.

You should reduce the consumption of red meat or other animal protein sources that are high in saturated fat.

And talking about fats…. let’s jump into the next important step where we will discuss the rules of eating fats.

4. Focus on eating ’good’ fats

For many decades one of the biggest nutrition myths was that in order to lose weight you should aim for eating low-fat or non-fat foods.

The reason behind these thoughts was to decrease the number of patients with heart disease and high cholesterol levels.

I remember when I was a teenager in the late ’90s all I was looking for was the 0% fat milk for my morning coffee.

In the last few decades, several studies appeared that emphasized the myth of low-fat diets (4.). The most important factor that researchers found out was that there are different types of fats.

As you can see in the picture above these are fresh avocados which are a great source of beneficial fat.

Actually the ’good’ fats are the monounsaturated fats from olive oil and the polyunsaturated fats from seafood such as salmon or tuna (5).

Seafood, nuts, and seeds are also high in protein so we could tick the box of the previous step by eating them.

However, there are fats that you should watch out for!

Saturated fats should be under 10% of the daily calorie intake and in the case of trans fats you should aim for zero according to the Dietary Guidelines

In order to decrease the level of saturated fat, you should limit the consumption of beef, butter, and fat-full dairy products.

Trans fat is found in products that contain partially hydrogenated oil. Margarine, packaged snacks like chips or baked foods include partially hydrogenated oil.

If you consume more beneficial types of fats especially from avocados you will also increase your dietary fiber intake which is the next step on my list (6.).

5. Increase Soluble Fiber Intake

It is important to mention that there is one type of fiber that promotes fat loss and belly fat reduction by reducing your appetite, which is SOLUBLE FIBER.

The other name of Soluble Fiber is Dietary Fiber which can decrease the number of calories your body digests from food (7.).

As seen above, nuts, dates, strawberries, blackberries, and bananas are a great source of fiber, as are black beans, avocados, broccoli, and sweet potatoes.

However, if you want to see more options, healthline.com has a great article about the top 20 foods that are high in soluble fiber.

6. Give up sugar

As you increase the amount of consumed protein to 25-30%, make sure you consume at least 20% of the beneficial type of fats, a good question to consider is what you should decrease in order to keep the calorie intake and outtake in proper balance.

Well, cutting out sugar is the right move which is not only a very important factor for losing weight, but also helps with fat in the abdominal area.

There are actually studies that show a correlation between belly fat and the amount of sugar intake.

According to the Dietary Guidelines, the maximum amount of daily sugar intake should be 10% of the calories.

7. Limit fast food to a minimum

A great way to reduce the consumption of sugar and refined carbs is to aim for eating zero fast food which is also a good strategy for saving money.

We already know that sugar and refined carbs are not helping to get rid of excessive belly fat, so you might do yourself a favor by minimizing fast food consumption.

A review of studies showed that having fast food more than once a week could lead to a higher chance of obesity.

So definitely hit the fast food chains less then once week, preferably not at all.

EXERCISE CONSIDERATIONS

The previous 7 steps are very important to get started with from the food side regarding how to lose belly fat.

However, as far as the exercise side of this journey is concerned I have 2 important steps that you should definitely follow to succeed.

8. Do strength training at least twice a week

Regular strength training is my first tip for you if you want to reduce abdominal fat. It is not just my tip though.

A study showed that high-intensity resistance training – which is also known as strength training resulted in faster fat loss in the abdominal area (8.).

BUT WHAT IS HIGH INTENSITY RESISTANCE TRAINING?

Well, looking at the picture above you might get an idea.

During the high-intensity resistance training, you perform a high-intensity exercise and you also use some resistance such as dumbbells or your own body weight.

(For example in the picture above the woman performs side planks using her own body weight.)

In order to involve strength training in your exercise routine, make sure you include the FIVE PRIMARY EXERCISES.

9.Cardio workout is a must

Besides weight training, aerobic (cardio) exercises are also very efficient when it comes to losing belly fat. A study that was performed on people with diabetes revealed that both strength and cardio training are equally efficient when it comes to reducing abdominal fat (9.).

In the case of cardio exercises, frequency, and duration is what really matters, and not the intensity (10.).

If you choose a moderate rather than a vigorous-intensity you will benefit from doing a 30 to 60 minutes cardio workout 5 days a week.

However, if you choose to do vigorous exercises it is recommended to do 75 minutes per week according to the American Council on Exercise.

If you don’t have access to a gym then running, walking up the hill, or doing an aerobic workout are great options.

POPSUGAR FITNESS has a really efficient and free cardio workout on Youtube.

If you decide to include this session in your cardio training 5 days a week you should go far with your belly fat reduction goal.

Probably THE BEST CHOICE if you are a busy person is to involve the strength training routines 3 days a week in your cardio workout and then you have ticked both boxes.

I am a huge fan of combinations 😊

Then let’s go to the last four steps.

If all you need is a great mat for exercising at home if you don’t already have one, check out the link of the workout mat I personally recommend here below from MANDUKA:

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HEALTHY LIFESTYLE HABITS

In this section, I will introduce 4 evidence-based healthy lifestyle habits that play a significant role in the matter of how to lose belly fat after you hit 30.

Half of these habits refer to eating, but since they are more like general routines I will discuss them here.

10. Watch your calories

The first healthy lifestyle habit that refers to healthy eating is calorie monitoring. If you follow the first seven nutrition tips you should not worry about this step.

However, watching the calorie intake and outtake is one of the eight most important factors for losing weight, that can help you with the belly fat concerns as well.

The best way to track your energy intake is to use a food diary or a great food track app that is available as well. But in order to use these tools wisely get to know the number of calories you should consume in order to lose weight effectively.

11. Go Stressless

It is a fact that eliminating chronic stress from your life is another very important step that could help you lose weight because a higher cortisol level leads to a bigger appetite.

Studies also show that a higher stress level leads to consuming more rich in sugar, fat, and salt foods which increase abdominal fat (11.)

Practicing yoga is a very efficient way to follow through with this strategy.

12. Sleep enough

Epidemiological studies reveal a correlation between sleep duration and visceral fat accumulation (12.).

Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder that causes repeated stops in breathing and if you often feel tired after sleeping you might have it (13.).

The other unfortunate matter with sleep apnea is that it can contribute to abdominal obesity since it could lead to more harmful eating habits during the day (14).

At least 7-8 hours of sleep will support not only your weight-loss purposes but also benefit your global health.

13. Intermittent fasting could be helpful

And now we get to the last step of losing belly fat!

The reason why I am saying that intermittent fasting could be helpful is that if you have followed the last 12 steps you are already on your way to great success losing abdominal fat.

However, a review of studies shows that intermittent and alternate-day fasting led to a 4 to 7% decrease in visceral fat within 6-24 weeks.

My personal comment on intermittent fasting is although this is the last step, it really changed my fitness in terms of belly fat issues.

Eliminating food intake between the hours of 8 pm and 11 am significantly contributed to the fact that I lost 20 pounds in the last 2 years.

These are my 13 evidence-based steps to losing belly fat after the age of 30.

As I mentioned before the best thing to do is to incorporate all of them.

I wish you great luck with it..

Setting up a healthy lifestyle plan alone can be a challenge sometimes especially with a stressful and time-consuming job or business. Click on the image below to register for my free webinar about losing weight with a sedentary job!

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