The difficulty many people have in being able to get rid of belly fat easily and permanently is a direct contributor to our national health problem of obesity which only seems to be becoming more acute every day. The highly successful marketing device of “super-sizing” our meal portions has become de rigueur at many fast food restaurants, and when you apply that practice to a population that is becoming even more sedentary in lifestyle, the stage is set for you to develop your own “love handles” or “spare tire”.
For the majority of the population, it takes awareness and effort to keep weight in check, and with the right diet protocols and exercise programs most people achieve the degree of success they want. Being healthy is more of a lifestyle, of making the right choices for your body much more often than making bad choices.
Many people, though, unrealistically expect to be able to get rid of belly fat quickly, safely, and sometimes only in certain spots. That wishful thinking is false. The best way to get rid of belly fat is at a gradual and consistent rate - and just to clear up this particular subject - so-called spot reducing is simply a myth. Just as you can’t pick where you’re going to store your body fat, neither can you choose from where you’re going to lose it. You must reduce your overall body fat percentage to lose weight, which means running a calorie deficit.
Running a calorie deficit to get rid of belly fat simply means that your daily calorie consumption is less than the number of calories your body expends during the day. Your body burns calories through movement and exercise, of course, but it also burns calories even while at rest. To measure for a calorie deficit, you first need to know what your basic metabolic rate (BMR) is, or to put it another way, how much energy you would need to consume to simply maintain your current body weight if you stayed in bed all day.
Below is the Harris – Benedict formula, one of the most commonly accepted methods for calculating BMR:
For men: 66 + (6.3 x body weight in lbs.) + (12.9 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years)
For women: 655 + (4.3 x weight in lbs.) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years)
Once you have your BMR number, it’s time to consider the thermodynamic effects of food. Your system expends energy during the digestive process, usually averaging about 10% of the total calories you consume. So, for example, if you are consuming 2500 calories daily, about 250 of those calories are burned during the digestive process alone.
Now that you have your BMR and a general idea of how many calories you burn thermodynamically, it’s time to consider the last factor you need to get rid of body fat – a measurement of how active you are on a daily basis. A number for this can be difficult to arrive at, so just multiply your BMR by the most appropriate guideline below:
- 1.2 if your average day is sedentary
- 1.375 if you are slightly active (you participate in activity 1-3 times a week)
- 1.55 if you are moderately active (your participation is 3-5 times a week)
- 1.725 if you are highly active (participating 6-7 times a week)
- 1.9 if you’re highly active in a physically demanding job
One you have this new BMR, add it to your daily thermodynamic burn number, and this new sum will show you how many calories you need to consume daily just to maintain your present weight. Since you want to run a calorie deficit to get rid of belly fat, you can either 1) have a lower daily caloric intake, 2) ramp up your daily activity levels to burn more calories, or 3) a combination of the two. The trick is to burn only fat calories while still providing your body the calories it needs to build lean muscle mass.
When you put this plan into motion, you, too, will be well on your way to losing those unsightly and unhealthy love handles that, in all honesty, no one really loves.
