Do you feel self-conscious about the appearance of your abdominal region? Do you wish you could blast belly fat to reveal the abdominal muscles you work hard for every week? If so, you may be a good fit for a medical weight loss program at Timeless Wellness Clinic in Pleasanton, CA. Today, we’re looking at what you can do to get rid of stomach fat safely and effectively under the supervision of medical professionals.
How Can You Get Rid of Stomach Fat?
To get rid of stomach fat, you need to operate in a caloric deficit for a period of time. How long you need to remain in a caloric deficit to get the slim stomach you want depends on several factors, including your genetics and the caloric deficit you operate at. For example, if you lose one pound per week and need to lose five pounds of stomach fat, you may only need to restrict your calories for a month or two.
Similarly, if you have 10 pounds of stomach fat and you are losing two pounds of fat per week, you may only need to slash your calories for a month or two. Where your genetics comes into play is that you can’t spot-reduce fat with targeted exercises or eating certain foods. When you’re in a caloric deficit, your body will burn stored fat for fuel. Your genes determine whether it comes from your stomach, back, arms, or some other region of your body.
What Should I Eat to Lose Weight?
Weight loss is easier if you focus on getting most of your calories from protein and healthy fats. While fat is more than twice as calorically dense per gram than protein or carbohydrates, fat keeps you full and encourages your body to burn fat for fuel instead of waiting for a hit of cheap, easy carbs to run off of. When we eat carbs all the time, particularly refined carbohydrates like white bread, sugar, and corn syrup, our bodies become accustomed to using carbohydrate as energy and become less good at burning fat. This means our bodies become less good at burning body fat, too.
Additionally, some refined carbs, like sugar and corn syrup, in particular, have a mild addictive quality. While these “addictions” are certainly nothing like addiction to a drug or to alcohol, we can get strong cravings for more refined carbohydrates. Breaking the cycle of constantly eating little sugary snacks is initially hard, but the pay off is worth it.
How Can I Manage Cravings?
There are a number of techniques you can implement in your weight loss journey to help you ride the intense wave of cravings. If you are craving salty foods, you may enjoy the most success by drinking eight ounces of water. People often mistake thirst signals for hunger. Furthermore, people often want to reach for something salty because sodium helps their bodies retain water.
If you are craving fried chicken or a hamburger, your iron may be low, and having some healthy meat could be the answer. We’ll talk with you about the best ways to address your personal cravings as part of your program.
What Is the Best Exercise for Weight Loss?
The best exercise for weight loss is the exercise you will do consistently. If you will walk your neighbor’s dog every day, then walking will be the best exercise for your weight loss plan. If you feel like a fish in the water and love starting your mornings by going to the pool, swimming will be the best exercise for your weight loss plan.
As a general rule of thumb, you should aim for five hours of moderate exercise or 2.5 hours of intense aerobic exercise weekly while you are trying to lose weight. After that, you only need to invest half that amount of time to maintain your cardiovascular and pulmonary health. However, you should not forget about the importance of anaerobic exercise.
How Much Anaerobic Exercise Should I Get?
You should try to perform anaerobic exercise at least a few times per week throughout your weight loss journey and once you have the stomach of your dreams. If you have never lifted weights before, you may want to start with bodyweight exercises. However, people often experience great success with lifting weights. If you’re comfortable with lifting weights, you may want to focus on your arms one day, legs one day, and torso one day.
Regardless of how you schedule your lifting sessions, remember that you must work both your pushing and pulling muscles. If you neglect one set of muscles, an injury can occur. For example, if you only focus on working your abs and obliques while neglecting the rest of your core, you could develop lower back pain.
Will Lifting Weights Help Me Lose Stomach Fat?
You can shrink your stomach without lifting weights. However, it is worth noting that lifting weights can help you lose weight faster and maintain your weight loss if you don’t eat back your exercise calories. If you lift weights to the point of muscle failure, regardless of whether you lift light or heavy weights, muscle growth can occur.
Muscle mass plays an important part in your metabolism because it uses 2.5 times more calories than white fat, even when your body is still. In other words, you can consume more calories while maintaining your body fat percentage if you have more muscle. If you’re on the fence about lifting weights for weight loss, you should consider that your metabolism can remain elevated for many hours after an intense lifting session thanks to EPOC.
When Should I Exercise?
When you exercise won’t make or break your weight loss journey. However, you should strongly consider getting your workout in before dinner. Research has shown that vigorous activity performed less than an hour before trying to sleep can impede your ability to sleep significantly. It is very important to get plenty of quality sleep, especially during your weight loss journey. Getting restful sleep will help your body recover from intense workouts.
Why Should I Consider Having My Weight Loss Medically Supervised?
You should strongly consider having your weight loss medically supervised because it is possible to be in a caloric deficit that is too great. As a general rule of thumb, you should lose no more than 1% of your body weight per week. Under medical supervision, potential problems can be identified before they pose a serious risk to your health.
For example, there is a chance that you could develop anemia if you cut too much protein while restricting your calories. This can lead to such problems as feeling extremely cold and lethargic all the time. If you aren’t getting enough micronutrients, like vitamin B12, hair loss, severe nail problems, and skin conditions can occur.
What Can I Expect From a Weight Loss Program Supervised By a Doctor?
During a medical weight loss program, you will run through several tests. For instance, your resting and basic metabolic rates will be tested. You will also undergo a VO2 max test. The resting metabolic rate test will tell us how many calories you burn while your body is completely motionless. For the most accurate results, you should fast and refrain from exercising for at least three to four hours prior to testing.
The results of your basic metabolic rate will tell us how many calories your body needs to perform all of its vital functions. While you need to be in a caloric deficit to lose weight, for optimal health, you should at least eat enough every 24 hours to meet your basic metabolic needs. The importance of your VO2 max testing is it provides an accurate idea of how much fat your body burns while performing such activities as walking, running, or cycling.
Find Out Today Whether a Medical Weight Loss Program Is Right for You
If you’re frustrated by your inability to get rid of stomach fat, a medical weight loss program may be able to help. While a caloric deficit is required to get rid of stomach fat, too great of a caloric deficit can harm your body. to find out if you could benefit from getting metabolic testing and weight loss supervision from a medical professional.
