Getting Rid of Stubborn Belly Fat!

Even if you’re working hard to slim down with exercise, you might notice that weight comes off in certain areas but tends to stick around your tummy.

Several factors, including hormonal changes, menopause, genes and loss of muscle mass, can affect the distribution of fat in your body – and your midsection is one place it seems set on staying.

The truth about “stubborn fat” is that it’s not really stubborn at all, says the team at Ultimate Performance (U.P.) Singapore. It’s that you just haven’t committed to the right approach for long enough to get rid of it.

As one of the leading fitness training specialists in Singapore, U.P. offers no-nonsense personal training (in gym and online) for clients who want to achieve serious, hard-evidence results. From advice on diet and supplements to travel health, and stress and sleep tips, it aims to go beyond what a standard personal trainer would do at a commercial gym, and customise realistic solutions for each client’s lifestyle, ability and goals.

The personal trainers at U.P. tell us they’ve heard many clients talk over the years about not being able to lose body fat in the lower tummy area. No matter what they do – whether it’s a juice cleanse, the Atkins Diet or intermittent fasting – they just don’t know how to lose stomach fat effectively.

“The truth is that the client has likely done all the wrong things,” says the team. “Or, even if they have been doing the right things, they haven’t been doing them consistently for long enough. You spend with your hard-earned cash, follow the fad diet for a week or two, realise it hasn’t worked as promised, and begin to think the same is true of everything. Then, you hire a personal trainer only to have them tell you what you already know deep down, but didn’t really want to do because it takes time, effort and consistency: that is, eat a calorie-controlled diet of nutrient-rich, real foods and exercise regularly.”

Ditch the fad diets

If you’re reading this and nodding your head a little while grabbing that little “stubborn” pouch of fat on your belly, then you’ve probably fallen into the same trap as everyone else. And, it’s an easy trap to fall into. There are so many celebrity-endorsed diets, fads and miracle plans out there promising to rid you of your insecurities in record time.

“Quite often, this route promises some form of lighting-fast result. To do that, it’s usually a case of malnourishment and bringing calories down so low that both body fat and muscles are lost to give the illusion of progress,” says the team. “But, this is likely to affect you physically, mentally and emotionally. Eventually, you will crash and burn, and just relapse back to your old habits. The problem with everything you’ve tried before is that you have tried to take ‘the easy way out’. Unfortunately, there are no easy routes through this.”

Getting into a consistent small-calorie deficit and eating good food for the long-term are key. The personal trainers at U.P. suggest making some strategic dietary changes that, combined with exercise, will work wonders. These include:

• eating three to five meals per day, depending on your appetite;

• trying not to overeat in single sittings and doing your best to spread the meals out;

• eating a handful of protein from varied sources at each meal; any kind of animal protein will usually be your best option;

• adding half a plate of green vegetables, splashed with some colour;

• adding a handful of carbs like rice, pasta or potatoes after exercising; and

• adding a little “good fat” from nuts, oils and avocados, especially if your energy is dropping.

“When you pile up a plate full of nutrients,” the trainers add, “your body will feel safe and healthy, your muscles will be fuelled, your systems will be optimised and your metabolism will fire up. Once this happens, you’ll begin to lose fat quickly, perform better and feel great while doing it.”

Consistency is key

The body needs to reach a point of “relative health” before it loses fat, and that takes time. If you jump from diet to diet, never really laying a consistent baseline, you’ll always fail.

That being said, you must do something long enough to allow it to work. This means consistently doing the right thing, even if you think it’s not working at first.

“Get things organised, create a routine, build new habits and your body will thank you for it,” says the U.P. team.

This is what Ultimate Performance Singapore is all about: personal training programmes that are effective in their simplicity. Their aim is to offer tailored support and accountability based on your individual goals, the timeframe you’re working toward, and with a focus on education and developing positive habits that are sustainable, so you’ll be empowered to lead a healthier lifestyle with confidence.