The complete guide to lose belly fat for Men (2021)

As you walk by a street or scrolling through your social media, you must have noticed that it is common to have a hanging belly but there is nothing to worry about as long as you’re working on bettering yourself and taking measures to deal with your belly fat and overall body fat. 

It is quite understandable that people who define themselves as this is how we are going to remain the rest of our life, as they have been guided in the way that decreasing your mid section takes a huge amount of investments and efforts. However, this is not true. There are a lot of misconceptions out there and the most famous one is ‘the only way to get rid of your belly fat is by taking a magic pill’.  Some people often look at themselves in the mirror and see their belly hanging which further puts them into more stress.

 

There is nothing to worry about, it’s common and you can easily get rid of belly fat and overall body fat with proper guidance, method and technique that you can start implementing into your daily life.

 

In this guide, we will go through in detail and discuss the risk involved in men for being overweight, the foods and exercises that would help, calories and macronutrients, body type, how your sleep play a vital role, how you can lose your belly fat and get in the best shape which you always desire. That’s obvious it won’t happen overnight. You will need to put in some work, staying consistent, dedicated towards your goal and most importantly staying accountable.

 

Let’s go through some of the concerns that may accompany being overweight and having belly fat.

EXCESSIVE BELLY FAT IS A RISK

If your body fat is excessive and you fall under an obese which is 25% and 

greater body fat, the chances are that

 there are some risk involved and which can affect a person health at a later 

stage in life. It might not be noticeable in the short run but can have a huge impact later in your life. Certain measures and steps must be taken to reduce belly fat. An obese person is more likely to develop illness symtoms if no step is taken. 

 

THE DANGER INVOLVED WITH BELLY FAT

Cardiovascular disease, Insulin Resistance, Type 2 Diabetes, Colorectal Cancer, Sleep Apnea, and High Blood pressure

Yes, you read that right. Research shows that extra fat around your belly can be poor for your heart health and can lead to strokes. If you’re not doing anything for reducing your belly fat, developing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes can be something one should be worried about. It has also been found that men who have a great amount of belly fat tend to have higher blood pressure levels. Excessive abdominal fat for men can be a bad sign and can tend to develop cancer. Obesity in men can also develop sleeping disorders. 

 

Hence, we have gone through some of the medical conditions that one can face due to excessive body fat, but the reality is to stay calm. There is a way out of everything. You just need to take a step and therefore you’ll see your body doing wonders and getting in the best shape.

 

SET REALISTIC GOALS

Before you even begin on a fat loss plan the main thing you need to do is to define objectives for yourself. This objective could be to lose 30 lbs or more. Getting a lean physique, getting rid of belly fat and getting those abs. Regardless of whatever your goal is, whether you want to probably lose a specific number of pounds or to simply accomplish a specific body look, you should set a sensible time span to accomplish this. Setting realistic goals and allotting yourself a certain time frame is really important as you’ll be accountable to work on it.

 

MAKE A PROPER SCHEDULE

Make important pointers or even write it down so that you remember that why you started this fat loss journey it could be either you want to see a better version of you, or you want to challenge your body to see what it is capable of doing or you want to see yourself adopting a healthy and active lifestyle, or looking more leaner or stronger, or to impress someone. It can be any scenario but our main focus should be on interpreting a healthy and active lifestyle, and to live a happy life that one possibly can by taking necessary steps. When you get healthy, active, and passionate about it you would get all the other benefits of it to you as a gift. People would admire you for the hard work you have put in and it would motivate them to reduce their belly fat and to get in the best shape.

 

KEEP A FITNESS JOURNAL

It is always important to keep a track of your fitness journey. Before a day or two, when you’re about to get on your new road, it is always important to weight yourself and to keep your body measurements with you so therefore when you check your progress in couple of days you’ll see yourself making a slight progress and indeed it can be very motivational for you to keep moving forwards. The body measurements and body weight can be either done once after 2 weeks or once a month. Keeping a journal would make sure that you are accountable and you have something

 

Not to forget, list down the workouts for the whole week, and prepare your meals for the week ahead, and what days you can binge eat. etc This all would be covered later in the article.

 

Lets jump into body types!

 

DETERMINING YOUR BODY TYPE

When attempting to lose fat, body type is vital to both eating routine and workout training. Distinctive body types will require shifting degrees of calories, macronutrients, and workout volumes and durations. Before you can decide the amount to eat and how much to workout, you should know your body type.

 

Endomorph

Endomorph has a round head, an enormous, round midsection, huge inside organs comparative with his size, rather short arms and legs with fat upper arms and thighs, however slim wrists and lower legs. Under ordinary conditions the endomorph individual has a lot of fat, yet he isn’t just a fatty individual, whenever starved, he stays an endomorph, just more slender.

 

 

Ectomorph

An ectomorph is a regular thin person. Ecto’s have a light form with little joints and slender muscle.Shoulders will in general be slight with little width. Ectomorphs have small bone structure, small shoulder, tiny waist, fast metabolism and tend to find it harder to put on weight.

 

Mesomorph

A mesomorph has an enormous bone design, huge muscles and a normally athletic build. Mesomorphs are the best body type for working out. They find it very simple to acquire and get in shape. They are normally solid which is the ideal stage for building muscle. They have naturally nice athletic and muscular looks, easy to put on weight and easy to lose weight, they are genetically strong and easy to put on lean muscle.

 

Now, you must have figured out your body type (Endomorph) and structure. Let’s jump into an important category which consists of calories and macronutrients.

WHAT ARE CALORIES AND THE MACRONUTRIENTS

The vast majority know about calories yet barely anyone knows precisely what they are. Calories are units of measure alloted to nourishments to show how much energy it contains. Your body uses a specific number of calories as energy daily. Hence, if you consume calories above than your daily maintenance calories, you’ll start to put on weight as it would be stored as a fat, where on the other hand if you consume less calories than your maintenance calories, the body would start to drop the weight and this is how one can focus on reducing overall body fat and belly fat.

 

Coming to the macronutrients, there are 3 types of macronutrients: protein, carbohydrate and fat. 1 gram of protein = 4 calories, 1 gram of carbohydrate = 4 calories, one gram of fat = 9 calories.

 

Protein

Proteins are amazingly significant particles to the human body. Various proteins have various capacities relying upon the kind. Some are utilized as contractile proteins which permit muscles to lift weight. Other proteins are compounds that cause substance responses inside the body, and a few proteins can be utilized for energy. When on a fat loss diet, protein is extremely important for maintaining muscle.

 

Fat

Healthy fats are extremely important in our daily eating routine. They play a vital role in proper functioning of the body. Even if you’re on a fat loss diet, you should never skip healthy fats. For men, dietary fats is also proven to raise up the testosterone levels in the body. 

 

Carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are separated into sugars inside the body to create glucose. Glucose is an essential fuel source that fills the mind, muscle tissue, and organs. Glucose is changed over into glycogen and put away inside muscle tissue where it is held until it is fit to be utilized, for example, during working out. Carbohydrate short for carbs are extremely important before working out as it plays a main role while training and keeping the body fuelled and energized.

 

Now that you’re aware of three macronutrients, how much protein, carbs and fats should one consume everyday inorder to decrease their body fat and belly fat? The answer is it totally depends on a person’s body stats and body type. 

 

HOW MUCH PROTEIN FOR REDUCING BODY FAT AND BELLY FAT?

 

• Endomorph – Body weight X 1.1 – 1.4 grams
• Ectomorph – Body weight X 1.0 – 1.2 grams
• Mesomorph – Body weight X 1.1 – 1.3 grams

 

HOW MUCH FAT FOR REDUCING BODY FAT AND BELLY FAT?

 

Endomorph Body Weight and Intake

• 100-150 lbs = 50-55 grams per day
• 150-200 lbs = 55-60 grams per day
• 200 lbs. and over = 60-65 grams per day

Ectomorph Body Weight and Intake

• 100-150 lbs = 45-50 grams per day
• 150-200 lbs = 50-55 grams per day
• 200 lbs. and over = 55-60 grams per day

Mesomorph Body Weight and Intake

• 100-150 lbs = 40-45 grams per day
• 150-200 lbs = 45-50 grams per day
• 200 lbs. and over = 50-55 grams per day

 

HOW MUCH CARBOHYDRATE FOR REDUCING BODY FAT AND BELLY FAT?

You have just determined how much protein and fat you will be burning-through consistently. The lone thing left to do is sort out the number of carbs you will eat consistently. This one is straightforward. Whatever calories are left over after you determine your protein and fat can be used for carbohydrate. Simply take the absolute calories that are left and divide by 4. This will reveal to you the number of carbs you can eat on a daily basis.

 

FOOD CHOICES FOR REDUCING BELLY FAT AND OVERALL BODY FAT

Now that you know how much protein, fat and carbohydrate that you’ll be consuming on a daily basis. The next question is what food sources can be good for you to reduce belly fat and overall body fat. We would go step by step of what macronutrients are rich in different sources. 

 

Protein Sources:

When you’re trying to reduce belly fat and overall body fat, a significant amount of protein intake is a must daily. Protein would help you maintain your lean muscle while focusing on reducing body fat and belly fat. The goal is to reduce fat and not to reduce weight. What I mean by that is not to shrink the muscle mass and only focus on reducing fat in the body.

 

Some great food sources of protein includes:

• Chicken Breast
• Milk (skim or low fat)
• Cheese (low fat)
• Turkey Breast
• Lean Beef
• Cottage Cheese
• Egg Whites
• Greek Yogurt
• Fish Salmon
• Beans

• Whey Protein
• Casein Protein 

 

If you’re unable to satisfy your daily protein requirement through food sources there is always an option of supplement. Supplement is also an easy way when a person is on a busy schedule, it mainly just requires putting a scoop of protein and mixing it with water or milk. It is just a substitute, if you’re able to satisfy it through daily food intake then supplement is not required. On the other hand, one should not rely on just supplements to hit their daily protein goals. Food sources are more important and contain other health benefits as well.

 

Healthy Fat Sources:

Healthy Fat sources are really important when on a fat loss plan. Focus on eating more unsaturated fats. Body cannot produce some of the fatty acid so they have to be consumed through a diet. Lets list down the healthy fat options:

 

• Olive Oil
• Virgin Oil
• Coconut Oil
• Fat Yogurt
• Flax Seeds
• Almonds
• Walnuts
• Cheese
• Avocados
• Dark Chocolate
• Peanut Butter
• Fatty Fish (salmon)
• Egg Yolk

 

There are many options which you can choose from and start incorporating into your diet. It has been shown that saturated fats also have a role in your body and problem only arises when consumed in excessive amounts. However, trans fat has no role in the body and therefore should be avoided at any cost.

 

Carbohydrate Sources:

Carbohydrates are indeed a good thing when you’re trying to trim down your body fat and belly fat. They are important to keep you consistent and active throughout the day. A breakfast including sufficient carbs can keep you fuller for longer time and give you enough energy for daily tasks. Two types of carbs include complex carbs and refined carbs. Refined carbs tend to quickly spike up the blood sugar levels. Complex carbs are slow and gradually spike in blood sugar levels. We should focus on complex when on a diet for fat loss. Let’s look into the food choices that we can add in our diet.

 

• Sweet potatoes
• Brown Rice
• Oatmeal
• Vegetables
• Beans
• Brown Bread
• Barley
• Corn
• Fruits

 

All of the above mentioned items are extremely important, vegetables and fruits are great sources for losing belly fat and overall fat. Oatmeal can be great in breakfast and can keep you fuller for a longer period of time. Sweet potatoes can be a great choice in the snack.

 

WHAT SHOULD BE THE EATING TIMINGS?

                     

 

Eating timings can be crucial when it comes to trimming your belly fat as food timings have different impacts on the body. 

 

Breakfast is Important

Breakfast should be considered as the most important meal of the day and it should be a healthy and balanced meal consisting of protein, fat and carbs. It is your first meal of the day and you need that energy and fuel for your body to keep going throughout the day. So Yes, if you’re getting on a fat loss plan then never skip breakfast. As your body needs those important nutrients back first thing in the morning. A healthy start of the day can even lift your mood up and can make you handle your daily task with much ease.

 

Pre-workout Meal

A pre-workout meal 1.5 to 3 hours before going for a workout session should be on your mind. This would give you enough energy and fuel up the body to keep performing your workout with a good pace and not feeling drained out. Your pre-workout meal should consist of protein and carbs which would get into your bloodstream at the time you’re about to perform the workout. The glucose in the bloodstream would be used as an energy tool for you to keep your workout performance to the maximum.

 

Post-workout Meal

After a good workout session some of your muscle proteins get torn and damaged, so it is important to get a rapid quick protein shake right after your workout. The body tries to repair those muscle proteins so the food choices can be extremely important after a workout. Taking a protein scoop can be fast digesting and can have your body to immediately start the repairing process. One should not only rely on a post workout protein shake. Not to forget, consuming a post workout meal after 1-2 hours of workout, food consisting of protein, and carbs. Healthy option would be chicken breast with sweet potatoes. Chicken breast satisfies your protein intake and sweet potatoes as healthy carbs. Healthy carbs after training would help in the recovery process. Moreover, many people think that consuming fat after working out would slow down the body healing process, although it’s true to some extent but it would not reduce its benefits. It has been shown that consuming whole milk after working out was more effective in muscle growth than consuming skim milk.

 

Before Sleeping

It has been shown that for men, while sleeping the body releases testosterone and muscle growth hormones. Adding protein intake before bed is extremely important. For this time, a slow digesting protein is the best option to keep supplying amino acids to the body while you’re asleep. Casein protein and cottage cheese can be great options here. Moreover, healthy fats also take time to digest. Therefore, adding some fats before sleeping can be great as well like almonds is a good idea.

HOW TO EXACTLY KNOW ABOUT YOUR PROTEIN, FAT AND CARBS IN EACH MEAL?

Protein

Deciding how much protein intake you should be having in each meal is not a problem. E.g, if you’re supposed to eat 200 gram of protein everyday and you’re taking 5 important meals of the day simply divide it by 5. So, the answer you’ll get is 40 grams of protein in each meal.

Fat

Deciding how much fat intake you should be having in each meal is simple. E.g, if you’re supposed to eat 63 gram of fat everyday according to your body weight as you are on a fat loss plan and you decide to take fat in the morning and evening snack and before bed. Simple, divide 63 by 9 So, the answer you’ll get is 7 grams of fat. Now, the timing of consuming fat is crucial, as fat takes a longer time to digest. So, taking fats, in the morning and before bed can be a great choice. 

Carbohydrate

Deciding on carbs timings should be significant. We want to make sure that we consume carbs at the timings where it doesn’t affect our fat loss journey. Taking out an exact number for carbs is really easy. Once, you have figured out your protein and fat, the remaining calories can be used for carbs. E.g, the leftovers are 560 calories, now take this number and divide it by 4. Then the answer you get is 140 gram. Now, the right timings for taking carbs are at breakfast, pre workout meal, post workout shake and post workout meal. You can either decide to divide 140 gram by 4 essential timing of the carbs, where you’ll get 35 gram for each meal including refined carbs of shake. Or, either you can save up 15-20% of the complex carbs for the day, whenever you feel like consuming.

SUPPLEMENTATION

Whey protein can be a great choice to satisfy your daily protein intake easily. As it does not require much of an effort. Take a scoop and mix it with water or milk however you prefer. It would help to boost your metabolism which further helps in reducing belly fat. Protein would also help maintain your lean muscle. Whey protein can be a great plus with a healthy flexible 

diet, and exercise.

THE IMPORTANCE OF EXERCISE 

Exercising is extremely important when trying to shred fat from belly area and overall body fat. Regular exercise can lift up your mood. The body releases chemicals called endorphins, which makes you feel energetic, happy and also reduces your day to day stress. When you add exercise in your daily routine it also helps you to boost your confidence and makes you sleep better. Exercise is also proven to reduce blood pressure levels. But most importantly exercise will help you reduce your body fat percentage as well as reduce your belly fat and make you fit, healthy and smart.

 

WHICH EXERCISE ARE IMPORTANT FOR REDUCING BELLY FAT

Honestly speaking, spot reduction is not possible. A person can not target a specific area of body fat reduction. Basically, when you’re on a fat loss plan, you’ll be losing overall body fat and also belly fat. Although training different muscle groups, can alternating days can be a good idea to reduce belly fat as well as put on lean muscle. 

 

CARDIO

You must have heard that cardio is the only way to get rid of belly fat and unfortunately it is not true. There are a lot of misconceptions and myths out there. Although cardio is great for your cardiovascular health, fat loss and strength. But one should not completely rely on cardio when focusing on reduction of belly fat and overall body fat. Adding cardio 4-5 days a week can be a great idea but it totally depends on your other training routine and also on your activity level.

 

HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING (HIIT)

This is what I call the boss for fat loss. Adding high intensity interval training 4-5 days a week can be a huge plus for your fat loss goal. Exercises like burpees, lunges, squats, jumping jacks can be a great calorie burner and when performed in a correct manner with little rest time can be a great challenge but its rewards are amazing. 

A person who has been active for a quite a while can easily do HIIT workouts 4 times a week for 30-45 mins. A person who is recently starting can take it slow by 2 days a week for HIIT training but also add cardio like jogging, running, brisk walk etc. Slowly and gradually they would improve with time and perform for more time duration as they build more strength, stamina and endurance.

 

Weight Training

Many people think that weight training is to get muscle mass, is for hard athletes and people who want to reduce weight just need cardio. This is also the biggest misconception. Weight training is crucial when reducing belly fat and overall body fat. The strength training would help you to keep burning your calories after your workout is complete and even when you’re asleep. Strength training is also great for boosting your metabolism which further helps in quick fat loss. Exercises like deadlifts, weighted squats, leg press, barbell shoulder press are tremendous exercise to build up strength and maximize fat loss.

 

Ab Workout

Walk into a gym and you’ll see people training abs only. If you have little talk with them, what you’ll find out is that they want abs only and the only way to get abs is just draining yourself with an ab workout for an hour. No doubt, you’re doing ab training but this is not the way to get abs. If you want to see your abs visible and prominent, you would need to reduce your body fat which is covering your abs and the only way to do this is by proper diet, cardio and weight training. 

 

HOW TO SCHEDULE THE WORKOUT ROUTINE

For beginners, they should start it slow by adding 2-3 high intensity workout sessions per week for 30 mins followed by cardio. Weight training can be added for 1-2 days per week.

 

For Moderates, they should focus on 3-4 high intensity workout sessions per week for about 45 mins, followed by 30 mins cardio. Weight training 3 days a week with keeping in mind to train each muscle group. They can either train legs with shoulders, or arms with back, or chest with arms, or simply push exercises one day and pull exercises the other day. Push exercise can include chest press, while the pull exercise can be lat pull downs. Ab training can be either done at the end for 10 mins 2 days a week. 

 

For Advanced Lifters, High intensity workout 5 days a week for 45 mins followed by weight training each muscle separately with heavy weights for assigned duration and reps. Ab training 3-4 days a week to strengthen the core. Cardio session 5 days a week for a minimum 30 mins jogging with sprints.

 

Now that you fully understand how you can reduce overall body fat and belly fat. As you make progress, there would be time where you’ll need to readjust your diet, training techniques as you would be dropping weight so the maintenance calories and deficit calories would need to be changed. It’s time to get started and shed the extra pounds.