Losing abdominal fat has become a very difficult task for many people. However, more often than not, they are trying to fix the problem the wrong way or with the wrong mindset. An example of this is targeted fat reduction, where some people believe that crunches will instantly burn fat, and only burn fat, around the abdominal region. This is pretty wrong, and what I’m going to tell you is pretty proven and will help you achieve your fitness goals.

To lose belly fat, you need to consume fewer calories than you burn. That being said, if you eat 2,000 calories a day and burn 1,900 calories, then you are gaining 100 calories of fat per day. It is believed that 3,000 – 3,500 calories equals 1 pound of fat, so by eating an extra 100 calories a day, you would be gaining a pound of fat almost every month. That’s pretty scary to think about. However, if you eat 1,900 calories a day and burn 2,000 calories a day, you are losing fat. In about a month, you will weigh a pound less. Obviously, a pound a month is not good for those who want quick results, so let’s go over some quicker, still healthy ways to lose belly fat.

Cardio is a great way to help burn calories, and by burning calories, burn fat. Don’t go out and run tens of miles a day though, because that won’t help your overall goal. To lose belly fat the right way, you need to maintain around 30 minutes to an hour of cardio 5 days a week. 30 minutes sounds pretty reasonable, and eventually it becomes easier to stick to.

Performing sprints and “anaerobic” cardio is one of the best ways to keep your metabolism active while dieting. When you diet, your body realizes that it is losing fat stores and it panics. In this panic, you start to slow down your metabolism to help the body retain fat. Obviously, we don’t want that to happen, so doing sprints or “quick” cardio is quite helpful. After anaerobic exercise, your metabolism can increase for 72 hours! That’s a great way to lose weight!

Strength training. Strength training, such as bodyweight exercises or weight lifting exercises, are another great anaerobic activity you can do to keep your metabolism up while dieting, and it will keep your body toned. One of the biggest mistakes dieters make is that they just do cardio, burn muscle, and then walk around with a “skinny fat” body, which is a wasted, skinny body. You don’t want that, so strength training is the way to go.