Life would be so easy If only we could choose where to lose our body fat from or where we put it on.

You’ve probably been participating in sweaty HIIT classes every day, but it seems that your belly fat doesn’t want to abandon you, leaving you feeling unmotivated, frustrated and confused.

Here are my top tips to lose that stubborn belly fat:

  1. Sleep – Lack of sleep has become our worst enemy in the modern day. It can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes, depression and weight gain. Research shows that sleep is linked to the peptides that regulate appetite: elevation of ghrelin, the hormone which stimulates hunger and decreases leptin, the hormone that sends signals of hunger to the brain. This is why we crave for high fat and high carbohydrate foods – especially sugar.
  2. On vs Off – Stress, anxiety, and technology addiction is taking over our lives . Give yourself some time away from technology, put away your phone, ipad or laptop and instead, grab a book, listen to your favourite music, try meditation or something that makes you relaxed.
  3. Hydration – We usually underestimate the importance of water in our weight loss journey. Water regulates body temperature so it is crucial for your training. It helps the transportation of the nutrients around the body by breaking down the food and helping digestion. Continuous reduced water intake can lead to fatigue, headaches and digestive issues. Research also suggests that feelings of hunger are actually mistaken for mild dehydration, so before you have that snack, drink a glass of water and wait 15minutes to see if your hunger pang are still there – my guess is that they won’t be!
  4. Digestion – Toxins build up in the digestive tract due to poor digestion and can be a threat to your metabolism, due to the fact that the nutrients from your meals are not efficiently utilised. A few signs of a bad digestion are: bloating, belching and gas, nausea and vomiting, an acidic taste in your mouth, fullness during or after a meal, growling stomach, burning in your stomach or belly cramps. The first step towards an optimal digestion and to get you closer to your goal would be to adopt a healthy diet, chew your food more and close your mouth so no excess air is swallowed into your gut, which is known to be a key issue with bloating and wind.
  5. Exercise – Doing crunches and sit-ups until your lower back screams in pain won’t help and you just can’t spot reduce on certain areas. A good circuit of compound exercises will do, mix lower and upper body, high reps, heavy weights, with different variations depending on your body shape. This will help you regulate your blood sugar level also.

So follow these steps in your daily routine, create new healthy habits, be patient and most importantly be consistent.

Make small changes towards the bigger goal…. good luck!!