Once you've made significant progress into your fat loss journey and shred considerable pounds, you'll have to deal with the most frustrating aspect of fat loss: losing that last bit of fat, especially around your belly. You already know what it takes to lose fat consistently - You stay on a caloric deficit diet and workout regularly, however, all this science-backed information ceases to work once you start to stagnate. This is where most people give up when they don't see results for all the hard work they do and get back to their old routine.
This article will discuss the five best tips to burn that last bit of belly fat and unlock your true physique.
Adjust Your Calorie Intake
As you lose fat, your metabolism slows down to compensate for the fact that your body is supporting a smaller frame. You need to further adjust your calories and create a bigger caloric deficit than before to continue losing fat without hitting a plateau. Readjusting your calorie intake would again put your body in a deficit needed to burn fat. You can estimate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) using Epicvita’s online BMR Calculator to determine your new calorie intake.
One thing that you need to take care of is to never drop your calories too steep, otherwise, you may suffer from intense deprivation, muscle loss, and a perhaps stopped metabolism. With a 250-calorie-a-day deficit, you might be able to achieve a sustainable 200-300g of fat loss per week. Accept the fact that fat loss becomes harder for everyone, and it's just not you who's been on a plateau. Therefore, be patient and consistent with the process and results will follow.
Make Essential Dietary Changes
Getting down to a low body fat percentage is much more than restricting calories. To eliminate the last bit of belly fat, you need to make certain dietary changes in your daily routine. Reduce portion sizes even more, and reduce your sugar intake to a minimum, eliminate processed carbohydrates, alcohol, and saturated fat from your diet. As you will be following a pretty restrictive diet plan, eating out at restaurants and in social circumstances can be a difficult experience for you. The amount of protein you consume may also need to be increased somewhat to help support the extended time you spend at the gym creating lean muscle mass, which will improve your metabolic burn and help you maintain a ripped physique.
Increase Your Intensity
As you go deep into your fat loss journey, you need to increase your workout intensity to lose that stubborn fat. Strength training should continue to be the main focus of your routine, and you should try to lift as heavy as you can or increase the overall volume. Either way, constantly try to do progressive overload to maintain or even build lean muscle mass. If you need to know more about including progressive overload into your plan, then read our much-loved article, A Definitive Guide on Progressive Overload. A progressive overload will help you to cross over any plateau you are currently facing or feeling stagnated. The more lean muscle mass you carry, the easier it gets to shred that last bit of fat. Other than strength training, you also need to add cardio or HIIT sessions in your weekly routine to burn some extra calories and hasten your fat loss results. We already have blog on High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). How Does It Work? What Are The Benefits? Go through the article to understand how and why it’s necessary to concentrate on the intensity of your training sessions.
Track Your Progress
Just staring at yourself in the mirror will not provide you with an indication of the amount of improvement you are currently making. To keep track of your progress, you must make clear-cut and regular assessments. Keeping track of your body weight and body composition, documenting your body measurements, and snapping photos of yourself every week might help you achieve your goals more efficiently.
Recovery is the Key
When you follow a caloric deficit diet for a long time, recovery becomes more and more challenging. You may constantly feel fatigued, have mood swings and won't be able to focus. This is all because your body misses out on many essential micronutrients because of being on a restricted diet. Therefore, it becomes essential for you to add a good multivitamin like Maximult from Epicvita to fulfil your essential vitamins and minerals needs without concerning your daily calories intake. Maximult is available for Men and Women.
The Bottom Line
You need to remember that fitness is a lifestyle and not a one-stop destination. You need to constantly keep improving and stay patient with your progress. You will face challenges and hit plateaus and giving up would feel like the easiest option. But if you keep striving, that is when the magic happens.
References
Harvard Health. (2019, June 25). Abdominal fat and what to do about it. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/abdominal-fat-and-what-to-do-about-it
Boaz, M., & Raz, O. (2015). Low Fat vs. Low Carbohydrate Diet Strategies for Weight Reduction: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Obesity & Weight Loss Therapy, 05(05). https://doi.org/10.4172/2165-7904.1000273
Stubbs, J. E., & Stubbs, T. C. T. (2021). How to lose weight well, according to How to Lose Weight Well. Significance, 18(1), 6–7. https://doi.org/10.1111/1740-9713.01481
