The problem of excess weight is one of the most pressing problems of our time.The cult of beauty existed in the ancient world, and since then only its canons have changed, but not a person's desire to look attractive.
Today, being slim is one of the obligatory aspects of external perfection.We are talking about both the figure as a whole and individual parts of the body.Many girls who want to have a thin waist complain about extra pounds on their stomach and sides.In addition, excess fat is often deposited strictly in these places, leaving slender arms, legs and even thighs.
You can get rid of the problem without resorting to drastic methods like liposuction, and you can get a toned tummy and beautiful abdomen at home by doing special exercises, watching your diet and leading an active lifestyle.We will talk about this in our article.
Causes of fat deposits in the waist area
There are people who believe that extra pounds are the result of a woman neglecting herself, but this is the exception rather than the rule.The reasons why fat begins to accumulate in the body are different, not always depending on the degree of care taken with one's appearance.But to get rid of these excessive deposits successfully, you must know where they came from.
Genetics.The tendency to be overweight may be due to a genetic predisposition.Extra pounds on the belly and sides often bother people with an “apple” body type.This type in itself implies a small difference in volume between the hips and the waist, the latter of which may require attention even without the presence of fat deposits.Each extra kilogram takes your figure further away from the much-desired ideal proportions.It is impossible to fight genetics, which is natural, but the “apple” figure can be successfully corrected with special exercises aimed at reducing the size of the waist.
Poor metabolism.This problem most often worries the age group of people.As we age, the body's metabolism slows down and this leads to excessive weight gain.It turns out that in youth, an excellent metabolism allows you to eat any harmful food and not gain a single gram, and a person gets used to this way of eating.But the older he gets, the more his metabolism slows down and fat deposits appear.Dealing with this problem is a little easier than dealing with being overweight due to a genetic predisposition.Normally, with poor metabolism, correcting your diet and strength training help, as it is known that physical activity can speed up the body's metabolism.
Sedentary lifestyle.If you lead an inactive lifestyle: you work a lot at the computer or just sit, you rarely go for walks, you do not do sports, physical exercise or other physical exercise, the risk of gaining excess weight increases significantly.The foods we consume are a source of energy for the body and, if the amount of calories received exceeds our consumption, the appearance of excess fat is almost inevitable.Of course, you can reduce the calorie content of your diet, but a sedentary lifestyle is harmful not only because of the problems of being overweight, so it is still recommended to include physical exercise in your daily routine.
Incorrect posture.The appearance of excess fat in the waist area is influenced by posture, however surprising it may seem.The human spine is the basis of the skeleton, which is the support of internal organs.To support the spine, which bears the main load during movement, the muscles must be in constant tone.Muscle weakness leads to the fact that the supporting function is partially transferred to adipose tissue.Therefore, the body is in no hurry to get rid of fat.Special exercises can help strengthen your back muscles, restore posture and allow you to get rid of extra pounds in the abdomen and sides.
Hormonal changes.With age, the amount of fat in a woman's body begins to increase in direct proportion to body weight.The reason for such changes is hormonal changes.However, it's not just age that can affect hormones.Menopause, pregnancy, childbirth, use of oral contraceptives and certain medications - all of these can alter hormone levels and cause excessive weight gain.
Poor nutrition.A quick snack on the run, excess carbohydrates in your favorite dishes, consumption of fast food and overeating contribute to the accumulation of fat in the body.Inadequate nutrition can cause slow metabolism, cause an enlarged stomach and poor absorption of food.All this often leads to problems with excess weight, fat deposits on the belly and sides.In these cases, body correction begins with establishing an adequate diet and choosing healthy foods and is supported by physical exercise to accelerate the burning of fat reserves.
Excess waste and toxins.Waste and toxins, often caused by bad habits like smoking and alcoholism, clog the body.Its excess interferes with metabolism, affects the metabolic rate and, consequently, the amount of fat deposits around the waist.Giving up bad habits, cleansing the body with proper nutrition, massage and exercise can help combat extra centimeters.
Stress and illness.Nervous shocks and stress often lead to increased levels of cortisol, a steroid hormone.Affects the amount of fat in the body.Excess hormone can lead to the accumulation of extra pounds.Several diseases also affect weight: diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure.If excess fat on the belly and sides is associated with the reasons described, weight loss should begin with a doctor's consultation, but not with physical training.
How to combat belly and flank fat
Losing weight is a long and laborious process.Do not believe diets and trainers that promise an ideal figure in just one month of training.Furthermore, once a result is achieved, it must be maintained, otherwise all the work risks being wasted.To get rid of excess fat more effectively, it is recommended to choose an integrated approach rather than focusing on a specific weight loss method.
Nutritional correction.As we discussed above, the number of calories you consume depends on what you eat and how often.Therefore, getting rid of extra pounds is almost always accompanied by a special diet.It is recommended to prepare a diet after consulting a specialist, focusing on the state of health and individual characteristics of the body.
General tips that can help with weight loss:
- drink more water.Allows you to cleanse the body of waste and toxins, alleviate the feeling of hunger and improve metabolism;
- remove fast carbohydrates from your diet.It is foods rich in them that tend to add extra centimeters to the waist;
- try to eat a balanced diet;
- try to limit your salt intake.Salt retains water in the body, thus interfering with normal metabolism and cleansing;
- eat in small portions.It is better to eat little and often than rarely, but several dishes at the same time.Fractional meals help prevent the stomach walls from stretching and ultimately affect the amount eaten.
Carrying out weight loss procedures.If possible, body wraps, massages and some other spa treatments can be an excellent help in combating excess weight.They aim to speed up blood flow, remove waste and toxins, and improve metabolism.Of course, it is impossible to completely get rid of fat with their help, but reducing your waist by a few centimeters is quite possible.
Increase physical activity.Playing sports or physical exercise, visiting gyms or simply exercising at home allows you to actively and successfully get rid of fat deposits.Physical activity forces the body to burn fat, helps improve metabolism, maintains muscle tone, which leaves the body more toned.You can do floor exercises on a mat, or exercise near your home on a sports field, or simply go for a run in the morning and evening.There are many options, just choose the most suitable one.
Exercises for weight loss
Physical activity is considered a popular and very effective way to combat extra pounds.Exercise not only allows you to actively burn fat reserves, but also helps to strengthen muscle tissue and improve immunity.Below we give examples of some of the most effective exercises for losing weight in the abdomen and sides.
Cheering.This is a great workout to strengthen your abdominal muscles.Together with proper nutrition, it can give amazing results.To perform the exercise, you need to lie on your back, bend your knees and fold your hands behind your head.This is the starting position.Next, you need to take a deep breath and lift your upper body off the floor.Exhalation must occur on the rise.Perform the exercise in 2-3 sets of 10 times.
Reverse push-ups.The training is similar to what we described above, but we do not work with the upper part, but with the lower part of the body.The starting position is the same: we lie on the mat on our back, bend our legs at the knees, feet on the floor, hands behind our head.When performing the exercise, we raise the bent legs, and then lift the lower back off the floor so that the knees move towards the chest.Inhale as you return to the starting position and exhale as you rotate.We repeat the exercise in 2-3 sets of 10 times.
Push-ups with legs raised.To perform them, you need to lie on your back on the mat and raise your straight legs perpendicular to the floor.This is the starting position.Then you need to lift your upper body off the floor and extend your hands towards your toes.Inhale as you return to the starting position and exhale as you perform a twist.It is recommended to repeat the exercise 10–15 times, 3 times in a row.
Oblique twists.During training, we lie on our backs on the mat, put our hands behind our head, bend our legs at the knees and raise them into the air.This is the starting position.Then lift your right shoulder off the floor and stretch your elbow towards your left knee.In this case, the left shoulder is on the floor and the right leg is straight but not touching it.We return to the starting position and repeat the exercise on the other side.We do 10–15 repetitions.
Side bends.To perform the exercise, you need to lie on your back on the mat, fold your hands behind your head, bend your legs at the knees, press them and lay them on one side.This will ensure that your shoulder blades are flat on the floor and that your hips touch your right or left side.This is the starting position.During the exercise, we lift our shoulders and shoulder blades off the floor and stretch forward.We inhale in the starting position and exhale as we rise.We repeat the exercise in 2-3 sets of 10 times.
Plank with turns.The plank is a popular exercise today.It aims to train several muscle groups at the same time.To assume the desired position, we lie on the floor face down, then lean on our elbows and lift our legs off the floor.Thus, it turns out that the entire body, except the arms, from the elbows to the palms and feet, is in the air.In this case, the neck, spine and legs must be aligned.In this position, the muscles in the abdomen, hips and lower back are very tense.We try to hold the plank for about 30 seconds and then turn our entire body to the side.The right elbow remains on the floor, the left arm is extended along the body, the back, neck and legs are still in a straight line.We also maintain the position for 30 seconds.
Plank with swivel.The exercise is similar to the previous one.However, in the starting position we do not rely on our elbows, but on our palms and we hold our body with our arms straight.When making a turn, we turn the body to the side and raise the free arm perpendicular to the floor.Hold each plank position for 30 seconds.
Side curves.Bending is one of the mandatory exercises when performing morning exercises and warming up in many sports.We stand in the starting position: feet shoulder-width apart, hands on our waists.We tilt to the right: we slightly turn our body, leaving our legs and hips motionless, we stretch our arms forward so that our back is parallel to the floor.We stay in this state for 15 seconds.We return to the starting position.We repeat the exercise on the other side.We make 15 passes on each side.
Twisted lungs.We stand, heels together, arms extended forward, parallel to the floor.This is the starting position.We take a big step forward with a squat - lunge.The second leg is left behind and placed on the toe.The back must remain straight.We return to the starting position and repeat the exercise with the other leg.We do 15 repetitions.
Vacuum.This is a fun exercise that focuses on breathing.Helps strengthen abdominal muscles.We stand, the abdominals are relaxed.We take a deep breath and then exhale.When exhaling, we tense and contract the stomach strongly.Hold the position for 15–30 seconds.We do 15 repetitions.Vacuuming can be performed several times a day;This exercise does not require a special room or equipment.
Raising legs on a chair.A simple workout that's great for your abs.We sit on a chair, keep our back straight, straighten our shoulders, lower our arms to the sides and place our palms on the seat.We keep our legs together.We take a deep breath and, as we exhale, we raise our legs and pull our knees as close to our chest as possible.At the same time, the back remains straight, the body does not lean forward.We maintain the position for 10 to 15 seconds, then we return to the starting position and repeat the exercise.We do 15 repetitions.
Walking.This is an excellent workout for those who cannot dedicate much time to exercises on the mat.Walking allows you to burn fat deposits.You need to take brisk walks for at least 30 minutes a day, preferably five times a week.If you walk less, the result will be practically zero.
Running.This is an alternative to walking.You can run fast or sprint.The first option is considered more effective in burning excess calories, but is only recommended for a prepared body.Otherwise, shortness of breath will quickly begin, and the unusual load on the body will bring more negative consequences than benefits.For beginners, running is suitable.Between runs, you can walk briskly to catch your breath and relax.
Swimming.If possible, it is recommended to visit the pool at least a few times a week.Swimming provides excellent exercise for the body, allowing it to get rid of excess fat.In addition to losing weight, exercise is useful because it allows you to improve metabolism, blood circulation, resistance and correct posture problems.
Helps in the fight against fat deposits
If you want to get rid of excess weight faster, you can not only switch to proper nutrition and exercise, but also turn to dietary supplements.Additionally, you can diversify your diet with nutritious shakes, protein bars and refreshing drinks.This is a great way to recharge your batteries and speed up the weight loss process!