3 Steps to Lose Belly Fat

Are you exercising and eating well but still have stubborn belly fat? While we need some fat on our bodies to be healthy, too much fat around the midsection is unhealthy. Midsection weight is especially undesirable to health compared to weight on the hips and thighs. The goal should be to keep your waistline less than half your height in inches.

If you are already eating healthy and exercising but your midsection seems to hold on to those last ten pounds like a magnet, follow these three tips to get to the bottom of stress, clean out your main metabolic organ, and lose stubborn belly fat.

1. Reduce Stress
When under stress, your adrenal glands make cortisol, a hormone to help you deal with stress. Levels are naturally highest in the morning to get you going and provide energy. In healthy individuals, levels gradually taper off throughout the day until we fall asleep.

Those who experience stress during the day (or who exercise too late at night) can experience high cortisol levels too late in the day. This can lead to a feeling of being run-down, a poor mood, trouble sleeping, and extra weight especially around the midsection.

Many people have already realized the connection between stress and extra weight around the middle and are nodding along with this. However, cortisol isn’t all bad. Its role is to protect nerves under stress like oil to an engine. However, with prolonged stress, too much cortisol can backfire and cause negative effects instead. 

The nutrients pantethine and acetyl-L-carnitine help the liver metabolize fat and double as important nutrients for stress tolerance and mental clarity. Phosphatidylserine (PS) has been shown to balance cortisol response in your brain and prevent your adrenal glands from making too much in response to stress. PS can be used throughout the day or before exercise to offset the effects of excess cortisol. Supporting the adrenal glands with adaptogenic herbs is another way to support a healthy cortisol response. These herbs help your body adapt to the demands of stress.

2. Get Your Liver in Shape
A clean liver that metabolizes food easily is a key to having a flat stomach. To keep fat metabolism working well, following The 5 Rules of the Leptin Diet is crucial.

Rule #1: Never Eat After Dinner: Allow 11-12 hours between dinner and breakfast and finish eating dinner at least three hours before bed.
Rule #2: Eat Three Meals a Day, No Snacking: Allow 5-6 hours between your meals without snacks. You are supposed to get a snack between meals – but it should come from your liver.
Rule #3: Do Not Eat Large Meals: Always try to finish a meal when you are slightly less than full.
Rule #4: Eat a Breakfast Containing Protein: Protein is the single most important calorie that influences your metabolic rate. A high protein breakfast can increase your metabolism by up to 30 percent for as long as 12 hours!
Rule #5: Reduce the Amount of Carbohydrates Eaten: As long as there is a steady supply of carbohydrates, your body would rather burn carbs that fat.

Following The Five Rules of The Leptin Diet will help promote fat burning in the liver. Your liver, the main metabolic organ, is constantly breaking down fats. The liver is greatly affected by stress. Too much cortisol can decrease a protein in the liver called HES1 that activates enzymes that break down fat. Learn more about how to unclog your liver to lose abdominal fat. 

3. Sleep Better
Sleep is an optimal fat burning time. Even if you have started eating healthier and exercising, getting less than 7-8 hours of sleep can seriously undermine your weight loss efforts. When your body is sleep deprived it will seek energy with subconscious urges to eat caused by insulin imbalances. Plus, a lack of sleep raises cortisol levels. When fat burning in the liver is turned off by excess cortisol combined with the extra urge to eat, it is the perfect recipe for weight gain around the middle.

If you want to enhance your weight loss efforts by supporting deep, restorative sleep, a variety of nutrients can improve your relaxing neurotransmitters and promote more restful sleep. Magnesium is one of the most important nutrients to promote relaxation and deep sleep. GABA, one of our neurotransmitters that promotes healthy sleep rhythms and relaxation, is activated by magnesium as well as l-theanine, passion flower extract, and lemon balm. The relaxing amino acids glycine and taurine are helpful for enhancing relaxation further. Melatonin is a hormone that promotes sleepiness and is also helpful for many people when taken before bed.

If you have been exercising and eating healthy but your midsection is still a concern to you, then follow these 3 easy steps to help your body burn that belly fat! Practicing stress management techniques like yoga, walking, prayer or meditation along with incorporating stress management supplements will help take your physique to the next level. The only thing to lose is the belly fat!