HOW I LOST LOWER BELLY FAT IN ONE MONTH, FAST
By tweaking a few elements, without changing my diet notably, without using any weights or a gym for that matter, and with proven results, I managed to lose the majority of my lower belly fat in about a month. My body is and will always be an evolving process, but I have seen drastic results by only modifying a handful of things.
Ah, the double edged sword of social media. It's a real, uh, you know... On one side, there is a minefield of everyone from models to fitness experts to celebrities and other successful career endeavors who seemingly have it all figured out. Either their bodies or minds appear to be impeccable and us common gals cannot replicate their expertise not matter how hard we try (not true!, by the way!). On the other side though, there are genuine people who are so transparent that we quickly realize every day isn't a walk in the park and great things can and are achieved through hard work.
Pro tip: For prosperous mental health, I recommend unfollowing any account you are comparing yourself against or who gives you anything less than genuine vibes. Let it be known though, there are people, the people I follow, who both have a mix of good and bad days and are admirably successful, talented, and inspirational. These are the ones we should all be modeling ourselves after and aspiring to replicate in many ways.
If we're all being honest, we do care how our bodies look. Let it be know this is a good thing: We care about what goes in our bodies, we keep up with our exercise, and we aim for positive mental health. So, how did I transform my life, really hammer down, and lose my lower belly fat?
As a brief background on my fitness, I've been active since the time I could crawl, literally. I began at the local YMCA doing toddler tots with my mom, went on to do swim lessons (I won't boast but I was the star leader in my swim classes), took on dance lessons (where I was the only kid in a t-shirt and leotard with no other bottoms...thanks mom and dad), continued gymnastics throughout my adolescence years, ventured into tennis throughout high school, and visited the gym on my own watch more times than I can count. Wowza. You'd think I look like freakin' Jillian Michaels. Nope. Not even close. Eventually I got burned out of every sport after several years, understandably so, but the one constant piece of my fitness that I have always enjoyed and cherished is working out by myself. Currently, I find myself working out at least 6 times a week because it boosts my endorphins and makes me truly inspired and ambitious in areas way beyond the four walls of the gym. Yes, it also makes me feel better about my body, but more than anything, it puts me in the right mental state for the day ahead. It's like a mind refresher.
About a year ago, I was going to the gym at least 5 times a week, doing either the elliptical and doing about 3 sets of ab exercises each time. I was seeing results, but not like I hoped. I was losing weight, but not toning and gaining muscle at the rate I thought I would. Mixing up the exercises and incorporating new ones helped, but still, I wasn't where I wanted to be. Pro tip: When you do the same gym routine over and over (and not necessarily everyday either, but enough times to where your body adapts!), your body plateaus. No matter how challenging the exercises are, your body eventually adapts and you will no longer be making progress, but rather maintaining the same or similar psychic.
Imagine your fitness routine being monitored on a linear graph. As you being new exercises and routines, your muscles are sore from new exposure to moves. The line on the graph shoots up. However, as you keep practicing the moves, much as you would if you were perfecting a yoga pose, your body learns how to adapt and eventually, your muscles sore and you've nearly perfected the move. In the same way, your body adapts to the gym routine you are practicing and your muscles are built up to their peak. Now, the line on the graph that resembled a mountain being climbed flattens out and extends horizontally. Your muscles has plateaued. This means, you constantly have to evolve your routine, incorporate new exercises, watch new workout videos, and incorporate those into your daily routine.
So, here is the moment you've all been waiting for — Here's all the things I did to transformed my body in the last month:
Repetition: For starters, I stopped doing my mundane routine. Instead, I incorporated the stationary bike. Trust me, you burn calories so quickly on it!
Find New Workouts: I searched for new and engaging fitness experts to replicate their workouts after my cardio session. I quickly picked up new exercises and engaging sets, all in fun workout.
You Are What You Eat: I found fresh, wholesome vegan blogs and social media channels to follow. This is important because I enjoy cooking rather quick (1 hour total) dinners with whole foods (meaning I rarely use mock meats apart from tempeh and tofu, I reach for whole grains, healthy fats with no additives/GMO, and I'm on the lookout for recipes that don't require hard-to-find ingredients). Of course, I make exceptions, but I really do feel best when I stick to a diet full of plant-based (read it again, plant-based, not just vegan) food!
F-O-R-M: Hands down, no question, when I finally learned precisely how and when to engage my muscles, my body began transforming rapidly. This is the single most important thing I've done and it has changed my stomach drastically, as well as my arm and leg muscles. Please, please please... if you don't do anything else, learn the proper form to engage your muscles. Watch video tutorials and really take the time to learn how to properly engage your muscles. Make sure you are putting your mind to the muscle, really engaging the muscle(s) you are targeting, and feel the burn. You won't be at the gym too long (1-2 hours I imagine), so do it right! If you don't feel the burn, you aren't doing the exercise right, and you are wasting your time at the gym. Maybe that was harsh, but it's true! Really push yourself during your entire workout, feel the pain, and you'll quickly reap the benefits. You can do it!
HIIT: I finally tired HIIT workouts, and oh my, am I hooked. I swear by them. Two to three times a week, I will turn my TV on to YouTube and jump into a HIIT workout typically followed by either an ab, leg, and/or arm strength workout. It's incredibly harder than it looks, too! It appears as though it wouldn't burn many calories nor would you feel the burn, but trust me, you feel it throughout and you will burn anywhere from 300-500 calories depending on the length and how much you engage your muscles.
I'm certainly not a fitness expert, but I have learned some wise tricks along the way, especially recently that have translated into quick results. I've been following a plant-based diet for a year and a half, and while I have certainly fine-tuned my healthy eat habits rather recently, I can say that I feel so powerful marrying a wholesome diet with empowering workouts. Honestly, the best thing you can do for your body is engage your muscles, put your mind to the muscle and push hard to the end.
On another note, you cannot spot reduce weight. Let me say it louder for the people in the back: You cannot spot reduce weight. Weight loss is an all-over process. What you can do is follow up cardio with an ab/leg/arm exercise(s) and target desired areas to build muscle. So, if you don't take anything else from this post, hear me out: Eat a wholesome diet, mix up your workouts every day, and truly engage those targeted muscles with each move you make.
What are your tried and true fitness motives or routines? Let me know! I'm always so interested in learning what tools others use to reap the most benefits from the gym.
