A common question that I get from a lot of new clients is “how do I lose that extra belly fat?” Everyone wants a toned and tight belly and mid-section, and I’ve got good news and bad news.

The bad news is that you cannot spot reduce where you lose fat. Most people know this but still get wrapped up doing crunches and weird things on the swiss ball in attempts to trim that belly fat away. Sorry folks, you can do crunches until you are blue in the face. Then you’ll just be blue in the face and probably have awful posture. Okay, anyway…

Your body is a unit, things work together and as much as we all want to “trick” our bodies, it won’t happen. When you exercise and eat right, you mobilize fat and eventually burn it for fuel and energy. Wherever you have the highest concentration of fat cells will take the longest to break down and lose just because there is more of it.

So, that’s the bad news but it’s only bad if you REALLY love doing crunches. If not, then let’s move on to the good news. Just like everything in life, you’ll have to put in a little work to get the results but it will be well worth it. Here are the top three things you MUST do if you want to lose belly fat and create a trim, athletic looking body. These things will ensure that you are in fact losing fat all over, and you are creating a rapid metabolism that burns fat while you are not working out (awesome, huh?)

#1 way to lose extra fat around your belly and mid-section: Eat a healthy diet. A healthy diet consists of 5-6 small meals and snacks per day, always eating breakfast, and having fruits, veggies, lean proteins, low fat dairy, whole grains and nuts as the staples to your nutrition plan. Drink 1/2 of your body weight (in pounds) per day (in ounces) to ensure proper hydration and mobilization of fat. If you starve yourself or gorge yourself, say goodbye to a trim mid-section because either your metabolism is going to slow down to a snail’s pace or you are just constantly storing excess calories.

#2 way to lose belly fat and trim your mid-section: Strength training. This is by far the BEST way to boost your metabolism to create a furnace effect where your body is burning while you are not working out. Get involved in a metabolic strength training program which will combine large movements into complexes so you are moving from one exercise to the next. (ex: squat, push up, stair sprints, kettlebell swings) This type of training will elevate your heart rate, pump up all major muscles to burn more calories, and is much more fun and functional than sitting on a machine or using the treadmill for a jog. You will burn a ton of calories during the workout but you are also going to kick start your metabolism so that you are burning calories like crazy after the fact. Many studies today are showing up to 36 hours of “afterburn” with a properly designed workout.

#3 way to lose belly fat: Interval training instead of slow, steady cardio. This type of training has a similar effect to the metabolic strength work I just talked about. It’s not nearly as good for building lean muscle but will help you burn a lot more calories, raise your metabolism and also strengthen your heart and lungs. The idea behind this is that you work hard for a set interval (ex: sprint for 1 minute) and then recover for a set interval (ex: walk for 1 minute) to recharge your body and give you energy to complete the next set while still working. This is much more effective than just running for 3 miles.

If you are looking to trim your mid-section and lose that extra few pounds of belly fat, stick to the basics and avoid the crunches and tricks on the ball. Sure you’ll burn a few calories but if you don’t create an efficient metabolism and fuel it with healthy foods, you will be slowing your progress exponentially.

Make sure you are integrating these factors in your fitness training program. You’ll see amazing results quicker than you ever imagined, and you’ll actually have more fun. Keep checking back to Greg’s blog for awesome fitness tips and motivation!

1.  Set Goals. There is a saying that “What gets measured, gets done”.  Measuring out your goals and tracking your progress goes far when trying to reach a certain weight loss, income level, or anything else you want to achieve.

2. Join a Group or Get a Partner. I have seen a lot of people come and go in the past 10 years, but one thing that always seems to make people stick around longer and get where they want is having a partner or participating in a group exercise workout.  It makes sense.  This is one of the main reasons why I created bootcamps in Monmouth County.  You not only have a support system, but you also feel guilty if someone you know and like sees you fail or quit.  You also get 2 free weeks of bootcamp when you bring a friend along:)

3. Stop Worrying About Fat! Fat free foods won’t make you skinny.  They will make you a processed food eating junkie that feels terrible.  If you are going to point fingers and exclude someone, start excluding sugar more often.  The calories add up and don’t do much of anything for your body besides making your jeans tighter.

4. Learn from Your Past. Why didn’t you achieve that goal 3 months ago?  What did you do that didn’t work?  The worst thing you can do is to constantly make the same mistake over and over again.  It is said that ‘learning is a behavior change.  If your behavior doesn’t change, then you didn’t learn anything’.

5. Don’t Fail! It is said that there are only 2 reasons why you fail at anything. 1. You fail because of the thoughts that occupy your mind. These can be the negative words telling you ‘no’ or ‘can’t’ or that it’s too hard.  Stop listening to this crap!  2. You fail because of the people you surround and associate with. Remember the crabs?

I know these tips weren’t what you probably expected, but they are just as or more important any exercise or diet plan.