It’s a question/statement I hear time & time again at Bootcamp. And if I’m being honest, it’s the area of my body I’m still not 100% happy with, but I have made massive progress over the last 15 months.
Unfortunately there is not one way to target fat in a specific area, toning your body takes a combination of a balanced diet and regular exercise. This means that if you are just focusing on doing 50 sit-ups a day, you aren’t going to achieve what you are after.
Also, our bodies tend to change slightly over the course of a month with hormone levels fluctuating and the tendency to retain water at different times. This is normal! Some women experience water retention more than others and there are ways in which you can reduce this, such as avoiding salty foods and incorporating green tea and celery into your daily diet.
My dietary changes have had the biggest difference to how bloated I feel and look on a day to day basis and when I slip from my clean eating, the next day my tummy is screaming at me and is bloated and uncomfortable.
Here are some general tips that have helped me:
What To Do:
Eat a healthy balanced diet – Make sure that you are getting all the nutrients you need, without consuming more calories than you will use in a day.
Exercise regularly and mix it up – In order to shed and tone, you need to be exercising on a daily basis. The most effective way to achieve the results you are after is incorporating a number of different forms of exercise into your weekly regime, including weights and cardio as well as some core focused workouts.
Make sure you have some relaxation in your day – Stress is a huge factor when it comes to weight gain, so try to make time for a bit of relaxation. Try going for a quiet walk or put on your favourite tunes and have a boogie!
What To Avoid:
Skipping breakfast – This is a really important meal for getting your digestive system working, kick starting your metabolism and also fuelling you with the energy needed to get up and start your day! As I have mentioned before, people who skip breakfast are more likely to become hungry quickly and opt for a quick unhealthy snack!
Skimping on sleep – Sleep is a really important when it comes to regulating your body’s hormones, building and repairing muscle, supporting the systems of the body and resetting your brain for the next day. Without sleep you will become stressed and fatigued, both of which will only contribute to weight gains.
Focusing on resistance training only – Core workouts are excellent for strengthening and toning your core and should be part of your weekly workout regime, however endurance training is key for burning off calories and helping you trim your tum.
As I often say to our Ladies, when you are doing high knees, you can feel your belly fat being moved!
Have a great day 🙂
Julie