Losing body fat, especially male belly fat is a highly rewarding quest. Not only will you look incredible, but you will have also have undergone a physical and mental process building mental strength, resilience and the ability to overcome the hurdles life throws at you, a win win in our books! Now, we’re not saying the process is easy or quick, but we are saying you can achieve your desired body fat level without male fat loss supplements or dramatic male weight loss.
Follow these five must do habits to reduce your body fat and keep it off!
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Track calories
Fat is essentially stored energy in the body, fat loss is dependent on a calorie deficit which encourages the body to use its stored energy (fat) to cancel out said deficit. Tracking your calorie intake can be eye opening and show you how many calories are being eaten on a daily basis. Alongside calorie intake, tracking calorie expenditure through a smart watch or a good old scientific calculation (pre smart watch days this was the only way to identify predicted calorie expenditure!) allows you to see what the negative (deficit) or positive (surplus) is. Then it’s a case of adjusting the numbers to be in a small deficit daily which leads to fat loss.
The best food tracking app for calories is myfitnesspal, available in the app store here and the Google play store here. Although it may be an eye opening process to begin with, tracking is great to show you the quick wins to make.
2. Abstain from alcohol
Alcohol (unfortunately), provides calories which the body cannot process, therefore they are stored as fat. each gram of alcohol provides seven calories. A small glass of wine (175ml) will provide around 150 calories, a pint of beer (568ml) will provide around 215 calories and a small spirit and soda mixer (25ml shot & 165 ml coke) will provide around 125 calories. Consuming 15 drinks weekly is 1875-3225 total calories, a huge amount of fat storage, not great when we are trying to lose fat.
Alongside the reduction in calories, the negative effect alcohol has on diet (who’s guilty of eating junk food after a night out??), training (who can effectively train on a hangover??) and motivation is reduced. Our clients often report feeling happier, healthier, better sleep, less anxiety and improved productivety when cutting out alcohol.
A small caveat is the reintroduction of alcohol once the desired body fat level has been achieved, with continued tracking, a small amount of alcohol can be included, with the calories tracked and calorie balance maintained.
3. Train in a circuit style
You may be looking for a male weight loss gym programme and not sure where to begin. Training in a circuit style with multiple exercises back to back with no rest will provide huge benefits for fat loss including:
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an elevated heart rate for longer leading to a higher daily calorie expenditure
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a greater challenge on the internal system of the body as blood, oxygen, nutrients and waste products are moved from working muscle to working muscle
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the ability to work the whole body in a quicker format
This training style is great to build or maintain muscle mass (load/volume/frequency dependent) and reduce body fat simultaneously. three to four sessions a week with a days rest in-between will have a profound effect on your body fat and muscle mass percentages.
4. Reduce sitting and use of transport
The perks of modern life? Sitting down at work, using all forms of transport lead to one thing… a sedentary lifestyle. Humans were not designed to sit down for as much as we do and move as little as we do. Incorporating a 15 min walk every two hours at work, walking/cycling to work and going to collect food instead of delivery will lead to a few positive outcomes:
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improved cardiovascular fitness
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improved happiness
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reduced risk of heart disease, obesity and high blood pressure
The more you can move, the greater your daily calorie expenditure. If your a male looking for the best way to lose belly fat, a starting point is to move more to increase your daily calorie expenditure. Combine this with #1 and #3 to increase your male fat loss exponentially.
5. Have patience
Fat loss takes time, did you know the suggested fat loss for a male is 0.5 – 2kg a month. 2kg monthly may sound great, but fat loss is not a linear process, the rate of fat loss will fluctuate and is not an instantaneous process, a month of dieting and training may take six to 10 weeks to show in the body. Have patience and focus on the journey and habit building, if you can start to walk for one hour a day and perform circuit training three times a week, over a six, nine or 12 month period this habit will form, then, any increases in fat loss can be made much easier by manipulating the variables of calorie intake, calorie expenditure and resistance training.
Conclusion
Male fat loss is a hot topic in fitness now and a highly achievable outcome with the right habits over a prolonged period. Start small with one or two variables such as tracking calories and moving for 60 mins a day. When these are habits you don’t need to think about, then incorporate other variables. The positive increase of training, diet and movement will lead you to your desired male fat loss amount !