47 Home Remedies to Lose Belly Fat

As we age we often put on extra weight around our middle section. It was once called the spare tire, and then middle age spread, and most recently for men specifically it’s been called the dad bod. But in reality it’s fat that’s accumulated around our midsection and it’s not healthy to have.

So how do you get rid of it? There are many ways to rid yourself of fat; there are many ways to do so but don’t try them all at once. Work with the ideas that best fit your current lifestyle and add in others along the way to increase the likelihood of positive results.

Home Remedies to Lose Belly Fat

1. Eat Lean Protein

I’m not talking eating a steak every meal but to make sure you add in chicken and other lean sources of protein simply because our bodies do a much better job of using protein thus burning more complex carbohydrates. Lean proteins include poultry and fish.

2. Exercise

Don’t get stuck in the same old dull exercise routine or one ab workout, mix it up a bit. Look around the gym and see what other people are doing and even if it looks silly to try it anyway. If your town has a ski hill, climb it. Switching up the routine turns on the body’s furnace.

Be like Arnold, lift some weights. Even five to ten minutes a day gets your motor running.

Stretch, lift, and then use the elliptical. This will help you recover with increased blood flow and also make it harder due to being tired from lifting; also you won’t drip as much sweat on the weights.

When doing stabilization exercises try closing your eyes and meditating while doing them; this will focus your body to center you; specifically, it will focus your core to keep you upright.

To get more exercise tips specifically for belly fat, check out this article: 23 Exercises for Belly Fat.

 

3. Avoid Sugar

Sugar has only one purpose and that is to be stored and turned into fat. Specifically, avoid hidden sugar such as high-fructose corn syrup; any sugar not present in nature, (fruit), needs to be avoided.

 

4. Celery

Eat some celery when the snack bug hits. Celery is a non-calorie food due to the number of calories burned while eating it.

 

5. Chores

Did you get the manual mowing down pat right? Now speed it up, go for the gold, and make the ordinary extraordinary. Chores are exercise; don’t avoid them embrace them. Find an old-fashioned non-motorized push mower and really sweat.

 

6. Smaller Portions

Only use salad plates for your main course. They’re smaller and if you make a rule of no seconds you’ll save 100’s of calories a day. Don’t fear your favorite foods but like your meat keep it small. Many candy bar and other treat type foods can be bought in 100 calorie sizes so treat yourself, but do it responsibly.

Minimize your favorite snacks to smaller servings; don’t deny yourself, you can have your cake and eat it too it just needs to be smaller and keep it special; birthdays and weddings. Deal me in. Make sure your portion sizes of meat are no bigger than a deck of playing cards. American portion sizes are double of the rest of the world which is one reason we are a nation that is 65% overweight or obese.

7. Eat Fewer Carbs

Eat one slice of bread instead of two; its carb cutting but not carb denying that will keep you focused. Wrap that chicken with lettuce, skip the bun. Slowly swap out the carbs you eat now with either lower carb options or with no carb options such as lettuce or have the bun be the top and bottom of a beefsteak tomato.

Do you like steak? Well, don’t give it up but turn it into a salad. Top your low carb salad with your low carb steak for a meal that feels like a meal but won’t build the fat.

 

8. Fiber

Add more fiber to your diet, but do it in baby steps if you’re not eating a lot now a quick intake of extra can make you gassy or increase your bowel movements which if not prepared could get messy. Find a high fiber cereal but instead of eating it in a bowl sprinkle it on a salad or on your yogurt.

Tired of eating all that fiber? Add powered fiber to every meal from soups to your morning cereal.

 

9. Be Careful with Salad Dressings

Change up your salad dressings to vinegar based ones; raspberry or strawberry ones taste good but check the sugar content. Vinegar has been shown to burn carbs faster than any other dressing.

 

10. Don’t Skip Meals

Eat breakfast every day. Don’t skip on meals; skipping meals may trigger your body into starvation mode where it will burn slower or burn muscle.

 

11. Be Sedentary Less Often

Cut back on the time you’re sedentary. This could include any screen time from TV to a tablet. If it doesn’t pay the bills shut it off and walk it off.

Try standing for meetings or jogging in place during commercials. The more calories you burn the more likely some of those will be the fat in your abdominal region

12. Sweet Potatoes

Be sweet on potatoes but only sweet potatoes; they contain fiber and don’t do the damage that white potatoes do.

 

13. Eat After Working Out

After a good workout, eat, calories will burn faster if you’ve just got done lifting or running. On days you don’t get to the gym eat less, on days you do eat more. Mess with your metabolic clock, if it’s confused it will burn more often not knowing what you’re up to.

 

14. Drink More Water

Drink water before each meal; a 32-ounce glass in the morning will also help keep your skin smoother longer as you age. By drinking it before a meal you’ll feel full faster and eat less.

Drink cold water; will it actually help you lose weight? Experts disagree on this technique but the body does have to rev up slightly to burn cold water and hydration is hydration so add some ice just in case.

 

15. Eat More Veggies

Always pick the veggie as your side dish; skip the high carb no nutrient foods such as the aforementioned white potato in any form.

 

16. Play Sports

Grab a nooner–  basketball that is. Find some fun with friends that include exercise. Any sport will do! Avoid joining groups that include eating and drinking alcohol as part of the fun.

17. Brush Your Teeth

Have you ever drunk milk after brushing your teeth? Brush three times a day it will lower your instinct to grab a snack if you know it’s going to be minty fresh.

 

18. Reduce Caffeine Intake

Coffee, tea or me? If you drink coffee or tea keep it plain or use sugar substitutes; just be wary of your caffeine intake.

 

19. Avoid Processed Foods

If you can’t pronounce the ingredients in your breakfast cereal find something else. Processed breakfast foods will add more weight than those that are high fiber with few ingredients.

NO WHITE BREAD, nothing says high processed food more than white bread.

 

20. Greek Yogurt

It’s all Greek to me; step up on the yogurt Greek and other kinds of calcium-rich diets if done correctly can help weight loss.

 

21. Nuts

Go nuts; eat a handful of peanuts once a day for a snack. Although high in calories they do quell your hunger. Once you find nuts you like you may get bored with them over time, so mix it up, add in almonds for a tasty treat with great benefits; in moderation, of course, some slivers on your salad, for example, go a long way.

 

22. Count Calories

They have an app for that. Calories are there for the counting but why do it manually when you can do it electronically.

 

23. Avoid Emotional Eating

Emotional eating is very real so be aware of your low moods and try exercise to kick in the endorphins that may help you skip that pint of ice cream.

 

24. Have a Cheat Day

Nobody’s perfect so have a day where you simply eat or drink what you want. You may pay for it in your digestion but it will feel good when it’s happening.

 

25. Sleep More

After age 40 when the middle age spread is most abundant, we trick ourselves into thinking we need less sleep when in reality we still need 7-8 hours of sleep, no more, and no less will do for optimal performance.

With sleep in mind it’s time to invest in comfort and maybe room darkening shades, also keep the TV out of the bedroom. The bedroom should be for sleep.

 

26. Pilates

It’s not Pie and Lattes it’s Pilates. Take up a class and learn the moves that will aid in core development for years to come. Try the video below to practice!

27. Stop Eating After Dinner

Stop eating after 6 pm specifically if you’ve had a lazy day. If your workout ends at 6 pm eat immediately and follow it up with a large glass of water.

 

28. Eat Fish

Something is fishy here, as well as the nuts you’ve added to your diet make sure fish hits your plate, (in a playing card deck sized serving), at least twice a week. The fat in fish, as well as nuts, don’t land in the midsection as often as other fats.

 

29. Green Tea

Go green, tea that is. Green tea has been proven effective in helping with weight loss efforts, but drink it clean, no sugars added.

 

30. Relax

Just chill once in a while. Stress adds pounds to the midsection so learn to kick back and just chill. Avoid activities that encourage eating such as movies; prop up some pillows and read and maybe you’ll fall asleep getting the rest you need as a bonus.

 

31. Dark Leafy Greens

Kale anyone? I know it’s like eating lawn clippings but kale, cabbage, and other greens are low in calories and high in fiber. Eat in moderation until your body is used to it or stay close to your bathroom just in case of a greens emergency.

If eating your greens isn’t appealing how about drinking them? Powdered greens have become all the rage these days, again it’s like drinking grass clippings but if you use the mindset of it being medicine for your soul and energy to burn off that midsection just pinch your nose and drink it down.

 

32. Alcohol in Moderation

Your organs and your figure can only handle about two alcoholic drinks per day without causing long-term damage so don’t go overboard. If you’re in a situation where you know you’ll be drinking more than two add in a glass of water in-between each drink to fill you up and to help flush you out.

 

33. Zinc

Get your daily dose of zinc it helps in weight loss and as an added bonus, it can be found in dark chocolate, in moderation of course.

 

34. White Tea

Don’t be a green tea biased individual, add in white tea as well, they have the same great ingredients that greens do and you get to mix up your routine.

 

35. Pumpkin Seeds

Instead of croutons sprinkle on pumpkin seeds, the key is to sprinkle as they are high in protein but like other seeds and nuts in large quantities, they are high in calories.

 

36. Cinnamon

If you are a sweet eater and getting rid of all sweets just won’t do then add in a dash of cinnamon, a proven sugar blocker. It won’t block a box of donuts but it will help.

37. Cayenne Pepper

Another spice to add to your life is cayenne pepper, if added daily to your eggs for an example, the spice can not only make your tongue tingle but can help burn long after the last bite.

 

38. Pu-erh Tea

Yes, another tea, Pu-erh tea has been shown to reduce fat cells. Add this to your tea rotation for increased fat loss.

 

39. More Protein

Make sure every meal has protein in it but specifically breakfast, one hardboiled egg on the way out the door may help you avoid the donuts in the break room.

 

40. Oysters

Oysters aren’t just for lovers anymore. They have a high level of zinc, an important mineral to aid in weight loss and in a pure form versus a supplement.

 

41. Berries

Sprinkle raspberries on your salads or in your cereal, these tiny berries pack a punch of anti-oxidants and taste pretty good too; as with all fruit wash them first.

Speaking of berries how about some blueberries instead of popcorn while watching your favorite movie? These tiny berries are also a great addition to any morning smoothie.

42. Squash

If fall is in the air or any time of the year really, add in some acorn squash to squash some pounds away.

 

43. Pickles

A pickle a day keeps the doctor away, well not really, but the fiber and vinegar will aid in keeping you full and very few calories.

 

44. Whole Grains

If you have to have your grains keep it whole(some), only use whole grains to have high fiber to balance out any carbs.

 

45. Flax Seeds

Flax those muscles, flax seeds that is, go for the ground variety as often the whole seed will pass without much absorption.

 

46. Coconut Oil

Put the lime in the coconut and shake it all about, no actually just use coconut oil daily, just a tablespoon a day could help bust that bulge.

 

47. Vegan Diet

Go Vegan for the health of it. An all plant-based diet will help you lose that belly and keep it off. It’s a tough diet to stick to but like any plan, it just takes time and practice.

There’s really no secret to weight loss beyond eating right and exercise but if you have 100 keys to unlock one door, the door to your metabolism, one will work and the extras will help keep that door open for the rest of your life.