How To Get Rid Of Lower Belly Fat For Women
Belly fat is not as simple as you might think. While everyone has some belly fat, excess fat can be a real threat to your health and overall wellbeing.
Excess fat cells deep in your lower belly generate chemical “troublemakers” that travel to your blood vessels and organs.
To make things worse, excessive fat can cause inflammation and might even lead to diabetes, breathing issues, and other health problems.
The good news is that you can avoid belly fat as a woman, even after menopause.
Keep reading to learn how to get rid of lower belly fat for women.
Why Is It More Difficult For Women To Lose Belly Fat?
If you’re like most women, you may have wondered why women tend to find it difficult to lose belly fat than men.
The reasons for this are addressed below.
Reduced Level of Estrogen in Females
The main reason it is more difficult for females to lose belly fat than males is the female sex hormone known as estrogen.
Estrogen reduces women’s ability to burn energy after eating.
As you may have guessed, this increases the likelihood of storing more fat in the body, especially around the belly.
To make it even more difficult for women to lose belly fat, the estrogen level decreases as females advance in age.
Here’s why. Women naturally store fat in their thighs and hips.
However, changes start to occur as their estrogen levels drop. Consequently, they have increased amounts of fat stored in their abdominal region.
Lower Rate of Metabolism
Typically, women have a reduced metabolic rate than men.
Men naturally possess more lean muscle mass, and their body burns through belly fat reserves comparably quicker than women, even if they perform the same type of activities.
In other words, since men have a higher rate of metabolism, they tend to have more muscle and less fat.
Additionally, female bodies are genetically built to store energy for activities such as breastfeeding and pregnancy.
This explains why women convert less of their food into muscle and bone, and also burn less fat.
Ideal Fat Percentage for Women
Everyone has a different type of body, regardless of gender. And while there is no one-size-fits-all body fat to muscle ratio, there are ideal percentages for people of different activity levels.
Here’s is a summary of body fat percentages for women based on age:
- 20 – 39 years: 21 -32%
- 40 – 59 years: 23 – 33%
- 60 – 79 years: 24 – 35%
However, the level of body fat also differs in each individual and is briefly explained in the categories below.
Obesity
This is the highest and most dangerous body fat level. Females within the age range of 19 to 29 having more than 30% body fat are considered obese.
Also, women between the ages of 31 and 39 with a body fat percentage of more than 31 are classified under this category.
If you are in this category, it is best to quick medical attention to reduce your body fat to the acceptable range.
Low
Women in this category are considered to have low body fat:
Females who are between the ages of:
- 19 and 29 with a body fat below 19%
- 30 to 39 years having body fat less than 21%
- 40 years old with a body fat percentage less than 24%
- 50 years old and above who have less than 28% body fat
Healthy
Women whose age range falls between 19 and 29 and who have body fat ranging between 19% and 22% are considered healthy.
Also, women between the ages 30 and 39 with body fat between 20% and 24% are within the healthy fat range.
Women within the age range of 40 to 49 with body fat between 23% and 27%, and women who are 50 years and above with a body fat percentage of 27% to 31% are also within the safe fat percentage.
High
Body fat percentage between 25%-30% for women between the age of 19 and 29 is considered high.
The same goes for women within the age range of 30 to 39 who have 32% of body fat percentage and 29% to 38% for women in their 40s and above.
Best Foods to Help Women Lose Belly Fat
Now that you know the ideal fat percentage, what type of foods can you eat to help you get within that range?
Here’s how to get rid of lower belly fat for women using healthy food choices.
Fiber-Rich Foods
Consuming fiber-rich foods helps women (and even men) to lose belly fat. Naturally, fibers reduce the percentage of fat in the stomach.
Some fiber-rich foods include:
- Fruits: Fiber-rich fruits such as blueberries contain antioxidants and are less sugary
- Vegetables: These include spinach, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and other veggies.
- Legumes: Legumes such as beans and lentils are also rich in fiber.
- Some cereals: Cereals such as oatmeal contain a certain amount of dietary fiber.
- Pumpkin seeds: These are a great source of zinc, and are also rich in fiber.
Proteins
Protein helps you control your appetite and also takes a longer time to digest. It plays a crucial role in reducing belly fat in both females and also males.
Proteins can increase the number of calories you burn daily, and this, in turn, encourages weight loss.
Examples of proteinous foods that help women burn belly fat include:
- Eggs: These are highly proteinous and are rich in soluble vitamins. They play a crucial role in melting abdominal fats in women.
- Tofu: Intake of this highly proteinous diet is a good way of waging war against belly fat as a female. Males are not excluded either.
Nutritious Spices
Nutritious spices such as garlic, ginger, turmeric, rosemary, mustard, and many other nutritional spices can help reduce lower belly fat.
Seasoning your meal with any of the spices below can help you shed some fats off your belly.
- Ginger: This contains antioxidants and also encourages weight loss around the stomach. You can spice up your sauces, tea, soups, and other meals with this nutritious spice.
- Garlic: Is a medically confirmed fat burner. Adding it to your meal can help you lose some fat around your belly as a female.
- Mustard: Adding mustard to your daily meal would help boost your rate of metabolic activities and shed some pounds around your belly.
Best Exercises to Help Women Lose Belly Fat
One of the great ways to reduce unnecessary belly fat is by including exercises in your day-to-day activities.
As you probably already know, there are a lot of exercises to choose from. But not all types of workouts are particularly suitable for reducing belly fat.
Below are exercises that will help you lose belly fat.
Aerobic Exercises
Aerobic exercises are the best forms of exercise to lose belly fat, particularly in women.
Some of the best forms of aerobic exercises to include in your workout regimen are:
- Running: This is one of the well-known forms of aerobic exercise, and doing it regularly is a great way to get rid of belly fat.
- Cycling: This is one of the most effective ways to increase the rate of calories you burn.
- Stair training: This involves keeping a constant pace while walking up and down a flight of stairs for about 25 minutes.
- You should also consider adding biking and skipping in your exercises routines.
Abdominal Workouts
Belly fat is attached to the abdomen, which is why performing some abdominal workouts can help.
Here are some excellent abdominal workouts you might want to include in your workout routine:
- Abdominal crunches
- Bicycle crunches
- Torso twist
- Plank poses
Interval Training
These are exercises that do not take a long time to do but work your entire body. It involves movements such as squatting, pulling, pushing, and other forms of movement.
Consider performing the following interval training exercises:
- High knees
- Jump squats
- Push-ups
Yoga
Yoga is an anaerobic form of exercise that would help you increase your rate of metabolism.
The practice comes in various forms, but the following types are highly effective for burning belly fat:
- Bow Pose
- The Plank
- Camel Pose
- Boat Pose
- One-Legged Downward-training Dog Pose
With the exercises listed above, combined with a constant check on calorie consumption and a healthy balanced diet, you should be able to greatly minimize belly fat.
Tips to Help You Avoid Belly Fat
It is easier to keep belly fat away than to try and fight it off when it has become too much.
Here are simple but highly effective ways you can keep belly fat away. It is important to practice these tips as they can prevent the health dangers that belly fat may pose.
Consume Soluble Fiber
Soluble fiber speeds up the loss of belly fat. Regular intake of soluble fiber can decrease belly fat by up to 3 – 4%.
Excellent sources of soluble fiber include:
- Legumes
- Avocados
- Flax seeds
Make it a point to include a high percentage of soluble fiber in your diet.
Eat Highly Proteinous Meals
People who consume more proteinous foods tend to have less belly fat than those who feed on a lower protein diet.
Add a good protein source to your meal if you haven’t been doing that.
You can get protein from the following foods:
- Beans
- Eggs
- Meats
- Milk
If you want to keep belly fat away, then you should include proteinous food in your daily meals.
Do Exercises
You can effectively reduce belly fat by performing abdominal workouts like crunches and bicycle crunches. Consider yoga and the other aerobic exercises already mentioned above.
If you have always wanted a slim waistline, then you need to consider including these forms of body movements in your daily routine.
Avoid Too Many Sugary Foods
There is a strong relationship between high consumption of sugary foods and increased belly fat. Reduce the consumption of sugary contents to keep belly fat away.
Avoid Foods with Trans Fat
Trans fat increases the fat around the abdominal region. They just don’t add new fats but can also move fats from other parts of the body to the belly.
That’s how dangerous they are!
To maintain a healthy lifestyle, you should avoid trans fat like a plague. Baked snacks, margarine, and other food items contain trans food.
In addition to an increase in belly fat, trans fat increases the risk of diseases like diabetes and heart diseases.
Indeed, trans fat is an enemy of your wellbeing, avoid it!
Get Enough Sleep
Getting enough shuteye can keep belly fat at bay. People who sleep for about 6 to 8 hours per night gain less abdominal fat over five years compared to those who sleep for a few hours at night.
When you sleep well at night, your insulin and leptin hormones are well balanced so your blood sugar level is under control and your appetite is properly regulated.
Not all of the tips here may apply to you. But they are all worth mentioning so you can figure out what you are possibly not doing correctly.
Women can avoid belly fat, even if it tends to be a bit difficult. If practice these helpful tips getting your desired fat-free belly is a lot closer than you may think!
Conclusion
We are sure you’ve found this article on how to get rid of lower belly fat for women very useful.
You’ve seen the high risks posed by belly fat. Thankfully, you can avoid it by being mindful of your eating pattern and maintaining a generally healthy lifestyle.
In addition to eating healthy meals, remember to include regular exercises into your weekly routine (at least three days a week).
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