Water is a useful tool for weight loss, but drinking it does not directly affect belly fat. To lose stomach muscles, you need to start with a general fat loss plan to slim down your whole body; then your stomach will shrink proportionally. Before starting a new diet or exercise routine, check with your doctor to make sure it’s safe.
Water before meals
Water has no calories, so it helps you eat less. A 2015 study published in the journal Obesity found that drinking water before meals can help with weight loss. Researchers found that people who drank 2 glasses of water before each meal lost about 3 pounds more over a 2-week period than those who didn’t. Although there’s no such thing as spot reduction, weight loss will flatten your stomach, as the study participants only lost weight in the midsection.
Water and weight
Aside from its appetite suppressant effects, drinking it instead of water, sugary drinks, juice, or alcohol can help you lose weight. If you drink two cans of cola a day, substituting plain or sparkling water will save you 270 calories a day. One pound of fat is equivalent to 3,500 calories, so losing half a pound a week is helpful. Water keeps you hydrated, which can prevent you from overeating — which people often mistake for snacking when they’re hungry and thirsty and need fluids.
Fat loss plan
To lose fat, you need to burn more calories than you eat. To calculate how many calories you consume per day, multiply your body weight by 15 kg. If you live a relatively active lifestyle, if you weigh 160 kg, you need 2,400 calories, and if you are overweight or inactive, less. Subtract 500 from the number of calories needed for maintenance and eat that amount of calories each day to lose one pound each week. Add regular exercise to your routine for faster results.
Lose stomach fat
A large waist, greater than 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men, indicates a high level of visceral fat that fills the abdominal organs. This type of fat is especially dangerous and can contribute to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and colon cancer, according to MayoClinic.com. Visceral fat responds more readily to diet and exercise than subcutaneous fat. To get rid of visceral fat, Harvard Medical School recommends eating a calcium-rich diet, cutting out trans fats, reducing stress, and getting eight hours of sleep a night, but no more.
