How To Lose Belly Fat Without Cardio Or Starving Yourself

How to lose belly fat seems to be on a lot of people's minds these days. And let's face it-nobody likes feeling that roll in their mid-section. We don't even like to think about it. It's the reason why you don't take your shirt off, or wear certain types of clothes anymore.

When it comes to getting rid of belly fat, however, we've been given false information. If you're like me, you've run hundreds of miles and spent countless hours on treadmills and exercise bikes with less than satisfactory results. Why is this, and how can it be?

The truth is, cardio and aerobic exercise do not burn fat in the most efficient way possible. Sure, when you run 10 miles you're burning a decent amount of calories, but all those calories burned are not fat. A good deal of those calories comes from muscle, which is definitely not a good thing.

Some would argue that calories are calories, and as long as we're losing weight we should be OK with that. But most people who work out, including cardio workouts, want to have more energy. Almost all would say they want to boost their metabolism. Here then, is why cardio doesn't fit the bill.

Your metabolism is directly related to the amount of muscle mass in your body. When you burn muscle, your metabolism naturally goes down. Cardio exercise, then, does very little to boost your metabolism.

So, what's the solution?

The answer is interval training. Now, interval training is nothing new. In fact, it's been around for years. What is interval training, and how can we put it to use?

Compare a car riding smoothly along the interstate, cruising at a steady speed with a car driving through the city, starting and stopping frequently. The interstate car, obviously, will burn less fuel than the city car.

The same holds true with your body. Running 10 miles at a steady pace burns less fat than if you sprint for 15 seconds, jog for 30 seconds, sprint another 15 seconds, etc. This type of cycle is the heart of interval training.

When driving, of course, we want to burn as little fuel as possible, so the interstate model is preferable. With our bodies, however, we want to burn as much fuel as possible. So starting and stopping makes much more sense. Especially because the fuel you're burning is the ugly thing we call fat.

Not only does interval training burn fat faster than any other method, it also builds muscle. This creates a double whammy, as far as boosting metabolism.

Is there a downside to interval training? Well, yes.

Firstly, it's hard. You can forget about cruising along at a comfortable pace while planning your day. Your focus now is on getting through the next 15 second cycle without tossing your cookies. Because the training is so intense, all but the most serious will shy away from it.

Secondly, an injury is more likely due to the fact that you're exerting yourself more. For this reason, you should only do interval training 2 to 3 times a week, allowing plenty of time in between for you body to recover.

If you're serious about burning fat, you'll use interval training.