Yeah, it's possible to lose belly fat without exercise.
But what about crunches?
Crunches are the favorite exercise to lose belly fat.
But these ab exercises don't have a direct effect on belly fat. It helps to strengthen the muscles in your midsection.
Q: Can you lose fat without exercise?
Yes, it's possible to reduce body fat without exercise.
Q: Is it possible to lose belly fat without exercise?
It's possible to reduce belly fat without exercise. With proper nutrition and in a calorie deficit, you can expect an overall fat loss. Belly fat will also get cut in the process.
Is it possible to spot-reduce belly fat only?
No, in reality, it's not possible to spot-reduce belly fat alone. You can reduce your overall body fat.
Anatomy of belly fat:
Your belly fat consists of subcutaneous fat and visceral fat. Subcutaneous fat lies under your skin and above the abdominal muscles( your six-packs), while visceral fat lies in the abdominal cavity.
Overall, fat loss will help you to lose the visceral fat that is inside your abdominal cavity. Visceral fat acts as a cushion and protects the organs.
From a health perspective, visceral fat is far more dangerous than subcutaneous fat.
Visceral fat: What it is, why it is dangerous?
Studies have shown that visceral fat alone can increase the mortality rate in nonobese individuals—Ie, people in healthy BMI.
The visceral fat deposit can increase your chance of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The study shows that Asian people with a high risk of CVD and diabetes have a lower BMI but have higher visceral fat.
The Framingham Heart Study mentions visceral fat as a pathogenic fat, which can cause hypertension, impaired fasting glucose levels, and metabolic syndrome.
Losing subcutaneous fat will be your primary goal as you want to have a six-pack.
Are there any easy ways to lose belly fat fast without exercise?
Losing belly fat takes time and effort.
Let's see what is possible with a change in your diet habits (fat loss diet without exercise).
The rate of fat loss from your belly depends on the response of fat cells towards enzymes that are involved in fat mobilization. A calorie deficit state will cause your body to mobilize fatty acids and use it for energy.
You can achieve and remain in a calorie deficit state in two ways.
Eating fewer calories to lose weight:
Effective ways to lose belly fat without exercise
Reduce refined carbohydrates in your diet
The primary function of carbohydrates is to provide the body with energy. 1 gram of carbohydrate contains 4 kcal of energy.
Having fewer carbs in your diet helps you to lose fat. The study shows that a low carb diet helps to lose fat more than a low-fat diet. A low carbohydrate diet also helps with a beneficial effect on fat distribution and fat metabolism. People also lost visceral fat while in a low carbohydrate diet.
Refined carbs(Sugar, white rice, white bread) are made by processing whole foods to increase shelf life and to give it a uniform texture. The refining process takes away the fiber and other micronutrients.
Even if you don't have a fat belly, eating refined carbs will increase your insulin resistance.
Shifting from refined carbs to whole foods will help to lose fat without exercise. This study on whole foods and refined carb show that belly fat level decreases if you increase your whole food intake.
Reduce the intake of Sugar, as studies have shown that it can directly contribute to abdominal fat. 10-week research shows that sugar intake causes an increase in belly fat.
Summary: reduce your carbohydrate intake and try to avoid refined. You can also change your carb sources from processed to whole less processed food sources. Reduce the intake of refined carbs will help you to get rid of belly fat without exercise.
Reduce snacking for fast fat loss
This study shows that snacking had to be considered while treating obesity. The research shows that obese people are more frequent snackers, results in more calorie intake. Sweet and fatty food groups add most of the calories.
The study by Wageningen University also supports that snacking increases calories in your body. As people don't compensate for the calories, they take in.
Studies also suggest that if you reduce your calorie intake from meals, to compensate the calorie from snacks, you can stay in a balanced or calorie deficit state.
You can lose weight just by eating snacks, but you have to be in a calorie deficit state. Mark Haub lost 27 pounds in 10 weeks. He experimented with showing that you can lose weight in a calorie deficit state even if you eat snacks.
In some cases, snacking helps to meet the calorie requirements and nutrient requirements if you choose to eat nuts or other nutrient foods as snacks.
But choosing high-calorie nutrient sparse snacks and eating in the absence of hunger will cause an increase in calorie intake, which results in fat gain.
Choose nuts, and other less processed foods as snacks. They are nutrient-rich and will help you to feel fuller and increase your satiety(the best way to eat less calories). Don't forget to compensate for your energy intake after taking snacks. Reduce your meal portion if you consume snacks.
Avoid Sugar-sweetened beverages
You have already read about Sugar and refined carbs. The same things we have seen with snacks and sugars apply to the beverages too.
Avoid Sugar-sweetened beverages to lose fat without exercise.
Sugary beverages will add more calories than snacks or other foods. The sweet drink is worse than snacks.
A study on the relationship between childhood obesity and sugar-sweetened drinks shows that obesity rate and an increase in obesity happen with a high frequency of beverage intake.
Try to avoid Sugar-sweetened drinks, and stick with plain water. The study shows that drinking 500ml water before meals will cause a 44% increase in weight loss over 12 weeks.
If you want to have a healthy beverage choose green tea or coffee. Green tea has shown some excellent results with fat oxidation and improving insulin sensitivity.
Eating slowly; will help you fight hunger
The eating rate is associated with obesity. Eating fast will cause an increase in BMI.
While eating slowly; it will help to decrease the energy intake. The study also shows that slow eating causes an increase in satiety. You will feel less hungry after your meal.
You will also consume smaller meals if you eat at a slower pace.
Food entering the stomach activates the stretch receptors, and it sends signals to the brain. Hormones(cholecystokinin) are also released when the food enters the intestine. It will cause a feeling of fullness. The effect gets amplified by leptin(a hormone released by fat cells)
When you eat fast these, you're not giving these hormones enough time to work.
Eating slowly; helps you to eat smaller meals, feel less hunger after meals, feel fuller, and increased satiety.
Changing the plate size can cause 22% change in calorie intake
Plate size affects the amount of food you consume. If you choose a smaller plate, you will consume smaller meals.
Study shows that smaller plates cause an increase in satiety and a decrease in food intake.
The study also shows that changing the plate size from 12 inches to 10-inch causes a 22% decrease in calorie intake.
Study shows that people used to fill their plates 70%, regardless of the plate size.
When people served a large portion eat more, causing an increase in calorie intake.
The study conducted on nutrition experts with ice cream shows that when they use larger bowls, they take 30% more ice cream, while larger spoons resulted in 14% more ice cream intake.
From the above studies, it's clear that plate size affects food intake and satiety. They could use the size of the plate and bowl to control the amount of food to consume—smaller plates and bowls for fat loss and larger ones for hard gainers.
Change your plate color after reading this
If there is a color contrast between the food and plate, you will eat less.
The study shows that when the color of food and plate matches, you may eat 30% more calories. Choose your plates to have a contrast with food.
This research review shows that desserts served on white plate taste sweeter, and black plates are suitable for savory dishes.
Red plates reduce the consumption of foods that considered to be less healthy.
The color contrast between food and plate will help you to trick your brain into consuming less food.
Avoid trans fat to reduce belly fat without exercise
Trans Fat is created by pumping hydrogen into unsaturated fat. The process helps to increase the shelf life and to improve the cooking properties. Trans fat is not healthy.
Trans fat is directly associated with inflammation. It also increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Long term intake of trans fat can cause weight gain and affects nutrient handling in the liver, fat cells, and muscle tissues.
Consumption of trans fat can cause belly fat, even if you are on a calorie deficit diet.
Reduce the consumption of trans fat, which helps you to lose stomach fat fast without exercise.
Read the label before buying and stay away from products that use trans fat. Partially hydrogenated fats are trans fats. Staying away from trans fat is one of the easy ways to lose belly fat fast without exercise.
Keeping a nutrition journal to track your calorie intake
Tracking your food intake can help you to monitor your calories and will help you to stay in a calorie deficit state. The study shows that keeping a journal helps lose more weight.
You can use apps to track your calories; it also helps you to track your macronutrients (carbs, fat, and protein). You can find your macro needs with our macro calculator.
Stress - Reduce your stress to burn belly fat
Reducing your stress is one of the natural ways to reduce belly fat without exercise.
Stress causes the release of cortisol from your adrenal glands. Cortisol causes an increase in appetite and food intake.
Stress will either cause an increase in food intake, which results in abdominal fat gain.
If you are struggling with belly fat, then your body will produce more cortisol due to stress. It will, in turn, cause an increase in your belly fat.
Use the below steps to reduce stress, which in turn helps you to lose belly fat without exercise.
These are some of the effective ways to lose belly fat without exercise. The success of any weight loss journey depends on consistency. It takes time and effort to see visible gains in fat loss.
As we have mentioned tracking everything in a journal will help you to monitor the calorie intake. This step alone can help you with eating fewer calories.
FAQ - Burn belly fat without working out
How to lose belly fat in a week without exercise?
It's not possible to lose belly fat entirely within a week with or without exercise. Losing belly fat takes time and effort. You can stick with the above fat loss steps and can see the results in 2-3 months.
How to burn fat fast without exercise?
Calorie deficit is the key to fat loss. Keep track of your calories with the help of a journal. Tracking helps you to stay in a calorie deficit state. As the graph shows, you can adjust your weight loss with your calorie intake.
How to lose belly fat overnight without exercise?
It's not possible to lose belly fat overnight.
How to lose belly fat in 2 weeks without exercise?
From the above graph, you can adjust your calorie intake to see a fat loss. If you reduce your trans fat intake and refined carbs intake, you can speed up the process of belly fat loss. And last but not least, do not stress yourself by thinking of the fat loss as stress can cause an increase in your calorie intake.