You’re going to want to hear this one… 'Only doing abdominal-focused workouts, like crunches, won't help,' James emphasises because belly fat is simply where your body stores energy, so you need to take a whole-body approach to tackle it. Try going to bed a little earlier than usual to avoid this imbalance and remember to remove any distractions that might prevent you from nodding off,' he continues. 'This means that when we're awake, we tend to eat more but feel less satisfied.

When we don’t get enough sleep, our ghrelin levels (the hormone that makes us feel hungry) rise, and our leptin levels (the hormone that makes us feel full) drop. We all have two hormones that affect our appetite: ghrelin and leptin. 'When we're lacking in sleep, our body’s hormones get thrown off balance which can impact our hunger levels the next day. Aside from feeling tired and groggy the next day, not getting the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep each night can actually affect weight loss, explains Dr James. You're not getting enough sleepįrom social media scrolling sessions to late-night coffees, there are plenty of ways we unknowingly keep ourselves awake at night. Nevertheless, if losing lower belly fat is something you're keen to achieve – and you're exercising regularly and maintaining a balanced diet, but still failing to get rid of any lower stomach fat – here are some pointers from our experts about where you might be going wrong. How to lose lower belly fat: mistakes to avoid In fact, none of us should feel pressured to change a single thing about ourselves if we're happy with what we see in the mirror. Then, the weight loss will follow.Īnd just to reiterate: weight loss is different for everyone, and needn't be the main focus of your fitness goals. Instead, they both recommend focusing on eating a well-balanced diet, moving regularly, investing in stress management and concentrating on sleep quality to set yourself up for all-round good health. 'Weight loss is something that will occur through your body being in an energy deficit (consuming fewer calories than it's burning), and as such, you can't make that exclusive to just one area of your body.' 'In fact, you can't spot reduce fat full stop,' she adds.

Ricketts agrees, sharing that no matter how hard you train your abdominal muscles, you can’t spot reduce belly fat. 'While we can target weight loss in general through diet and lifestyle changes, it is unrealistic to think that we can target particular areas for fat loss,' says Lenherr. Why? Because the fat cells that gather around your lower abdomen are known as 'beta fat' cells, which are notoriously hard to change, he explains. Can you target specific areas for weight loss?Īccording to Dr James, lower belly fat is the hardest fat to lose.

Which is why we spoke to three experts (Dr Luke James from Bupa UK, nutritionist Clarissa Lenherr and personal trainer Emily Ricketts) about all things LBF, including the science-ey bits, mistakes you might be making, and advice on how to actually achieve - and sustain - abs of steel. And be realistic about it too, because you most definitely won’t see results overnight. Plus, losing weight is only something you should do if it's the right decision for you, not if you feel obliged to follow trends or are feeling like you ‘should’ drop a few pounds.īut, if losing lower belly fat is on this year’s bucket list for the right reasons, you need to know how to do it the right way. (Though obviously, not every bit of content can be trusted/is recommended for a healthy weight loss journey, so watch out for the harmful ones slipping under the radar.) In fact, one quick type of 'how to lose lower belly fat' on Google and voilà, you’re greeted with 100 million+ results of ways you can shift this stubborn fat. If losing lower belly fat is your goal, know that you’re absolutely not alone.

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