How Long Does it Take to Notice Weight loss in Your Stomach?

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Written by Megan Ayala. Last Updated: May 16, 2022

With summer just around the corner, everyone is looking for the fastest way to get in shape for pool parties and days at the beach.

One area of the human anatomy that will get the most attention will be the jiggly midsection that must be shorn up fast.

But what sort of time frame are we looking at here? How fast can a transformation like this take place?

In the following article, we will take an in-depth look at what belly fat is and how it can best be targeted for elimination.

As you will find out, the results can be very individual and fad diets and pressure to achieve perfection by a certain date can be quite counterproductive.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO LOSE BELLY FAT?

Table of Contents

a man checks his belly for weight loss

So, visceral fat is certainly something we should all get rid of, but it can’t be targeted directly. It sounds like a catch-22, but actually, this is a very organic problem and there is indeed a holistic solution.

How fast or how long this will take is entirely up to the individual. But it is most certainly a situation where you want to apply the maxim “to go fast you must go slow.”

It May Take 1 to 2 Months to Start Noticing Results

That said, if you’re following a diet plan and losing an average of 1-2 pounds per week, my personal experience is that I have started to notice the results by the end of month one. In some cases, it may take a full two months before you really start noticing the fruits of your labor.

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Either way, if you’re sticking with your diet or workout plan – and you feel like you’re not “seeing” the results, don’t get discouraged! The noticeable results will come with time, and the longer you work toward your goal, you WILL start seeing the changes, trust me.

Other People May Notice Your Weight Loss Before You Do

One of the biggest signs that your hard work is paying off is when other people start noticing your weight loss. It may be a coworker or family member, but if you’ve been putting in the work, expect for people to notice at some point. For me this has been very encouraging, and has been highly motivating.

If you’re looking for some tips on how you can start losing belly fat, we’ll share some of our favorites below:

Our Top Approaches to Losing Stomach Fat

The Calorie Deficit

How do you deplete a budget? By spending more than you are making and we all know how easy that is. Well, dropping pounds works the same way, so spend them all. You can use a handy calorie counter to track the amount you consume against what you are using in daily exercise. This provides important metrics to track your progress and maintain a steady course.

The Intuitive Approach

Everyone is operating with different basal metabolic rates and levels of non-exercise thermogenesis. These two factors alone account for the bulk of your calorie expenditure. Therefore, it will be important to approach this weight loss plan intuitively and for the long term. This means listening to your body and carefully pushing your boundaries with sustainable weight loss efforts.

Keep a Journal

Some people find it easier to interface with their bodies than others. But everyone can understand the difference between hungry, tired, and exhausted, or awake and fully energized. Tracking your progress and conditions will provide you with the data needed to take a proactive approach.

The Basic Alchemy of Interfacing with the Body: Banishing Belly Fat Fast Through the Three Primary Functions

a woman exercising on a bike

There are fad diets, Crossfit, goat yoga, and the fat-burning power of forskolin, and you might get lucky if you try. The only problem with this way of thinking is that having a killer body and flat beautiful abs is not a fashion choice, but a lifestyle decision.

If you are looking for flat firm abs for life and a healthy lifestyle that supports this fine physique, there is nothing like the long-term approach. This will mean interfacing with the body through its three primary functions, which we will explore at length momentarily.

These three primary functions are essentially the controls at your fingertips, the interface through which physical and even mental changes can be brought about in the body to accomplish whatever goal you are trying to reach.

Through a deeper understanding of these controls and taking an intuitive approach as you adjust them, you will see how these activities are integral to all other activities — including the way your body collects and eliminates stubborn belly fat. When your life is centered on healthy habits, good health (and a healthy physique) is not just possible, it is inevitable.

This is the key to bringing about healthy changes in your body in the fastest time possible. Maybe, you will drop 20 pounds in 30 days, it might take more than 3 months — but your progress will be established in a healthy new life.

Step 1: Refine Your Primary Functions

Begin by taking the time to carefully examine your three primary functions which are your sleeping, feeding, and output. These are the functions upon which all other physical and mental functions are established. If you want mental acuity, physical endurance, or even flatter abs, it will begin with an adjustment to these three activities.

Familiarize yourself with the quality and content of your daily rest, feeding, and output. Increase your sensitivity to the indicators they provide. For example, when do you feel hungry, thirsty, tired, strained, stressed, and energized?

By building your diet and exercise plan around these indicators, you will be working with your body dynamic as opposed to against it. This is one of the major reasons that fad diets and the exercise programs created by professionals are not always effective and can even be counterproductive to the individual.

Trust that your body’s ultra-intelligent interface will understand what you are trying to accomplish as you apply your intention and mental focus on the task at hand. Soon it will fall in line and the results will be marvelous.

Step 2: The Rest Function

The first and most fundamental of all functions is the rest function which is also the easiest to understand and adjust. Rest includes much more than just sleep, there is also resting after workouts, relaxing the mind and reducing stress.

Before beginning any adjustment to your health and life, the rest cycle must be optimized and well-established. A disrupted sleep cycle could be indicative of mental and physical disruption. This can cause the body to feel agitated and stressed which can throw off the intuitive process you are trying to carry out.

Remember, the calories deficit is a kind of controlled “starvation” ; it will only work if the body is calm and serene. An agitated and stressed body will hold on to its fat supplies by switching to alternative “emergency” energy sources. It will also dull your senses, making you unaware of your progress.

So, do not move on to the next phases until you have established that your rest phase is optimal and high-quality — not excessive, it should be tailored exactly to what you need and nothing more.

Step 3: The Feeding Function

Now for the fun stuff, the feeding function involves all we consume — even the content you feed your mind falls into this category.

It has wisely been said that “food is your best medicine”. Indeed, a proper healthy diet is all you need to avoid the harmful side effects of synthetic pharmaceuticals and remain hale and hearty. But the proper amounts, times, and dietary choices you make will also determine your physique, energy levels, quality of rest, cognitive function, emotional balance, and so much more.

We are looking to set you up with a lovely set of killer abs, which means all dietary choices will have to be made in that single direction. Begin by eliminating EVERYTHING in your diet that contributes to an enlarged gut. Sodium, processed foods, processed sugars, and substances that promote inflammation are good places to start.

Replace these with raw veggies, whole grains, fiber, and potassium in the raw natural forms — forget synthetic supplements. You don’t need them if you are getting it all from your food, and YES you can. This will be the time to begin applying a calorie deficit — once again, slowly and intuitively will win out in the long run.

Step 4: The Output Function

If you have established the first two activities well, you should already be noticing a considerable change working within you. Depending on the way these first two adjustments were made, you should notice a great change in your energy levels. You may feel greater amounts of energy in the late afternoon, and complete exhaustion in the morning, or vice versa.

Now you can begin introducing exercise routines to your life at the most opportune moments and choose whatever you like. So long as you are engaging the whole body, practicing often, and regularly increasing your heart rate, you are on the right path.

The activity doesn’t matter that much. Just don’t think that targeting abdominal or core muscles with intense crunches will facilitate this transformation — quite the contrary, they will make your abs bigger, which is not what you want.

The only way to go is to consider calorie expenditure and widening the gap between what you use and what you consume. If you would like to burn calories faster, increase the ratio of a calorie deficiency. If you want to burn more carbs in less time, choose a very intense program.

If you want to enjoy the scenery, try biking or hiking. If you want to be more social, soccer is so much fun. If you want a full-body workout, hit the gyms or go swimming — the opportunities here are limitless so choose something you will love.

What is Belly Fat?

a woman pinch her stomach fat

An enlarged gut can be the cause of two different types of fat converging in the midsection for an extra fluffy appearance. This is subcutaneous fat, which accumulates below the skin across the entire body, and visceral fat, which is an especially dangerous type of fat that accumulates around the organs.

Despite countless exercise programs and fad diets that claim to banish belly fat fast and easy, the truth is this is a lot of bunk to separate you from your hard-earned cash. According to a renowned bariatric endocrinologist, Dr. Elizabeth Lowden from Delnor hospital in Geneva, Illinois, “It is not possible to target the fat accumulated in the arms, legs, hips, jowls, or gut for selective elimination. Only plastic surgery provides such precise fat removal.”

This is because different people will begin to store fat in different places. The elimination of this fat through diet and exercise is also individual. Different people may begin losing fat in the jowls, buttocks, legs, or thighs before they begin engaging with their subcutaneous and visceral fat.

WHY IS TOO MUCH BELLY FAT SO BAD FOR YOU?

Visceral fat is very dangerous due to its proximity to the portal vein, a major supply line that runs between the intestine and the liver. These substances released by visceral fat can be transported directly to the liver where they can cause other health conditions.

For example, visceral fat has been known to produce immune system chemicals like cytokines, which can slow the metabolism and increase blood pressure. This can affect the body’s use and regulation of insulin, a chemical that distributes glucose to cells for energy conversion, and cause Type2 diabetes.

Summary

People everywhere get easily frustrated when addressing a muffin top or a beer belly and it seems that all the dieting and exercise in the world doesn’t seem to help.

While diet and exercise are important, they are only part of a much larger plan to interface with the body.

Without a balanced and focused lifestyle, your most desperate efforts will be met with frustration and failure — and you won’t be too thrilled about jumping back into the fray the next time around.

In the end, the results you can expect will reflect the level of attention and commitment you give them.

It can be very easy to apply your mind and efforts to a big-box fitness concept that is “effective,” but only the intuitive approach will allow you to find what is most effective for you — and this makes all the difference.

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