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How to Lose Belly Fat FAST
Hi guys, Dr. Berg here. In this video we're going to talk about how to burn belly fat step-by-step. In a lot of other videos I talk about specific parts of weight loss, how to burn fat, and all the different aspects. In this video we're going to put everything together. There are really three basic sections: the basics of what to do, things to add to speed up weight loss, and things to avoid to speed up weight loss. So let's talk about the basics first. Some of this might be repetitive, but if you've never seen a video from me, this will be very helpful. Make notes, and I'll put videos down below for a lot of the summaries of other videos so you can get detailed information on each thing, because I've probably done videos on each separate item.
The Basics of Burning Belly Fat Fast
Basic number one: two to three meals a day. You can start with three meals, and then when you want to go to two, you don't want to graze all day, because every time you eat you spike a hormone that prevents weight loss called insulin. Eating in general will stimulate that, so we want a minimum of two meals a day and a maximum of three. Some people go to two, and I'll get more into that when we get to the next part, which is no snacking.
When you have five or six small meals spread out, or you're snacking between meals, you're going to spike insulin. We don't want to do that, because it's going to create a big problem for you. Removing the snacking is vital, very important. This is called intermittent fasting. Right here I suggest you start with three meals, do that for a while to get into ketosis or fat-burning, and then go to two meals if you can do it, unless you're working out hard and need three meals a day. I would say it's fifty-fifty. If you're sedentary, you can get by with two meals a day, and you will lose some serious weight in your midsection. Insulin is the hormone responsible for midsection weight. So: three meals, no snacking.
As far as protein, three to six ounces based on your size and stress level. You're going to need a little more protein if you're stressed, but you don't want to go too high, because too much protein will stimulate insulin. Three to six ounces per meal. If you're not hungry for protein at a meal, say dinner, then don't eat it. This is an average.
Next, seven cups of vegetables. Why? We need to flush out all the fat that comes to the liver, because all the fat through the body has to go through the liver, and if you don't consume enough vegetables you can end up with a fatty liver. Plus, vegetables give us the potassium we need, about 4,700 milligrams, which is a lot. That's about seven to ten cups, which very few people do, but you want to consume the vegetables first, have a huge salad, and then a small amount of protein.
Next is no sugar. This is a given, because sugar increases insulin. I'm also talking about hidden sugars: breads, pasta, cereal, crackers, biscuits, waffles, pancakes, muffins, and alcohol. We want to cut the sugar and refined carbs out.
Next, healthy fats. This is essential, because when you consume fat at the end of a meal, it allows you to go to the next meal without being so hungry, craving, and starving that your blood sugar crashes. This basically allows you to do three meals or two meals without being hungry, thereby not increasing insulin. Fat is one of the only things that does not increase insulin; it's neutral, so it's safe. If you're worried about calories, I put some links down below.
These are the basics. Now, if we want to speed things up, we can add some MCTs to the diet, the medium chain triglycerides found in coconut oil, which will increase fat burning.
Things to Add to Burn Belly Fat
Next is potassium. Why? At the heart of weight loss we want to avoid insulin, and most people who can't lose weight have too much insulin; they have insulin resistance. We want to fix that. Potassium is one of the ways to do it. You can consume all these vegetables or take it in a supplement like potassium citrate to help heal the aberration or dysfunction of insulin.
Next is apple cider vinegar. Why? The acid in apple cider vinegar, called acetic acid, does improve the output of insulin. It reduces insulin, improves insulin resistance, and lowers your blood sugar, so it's very good for diabetics. Take one teaspoon with a glass of water in the morning and one before bed, or four with your dinner if you have digestive issues.
Very important: chromium. You can find a supplement from Ham to help your blood sugar. Chromium is a mineral that has been proven to help insulin. Again, keep it in check.
B vitamins are another key thing, especially vitamin B1, for regulating insulin control and improving insulin resistance. Nutritional yeast is your go-to.
Next is high-intensity interval training. If you add high-intensity full-body resistance training, you're going to spike growth hormone and speed up weight loss. The key is short bursts of high intensity with lots of rest. Again, I'll put some videos down below to get specifics, but this is the icing on the cake.
Next is more sleep. Growth hormone is triggered when you're sleeping, and it is the primary hormone that stimulates fat burning. So if you can take a nap, sleep in longer, or get an extra hour of sleep, that goes a long way. That's more important than high-intensity interval training. Sleep is the key.
Next is recovery. If you are doing high-intensity interval training, make sure you're recovering. You're not doing it every day. Some people need to do it every other day, some every third day, some once a week, depending on how you feel. When you work out, you're fairly broken down, and then you get overtraining. Recovery is essential if you're exercising.
Things to Remove to Burn Belly Fat
Now let's look at what you need to remove, which is just as important. Remove any type of sleep issues or insomnia. This is vital, because you're not going to lose weight if you're not sleeping. I put a video down below about what to do if you're not sleeping. There are a lot of things you can do, mainly stress reduction.
If you're bloating, say you're consuming too much kale or too many cruciferous vegetables that you're not used to, that is going to slow down weight loss. You'll have to go back to the vegetables you can digest, and maybe steam some until the bloating goes away. People also consume too many nuts, which can create bloating. We want to eliminate anything that bloats you. Sometimes adding more apple cider vinegar or an acidifier for the stomach will help, or even a bile salt. I'll put some links down below for bloating.
Menstrual cycle issues: if your cycle is two weeks out of the month, you're not going to lose weight, because high levels of estrogen block the thyroid. Estrogen creates fat on the hips and thighs, and we need to handle this cycle so it's smooth. I put a link down below for what to do about that. This is a little bit of an assessment to see which areas you have problems with. Some of these may not apply to you.
Stress: mainly, get a list of all the people who stress you out and avoid them for a while. Avoid the news and stressful situations. I recommend acupressure to help pull stress out of your body. Do everything you can to reduce stress, because cortisol is triggered by stress, and cortisol will stop your weight loss. I'll put some links down below.
MSG, monosodium glutamate, is in a lot of foods. Start looking at the labels. It's in cottage cheese unless it's organic, in fast-food restaurants, in almost all their foods, and in Chinese food, but it's hidden as modified food starch. I'll put a video down there. Restaurant food is very important: you don't know what you're getting. It's a crapshoot, with so many things they put in that you have no idea about. Primarily there are hidden sugars, and MSG makes it taste better. People go out to dinner far too much, and that is what keeps them from losing weight. Not to mention they bring you bread, dessert, and alcohol. It's really difficult to do this when you're going to restaurants.
Avoid overtraining. If you're at a bootcamp or working out too hard, and you're not recovering or sleeping, you're not going to lose weight. You're going to lose muscle mass. This is very important, especially when you start out, because you're not used to it.
Last is constipation. Some people go maybe once a week or once every two weeks. That is a serious constipation problem, and it is going to stop your weight loss. I have a lot of videos on getting to the root cause, and I'll put them down below.
Summary
I've summarized all the things you need to look at in order to lose belly fat. It's comprehensive. Now you have the video as a checklist. Go ahead and apply this and put your comments below. Thanks so much for watching.