Belly Fat Weight Loss in a Vegan
Regardless if you are a vegan, omnivore or vegetarian, one thing always remains the same -- you cannot spot reduce weight in your belly. This simply means that dozens of ab crunches performed daily will have little effect on your belly flab. The way to lose this weight is by taking a full-body approach that involves diet and exercise. Because you are vegan, you need to do things a certain way.
A trainer is working with a woman in a gym. (Image: Jacob Ammentorp Lund/iStock/Getty Images)Reducing Calories
The number of calories you consume plays a role in the amount of fat on your belly. If you eat more than you expend, you will gain weight. If you eat less then you expend, you will lose weight. This is true whether you are vegan or not. To promote weight loss, determine your current intake and reduce it by 500 to 1,000 calories. This will cause about 1 to 2 pounds of weight loss a week because 3,500 calories equals 1 pound.
Food Selection
Vegans exclude meat, dairy products, fish, poultry and eggs from their diets. This also includes any food that is derived from these. Cake, for example, contains eggs and milk, so it would be off limits. Cake is an empty-calorie food anyway, so it has no place in a belly fat-reducing diet. Base your diet completely around vegan-friendly foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and tofu.
Water
Water is beneficial for weight loss in a few different ways. The primary benefit is that it is a calorie-free alternative to soda, sweetened tea and fruit punch. Secondly, water helps fill you up when you drink it with your meals, causing you to eat fewer calories. If you find the taste of water bland, spice it up with lemon or cucumber slices.
Snacks Between Meals
Eating snacks between meals can benefit your belly fat weight-loss plan. People who frequently eat and do not allow themselves to become hungry are more successful at losing weight. Prepare snacks that are small and balanced with protein, carbs and fat. A vegan snack can be something like hummus dip with raw baby carrots and celery sticks or apple slices with almond butter spread across the tops.
Cardiovascular Training
Cardiovascular exercise burns calories and causes you to lose weight throughout your whole body. Choose a type that you enjoy, such as fast-paced walking, running, biking, elliptical training, stair climbing, kickboxing or jumping rope. Aim for 45 to 60 minutes and work out four or five days a week. To increase your caloric expenditure, alternate your intensity back and forth from high to low.
Building Muscle
Building muscle through weightlifting will increase your resting metabolic rate, leading to faster belly fat loss. Perform exercises that target all your major muscles like pushups, shoulder presses, back rows, triceps extensions, biceps curls and squats. To further recruit your abdominal muscles, perform as many of these exercises as possible on a stability ball. Placing your lower shins on the ball to do pushups, for example, will cause you to contract your abs. With all your exercises, aim for 10 to 12 reps, do three or four sets and work out two to three days a week.
Abdominal Exercises
Abdominal exercises fit into a belly fat weight-loss plan, but only to create defined muscles as you lose weight. Instead of doing just one exercise, perform multiple exercises like reverse crunches, side crunches, air bikes, situps and Russian twists to target your whole abdominal area. Aim for 15 to 20 reps, do three sets and work your abs three days a week on nonconsecutive days.
