8 Science-Backed Ways to Lose Belly Fat

1. Try to limit your stress.

Stress can mess with every part of your body—but how you deal with it can make or break your weight loss goals. “I think most of the effect of stress is behavioral rather than neurochemical,” says Dr. Cheskin. “It makes us eat more, because we use food as a substitute for dealing with stress.

The truth is, eating food to make yourself feel better is usually a whole lot easier than actually facing the stress head-on. “People gravitate toward something that doesn’t require anybody else to do it, is immediately satisfying, and doesn’t take a whole lot of effort, especially if you’re just opening up a package or box,” says Dr. Cheskin.

Stress-eating can only lead to one thing: growing your belly rather than whittling it. If you find yourself stress eating, take a step back and think: What’s causing my stress, and what can I do about it? Find a way to remedy the solution or talk through it with a therapist rather than turning to a bag of Doritos

2. Prioritize quality sleep.

Sleep is huge when it comes to your weight loss success—and that’s both if you sleep too much or too little. “Sleeping too much is probably not great for you healthwise,” says Dr. Cheskin. “But sleeping too little is worse.”

Case in point: One 2017 review and meta-analysis from the U.K. found that people who slept 5.5 hours or less per night ate an extra 385 calories the day after compared to those who snoozed for at least seven to 12 hours. On top of that, they preferred to munch on fatty foods full of empty calories, like chips.

SLEEP DIARIES

Jillian Michaels's Bedtime Routine

Yogi Tiffany Cruikshank's Bedtime Routine

If you’re only getting a minimal amount of sleep each night, that leaves more time for you to snack and make otherwise unhealthy decisions that could affect your weight loss. Although it will vary from person to person on how much sleep you actually need to be most effective (and therefore make progress toward your weight loss goals), the ideal number is typically seven or eight hours, says Dr. Cheskin.

3. Cook more often.

Spending more time in the kitchen can help you shed belly fat, as long as you’re cooking with the right foods, according to a 2017 study. After analyzing data from more than 11,000 men and women, U.K. researchers found that people who ate more than five homemade meals per week were 28 percent less likely to have a high body mass index, and 24 percent less likely to carry too much body fat than those whole only downed three meals at home.

The researchers explain that people who cook their own meals may simply have other good-for-you habits, like exercising more. However, they also concluded that home cooks ate more fruits and vegetables (along with a wider variety of foods), have healthier methods of prepping their food, and splurge less on foods high in calories and sugar. Consider any of the healthy eating books below to get started.

4. Avoid sugary foods.

Research has found a link between eating a lot of sugar and having higher amounts of belly fat. “Added sugar is a very large contributor of excess calories,” says Cording. “If you’re not replacing it with other sources of calories, it can help contribute to a healthy calorie deficit—and that will help you lose weight.”

Having too much sugar can also cause spikes and crashes in your blood glucose levels, Cording says. And, when you have those crashes, it can make you feel tired and hungry, raising the risk that you’ll overeat.

5. Skip processed foods.

Processed foods cause a lot of the same issues with weight loss as sugar in that they can lead to excess calories, Cording says. “A lot of packaged foods have been shown to contribute to bodily inflammation, which is a big driver of belly fat,” she adds.

She recommends trying to have as many whole foods as possible and keeping processed foods to a minimum.

6. Cut back on simple carbs.

Simple carbs like those found in breakfast cereal, white bread, and cookies, convert into sugar in your body, and that can mess with your blood sugar balance and contribute to bodily inflammation, Cording says. “If your blood sugar is all over the place because you’re eating too many simple carbs, that can play a role in the formation of belly fat,” she says.

7. Take a pass on sodas and juices.

Sodas and juices can be sneaky sources of calories, Gans says, and they don’t fill you up. “If you cut back on your source of excess calories, wherever they may be coming from, that will help you lose weight,” she says. While most people are aware that sodas are often liquid sugar, juices tend to have a health halo that isn’t accurate, Cording says. “When you drink juice, it doesn’t have the same fiber as you’d get by actually eating a piece of fruit that will slow down digestion,” she explains. “It hits the bloodstream really quickly and you can have a blood sugar crash afterward.” Weeding out these drinks from your diet will help cut out these excess calorie sources and regulate your blood sugar, she says.

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