Step 1
Reduce your caloric intake to promote weight loss. Monitor your intake for a full week, add the totals together and divide by seven to get an average. Subtract 500 to 1,000 calories and make that your new average.
Step 2
Replace the unhealthy foods in your diet with healthier options. Give up the bread sticks, corn dogs, cupcakes, chips, processed meats and glazed doughnuts. Eat foods that are high in nutrients instead, like lean meats, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, beans and fish.
Step 3
Restrict your intake of liquid calories. It doesn't matter if the calories are in the form of solids or liquids. They still add up and they still cause weight gain. Give up soda pop, sweetened teas, processed fruit drinks, lemonade, dessert coffees and alcohol. Drink water as your main beverage and flavor it with cucumber slices or lemon wedges to enhance the taste.
Step 4
Consume small meals throughout the day starting with breakfast. Studies show that people who skip breakfast and eat fewer times during the day tend to be heavier than people who eat a healthy breakfast and eat four or five times a day, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders. Eat meals that are balanced with complex carbs and protein. Cottage cheese with chopped fruit and seeds mixed in is a meal example.
Step 5
Indulge in an unhealthy treat once a week. This will keep you from feeling overly deprived and it will give you something to look forward to. Keep it to once a week and have the discipline to walk away from the table as soon as you are done.
Step 6
Perform cardio exercises to burn fat throughout your whole body, including your belly. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 60 to 90 minutes of cardio for weight loss and 30 minutes to reap health benefits. Aim for the higher amount until your belly fat disappears, then exercise at the lower guideline for maintenance. Exercise four to five days a week. Increase your time if you should happen to notice your belly getting larger in the future.
Step 7
Execute weight training exercises two to three times a week to build metabolically active muscle. Target all of your major muscle groups with exercises like chest presses, lateral raises, bent-over rows, triceps dips, biceps curls and lunges.
Step 8
Continue eating healthy and exercising every week for the rest of your life. This is the only way you will keep your belly fat from returning. Be more active with your daily chores as well. Go for walks during lunch, always opt for stairs instead of elevators and consider joining a recreational sports league in your area.
