OK, this is an article aimed at our male readers, although the rules do still apply to all. As we all know, once you get past your teenage years and start enjoying life a little more, the dreaded beer gut starts to make an appearance. If not kept in check, then soon it literally takes center stage and becomes the focus of all attention, both your own and that of colleagues and partners.
To understand how to lose your beer gut, you first need to know what it is and how you managed to get it in the first place.
What Is A Beer Gut?
Unlike the extra fat that many women carry on their hips and buttocks, a man’s beer gut is often almost solid to the touch. This is because rather than consisting of surface fat (subcutaneous fat) it consists of fat that surrounds the internal organs (visceral fat). This type of fat creates a near solid lump where your internal organs are and is therefore firm to the touch.
This type of fat is also extremely unhealthy, it literally strangles your organs, depriving them of the freedom they deserve to move and breathe (for want of a better word without delving into human biology). It basically leads to disease, including heart disease. So, beer bellies are not good.
What is the Best Way to Lose Your Beer Gut?
Many people will say – EXERCISE! But think logically – how did you get your big stomach? Was it because you stopped playing football 3 times a week? Or was it because you started drinking 6 pints of beer 3 nights a week? The reason for putting on fat around the internal organs is mostly due to diet, and not so much due to lack of exercise. This is why you need to do a diet plan as well as exercise.
Although exercise keeps you fit, exercise alone will not lose fat. Athletes and sportspersons have to follow strict diets to maintain their optimum weight. Being slim gives them a competitive advantage, and is not always a byproduct of working out. Although obviously exercise does help to increase a calorie deficit, diet is most important.
Our MCD Weight Loss plan is also designed to help burn off fat with a combination of healthy eating and highly intensive exercise. The first rule of exercise for weight loss is that it must be done with intensity.
But before you start exercising you need to stop drinking so much beer. This is the fist vital step to get rid of your beer gut. You do not need to give up, but cut back big time.
If you down 8 pints on a Saturday night, then you are consuming over 1500 kcal (calories) in one evening, on top of all the food you ate during the day, plus the junk food you eat afterwards, and the breakfast you eat the following day to get over the hangover. This means your Saturday night is adding about 3000 calories to your weekly diet. Do this twice a week and that beer gut will be ballooning in no time.
Diet Your Beer Gut Away
Remember, it is not just the beer that you have been drinking that has given you a beer gut, but also all the junk food that you eat at the same time. Salted peanuts, chips, pork scratchings, kebabs and baltis all add thousands of extra calories to your weekly diet.
Follow these diet rules to lose your gut:
- For fastest results, stop drinking beer completely. Otherwise, cut back just a few pints each week
- Cut back on calories generally. Eat less, eat smaller portions
- Cut out bread and pasta. Replace with healthy vegetables, fruits and salads
- Stop drinking fruit juice (it contains fructose, a form of sugar high in calories)
- Eat more proteins and healthy fats, and less carbohydrates
- Eggs are your friends at breakfast, chicken for lunch, fish for dinner
- Chose low GI foods (GI essentially being a measure of sugar content in food, including healthy vegetables)
- Eat soup every day for one meal
- Eat a salad every day as part of a highly nutritious meal – hold the salad dressing, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
- Replace all daytime drinks except black coffee with water.
Get Fit and Build Muscle to Help Lose Your Beer Gut
If you are going to exercise, which you really should, then make it count. Men have an advantage over women when it comes to losing fat – testosterone. The natural levels of testosterone in the body mean that it is easier to build muscle, and this means that with weight training you can not only burn calories while exercising, you can build lean muscle to help boost your metabolism.
Studies have shown that the best way to lose fat is to shock the body. There are two ways of doing this, and you must do both:
- HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training. You need to work hard, work up a sweat, and be out of breath. If you can hold a conversation while exercising, you are not working hard enough.
- Compound Weight Training Exercises – Big lifts, including Deadlift, Squat, Bench Press, Shoulder Press, Bent Over Row, Barbell Curls. Work the muscles hard to burn fat and build more fat burning muscle!
Although we said above that exercise alone is not the route to losing your gut, it does help a great deal. Some people hit the treadmill in the gym for 30 minutes a day, plodding along, and then head straight back to the bar and order beer and fries. This does not work. But a rigorous exercise regime will help a great deal. There are some really intensive fitness plans available online.
The solution is really simple – eat less and exercise more. The application is often harder! But you can do it.
everything was good except carbs are essential in your diet and i have a six pack after consuming around a loaf of bread every 1-2 days. the key to carbs is to have carbs with 2+ grams of fiber per serving as well so it doesn’t get changed to fat. if you don’t have carbs you won’t have any energy to work out, especially with heavy lifts, i’ve tried.
Carbs are certainly essential, but you should aim to get most from fruits, vegetables, pulses, nuts and some wholegrains. A loaf of bread is around 1500-1800 calories, so even if you just have half a loaf a day that is from 750 calories extra. Any carbs you consume that you do not need (i.e. your blood sugar levels are already high) will be converted and stored as fat.
I am 52 years of age I am 5’11” tall and I used to weight 295 lbs I have lost65 lbs and I have started working out and I am trying to lose belly fat and another 30 pounds, the problem is I have had ten surgeries in the past 3 years shoulders and knee replacements so I can not do alot of heavy lifting and running right now is a no go, I walk on the tread mill and outdoors when it is not to cold; I have recently started lifting light weights but this last 30 lbs seem to not go away it just fluctuates can you please give me some advise.
Hi Bernard, it could be time to look at your diet again. Reducing calories and eating foods that help to reduce hunger will help. That is eggs / proteins for breakfast, soups for lunch and also eat low fat dairy calcium and drink some green tea (both of these aid the excretion of fats) – see 10 scientific ways to lose weight. Keep walking, if the treadmill has an incline function use it as this will require more energy.
Hi MotleyHealth. The advice you give is fantastic!! I hope you can help me, I have been at the gym for 2 months i’m trying to lose fat on my stomach as well as gaining muscle. I’m doing skipping, rowing, treedmill, chin up on the bar, squats , dumbells over my head and chest work. Are they all ok to be doing? I’m taking maxi muscle protein as well everyday after the gym is that ok as well?
Sounds like you are doing well Portlaoise. So long as you keep progressing with the weight training and improve your fitness, you will start to burn more fat. Healthy diet is vital too remember. The Maximuscle protein supplements are good, a whey isolate (Maximuscle’s Promax may be a whey Isolate, I cannot remember) are good as they are lower in sugar and fat so add less calories.
Thanks. Ah yeah the diet is going good,I have been eating good for the last 5 weeks, I haven’t noticed a huge change yet, but only started using protein the last two weeks. Any idea how long it will take to notice a change? Any ideas what excercises to do to get a flat stomach?
Best exercises for a flat stomach are full body exercises, both bodyweight and weight training. You need to work the body hard, work the big muscles. Bodyweight exercises: squats, burpees, lunges, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, push ups leg raises, back extensions, bicycle cruches.
Weight training: Deadlift, squats, bench press, shoulder press, bent over row, curls, pull ups / lat pull downs.
Thanks, that’s great advice for me.I just have one more question for you, that hopefully you can give me advice on, on your website there is an advertisment saying ‘3 worst foods to eat’ and then when ya go into it its about a former soldier on how to get a falt stomach in 31 days, would it be worth getting?
Yes, that is a good weight loss program.
Ok, il order it this weekend!! Just wondering what form does it come in? is it posted to me or do i follow it online? and what exactly does my payment cover?
sorry about all the enquiries!!
What about milk? Is that good to take?
It is yes, as dairy calcium binds to fats which means that more fat is excreted instead of absorbed. But like anything, too much is not good. Lots of calories in milk, it is certainly not a case of the more you drink the less fat your absorb.
I’ve been working out 3 days intense weight training and the occasional intense cardio. I haven’t lost much on the scale but everyone seems to notice a difference in my appearance. I took pictures the first day I lifted before my workout. Its now almost 2 months in I’ve cut back on my diet slightly to include more protein. I’ve also add a good protein drink and n.o. Booster along with a multivitamin and fish oil. I have a good workout routine I feel. I’ve undressed my weight significantly since I started. I feel way healthier and stronger as well. Would you think if I added more cardio and ate less starchy foods I’d obtain my six pack faster. I have no fat on me except my belly.
That could well work Josh. Reducing starchy food is reducing sugar, and sugar quickly gets converted to fat if their is too much available in the blood. Sounds like you have made great progress though, so well done.
For the past month or so I’ve been doing a good job of eating less and working out a lot. I’ve been doing 30-45 min of cardio and about 20 minutes of various weight training. It’s been going pretty well and I’m down about 1.5 inches on the waist. I drink a fair amount of coffee and use sugar free flavored creamer. If I switched to plain black coffee would that help.
It would probably help a bit. Do you know how many calories are in the creamer? Are you progressing with your weight training and fitness, i.e lifting heavier weights and getting fitter? Remember, more muscle = increased metabolism = more fat burning.
Hi,
I’m trying to get rid of my belly fat, which is 34” and my waist is 30”. I want to lose at least 3-4” from my stomach. I’m weight training (pyramid training) four times a week at the gym to gain muscle mass and do 30 mins of HIIT at the end of each workout, which makes me sweat a lot! I also do a separate day of 30 mins HIIT. I cycle to the gym too which is 2 mile there and back. I’m eating healthily, low calories, lots of fruit and veg, I eat wheat once a day and vary my grains to ensure I eat corn, oats and rice too. Am I on the right track and how long will it take to see results?
I’m extremely confused with all the information I’ve found on the internet. I have a naturally thin build- some would say skinny. I have almost no fat on my arms, legs, butt or chest, only my abs. My doctor said that someone with my body-type is extremely likely to have defined abs, yet I don’t. I exercise 5-3 times a week, 3 days a week of weights with a little bit of interval training, then pure cardio 2-3 days a week. My family and I are all vegetarians so I don’t have much in the way of fat in my diet. I’ve tried everything, but I just can’t lose the fat in my lower abs. I’m desperate; healthy diet and plenty of exercise aren’t helping and I don’t know what to do anymore. My doctor says to just stick with it, but it’s been months now with no change… What am I doing wrong?
Hi Saheed, sounds like you are indeed on the right track. As for how long to see results, I would hope that if you maintain this regime you should see improvements within a month and maybe results in a few months, but really it is a case that everyone is different. Just keep working at it until you get the results you want, and then do not stop!
Hi Andrew, are you building more muscles? Do you get much protein. Try to increase your protein intake without increasing total calories (eggs, pulses, nuts are all good). Keep lifting heavier weights, and work the whole body – squats, deadlifts, etc. too.
I often find a lot of information on exercise to all be very contradicting at times, but after following this page quite religously, weight building 2 days on 1 day off and heavy cardio 3 days on 1 day off i have gone from 17 stone of pure fat to 14 & a 1/2 stone and the feedback has been amazing and very encouraging, it hurts but it’s worth it, so thank you very much.
So glad to hear that Matthaus, and well done!
I am a busy 19 year old college student on a budget. I am overall pretty thin (5’10 and about 155lbs) however, I’ve always had some fat in my stomach and lately it seems to have gotten worse. What kind of exercises can I do at home with no equipment, and what kind of foods I should I be eating throughout the day? (I can’t afford to eat fish and chicken frequently).
I’m a big fan of juice and pop so I’ve been trying to cut back and drinking a lot more water, is diet pop a good alternative to statisfy the cravings once in a while? Also, I tend to stay up late at night and sometimes get hungry and end up having basically another meal. Any advice?
Thanks!
Hi Daniel. First off, stop all juice and all pop. If money is tight, you will save a fair amount just by doing this. 2 bottles of pop is about the same price as a couple of chicken legs in some supermarkets. If you are serious about your health you need to reconsider your priorities. Vegetables are also cheap to buy (contrary to popular belief that they are more expensive that takeaways).
As for the extra meal in the evening, again, do not do it. If you are really hungry eat something light, like canned fish or a small portion of nuts.
As for exercise, exercise has always been free. Only corporate gyms and fitness professionals charge people to do exercise. Take a look at our home workouts, note the circuit training workout too.
Do you have any facilities or clubs at college? This could be another option. Many colleges provide very cheap swimming, gym or fitness clubs / martial arts clubs.
I am busy young work professional who has gotten out of shape. I currently stand at 6’1″ tall and i way 280 lbs. Most people mistake me for a American football player and are shoked to learn how heavy I am. I really wanted to lose the weight and get down to about 220lbs (my healthiest every). My goal is twofold, to lose my gut and be able to dunk a basketball. What advice would you give to help me acheive them both. I just recently (yesterday) joined a gym and I plan on going 2-3 days a week as well as get in a game of basketball once a week. What advice can you give me regarding my diet as well?
Thanks
Hi Robert, you need to cut calories to lose weight. Eat a healthy diet, but really strict with yourself. For exercise try one big weight training sessions per week and 2 intensive cardio sessions per week, ideally 2 weight training and 2 cardio though. Alternate each. Cut empty carbs, cut out all beer and other alcohol (or reduce), reduce bread, pasta, rice, eat healthy salads, lean meats, fish, poultry.
Ok. Thanks for the advice. I forgot to mention that I am also on a strict budget (who isn’t these days) and I have found it difficult to eat healthy since these foods are more expensive. I recently spoke with a gentlemen who lost over 50 lbs in 3 months and he said that a friend of his who is a nutritionist put him on a chicken and vegetable diet were every 2 hours he eats baked chicken and any vegetable except corn (because of the starch. In your opinion, would this be conducive to enable someone like me to lose weight?
It could work, but chicken is not cheap.
Why not go vegetarian, but eat vegetables, not bread. Have you ever looked at “cavemen diets”? Healthy food, i.e. fresh vegetables, is not actually very expensive. Branded “health food” is expensive, but real food is not. Carrots are cheap as chips (British expression!).
What you need to do is reduce the amount you eat (this is cheaper to start with) and eat healthier foods. Eat oats for breakfast (buy a large bag from the supermarket, good value for money and will last weeks), eat vegetable and bean soups for lunch (cheap, full of energy, some protein and keeps you full). Eat something light in the evening, a small chicken salad for example (olive oil dressing only, small portion!).
This is the sort of diet you need to follow if you are on a budget and want to lose weight. Avoid snacking, drink plenty of water, and keep exercising.
Thank you so much for the advice my friend! I really appreciate your insight. Keep up the good work:-)
Thank you for this wonderful article. I’m just curious; until recently I had a job that had me sitting in a chair for 8 hours a day (for 10 years), and during that time I was often hypoglycemic before finally getting diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Oddly enough, medication hasn’t been the answer to controlling it, and the closest I’ve gotten are whey protein shakes, which I started taking to diet with my wife; soon after substituting the shakes for a couple of the meals I was eating each day, my blood sugar level dropped rapidly, and while it isn’t under control yet, it’s a lot closer than it’s been in years.
My question is, is there anything in the above article’s recommendations that you would change for a diabetic? I’m about to finally get off of my butt and start exercising and make more of an effort to eat right (and hopefully eventually lose this gut I’ve had for my entire life), but I was just wondering if there were any further recommendations you could make.
Thanks so much!
We cannot provide any specific advice for diabetics yet. Although I will be doing a course in “Care for Diabetes” in a few months time…..
A friend of mine that has recently been diagnosed with Type 2 recommended this forum: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/ – I am sure someone there could advise better than I can at the moment.
i’ve got lot of belly fat and in some other parts of my body i don’t drink alcohol so whats up?i really to loss them and get fit.what must i eat,what must i not eat and what must i do?
Hi Eric, read How to Lose Belly Fat and Get a Flat Stomach and then Basics Of A Healthy Diet – What To Eat. Between them this covers diet for losing belly fat.
The key is calories – you must reduce calories. People that drink a lot of beer are more likely to develop a beer belly due to the calories in beer, however, you can develop a belly from drinking or eating too much of anything.
Need a little help. I am 5’11” 225lbs 24 year old married man and a former athlete. As I have fallen out of sports and the longer I have been married I have started to gain more weight. When I was in athletic shape I use to be around 175-180. I am trying to get back into that range of weight again but in a hurry. I just started working out two weeks ago and have lost 4lbs. Is there any thoughts to help improve my quick weight loss naturally or to speed up my metabolism? Thanks for the help and great article.
Hi Austin, 4 pounds in 2 weeks is good progress. Work on your strengths with regards to fitness – you know best what you are capable of and how to get there again. What type of athlete were you? You should have good muscle memory, so just start working out like you used to.
The key is really diet, it is likely that you have put on weight mostly due to a change in diet during your new lifestyle. You need to take more control and reduce calories / eat healthier. Family meals are important but you should be able to find ways to reduce calories in work time meals etc.
If you used to do all your workouts at the gym / track then maybe now is a good time to find some home workouts that you can do instead. Once you have kids (if not already) then there will be even more ties to the house, and less time to get out to the gym. I recently started using kettlebells (well, one 16kg kettlebell) which provides a pretty intensive and dynamic workout.
If you really are in a hurry, then just keep working out hard and limit calories. At 225 pounds you are not massively overweight so losing more than a few pounds a week will be hard (especially if you want to avoid losing muscle tissue). Get some protein each day, ideally with each meal (releases a hormone to reduce hunger and also essential to prevent muscle wastage when on a low calorie diet). Just work hard.
As for metabolism, the best way to increase metabolism is to exercise, and keep the food coming, but in very small portions.
I am not trying to lose any weight, but I do just want to lose my a thin layer of fat, is there something out here that just allows me to do that.
I love my weight, just not the belly fat.
Hi Kevin, there certainly is something precisely for that – exercise. Build muscle and burn fat. Keep your weight the same, but rather than having excess flab to slow you down you have extra muscle to speed you up. Start a weight training plan and also do circuit training twice a week. This will change your body shape to your liking in a relatively short time (2-3 months). An alternative that combines weight training and intensive cardio well is a kettlebell workout, but ensure that you start light and take it easy to avoid injury (or get private instruction).
hi, really could do with some advice on this one, i have been trying to get rid of my gut for some time but cannot get the right advice, so many mixed messages its crazy. i stoppped my gym membership bought some road shoes and a weight bench etc and have started to work from home (i only get limited time with my son and i work out when he is in bed)
my diet is now protein shake with eggs for breakfast, lunch generally meat salad and chicken for tea with lots of veg, protein shake mid afternnon, after training and before bed, i also use creatine, colon cleanse, green tea, acai berries and multi vitamin tablets,
my workout consists of 1 or 2 mile runs 3 times a week and 3 weight sessions pushed to point where i cant lift anymore, does this sound like a good routine as i have just started?
if so when will i start to see the results
Hi Stephen, it certainly sounds like a good start. Running and weight lifting is a great way to get in shape. You will need to work hard on both of these though, so aim to increase to at least 3 mile runs 4 times a week and weight training 3 sessions. For weight training make sure that you are progressing in terms of reps and weight lifted. Do deadlifts and bent over rows to strengthen the back – big muscles help burn more fat.
Diet – you may still be eating too much. Not sure if you need to protein shake at breakfast. In fact, I would suggest just having one after the weight training workouts for now. Also the colon cleanse, green tea – not really sure how useful these are going to be. If you are exercising 6 times a week you are raising your metabolism well. However, if you like green tea it is better than tea or coffee with milk.
Check the total calories too, “lots of vegetables” may well be nutritious and healthy, but too many calories will still prevent fat loss, no matter how healthy those calories are.
hello sir. my wight is about 55 kilograms and i m about 5’3 height and my age is just only 12 can u please suggest me what balance diet i should take to reduce my weight. Sir i had no time for exercise and i m pepraring hard for exams. Sir i am pure vegetarian so give the balanced diet for me as a vegetarian diet.
thanks pls reply soon
We have some information for vegetarians here. Judging by your weight you do not need to lose any weight. Instead you should start doing more exercise to encourage healthy growth and development.
Hey I’m struggling to get these last 5-10 pounds I already do full body workouts and cardio 3-4 times a week. As of my diet the articles (like yours) says to have lean meats and fish however I am a vegetarian I already have egg whites in morning what do you suggest I should have for lunch and dinner to help get rid of these last couple of pounds?
Hi John. You need to reduce calories, eat healthy food, no bread, no pasta, no noodles, no refined flours or processed foods at all. Vegetables and fruits. Eat beans and chickpeas for the extra protein, and some nuts, but the key is to limit calories now, keep exercising and hope to burn the last 10 pounds off.
I have listened about fat loss, I have a little bit fat on my body. I have learned about 31 day fat loss cure but it is too expensive. I need to buy it but I cant afford it. Help me out to loss my maximum belly fatness. Thanks
Hi Rohaan. Our own MCD Weight Loss Plan provides workout advice and diet advice, this will help you. Also take a look at these two eBook that are free:
Insider Secrets for a Lean Body
The Weight Loss Blue Print
well i need that product which makes me flat ..so help me out …
Thanks
Rohaan, have you read the MCD Weight Loss plan? Why do you feel that you need to 31 Day ebook so badly? Admittedly it is a good weight loss ebook, one of the best, but if you cannot afford it then make use of the free information and advice that is available to you.
I am afraid of my belly fat. It turns me bad shape, do you have a good suggestion about diet?
This is our best advice on diet. Do you exercise Dean? These 2 articles may help you too: How to Lose Belly Fat in 1 Week and How to Lose Belly Fat and Get a Flat Stomach