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.
what excercises do you recommend for women that are trying to lose belly fat
Full body workouts, weight training workouts and cardio workouts. Ideally you should do cardio everyday to varying degrees of intensity (on most intense days you do nothing else). Do weight training 3 times a week, splitting the routing to target different parts of the body (push/pull split is popular, as it an upper body/lower body split) and also do bodyweight circuit training on 2 other days. Generally cardio in the morning and weights/circuits in the late afternoon / evening works well.
It may seem a lot, but if you are serious about losing that belly fat then you need to get serious. Do crunches and rotary/cycling crunches as part of the bodyweight circuit days and the rest of the time focus on full body workouts to burn fat and build muscle.
Diet is key though, if you are still eating too much, especially mountains of sugar (following a low GI diet helps here), then all the exercise in the World won’t shift it. Even professional athletes have to watch what they eat to prevent weight gain and they workout more frequently at a higher intensity than us mere mortal can ever hope to achieve!
Make a plan and stick to it. Read as much as possible (lots of good advice here) to empower yourself. Knowledge is power. If you struggle then there are some excellent weight loss programs that can be downloaded that provide more information too. But in a nutshell – full body workouts and a healthy diet.
Thank you very much for this information. It’s like the light finally went “ON” when I read it and,…I just want to Thank You.
-Aldred
You are welcome Aldred!
I think a major part of it, other than drinking less beer obviously, is cutting out bread and cakes. My beer belly is finally on its way out after being with me for about a decade. Slowly reducing the inches on my gut. Getting there!
Good to hear “No Bread!”. And you are right, bread really is a major problem. Granary bread is perceived as being healthy, but it really still has a very high energy to nutrition ration compared to other carbohydrate choices.
G’day from Australia,
I’m a 29yo male and am currently approx. 10kilos overweight for my body size/shape/height (according to my doctor). I want to lose this belly fat and have started eating a lot better but not sure what to do with exercise. Is circuit training the way to go or is a combination of interval cardio training and weight training better?
Hi John, both those options are good. Not sure which is best – probably the one you enjoy most. Why not do both? Have a 2 weight training days a week, 2 pure interval training days and 1 or 2 circuit training days. Mix it up? Obviously the main advantage of circuits over weights is that you can do a lot without any gym equipment. The reason circuit training is so good is because it really is a form of interval training and works the muscles too.
jiu-jitsu anyone?
What do you mean Jonmarc? I did some jitsu many years ago. Had long hair at the time and that did not work very well, as I lost chunks of it while wrestling with someone. So I quit and focussed on kickboxing / kung-fu.
Hi, I’ve been health orientated for years, I’ve been doing the above (and a lot more) for years. I eat very healthy and train really hard, basically to a point were I torture myself! I’ve got one problem though..I’m 6 foot 4 inches tall. And It seems impossible for me to get a six pack! I’ve got muscle all over, but except for my stomach. As you should know, it is the major issue for tall guys. even my gym partner which is on the same work out routine and diet as I am, has a six pack!! This is a big frustration! Any advise?
A tricky one. Maybe start adding weights to your ab exercising, performing exercises such as the front squat, and generally working the core harder.
I just started doing cardio 4 times a week for an hour each time and approximately 100 crunches to start with full upper body workouts peppered in once or twice a week, is this a good regimen to follow?
Yes it is Jeremy, although I would suggest adding more of the full body workouts over time and also making some of the cardio sessions HIIT – high intensity interval training. This will increase fat burning and improve fitness and strength.
Ok I have a issue. I believe I have a problem with omentum fat in my stomach. Im a 38/m I have always had a fat stomach and been skinny until I hit about 28 years old. I still have a fat belly but it looks like I have a hugh beer bellie and I dont drink and Im gettin heavier with age. im 6ft and 214 lbs and if I cut my stomach off Id be 170 lbs. What can I do please help!
Hi Alfred, the only way is through healthy and calorie controlled diet and exercise.
Try restricting your diet to 2000 calories a day of low GI vegetables, lean proteins, fresh fruits and nuts. Then also exercise 4-5 times a week. 20-30 minutes a day of bodyweight exercises at home would be a good start.
hey, I need help! I’m v.tall and lean , I use to be v.thin like a stick but then I did some weight training for a while, later on I gave up . Now even thou I’m thin from my arms and chest and I’m tall also but I have a big ugly round shaped stomach. Where do I start from? I wanna get a 6pack and bigger armz and define chest.
Hi Danangg. Begin by starting your weight training again. Also follow the diet rules above to reduce sugar/carbohydrate from your diet. Stomach fat is caused by poor diet and too much food. So eat a healthy diet, do your weight training, in 4 months you should be looking good – just in time for an early Spring.
thanx , i hope so, can u give me a link to the best weight gain and loose belly fat workout plz. Plz thanx agen.
All the info is on this page. If you look at the 2nd reply above that has links to the low GI diet page, the push/pull weight training split page and the bodyweight circuit training. Also the MCD Weight Loss Plan that is linked in the article provides a weekly workout plan plus diet advice. For structured plans the 31 Day Fat Loss Cure is good.
You just need to work hard in the gym, lift weights 2-3 times per week, get plenty of rest and eat well too. For bulking the routine Christian Bale used could prove to be effective for you also.
This article really hits its mark.
I have a question. I have been eating well for the past months and have seen a drastic change in my belly. I don’t drink alcohol. I eat oatmeal, sweet potato, egg whites, nuts, fruits. I drink lots of water. I sleep well. I exercise 3x a week by doing weights. Jog for 30 min once a week. But my the belly fat is still there. I see my abs but the belly fat covers it. Do I need to change something in my routine?
Hi Abdel, if you see your abs then you are almost there, well done. Carry on as you are, just reduce sugar more and do some short intensive cardio sessions – HIIT. This will help burn fat quicker than 30 minutes jogging. You could do sprint intervals during your usual jog.
Hi, I’ve been exercising and eating better for the last 4 weeks. I started out going on the tredmill for 30 mins a day(5-6 days a week)but I’ve upped it now to about an hour. I’ve lost 6KG so far. What are some other good options to lose my stomach and hips as well and just to lose weight quicker?
Hi John. 6kg in 4 weeks is good progress, that is 1.5kg a week (over 3 pounds a week). Definitely carry on as you are doing now as you are getting good results.
You could start doing some circuit training workouts – squats, push ups, leg raises, crunches dips, star jumps, burpees etc. This will help develop more muscle which will aid fat burning.
OK, thanks for the help mate!
Thanks pare! :)
Hi
I used to exercise a lot when I was a teenager but stopped about 2 years ago. I still have some muscles on my arms and my chest but now my stomach is hanging over my belt. I’m 6″1′ and weigh 248lbs but I’m only 21. I know that can’t possibly be a good weight at that age. Are there any specific exercises to pinpoint just the stomach/ab area?
Hi Quinten, no there are no specific exercises to target fat. You need to work your whole body. Intensive bodyweight workouts and weight training is the best way. Plus DIET. Fat accumulates as a result of diet.
Hi. I have been down the gym now for about 4 months and I tend to go 2-3 times a week. I do cardio on two of those days and weight training also and lots of all round exercise and AB work.. I can’t seem to lose the stubborn bit of belly flab around my stomach even though I don’t drink beer only vodka and orange now and not too much.. you say fruit juice has fructose but is this really true a lot of fruit juices are said to be 100% pure.. How can I lose the remaining body fat surrounding my abdomen and get 6 pack abs? Please help . Sam
Fructose is a natural sugar in fruit, so pure juice will contain it. It is all about ensuring that you are not taking in too many calories. So a few glasses of juice can add 300 calories to your daily intake, and that could be the difference between losing weight and not losing weight.
Hi,,
This Is Prakash From India, I Am 22 Years Old. Within 2 Months Suddenly I Get A Belly..but My Body Weight Is Same. Theres No Changes happened,,Could U Help Me How to Reduce The Belly In Home Itself.
Follow the 1 week belly fat plan.
Lots of options. circuit training too.
But, you MUST change your diet also. If you have gained weight in 2 months suddenly you must have started eating more.
Im 38 & im Having Belly How can i reduce IT can u pls tell me some excerises
I have recently lost 30 pounds after my doctor helped me jump start my “dead” metabolism. I have been very overweight for years, and now am struggling to lose the belly fat. I am a hockey coach and am on the ice twice a week doing the drills with my team. I have started to do stair climbing and leg and scissor lifts (cannot do crunches or situps due to a bad back). I am 37 years old, fell amazing after losing the 30 pounds, and am getting discouraged with the “beer belly.” Any other suggestions??? Thank you for the great article!!!
Aaron, do not get discouraged. If you can lose 30 pounds, you can lose more. Re-adjust your diet again, make more small changes. Crunches do not help anyway, so no problem with not being able to do those. Squats work better, do lots of squats.
i would like if you put good ways to lose fat a will be back tomorrow and i want very very good fact not bad facts and if they are not any good facts on i will lave a comment AGAIN OK GOOD
Bob, some good facts:
1. Most people overestimate the amount of energy they burn with exercise
2. Most people underestimate the amount of energy in the food they eat
3. To get fit and lose weight you must diet and exercise to create an energy deficit
These are the key facts of weight loss.
Hi MotleyHealth, you mentioned to cut-out bread. Is it okay to eat wheat bread instead? And is basketball an alternative to running as an exercise?
Wheat bread is no different – it is energy dense food. Any exercise is good.
Recently, I have started a cardio workout where I run 1-2 miles a day, 4-5 times a week. Is this a good workout program, or is there a better routine I could be doing?
Jerry, this is certainly a good start. You should also start doing some bodyweight exercises, such as push ups, leg raises, mountain climbers and chair dips. Work the upper body too to burn more fat and build more muscle. Also squats and lunges are great exercises for building stronger legs.
Hi I’m an Asian and I do eat rice everyday. Does rice make you fat? If I want to lose some belly fat, I need to take in so much rice, correct? Thank you.
Rice does not make you fat if you do not eat too many calories, however, rice is energy dense and most people do not require that extra energy, so do not need it at all. All staple foods can make you fat if eaten in excess.
Hi, I am a 40yo and am keen to start exercising and change my diet to reduce stomach fat, but where do I start?
Hi Terry, start by eating a healthy diet from today onwards. Then do some exercise each day, build it up slowly. Follow the diet tips above the follow the various links to other help articles across this site.
i have a little bit of belly fat that just needs burning off so i do running every day. however, my legs are really fat for some reason, is there any way i can target these areas? also is there a specific daily diet that you would recommend?
Hi Michael, best thing is to just keep running, and reduce calories and eat a healthy and well balanced diet. We all store fat in different areas, some people will store more intramuscular and subcutaneous fat than others, so this may account for your legs carrying a bit extra.
The BBC decided to research weight loss and they shared their results in the program 10 Things You Need to Know About Losing Weight.
Read more: 10 Scientific Ways To Lose Weight
Hi MotleyHealth, I’m 18 years old and I have an annoying problem with the lower belly fat that i just can’t get away. I train track and field and Mixed Martial Arts and do ALOT of cardio training, same as weightlifting. I eat right and healthy.. though still haven’t been able to cut the bread, though i don’t much of it. Can you please help out a bit, small details that i can work on.
Many thanks Marcus
Tricky Marcus, as you sound very active. It is likely that you are just eating a little too much food, or maybe some snacks or drinks are adding too many calories to your daily diet. Healthy food still needs to be regulated to ensure you do not get too much of a good thing.