How to Lose Belly Fat According to Reddit Users

Losing belly fat can be a challenge, especially if you’re going it alone without support from a personal trainer or nutritionist. Fortunately, the web is a great place to get real-life help with your weight loss efforts from online communities- although it’s essential to check that any tips you use are safe before you use them.

Determining which online weight loss tips are worth it can be tricky. After all, most forums are anonymous, so there’s no way to check the credentials of the people giving the advice. To make it easier, we’ve gathered all the best Reddit weight loss tips in one place so that you can benefit from other people’s experiences.

Reddit is a popular and well-known online community where you can discuss all kinds of topics with other users. One of its busiest subject areas is weight loss, and joining the forums can be a great source of tips and a place to find buddies with the same goals and challenges as you. In this article, we’ll reveal how to lose weight according to Reddit users.

1. Aim for Slow, Sustainable Weight Loss

When you search for how to lose belly fat in a week, according to Reddit, a quick read of the forums will reveal that many of its users don’t recommend crash dieting for rapid fat loss. Most Reddit how to lose belly fat threads feature the same advice- when it comes to lasting fat loss, slow and steady wins the day. This concept also has a significant scientific basis.

Research shows that steady weight loss has a better effect on body composition than fast weight loss achieved through crash dieting. A moderate weight loss diet designed to achieve slow but consistent fat loss is also easier to stick to long-term and less likely to result in nutritional deficiencies than a highly restrictive diet. So, how long does it take to lose belly fat, according to Reddit?

Overall, losing 1-2 pounds per week is the safest rate to lose weight, and you’re also more likely to keep the belly fat off if you stick to this pace. You can achieve this weight loss rate by cutting your daily calorie intake by 500-1000 calories, although you may lose weight faster at first if you’re very overweight or obese.

How long it takes to lose your belly fat will vary from person to person because it depends on how much fat you have to lose. People who are only a couple of pounds overweight could lose their belly fat in just a few weeks, whereas it could take several months or even closer to a year if you have a lot to lose.

2. Move as Much as Possible

Search for how to lose belly fat with exercise on Reddit, and you’ll get a wide range of recommendations from people who swear a specific type of activity was the only thing that helped them shift the weight. Some Redditors swear by HIIT training to battle the bulge, while others achieved their goals by swimming or walking every day.

However, one of the best tips we read was to find an activity that you enjoy to make exercising easier to stick to. Ultimately, if you’re forcing yourself to do hardcore workouts that you hate, you’ll start skipping the gym whenever you can. Any physical activity burns calories, and exercise that raises your heart rate and makes you feel slightly breathless will help you lose weight. Some ideas for enjoyable exercise include:

• Dance classes
• Swimming or aqua aerobics
• Martial arts like kickboxing or karate
• Hiking
• Cycling

Which exercise suits you best depends on your personal tastes. However, some types of exercise indeed burn more calories than others. You can find a comprehensive list of how many calories each activity expends here.

When it comes to losing belly fat, there are a couple of tips you can use to help you shift the bulge even faster. HIIT workouts allow you to fit in an exercise routine relatively quickly and could help you lose more fat than traditional cardio workouts. There’s also some evidence to suggest that combining cardio and resistance training is the fastest route to losing belly fat fast.

3. Cut Out Liquid Calories

Most Reddit weight loss progress threads mention cutting liquid calories at some point, and for a good reason. When people try to lose weight, they often consider what they eat but fail to account for hidden calories contained in their drinks.

Many Reddit weight loss threads recommend replacing all of your beverages with water. This advice has a good foundation, in fact, because many drinks contain a lot of sugar, equalling a significant calorie hit. For example, a 12-ounce serving of regular soda contains up to a whopping 189 calories, depending on which brand you choose.

Hidden calories in beverages don’t just come from sugar. Many popular drinks contain a lot of fat, from creamy pina colada cocktails to takeout coffees. A single whole milk latte contains around 122 calories, and that’s if you choose a small serving. Opt for a large coffee takeout, and you could be looking at a massive hike in your daily calories.

If you drink alcohol, it’s important to take the calories in your favorite tipple into account. Alcohol contains a lot of calories, and even a couple of drinks on a night out can add up to the equivalent of a whole extra meal or two. For example, a small glass of white wine contains around 128 calories, while a 12-ounce bottle of beer packs a caloric punch of 153 calories. In reality, many people drink far larger servings than this, especially if they pour their own drinks without a measure from the bottle.

While there are a few health benefits associated with modest alcohol consumption, we don’t recommend starting drinking if you don’t already. It’s also sensible to reduce or eliminate alcohol when you’re trying to lose weight to cut down on calories. You should also check that you’re not consuming more than the safe daily limit to avoid alcohol-related health problems.

So, are you doomed to drinking just water when you’re trying to lose weight? Fortunately, there are a few options to make your daily beverages more varied. You could try:

• Water with slices of whole citrus fruits in it to add flavor
• Tea or coffee, taken black or with a splash of skimmed milk
• Calorie-free sodas (we recommend limiting these to a few servings a week)
• Herbal teas

4. Prepare Your Own Meals

One of the most popular Reddit weight loss tips is to prepare your own meals in advance whenever possible. Meal prepping helps guard against spur-of-the-moment impulse snacking or reaching for the takeout menu when you’re too tired to cook.

A busy schedule or hectic home life can make calorie-dense fast food or salt-laden frozen ready meals almost irresistible, but these options are bad news for your waistline and overall health. Ensuring that you always have nutritious meals and snacks to hand makes it easier to make healthy decisions when you’re tired or in a hurry. So, we recommend taking some time each week to batch cook and box up some lunches and dinners for the days ahead.

Preparing your own food is generally better for weight loss because you can carefully control the total number of carbs, fats, salt, and calories you consume. You can also split your meals into suitable portions for weight loss.

However, it’s challenging to avoid eating out altogether, and we don’t recommend turning down social engagements just to avoid deviating from your meal plan. Cutting out enjoyable activities like eating out with friends is terrible for your motivation and could affect your personal relationships.

Restaurant meals tend to come in larger portions and contain more calories than the food we prepare at home, but that doesn’t mean you can never eat out when you’re trying to lose belly fat. Here are some quick tips to help you enjoy restaurant meals without sabotaging your diet:

• Check the menu beforehand to choose a healthy option so that you don’t make an unhealthy snap decision later
• Order before your companions so that you aren’t tempted to change your mind when you hear what they’re eating
• Skip the salad dressing or ask for it on the side so that you can control how much you eat
• Order a green salad or vegetables on the side for extra fiber and nutrients without the calories
• Choose a broth or vegetable-based soup without croutons
• Order a side or two instead of a main course to keep portions under control
• Skip the appetizer if you have a main course
• Choose a meal based around lean protein like fish, meat, or tofu, and pick a low-carb accompaniment instead of fries or potatoes
• Don’t partake in the breadbasket, or consume half the amount you would usually take
• Ask to substitute high-carb, high-fat foods like rice or potatoes for salad or veggies, or ask for your burger without the bun
• Order a low-calorie beverage to go with your meal like diet soda or water
• Stop eating when you feel satisfied

5. Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

Whether you’re searching for how to lose belly fat for men on Reddit or looking for weight loss tips for women, many users will testify that adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet helps trim your waistline.

While it may seem basic, fruits and vegetables in your diet add many essential nutrients and contain a lot of fiber. Evidence shows that eating plenty of soluble fiber, like the kind found in fruits and veggies, can help you shift belly fat. It’s particularly effective for getting rid of the dangerous visceral fat around your organs, although it won’t help you get rid of subcutaneous fat.

Eating more fiber can also help you feel fuller, potentially making you less likely to overeat. Overall, a high fiber intake is associated with a reduced body weight.

So, how many fruits and vegetables should you eat to help you lose weight? Incredibly, the CDC reports that only 10% of American adults get enough fruits and vegetables in their diets. It recommends aiming for 1.5-2 cups of fruit per day and 2-3 cups of veggies.

Fruits and vegetables are also relatively low in calories, so loading up half your plate with greens can help you eat fewer calories overall. Here are some example calorie contents of popular fruits and vegetables from the FDA:

• 8 strawberries: 50 calories
• 1 medium banana: 110 calories
• 1 medium orange: 80 calories
• 1 broccoli stalk: 45 calories
• 1 medium carrot: 30 calories
• 1 bell pepper: 25 calories
• 1 medium tomato: 25 calories

6. Eat a Ketogenic Diet

The ketogenic diet features on many Reddit belly fat loss threads, and there’s a good reason that it’s one of the hottest topics when it comes to how to lose lower belly fat, according to Reddit for both men and women.

The ketogenic diet can help you lose more weight than traditional weight loss techniques that tend to be higher in carbs and lower in fat. This diet involves limiting your carb intake to just 20-50g each day and instead loading up on lean protein, veggies, and healthy fats. Many Redditors got great results on a keto diet and said that it helped them shift the excess fat around their waists.

You can follow a ketogenic diet at home on your own with a bit of research, but we think it’s easier and more effective to invest in a specialized ketogenic meal plan. Our favorite option is Weight Loss Evolved because it comes with doctor-approved advice, easy-to-follow recipes, ad a customizable exercise plan.

Most adults can follow a keto plan safely without supervision, but you may experience issues if you have certain health conditions like diabetes. We recommend seeking approval from your doctor before embarking on a ketogenic meal plan if you have a pre-existing health problem or take regular medication.

7. Make One Small Change at a Time

When you decide to lose belly fat, it can be tempting to go in all guns blazing and overhaul your eating and exercise routines all at once. Some people enjoy the challenge of making big changes and feeling like they’re doing a proper blitz. However, most people find making widespread changes all at once daunting and difficult to maintain.

Many Redditors recommend making one small change at a time to allow you to build up lasting healthy habits. This advice has the backing of a large task force made up of some of the leading American authorities on healthy eating and weight loss, which stated that the best way to lose weight and keep it off was to build up small habit changes over time.

So, how do you apply this advice to your everyday life? We recommend picking one new habit a week to cultivate and adding new ones when they become second nature. Here are some ideas for healthy habits to get you started:

• Take steps to ensure you get 7-9 hours of high-quality sleep every night
• Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water every day
• Walk or do another form of exercise for 30 minutes most days
• Eat a high-protein breakfast such as eggs
• Take a healthy packed lunch to work every day
• Count your calories, reducing your intake by 500-1000 calories overall
• Cover half of your plate with colorful vegetables at every meal
• Eat each meal slowly and savor each bite
• Eat at the table without watching TV or using your mobile phone at the same time
• Prepare your own meals
• Cut down on alcohol and sugary and fatty beverages

8. Try Intermittent Fasting

Many Reddit users say that intermittent fasting helped them lose belly fat. There are many different ways to do intermittent fasting, including plans that restrict your food intake to a set window each day (often 8 hours) or on certain days.

More research is needed to say whether intermittent fasting offers all the health benefits that many devotees claim, such as improving immunity. However, it can be effective for weight loss as long as you don’t significantly over-indulge during your non-fasting periods. If it suits your lifestyle, intermittent fasting can be a great way to lose belly fat without the need to count calories excessively or follow complicated meal plans.

Generally, intermittent fasting is safe and suitable for most adults, although people with exceptionally active lifestyles may find it too difficult to stick to. It could also cause a risky fixation on food restriction in people who already have disordered eating habits. Some groups should not attempt intermittent fasting:

• Pregnant and breastfeeding women
• People who take medicines that must be taken alongside food
• Diabetics
• Anyone who has ever had an eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia
• Children and teenagers
• Intermittent fasting isn’t a magic bullet for weight loss compared to other diets, but many people find that it makes
• decision-making around food far easier. Ultimately, it’s worth a try to see if intermittent fasting could help you to lose belly fat.

FAQs

Q: What is the best way to lose belly fat, according to Reddit?

A: Reddit users suggest various proven ways to lose belly fat, including intermittent fasting, the ketogenic diet, and exercising regularly. Generally, the advice to burn calories through exercise and eating fewer calories is the only way to shed belly fat. However, exactly how you do it depends on your lifestyle and preferences. Any diet that reduces your caloric intake and any exercise that raises your heart rate will work to shift belly fat.

Q: How long does it take to lose belly fat, according to Reddit?

A: Many Redditors say that the best way to lose weight is to do it slowly and steadily, and we agree. Steady and consistent weight loss is easier on the body and less likely to cut down on calories so severely that you end up with nutritional deficiencies. How long it takes to lose belly fat, according to Reddit, depends on how much weight you have to lose and how much time and effort you’re willing to put into eating healthily and exercising.

Q: Is Reddit a good place to get weight loss tips?

A: Reddit is a great place to find weight loss tips that worked for real people and get support from a thriving online community. However, it’s crucial to bear in mind that everyone on Reddit is anonymous. Therefore, there’s no way to check their credentials, even if they claim to be a doctor or nutritionist. It’s sensible to check the scientific evidence before following the weight loss tips you find on Reddit, especially if they sound extreme.

The Bottom Line

Joining an online community like Reddit is a great way to get weight loss motivation and support. There are plenty of people who have lost considerable amounts of belly fat ready and willing to provide advice. Many of the tips suggested on Reddit are safe and proven to work, and you can find the best ones in this article.

However, it’s essential to take your circumstances and health into account and do your own research before following the advice on anonymous forums like Reddit. While some Reddit contributors are experts in the field of health and weight loss, it’s impossible to know who really knows what they are talking about. That said, many have real-life experience of losing belly fat that you can apply to your own weight loss journey.

Before you take any advice on weight loss, from this article or elsewhere, make sure that it is safe for your health status. We recommend asking your doctor for support and advice if you have a health condition like diabetes or are pregnant, breastfeeding, or under 18.