There are many benefits to exercise and improving your fitness, including better sleep, improved mood and a healthier heart. Another reason that many people prioritize working out is to reduce body fat.
Despite what you may have heard, you can’t target a specific area for fat loss. Many studies have disproven spot-reduction techniques, such as abdominal exercises or upper-body resistance training. Fat cells from all over the body can be broken down when we exercise; they do not break down in one specific area.
The good news is that exercise and diet may lead to a whole-body trimmed physique — and only 15 minutes of exercise daily can benefit you greatly.
Below are some of the best ways to lose fat right in the comfort of your own home.
1. Get your steps in
Walking is an ideal workout to do outside the gym. It can be done around the neighborhood or at a park. On good weather days, you can also get some much-needed fresh air. Plus, it’s free and you can take your dog with you, if you have one — pets need exercise, too!
Walking is also a body fat buster. One study found that healthy postmenopausal women lost 3.9% of body fat after 30 weeks of walking and 1.8% after 15 weeks of walking. While we can’t target specific areas, walking can help lose belly fat.
According to Nature, 30 minutes of walking most days of the week showed a significant reduction in body weight and body fat percentage. The study even found that 30 minutes of walking may be as beneficial as 60 minutes (with a healthy diet).
2. Try intermittent fasting
One diet trend that has risen in popularity over the years is intermittent fasting. As the name suggests, this is where people fast for a certain time, and then eat at other scheduled times. One study review found that subjects who fasted intermittently had weight loss ranging from 0.8% to 13%. The idea is to force the body to use up its immediately accessible sugar stores and start burning fat.
A perk of intermittent fasting is that you can customize it to your preference and ability to abstain from food. According to John Hopkins Medicine, fasting can last for a certain number of hours every day or even just eating one meal per day for two days out of the week. For instance, you might only eat during an eight-hour period each day and fast the rest of the day.
It’s important to note that intermittent fasting is not for everyone, especially those at risk for disordered eating or during pregnancy. Before trying intermittent fasting, consult with your doctor to ensure you follow the best plan for you and your goals.
3. Lift heavier weights
This point might seem counterintuitive since we just covered how you can’t burn fat in one specific region, no matter how many stomach crunches you do. But you can balance weight training to target multiple muscle groups or work on certain body parts as part of a whole-body workout. That may give you more balance and a lean appearance and help with body composition.
Weight training can also help lose fat while building muscle. Studies show that 3 pounds of lean muscle weight gain corresponded to 4 pounds of fat weight loss. Resistance training has also been shown to reduce body fat percentage, body fat mass and visceral fat (the fat that surrounds your organs).
Resistance training, be it with weights or bodyweight exercises like pushups, is recommended by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention for at least two days a week, so it can be a fairly easy exercise to fit into your schedule.