HOW I GOT FROM TOO SQUISHY BELLY FAT TO SEXY

And still working on it! And how you can also: An Attempt at reducing BODY FAT

Whyte Queen

Published in

sQuintessential

15 min readMay 4, 2017

The weather was great and I was wearing clothes that should make me slay it! But I was being looked at in a weird way- What’s is wrong with me? Why do people continually stare at me like that? Not until someone walked up to me and honestly told me what was wrong did I believe something was actually wrong.

“Um? Your stomach looks way too big” the soldier informed me looking at me in the eyes to know how I would react.

I had always been told I was getting fat but I didn’t care; afterall it was all I had wanted. I was ashamed of the way my neck looked like that of a giraffe; long with my slender shape giving it all away so being fat felt like an accomplishment and so I didn’t care.

When mom was alive, I had tried all I could to put on weight all to no avail and now she was gone I was gaining more weight than I lost. I didn’t want to know why because I was enjoying the moment. Mom had always made sure I didn’t eat junk most of the time as she would ensure food was ready and not just any food but healthy food while I worked. This was the reason I didn’t add weight during these periods. I felt being fat meant good living (plus having to get rid of my ‘long neck’) and being healthy but I was wrong. Wrong for these reasons:

I was depending more on junk. 90% of my daily intake consisted of nothing but junky food. Most days I didn’t feel like eating anything except biscuits and soda.
I was not healthy, became more sick than usual.
I started feeling heavier and heavier as the days grew by. I found I couldn’t do things as easily as I would have. My gait changed as I grew more aware of my fat.
I was eating more than necessary.
Fat was gathering in every fat of my body- my hands, stomach, legs even cheeks.
My clothes didn’t fit just right anymore. I became more concerned about wearing things that didn’t show how much fat I had gathered in my stomach. I was looking like a pregnant teenager; probably six months. I am laughing now but sincerely those terrible days were not funny!
I became socially redundant. Always found myself comparing myself to other girls and divas on TV. Was scared of going to the beach; it meant not enjoying the fun. I couldn’t tuck in on any cloth as this would only reveal how big my tummy was. I felt horrible seeing my age mates feel good about themselves but I did not. I began to wish I was thinner again like before when I didn’t care about how I looked in what I was wearing.
Became more and more unhappy after finally realizing I was actually fat. I became more stressed up than usual.

Okay if all those items listed above checked for you, here are important steps (which I had taken and I’m still taking) to help your fight body fat:

Accept You’re Fat

The first step as we all know it to correcting a problem is acceptance. Accept you are fat, as simple as ABC. After you’re able to do that, your body would be able to adjust to the new changes you want to make because of your conviction.

Don’t Hate Yourself for it

Accepting you’re fat is one thing and working towards making it better is another. You don’t need to hate yourself for being fat; some things just happen. Most times we are unable to control such situations as we are unaware of its happenings. Don’t feel bad about yourself or cow about it. Take the bulls by the horn and move ahead (of course to the subsequent paragraphs- more tips await).

Don’t be Asocial because of it

Never loose faith in yourself because you’re fat. Don’t be a social nerd either because of it. It won’t help trust me. As someone who has crossed that bridge and onto another, I’m in a better position to tell you that. When I became aware that I was abnormally fat, I withdrew myself from people, never associated and became a fib to myself. Those days were dreadful and whenever I see someone who is fat, I imagine what the person must be going through. So how did I fight this? Read the next line!

Be Determined to Work on It

Strength, agility and determination is one of the core basis of reducing body fat. When doing sit-ups and other forms of exercises, it can be painful and hard and you’ve got to remind yourself that ‘you need this’ and that ‘you must do this’ irrespective of how painful it is. For the first few days of exercises, your whole body would throb with pain but continuous participation in these exercises would make your body unaware of the pain and it would become a usual thing. I was determined never to give up. Truth be told, it was excruciating and I remember how my whole body felt numb and sore the first day I exercised; I could hardly walk, lift my legs or run. I continued despite being tired after returning from work each day and this was usually around 12:00pm in the night (when everybody was asleep). But I recommend daily exercises as they tend to work faster, but for busy people, you can carry out these exercises before going to bed.

Exercise Daily or Weekly as your Schedule Permits

Start with sit-ups. Don’t over-stress yourself for the first few days; your body needs to get used to this regimen. Talk regular walks, jogs and running. Other exercises you can use to reduce belly fat includes; crunches, rolling plank exercise, stomach vacuum, bending side to side, vertical leg crunch, twist crunches, reverse crunches, lunge twist, captain’s chair etc. Some pictures are shown below to help you understand better.

Crunches

How To Do

Lie down flat on a mat with your knees bent and feet on the ground. Alternatively, you can also lift your legs off the floor at a 90-degree angle. (See picture).
Lift your hands and place them behind your head, or keep them crossed on your chest.
Inhale deeply, and as you lift your upper torso off the floor, exhale.
Inhale again as you get back down, and exhale as you come up.
Do this for 10 times as a beginner.
Repeat another two to three sets.

Precautions

While performing crunches, instead of entering the full sit-up position, just raise your back a few inches from the ground. This ensures you don’t hurt your back. Do not jerk your head forward while doing crunches. This will put pressure on your neck and result in pain. Just hold your hands above your head and perform the exercise.

Useful Tip: As you lift your torso, do not sit up straight. Your back should make an angle of 30–40 degrees with the ground. Only then you will feel pressure on your abdominal muscles.

Twist Crunches

Once you get used to the regular crunches, modify the basic crunch to get an even more effective tummy exercise.

How To Do

Lie down on the floor with your hands behind your head.
Bend your knees as you would do in crunches, keeping your feet on the floor.
You have to lift your upper torso while performing crunches. But, in twist crunches, you have to lift just your right shoulder towards the left, keeping the left side of your torso on the ground.
Again alternately, lift your left shoulder towards the right, keeping the right side of your torso on the ground.
Repeat 10 times.

Side Crunch

How To Do

This is same as the twist crunch exercise. The only difference is that you need to tilt your legs to the same side simultaneously with your shoulders. The side crunch focuses on the muscles on your sides.

Precautions

Make sure you keep your movements steady and slow. The midsection, being a complex area, could hurt if you perform the twists in a hurried fashion.

Reverse Crunches

Now it’s time to do reverse crunches. This is another good exercise to reduce belly fat.

How To Do

This is similar to the twist crunch exercise. The only thing that you need to do is tilt your legs behind simultaneously with your shoulders. The side crunch focuses on the muscles on your sides.

Precautions

Keep your back straight while performing the exercise, as arching it can result in pain, and in some cases, even injury.

Vertical Leg Crunch

How To Do

Lie flat on the floor, or on the mat, with your legs extended upwards (towards the ceiling) and one knee crossed over the other.
Now that you have positioned your body perfectly, do the same as you would have done in the case of crunches. That is, breathe in and lift your upper body from the floor towards the pelvis.
Breathe out slowly. As you bring yourself down, breathe in again, and exhale as you go up.
Do 12 to 15 reps and up to three sets.

Precautions

Start by doing only a few repetitions of this exercise, as it can make you feel sore if you overdo it initially.

Bicycle Exercise

You don’t need a bicycle for this.

How To Do

Lie on the floor and keep your hands either by your sides or behind your head as you do in crunches.
Lift both your legs off the ground and bend them at the knees.
Bring your right knee close to your chest, keeping your left leg away.
Now take your right leg away and bring your left leg close to your chest.
Keep doing this as if you are paddling a bicycle.

Lunge Twist

This is a workout for beginners who want to reduce belly fat quickly.

How To Do

Stand with your legs hip width apart. Keep your knees slightly bent.
Lift both your hands in front of you, aligning them with your shoulders and keeping them parallel to the ground.
Lunge forward as shown in the picture. Take a big step forward with your right leg, and sit down as if on a chair so that your knees make a 90-degree angle with the floor. The left leg should be positioned backwards, supported by the toes.
The spine should be kept straight. Don’t bend your spine forward.
Twist your torso (just the torso, and not the legs) to the right and then to the left.
Repeat 15 times.

Rolling Plank Exercise

The rolling plank trains the muscles around your abdomen, hip, and lower back.

How To Do

Position yourself on the floor with your knees and elbows resting on the ground.
Keep your neck aligned with your spine. Look forward.
Lift the knees up and support your legs on the toes.
Contract your knees and keep breathing normally.
This is the plank pose. Stay in this posture for 30 seconds.

Now, start moving to and fro for the next 30 seconds. This is the rolling plank exercise.

Lie down on the floor sideways.
Support yourself on your right elbow and right leg. Your elbow should be perpendicular to the shoulder, and the left leg should be above the right leg, keeping them together.
Keep your knees straight. Your hips should not be touching the ground.
Hold this position for 30 seconds. Once you get comfortable, you may hold this for one to two minutes.
Repeat on the other side too.

While you are in this position, you may also lift the leg on the top and bring it down again. This makes the exercise more effective — it works not only your abs, but also your thighs and hips.

Variations

Knee plank, rocking plank, reverse plank.

Precautions

Plank is a strenuous exercise, and you might feel like holding your breath while performing it. But don’t do that, as you might suffer from nausea or dizziness.

The Stomach Vacuum

Stomach vacuum exercises are low-impact exercises that place greater emphasis on breathing instead of increasing your heart rate.

How To Do

a. This is similar to what we call the cat stretch pose. This is also known as the four-point, transverse-abdominal stomach vacuum. Follow the steps mentioned below to do this exercise for reducing belly fat:

Go down to the ground on all fours, supporting your body on your hands and knees.
Inhale deeply and loosen your abdomen.
As you exhale, tighten the abdomen muscles.
Hold this position for 15–30 seconds.
Repeat the process.

b. Another type of stomach vacuum exercise is elevators. Here’s how to do it:

Sit on a chair. Imagine your belly to be an elevator that’s moving up.
Now inhale deeply using only your nose and think that it’s the first floor.
Breathe out using your mouth and simultaneously push your belly towards your spine, imagining that you are going up to the fifth floor.
Breathe out fast five more times, squeezing your abs every time you exhale.
Repeat the same five more times.

c. You can try standing pelvic tilts. This is another form of stomach vacuum exercise.

Stand with your legs hip width apart and bend your knees slightly.
Inhale deeply through your nose and push your belly inwards towards your spine, and at the same time, roll your hips out in the front.
Do five to six sets.

Variations

Seated stomach vacuum, functional stomach vacuum.

Precautions

If you are suffering from any heart or lung ailment, it is best to avoid performing this exercise.

This exercise must be performed only on an empty stomach, as doing otherwise might lead to indigestion.

Captain’s Chair

All you need to do this exercise is a chair.

How To Do

Sit on the chair with your spine straight and shoulders relaxed.
Keep both hands beside you with your palms by the side of your hips, facing downward.
Inhale deeply.
As you exhale, bring both your legs upwards such that your knees are close to your chest. Hold for five seconds. Don’t bend forward and arch your back.
Bring down your legs slowly and repeat.

Variations

Hanging knee raises, lying leg raise.

Bending Side To Side

This is yet another perfect exercise for reducing belly fat.

How To Do

Stand erect with your feet together and keep your hands to the sides.
Keeping your legs grounded, bend your body to the right as much as possible till you feel a strain on your left waist. As you do so, ensure your right hand is on the right hip, and the left hand is raised upwards. Stay in the position for 15 seconds.
Return to the original position.
Now bend to the left, and retain the position for another 15 seconds.

Slowly, you may increase the holding time to 30 seconds.

Cardio Exercises

Cardio is one of the most effective ways to burn calories and shed unwanted flab from your body. Cardio exercises are immensely helpful in reducing belly fat. Doing cardio on a regular basis will offer you other health benefits such as reduction of stress, an increase in your lung capacity, better sleep, and a sense of overall well-being.

Walking

One of the very first cardio exercises to reduce belly fat is walking. Surprised? Do you think it’s too simple to be effective? Well, then you should know that walking is a great and effective way to burn away that ugly belly fat. In fact, it is an excellent fat burner for your entire body. If you follow a healthy diet along with walking at a steady pace for 30–45 minutes for at least four to five days every week, you will witness a gradual decrease in your weight.

This low-impact exercise increases your metabolism as well as your heart rate. A heightened metabolic rate will burn away calories at a faster pace, thus helping to eliminate the fat accumulated around your belly. In fact, walking decreases the risk of injuries and is considered to be a good workout for beginners.

Running

You have to prevent your body from getting used to any fixed workout routine. Hence, you can switch occasionally. Try running for a change. It is an effective way to keep your heart rate up, burn calories, and lose belly fat.

Jogging

If you don’t like running, try jogging instead. Research suggests that jogging is more effective in breaking down unwanted fat when compared to weightlifting. This is a form of aerobic exercise that is extremely useful for fighting obesity and staying fit.

Cycling

This is another effective cardio exercise that helps you shed belly fat by burning calories. Ensure that your heart rate goes up while you are cycling.

Swimming

With swimming, you get the benefits of cardio — from losing weight to toning your body — all at the same time! The strokes you choose should be up-tempo and strenuous in order to help you burn more calories. You can start by going for a swim once or twice every week.

Avoid Fatty or Greasy Food and if you must, Limit Them!

The structure of a fatty tummy is quite scary. It is lined with fat in the mucosa membrane. Eating more of these greasy and fatty foods only adds to the fat there already. If you must eat fatty foods, it should be once in a blue moon.

Never Eat Late at Night

Eating late at night leaves food undigested and this build up body fat quickly than usual. Foods usually take time to digest so eating early ensures that food digests before you go to bed. Going to bed with undigested food, only builds more visceral fat.

Avoid In Between Meals

In between meals increase the chances of plague development in the teeth as well as bacterial activities in the body. Avoiding in between meals and late night snacking helps keep the body in shape.

Drink Lots of Water

The Mayo Clinic recommends that adult women drink 9 cups of water per day, and men 13 cups per day. Not only does this keep your body hydrated and healthy , it also prevents your body from confusing thirst with hunger. If you drink enough water to fill up your stomach, you can trick your body the other way, into thinking it’s full of food when it’s really full of zero-calorie water.

Eat Lots and Lots of Vegetables

Vegetables keep you young and fresh. Studies have shown that following a lower carbohydrate diet can not only help you lose weight quickly but specifically decrease the amount of stomach fat you have.

Fill up on 3–4 oz of lean protein at each meal (about the size of a deck of cards).
Choose mostly non-starchy vegetables (like peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, cauliflower or lettuce) and aim for a serving or two at each meal. Have 1–2 cups of leafy greens.
Eat one to two servings of fruit daily. Fruit contains natural sugars and should be eaten in correct portion sizes — 1/2 cup for most fruits or one medium piece.
Examples of lower carb meals include: mixed green salad with raw vegetables, 5 oz of grilled chicken and an oil-based dressing, 1 cup greek yogurt with nuts and 1/2 cup of fruit, or grilled salmon with a small salad and steamed broccoli.

Drink Coffee, Label Tea and Herbal Tea

Coffee and Label Tea helps burn fat quickly while Herbal Tea cleanses the body of waste products that may hinder fat burning and nourishes the body. To ensure that slim-trimming it’s required to drink these often with enough water, of course

Avoid Caloric Drinks

Don’t drink energy drinks, beers and sodas as these add fats to the body with their calorie content. I had to do away, painfully with my soda drinks; I really did love them. But after I stopped taking them, my exercises started paying out.