Losing belly fat is something we all have in common; everyone goes through a time when we’re carrying more goodness on the front until it’s summertime and we want to feel sexy and fit in our dresses and shirts for work events, weddings and holidays. Nothing feels better than seeing a picture a friend took of you. You can say I look great in this photo, but it can also be the other way when a group photo is taken, and you can see your belly hanging out like you’ve had 12 beers already. It is not the best feeling, and those pictures never make it to Instagram, Facebook, or group shared photos.
When it comes to losing belly fat, you can’t spot-reduce fat from your stomach. But you can lose fat overall once you start doing the right things. The right things mean starting strength training and actively taking over 10,000 steps a day, either through walking, running, or cycling. I’m not going to sell you a dream that it will reduce your belly immediately if you do this workout, but I can help you understand how it works and what you need to do. Remember your body decides where you lose the fat first, not you, so you must be patient with the process.
Reducing belly fat
I will start you off with the basic foundation. First, you have to be on a calorie deficit; you won’t lose fat. Your body needs to burn more calories than it consumes to use stored fat as energy. But that doesn’t mean starving yourself, no, no, we don’t believe in diets. We, the 12 teams, encourage healthy eating habits. This is where a lot of people go wrong. Cutting calories too hard leads to muscle loss, low energy, and cravings that lead to binge eating
Start by tracking your daily calorie intake. Remember, you’re what you eat, and your body will perform how you treat it. For weight loss, you’ll need to reduce your daily calories by 500 calories. This can be easy: cut out your cup of coffee with cream, sugar, and milk, and those extra late-night beers, biscuits, and chocolate. These are straightforward things to cut out; cutting them out will make a massive difference.
MyFitnessPal
Introducing innovative technology to help you out is a great way to get started. You can use an app like MyFitnessPal to help you get started. This app enables you to plan your nutrition, count calories in your food, and understand the amount of protein and carbs your body needs to build muscle and lose body fat at the same time.
Introducing innovative technology to help you out is a great way to get started. You can use an app like MyFitnessPal to help you get started. This app enables you to plan your nutrition, count calories in your food, and understand the amount of protein and carbs your body needs to build muscle and lose body fat at the same time.
Step 1: Estimate Your Calories (TDEE)
We’re providing a fundamental calorie-counting metric to help you determine your body weight and the number of calories you should be eating. If you’re someone starting off bodyweight at 80kg, this is how you do it. Calories = 80 kg × 30–35.
- For fat loss → 80 × 30 = 2,400 kcal/day
- For maintenance → 80 × 33 = ~2,640 kcal/day
- For muscle gain → 80 × 35 = 2,800 kcal/day
Daily targets
Step 2: Set Your Protein Target
Use 2 grams of protein per kg of body weight to calculate your protein intake.
80 × 2 = 160g protein, 1g of protein = 4 kcal, 160g × 4 = 640 kcal from protein.
Set Your Fat Intake
Use 1 gram per kg of body weight.
80 × 1 = 80g fat, 1g of fat = 9 kcal, 80g × 9 = 720 kcal from fat
Step 4: Use Remaining Calories for Carbs.
Now subtract protein and fat calories from your total:
- Total: 2,400 kcal
- Minus protein: 640 kcal
- Minus fat: 720 kcal
- Remaining: 1,040 kcal
Final Daily Targets (Fat Loss Example for 80kg Person)
- Calories: 2,400 kcal
- Protein: 160g
- Fat: 80g
- Carbs: 260g
Strength training
When people must lose belly fat, the first thing that comes to their minds is doing more cardio or crunches. We’re all guilty of this because it’s the easier way to go. It’s easy to think that you can just do 30 minutes of cardio and 4 sets of sit-ups and you’ll lose 10kg of stomach fat, but it doesn’t work like that because by doing sit-ups, you’re just pushing the fat down and making your waist thicker
Strength training is more effective. Why? Muscle burns more calories than fat, even at rest. Strength training also helps shape your body. So the plan will be to do strength training targeting your overall body and high-intensity cardio to get your body burning carbs during your workout and fat at rest.
Download the 12reps app to personalise your workout instantly and log your weight, sets, and reps. The app gives you plans and an exercise demo performed by certified personal trainers.
Aim to train 2–3 times per week
Monday Session 1
Dumbbell chest press: 4 sets, 12 reps.
Dumbbell single-arm row: 4 sets, 12 reps.
Dumbbell snatch: 4 sets, 16 reps (8 each arm).
Dumbbell farmer’s carry: 4 sets, 40 metres.
Sled push: 4 sets, 40 metres.
Medicine ball slams: 4 sets, 12 reps
Wednesday Session 2
10 minutes of jogging
Sled push and pull with TRX: 5 sets of 40 metres
Kettlebell farmer’s carry: 4 sets of 40 metres
Leg press: 5 sets of 20 reps
Leg extension: 5 sets of 20 reps
Assisted machine pull-ups: 4 sets of 12 reps
Dumbbell shoulder press: 4 sets of 12 reps
Friday session 3
10 minutes of jogging
Assault bike: 8 calories x 10
Medicine ball slam: 4 sets of 12 reps
Walkout to press-ups or knee press: 4 sets of 12 reps
Burpees: 4 sets of 12 reps
Use the 12reps app to log your workouts, track your sets, reps and weight.
