In today’s world of quick weight loss tips, fad diets, and treatments, sustainable weight loss habits seem too much. But the reality is, these habits are the only way to sustain the result in the long run. Shreya Shah, clinical nutritionist, in an X post dated April 9, 2026, shared habits that can help you lose belly fat. Here’s the breakdown of the habits that you can follow.
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Before sharing the guide, she highlighted the types of fat that accumulate in the human body, which include: Essential Fat, Visceral Fat, Subcutaneous Fat, Brown Adipose Tissue (BAT), and Intramuscular Triglycerides.
Reasons why you may have belly fat
Here are the things that can increase visceral fat:
A higher body fat percentage: Although genetics and hormones will determine how fat is distributed, people with more body fat are more likely to have higher amounts of belly fat.
Being a man: Compared to premenopausal women, men are more likely to carry extra fat around their midsection. That’s because their visceral fat stores seem to absorb a greater proportion of dietary fat.
Being postmenopausal: Mostly due to hormonal shifts, women tend to experience a shift in body fat distribution post-menopause, with a decrease in leg fat, and an increase in abdominal fat.
Ageing: As fat cells age, they secrete more inflammatory factors and also get redistributed from subcutaneous stores to visceral depots.
Having chronically high levels of cortisol: Visceral fat soaks up and breaks down excess cortisol.
Dietary and lifestyle guidelines to lose belly fat
Here are the lifestyle changes you can consider to lose belly fat:
Avoid refined carbs and sugar snacks: Avoid refined carbs such as white flour, sugary snacks, and sugar-sweetened beverages, which are low in fibre and nutrients. They also cause spikes in blood sugar levels and contribute to overeating and obesity.
Avoid processed and packaged foods: These tend to combine the worst of the worst and often contain refined carbs, added sugars, too much salt, and unhealthy saturated fat.
Avoid sugar and sugary drinks: Sugary drinks and foods add empty calories and lead to fat storage, especially around your belly. You can swap these beverages with plain water, coconut water, homemade lemon juice, buttermilk, infused water (mint, lemon, and fruit).
Include more protein in your diet: Protein is non-negotiable when it comes to weight loss and overall health. Protein helps you feel full longer, reduces cravings, helps increase muscle mass, limits blood sugar spikes to prevent insulin resistance, and includes eggs, fish, and dairy products to help reduce belly fat. You should at least aim for 0.8g-1g of protein per kilo body weight.
Include healthy fat: Focus on the quality of fat that you consume. Processed unhealthy fats found in refined oils and processed foods are very harmful. You can consume healthy fat that comes from whole eggs, coconut, avocado, olives, ghee, nuts and seeds, fatty fish like mackerel and salmon.
Address food sensitivities: We often crave the very foods we are allergic to. Getting off them is not easy, but after two to three days without them, you will have renewed energy, relief from cravings and symptoms, and begin to shed belly fat.
Exercise: Physical activity makes you more sensitive to insulin, one reason why it’s a cornerstone of metabolic syndrome management. Shreya suggests regular exercise, walking or a stroll every 45 minutes. She also recommends cardio exercises for 30-45 minutes and strength training for 10-30 minutes.
Move more and sit less: Believe it or not, physical inactivity (typically measured via how much a person sits every day) is associated with metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Physical activity comes with a range of health benefits, including lowering your risk of heart disease and weight loss.
Avoid alcohol: Alcohol adds more calories than people think to their eating routine. Over time, this can lead to weight gain, often in the abdominal area. The more you drink, the less you care about what you eat, which can potentially further increase your calorie intake.
Manage stress levels: Chronic stress causes your brain to shrink and your belly to grow. Chronically elevated levels of your stress hormone cortisol cause increased blood sugar and cholesterol, depression, dementia, and promote the accumulation of belly fat that we see commonly.
Get 7– 8 hours of sleep: Not getting enough sleep drives sugar and carb cravings by affecting your appetite hormones. A partial night’s poor sleep could contribute to insulin resistance. Poor sleep also adversely impacts fat-regulating hormones like leptin and ghrelin.
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. It is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.
