This question baffled me for a bit because why wouldn’t you want to gain muscle?
Then I realized, perhaps, you don’t want to look bulky, especially for women.
Well, this is how to lose belly fat without gaining muscle or looking like Arnie.
How to lose belly fat without gaining muscle for 3 body types
If you want to lose your belly fat without gaining muscles, it’s quite easy to do. You need to take strength training out of the equation.
Strength training builds up your muscles, making you bulkier. However, it’s not easy to gain muscles if you are not blessed with the mesomorph body type.
So, if you are not a “Meso,” lifting a 10-kilogram dumbbell now and then will not make you look like this guy:
Now, I can understand your concern if you are the mesomorph type. A mesomorph body type can touch a dumbbell and grow humungous the next day. So, avoiding strength training is recommended.
Mesomorph
How do you know if you are a mesomorph? Well, if it’s easy for you to put on weight and also easy to lose weight, then you can bet you are a mesomorph.
Hey, Mr. Meso, the following is what you need to do to lose belly fat without gaining muscle:
- Cardio
- Calorie deficit
Cardio
Cardio is good for your overall health. So, not doing cardio is doing your body a disservice. Cardio can make you lose weight, be fit, and prevents significant heart diseases.
It doesn’t have to be a strenuous or a dull type of cardio; you can choose to play sports or do what you love.
As long as you are not going over your safe maximum heart rate. What’s your maximum heart rate? Well, you can find out by using our calculator by clicking on the link below:
Then you need to find out your heart rate for your ideal fat burning zone. You can click on the button below to go there:
What you’ll realize is that you’ll still be burning fat even at low to moderate intensity.
I recommend walking as your cardio for beginners to advance. It’s a great workout that has less impact on your knee joints. How does walking help you lose belly fat? Click on the link below if you want to find out:
Calorie Deficit
Have you ever tried counting calories? It’s tedious. You need to weigh your food, measure your food, calculate the protein, carbs, and fat content. Then, you have to keep a log of it on your app or some diary. When you do this day in, day out, I guarantee you’ll get sick of it.
However, technology is making things easier nowadays — download myfitnesspal from the Google Play Store or the Apple Apps Store.
My Fitness Pal allows you to keep a log of your food daily. You don’t have to weigh your food or calculate the amount of fat, carbs, and protein in the food.
All you have to do is search your food in their massive food database and voila! Keeping track of your calorie intake is so easy.
Ectomorph
Ectomorph body types have trouble packing on size, and they are thin and frail. This body type can eat whatever they want and not gain weight.
YAY!
However, there is such a thing called “skinny fat.”
Being skinny and fat can be riskier compared to being big and fat. Why so? Well, there is the common misconception of being thin is “healthy-er,” compared to being overweight.
When you are not fat, you don’t even think about heart problems, diabetes, or anything related to weight problems.
So you eat junk, don’t exercise, and go through life thinking you’re healthy as a horse.
All the while, your cholesterol is through the roof, increasing your chances of a heart attack.
Believe it or not, this happened to my friend’s father. Who, after many years, finally went to the doctor for a checkup.
Now, he looks healthy and fit. He had no big belly, but his cholesterol reading was in the dangerous range of 9.
If he never took his partner’s advice, if he didn’t see the doctor, what would have happened?
Luckily it was caught in time, and he is now treating his high cholesterol count with medicine.
Why did he have such high cholesterol while looking normal?
You see, he never ate proper meals while working in his mobile service business. What he ate was convenient foods such as chips, biscuits, and chocolates.
He was snacking through his workday with junk foods. Hence he never gained weight.
What he did gain was a lot of bad fats that contribute to the blocking of arteries causing major heart problems.
If you want to know more about being skinny fat and why it’s dangerous, click on the link below:
Do the following to lose your pot belly without gaining muscles:
- Cardio
- Strength training
- Eat clean
Cardio
Cardio is an integral part of your workout routine. Even though you are skinny, you still need to exercise your heart muscle.
When you do cardiovascular activities, it makes your heart work. The more you make your heart function at higher levels, the more it gets accustomed running at that pace.
So, you are doing cardio to improve your heart health, not so much on losing calories.
Strength training
When you are an ectomorph, the chances of you gaining muscle with occasional arm curls or bench presses are slim.
Therefore, you won’t end up with huge muscles. Instead, you’ll look sexy, and you will also be stronger.
Eat clean
You can eat as much as you want, but no junk. With your fast metabolism and your additional training, you’ll be burning your fat belly in no time.
Focus on good fats, wholesome carbs, vegetables, and protein-rich foods.
Cut out the sugary drinks, cakes, or cut out sugar entirely from your diet. Your body will be better without sugar. Stick to the daily recommended sugar intake, which can be best described by quoting the American Heart Association:
“Men should consume no more than 9 teaspoons (36 grams or 150 calories) of added sugar per day. For women, the number is lower: 6 teaspoons (25 grams or 100 calories) per day.”
[source: How much sugar is too much?]
Add lean meats in your diet for much-needed protein to build a few muscles. Lean meats can include the following:
- Chicken breast
- Pork cutlet
- Fish
- Sirloin steak
Endomorph
Welcome to my world. Yup, I am an endomorph. I have a slow metabolism, fat goes straight to my belly, and I grow horizontally.
It is easy for me to gain weight, but most of it comes in the form of fat. The following is how to lose belly fat without gaining muscle for the endomorph types:
- Cardio
- Eat less
Cardio
You’ll need cardio to strengthen your heart muscles and prevent any heat-related illnesses. I know, it’s always the hardest to do that is good for you.
Cardio will melt off the fat in your belly.
Eat less
An endomorph can pack on weight quickly. Those weight gain are predominantly made up of fats, though.
So, avoid or limit carbs as much as possible and concentrate on eating more protein. As long as you are on a calorie deficit and doing your cardio, you will lose belly fat without gaining muscle.
Conclusion
So, how to lose belly fat without gaining muscle? You’ll need to do cardiovascular activities, be on a calorie deficit, and drop the junk food.
Cardio will help strengthen your heart, preventing major heart diseases. Moreover, cardio will help you lose some extra calories, helping you lose belly fat.
While on a calorie deficit diet, you will not gain weight or put on muscle.
Dropping the junk food in your diet will only cleanse your body, and adding superfoods such as oatmeal, carrots, green leafy vegetables will build a disease-free and a cancer-fighting body.
You also need to take into account which type of body are you. Knowing so will help you determine your best plan to burn your belly fat.