Swimming is one of the best exercises to lose belly fat. Now that it’s summer in the land down under, I will talk about it some more.
Lately, I’ve made swimming in the pool as my main cardio exercise. I don’t mind running, but swimming keeps the workout cool and fresh—great in summer.
I have to say this about Australia though. We have the best beaches in the world, but as much as we love the beaches, we hate the sun’s extreme heat.
The sun in the land down under is hazardous for the skin. If you are from Australia, and you’ve been to other countries such as the Philippines or Vietnam, you’ll find that in these countries, the sun’s heat is mild compared to Australia.
According to statistics, South Pacific countries have much higher cases of skin cancer.
Why are there are so many cases of skin cancer in Australia? No, it’s not because we love going to the beach, it’s more geographical.
Australia is much closer to the sun than any other countries resulting in high UV rays. The earth’s orbit brings countries in the Southern hemisphere alongside Australia closer to the sun in the summer season.
UV rays or ultraviolet rays are high in the South Pacific. The hole in the ozone layer is also a contributing factor.
So keep the swimming indoors, away from the harmful South Pacific sun.
[source: Skin cancer statistics and issues]
How does swimming make you lose belly quicker than Michael Phelps doing a lap?
How swimming can make you lose belly fat is similar to any aerobic exercise. The cool thing about swimming is that no matter how much you sweat, you’ll never feel it because your body is underwater.
All you are feeling is the water on your skin, not your sweat. In reality, we are sweating like a pig.
Aerobic exercise can be defined as using large muscle group of your body to move in a continuous and rhythmic pattern. When we activate these large muscle groups, we are exerting energy.
As we exert energy, our body uses carbohydrates and fatty acids as the source. We continually burn this type of fuel, reducing the number of calories stored in our system.
Thus, putting our body in a state of calorie deficit, resulting in weight loss and belly fat loss.
Furthermore, in an Australian study, it was found that aerobic exercises can reduce your bad cholesterol significantly and increases HDL, the good fat.
So in addition to losing fat and looking sexy, you’ll essentially become healthier.
[source: Aerobic vs anaerobic exercise training effects on the cardiovascular system]
Best swimming stroke to lose belly fat
The best swimming stroke to lose belly fat has got to be the hardest form of swimming, and that is the butterfly stroke.
I can swim freestyle quite easy, but when it comes to butterfly strokes, I am a turtle.
Using both hands simultaneously to wade your body through the water is quite challenging. The butterfly stroke is the hardest style to learn and is the type of stroke which will make you lose more belly fat due to its difficulty level.
Any swimming stroke will tone your chest muscles. However, this type, in particular, will do a better job.
By using two hands to push water weight to traverse the water consumes much energy and activates every muscle fiber around your chest, arms, back, and shoulders.
Benefits of swimming
Other than the obvious, it keeps you fresh while doing sweat-inducing activity; the following are benefits of swimming:
- Tone your muscles.
- Improve cardiovascular health.
- It reduces cholesterol levels.
- It prevents cardiovascular disease.
Swimmers diet to lose weight
Competitive swimmers can vouch that eating bad food will hamper performance. So, a swimmer’s diet is a great meal plan for you to use so you can lose your stubborn belly fat.
When designing a meal plan, you have to remember that each person is unique. A meal plan full of carbs may not be ideal for someone whose body type doesn’t effectively burn glycogen. There are also variables such as schedule, preference, and health condition.
Here is my simple meal plan to coincide with my swimming routine.
These are all very easy to make and in record time. Also, it will take you no longer than 30 minutes. If you are like me, I’d rather be eating than cooking.
Breakfast
Before you hit the pool, put in some complex carbs and fats in your meal. This egg avo sandwich will do the trick.
Egg avo sandwich
Ingredients:
- 1 avocado
- 2 slices of wholemeal sandwich
- 1 egg
- Pinch of salt
- A spoon of olive oil
Prep:
- Grab 2 slices of sandwich and place it on a plate.
- Cut the avocado in half and take out the seed.
- Grab 1 egg from your pantry or fridge.
Make:
- Take out the avocado meat by scooping it out with a spoon.
- Place the scooped avocado on top of the sandwich slice.
- Place a frying pan on the stovetop and turn on the stove to medium.
- Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil on the pan.
- Wait for the olive oil to heat up and start to smoke.
- Once you see smoke, crack the egg and drop the egg whites and egg yolk in the pan.
- You should hear it sizzle but not to the point where the oil splatters.
- Spoon the hot oil on top of the egg yolk.
- Once you see all of the yolks turn white, it’s finish.
- Pinch some oil and sprinkle it on top of the egg.
- Take out the egg and put it on top of the sandwich.
If you cooked the egg to perfection, when you take a bite of the sandwich, you should see the egg yolk ooze out. You’ll have a finger-licking good breakfast to get you through every lap in the pool.
Lunch
You must be ravenous by now, and it’s essential to restore the glycogen and calories you lost but not with any food. Having a healthy and nutritious lunch will help your muscles recover faster than any burger from McDonald’s.
Chicken teriyaki with brown rice
I love teriyaki, especially this recipe, which is the best teriyaki in the world, according to my nephew.
Brown rice
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of brown rice
- 2 cups of water
Prep:
- Pour the cup of brown rice into the rice cooker.
- Add enough water to cover the rice and clean it by running your hands through.
- Pour it out; the water should be white and starchy.
- Do this process 2 or 3 times as you desire.
Cook:
- Put the inner pot of the rice cooker back and turn on the rice cooker.
While the rice is cooking, you should start prepping the chicken teriyaki.
Chicken teriyaki
Ingredients:
- 500 grams of chicken thigh
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon of soy sauce (preferably Kikkoman)
- 1 teaspoon of brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon of Japanese rice wine (sake)
Prep:
- In a bowl, mix the 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon of rice wine. Put it aside for now.
- Cut the 500 grams of chicken thigh in bite-size pieces or smaller, so it cooks faster.
Cook:
- Heat a 12-inch frying pan on the stove, with a high setting.
- Add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
- Wait for the oil to smoke then add half of the 500 grams of chicken thigh you cut to bite-size pieces earlier.
- Leave it frying on high for about 5 minutes to ensure a proper crispy crust.
- Take out the crispy fried chicken thigh onto a plate.
- Add another tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil if there is no more oil otherwise add the remaining 250 grams of chicken thigh.
- Repeat the process to achieve crispy chicken crust.
- Take out the crispy fried chicken thigh and put it with the rest of the chicken thigh.
- You should have some fond on the pan, DO NOT take them out. Add the sauce you mixed earlier in a bowl.
- Wait for the sauce to thicken.
- Once the sauce thickens, add the chicken thigh, and adequately cook the meat. Perhaps another 5 minutes, depending on the size of your cuts.
- The sauce should be sticking onto the chicken. Mix the pan, so all the sauces get onto the chicken.
- Once your chicken thighs are slathered in your teriyaki sauce, take it out of the pan and onto your plate of brown rice you prepared earlier, which should be finished cooking by now.
- Enjoy a delicious and straightforward meal to restore the glycogen you lost through hard training and protein to start building muscles.
Dinner
If you are trying to lose your belly fat, you should concentrate on fewer carbs for dinner. You probably still have some teriyaki chicken left. Why not finish it off and cook some more tomorrow?
There’s nothing better than a freshly cooked meal; plus it will only take you 2 minutes to heat it in the microwave. Enjoy!
Papas and their babies and bellies
There are some people, especially papas like me, who have gained weight after having a baby.
You see, while wives gain weight during pregnancy, husbands gain weight after. Not all will put on weight. However, there are situations like me who would sacrifice career, hobbies, staying sexy, for their precious little one.
We put on so much weight that we just let go and keep letting go until we hit rock bottom.
As you know, it’s all hands on deck when it comes to taking care of our little precious. I know first hand how having a baby to take care of can make going to the gym an impossible task.
Watching what we are eating doesn’t seem to matter anymore, but we know very well it does. However, we can’t help ourselves.
I get it. I’ve been there and let me tell you; it’s hard to get out, especially when you are getting too comfortable with this kind of lifestyle.
It’s crucial to start now. The longer you prolong this terrible habit, there could be no coming back. What am I talking about?
Don’t let your belly fat get bigger to the point of no return
Other than the risk of you going six-feet under earlier than you should, there is also the chance of your belly getting so big that it will damage the skin. Causing the skin to have loose tissues, resulting in the awful hanging belly.
Read more about this condition that will make you want to watch your diet:
Once this happens, diet and exercise is not an option. Surgery will be one of your choices, or you can learn to live with it.
To save yourself from an expensive bill, lower quality life, and slew of diseases, fix your belly today
There are many ways you can lose belly fat, and they can be daunting if you don’t know what you are doing.
Why not learn the best way how. Know the tips and tricks which keep Hollywood stars such as Halle Berry, Brad Pitt, and Jessica Alba looking the way they do.
Not only the stars but other people in different walks of life have had great success with this program.
If you need to know how I turned my fat papa body around, read this article: Lose belly fat today.
How much would you pay for a better life? A sexier you? A healthier you?
Frankly, I don’t care about looking sexy, being well and healthy is my goal, but it is a bonus.
As they say, prevention is the ultimate cure.
What is your life worth?