What’s the best way for men to lose belly fat?
Eat a bit less and walk more. Then lift twice a week. Sit-ups alone failed in a trial. And the scales can fool you: deep belly fat can shrink while your weight stays the same.
On this page
What is the best way to lose belly fat for men?
Pull three levers at once: eat fewer calories, do cardio most days, and lift weights on 2 days a week.
Men tend to store fat around the middle. That shape is linked to more risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes than the pear shape of many women.
Fat can build up deep inside, around organs like your liver and pancreas. Doctors call it visceral fat.
| Lever | How much | What trials found |
|---|---|---|
| Eat fewer calories | Men use around 2,500 a day. Aim to lose 0.5 to 1 kg a week. | Diet took off more weight than exercise. |
| Cardio, such as brisk walking | At least 150 minutes a week | In a review of 35 trials, cut deep belly fat in adults carrying extra weight. |
| Strength training | At least 2 days a week | No clear effect on deep belly fat alone. Lost about 0.8 kg less muscle and other lean tissue during weight loss, in adults carrying extra weight. |
Sources: NHS; NHS activity; Ismail 2012; Verheggen 2016; Bellicha 2021
Group programmes can work for men.
In a Scottish trial, 747 football fans aged 35 to 65 with a BMI of 28 or more took part. Half did 12 weekly sessions at their club. A year on, they had lost 4.94 kg more on average than men on a waiting list.
Your first step: measure your waist today, so you have a number to beat.
Is my belly fat a problem?
Your tape measure tells you. Diabetes UK says a healthy waist is less than 94 cm (37 in) for most men. For South Asian men, it’s less than 90 cm (35 in).
- Below 90 cmHealthy for all men.
- 90 to just under 94 cmHealthy for most men. Above healthy for South Asian men.
- 94 cm or aboveAbove healthy for men.
Source: Diabetes UK
Measure halfway between the top of your hip bone and the bottom of your ribs. Your jeans size is not usually your waist size.
The NHS adds a second check: keep your waist to less than half your height. It’s for adults with a BMI under 35, and not if you have or think you may have an eating disorder. Work yours out in waist-to-height ratio.
Write it down. Then measure once a month, at the same time of day.
Can sit-ups burn stubborn belly fat?
Not on their own. In one trial, 24 adults did 7 ab exercises, 5 days a week for 6 weeks. Their belly fat and waist size didn’t change.
Their abs did get stronger.
Training one spot doesn’t seem to strip fat from that spot. In another trial, 11 people trained one leg for 12 weeks. Fat fell in the arms and trunk, not the trained leg.
Both trials were small, but they point the same way.
So keep sit-ups as one strength move, not your fat plan. Short hard bursts (HIIT) cut waist size as well as steady cardio, in about 40% less time. That was in adults aged 18 to 45 carrying extra weight.
How much should I eat and drink?
Eat and drink a little less than you burn. On average men use around 2,500 calories a day. The UK’s chief medical officers say diet is the important factor in weight.
Check your glass as well as your plate. The NHS says to cut down on alcohol, because it’s high in calories. Units measure the alcohol in a drink.
| Drink | What the NHS says |
|---|---|
| A pint of 5% beer | Up to 222 calories. |
| A pint of 5.2% lager | 3 units. |
| 5 pints of 5.2% lager a week | 57,720 calories in a year. |
| A double (50 ml) of 40% spirits | 100 calories, before any mixer. |
| 14 units a week | About 6 pints of average-strength beer. Don’t regularly go over it. |
Sources: NHS: calories in alcohol; NHS: alcohol units
If you drink as much as 14 units, spread it over 3 or more days. Try a few drink-free days each week.
Losing just 5 to 10% of your body weight can improve your health. For meals, see the best diet to lose weight.
Your first week
- Measure your waist halfway between your hip bone and your ribs, and write it down.
- Eat and drink a little less than you burn, aiming to lose 0.5 to 1 kg a week.
- Walk briskly, at a pace where you can talk but not sing, building to 150 minutes a week.
- Do strength moves for legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms on at least 2 days.
- Don’t regularly drink more than 14 units a week, and spread them over 3 or more days.
- Speak to a GP first if you have not exercised for some time, or have medical conditions or concerns.
Sources: NHS; NHS activity; Diabetes UK
Why hasn’t the scale moved?
Because the scales can’t see deep belly fat. Across 117 studies, when weight didn’t drop, exercise was still linked to a 6.1% fall in it. Diet alone showed almost no change (1.1%).
That’s why your waist, not your weight, is the number to watch.
Lifting helps here too. In adults carrying extra weight, it cut muscle and other lean tissue loss during weight loss by about 0.8 kg. See keeping muscle while you lose weight and walking to lose weight.
When to speak to a GP
Book an appointment if your BMI (a weight-for-height number) is overweight or obese and:
- you want help to lose weight, or your waist is more than half your height
- you have pre-diabetes, diabetes, high blood pressure, joint pain, high cholesterol, sleep apnoea or heart and circulation disease
- obesity runs in your family
- you have, or think you may have, an eating disorder, such as binge eating
Sleep apnoea means your breathing stops and starts while you sleep. A GP can refer you to weight programmes, medicines or surgery.
Some medicines, including some steroids, antidepressants and beta blockers, can make a healthy weight harder to keep. Never stop or change a prescribed medicine without your prescriber. For hormones, see belly fat and testosterone.
Call 999 for sudden chest pain or discomfort that does not go away, or pain spreading to either arm, your neck, jaw, stomach or back. It can feel like squeezing, pressure, burning or indigestion. Also call for chest pain with feeling sweaty, sick, light headed or short of breath.