20 Exercises That ‘Burn Belly Fat’ (Spoiler: It’s Not What You Think)
Sit ups
Squats
Lunges
Walking the dog
Sleeping for 8 hours (or as close as possible, consistently)
Handstands
Deadlifts
Water
Carrying all the food shopping in from the car in one go (just me???)
Kettlebell swings
Press ups
Bent-over rows
Lifting cooked chicken into your mouth, chewing and swallowing
Dancing around the kitchen to Beyoncé
Sitting still
Cooking
Cleaning the car
Crochet
Laughing (big belly laughs, the kind that makes your eyes leak)
Yoga
Jiujitsu
You think I’m joking. I am... but also, I’m really not.
I get asked almost every day: “How do I lose belly fat?”. Here’s the truth: It’s not about doing 1,000 crunches, 2,000 sit-ups, or 3,000 leg raises (good luck moving after that lot!).
The answer to losing belly fat is both simpler and more complex than that.
The Truth Bomb
You cannot lose fat from just one area of your body. Let’s think logically: Have you ever seen someone with shredded abs but “bingo wings” or chunky legs? No. Your body doesn’t work like that. If it did, we’d all look like strange action figures.
To lose belly fat, you have to lose overall body fat.
Turned off yet? No? Good — you’re my kind of people. And by the way, I have a six-pack, so this advice is coming from experience, not just whimsy. Also, I am not showing off, I just want you to know that it is possible. I am not special. Just a woman with all the same life issues as you.
Wait, are you actually asking how to get a six-pack?
If that’s your question, I got you. The answer is basically the same as above, with a twist: You need to build the muscle you want to see so that when the fat reduces, it’s revealed. In the immortal words of Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.”
I train core A LOT and I don’t do it for aesthetics. I do it because the cool stuff I want to do requires a lot of core strength. I also don’t want to groan every time I stand up – that’s not sexy (although there is probably and Only Fans for that too, no kink shaming here).
In real life, the boring reasons for a strong core are that it supports your spine, improves posture physically and mentally, prevents injuries (and can even help heal them), and gets your through your Lousia from Encanto daily moments (hello, carrying kids and shopping bags without your lower back screaming at you to "please make it stop").
Your core isn’t just your abs — it wraps all the way around your body: front, back, and sides.
Crunches and sit-ups have their place (even if I rarely program them and almost never do them myself — they’re easy to cheat, and they can overwork your lower back if done wrong). If you want some of my favourite options, check them out [here].
Want better core exercises? Think squats, deadlifts, bent-over rows, and press-ups. These challenge your core functionally, build total body strength, and tick multiple boxes at once. Think of “core-specific” exercises as accessory work. Efficiency is queen.
The Gym Alone Won’t Save You
Here’s something I wish more people, ladies particularly believed. You don’t burn all your fat in the gym. Your workouts help, but we all know people who train hard and often but don’t have visible muscle.
What really moves the needle happens outside those sessions.
And guess what? I can’t correct your form while you’re ordering two takeaways in one day, sitting on the sofa for nine hours, or getting four hours of sleep because you’re either too wired from TikTok or your brain won’t switch off. Those are the real killers of your six pack dreams. I am here for guidance so you are not alone.
Let’s Talk Sleep (Yes, Again)
Sleep is one of the most underrated fat-loss and recovery tools. It is also an injury repair tool that is vital and under prescribed.
When you’re under slept, your body increases ghrelin (the hunger hormone) and decreases leptin (the “I’m full” hormone). Translation? As if you were a Looney Tunes character, everything starts to look like food — and you want all of it.
Notice next time: After a bad night’s sleep, have you inhaled breakfast in a flash, demolished your lunch by 10:30, and spent the afternoon foraging for chocolate? I know on my 5am coaching days, by 8am I’m ready to eat everything. On my 7am “lie-in” days, I can often wait until lunch. Same activity, just better sleep.
I know sleep isn’t always simple. I see you: shift workers, menopausal queens, parents, people with snoring partners or dogs… the list goes on. That doesn’t mean sleep should be stuffed in a ‘not for me’ drawer. Even if you struggle, implementing just some of these might give you an extra half an hour which will help.
My usual advice (and it starts in the morning):
10 minutes of daylight, preferably outside, first thing in the morning.
Exercise, preferably in the morning but if this is not your jam, do it in the evening. What I am saying is exercise.
Write down your daily wins in the evening. Takes 2 minutes.
Use a sleep mask and make your room as dark as possible.
Magnesium supplements (if your doc says OK).
Protein (aim for 2g per kilogram of body weight – notice I said AIM for).
Limit caffeine in the afternoon.
Eat at a sensible time before bed if you can. I struggle with this one because I work late. I just don’t sacrifice my bed time. So sometimes I eat and then go to bed within an hour. It’s not about perfect, every day.
Try to go to bed at the same time each night (even if your “night” is 7am post-shift).
White noise machines or Alexa sleep sounds can work wonders.
Ear plugs if noise bothers you.
I want to say keep pets out of the bedroom, but who am I kidding? My dogs sleep with me and I love it. In my experience, the better I sleep, the better they sleep too — they’re not like kids in that regard. If you like to read and you want to know more about sleep, please read Matthew Walker's book 'Why We Sleep' it is fantastic (not sponsored, I just learned a lot from it.
Embody Joy
Move because it feels good.
Take your dogs for an adventure walk. Run around with your kids like a total goof. Laugh (the kind that makes your eyes leak). Read a book that lights you up. Have lunch with a friend who lifts your soul.
Feeling good inspires better choices. It rewires your nervous system and helps you crave real-life joy instead of mindless TV marathons and autopilot snacking.
Every joyful movement burns calories. Every mindful moment supports recovery. ALL of this builds a stronger, happier you.
And maybe — just maybe — you’ll stop fixating on chasing the aesthetic of a six-pack and start focusing on becoming a healthier, longer-lasting, radiant version of yourself.
Someone you look at in the mirror and smile at.
