At first, we were all about the dad bod and body positivity. But then we started to wake up to the health risks that carry the extra belly fat.
So if you’ve found yourself asking ‘How do I get rid of my dad belly’. You’ve come to the right place.
Not only was I rocking a dad bod before my own transformation, but I’ve gone on to help hundreds of others all over the world transform as well.
And I’ve got to tell you, it really doesn’t have to be too complicated.
I’ve got 8 simple tips for you to start working on today to help you start your very own body transformation from home.
But I’ve also got a full breakdown of what causes belly fat to begin with!
Make sure you read till the end because I’ve got everything you need to know about losing your dad’s belly at home as well.
Plus a FREE 7-day dad bod demolition challenge for you to finally take back control of your health and fitness for good!
First up let’s get right into what you came here for in the first place.
To be honest with you there really is only 2 things you need to do. Eat less and move more. It really is that simple. But let’s go a bit deeper and break those 2 steps down a little further.
There really is only one thing you need to worry about with your diet. You can try every fancy diet out there but unless you eat more calories than your body uses you won’t lose weight.
Keto diet, carb cycling, paleo diet, carnivore diet. All of these diets could work for you. They also might not.
The big problem is they are all restrictive. And when you put too many restrictions on yourself you’re never going to enjoy it.
And you will eventually break. And start the cycle again. The only thing that matters with weight loss is the amount of calories you are eating.
I’ve done this time and time again with myself and with my clients. When you know how many calories your body needs it’s very easy to come up with a plan you can stick to without restrictions.
Sure you will have to eat less of some things and more of others. But if you can eat some of the things you like and still lose weight you are going to stick to that, aren’t you?
I still have a burger and some beers on the weekend, I still enjoy a couple of beers during the week. And everyone I work with learns to do the same.
You can use an app like myfitnesspal to work out how many calories you need. You can track your food through this app as well. It’s the easiest way to have your cake and eat it too.
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Once you are sticking to your calories each day the next thing you want to focus on is eating enough protein. Firstly protein takes longer to digest so it is going to keep you feeling full for longer.
Also, protein is the building block of muscle growth. It is key to recovery, so even if you decide you aren’t going to do any exercise you still need to eat enough protein.
Once you start eating in a calorie deficit your body will start looking for other fuel sources. You want this to be body fat rather than muscle.
So by eating the correct amount of protein your body with maintain muscle and use body fat for fuel instead.
Your body needs 1-2 grams of protein per kg of body weight. But by using the same app as before, myfitnesspal, you can work out all of that nice and easy.
Exercise isn’t just about lifting something heavy and building big muscles. We need something more specific for that as dads. That’s where functional training comes in.
Functional training is exercising in a way that improves your daily life. Doing exercises that replicate daily movements.
The good news is, we can do it anywhere and we don’t even need equipment to do it.
If your kids want you outside, down at the park running around with them. Then maybe lifting weights isn’t the best approach for you.
You need to be running, riding your bike, or swimming length to get your cardio fitness up.
If you kids want to play with and be picked up and thrown in the air you need to be doing more explosive exercises like jump squats or thrusters.
The way you move should benefit your life. Otherwise, what is the point of making the extra time for it?
This one should be a given. We need to stay hydrated. Drinking water regularly is probably the most important thing you can do for your health.
Put down the sugary drinks and get more water in your guts! Your body needs it, it’ll stop you from getting that annoying headache and it’s going to help your body recover.
And want to know something else? I’ll keep your belly full, so you won’t be so tempted to have that snack you know you probably don’t need.
Do a little, a lot. Everyone can make time for 20 minutes. Just watch one less episode of Friends tonight. Easy as see, I just made time for you.
Monday to Friday I do a 20-minute in the morning. Weekends I have off. You don’t need to be doing any more than that if you don’t want to.
And it’s simple to do. Just make your workouts a circuit. Do 4 or 5 exercises back to back then rest. Do 3 to 4 rounds of that. Job done.
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Compound exercises are movements that use more than one joint. Think squats, you bend at the hip the knee, and the ankle.
When you doing compound exercises you use movement muscles. Meaning you get more bang for your buck!
Not only that but then are exercises that typically replicate movements we do daily.
With compound exercises, you can get more done in less time. And that’s what we’re really after right?
We touched on this earlier but let’s go over it in a bit more detail. Remember as well that most functional movements are also compound movements.
Take a deadlift as an example. It’s the same movement as picking up some bags of groceries. Something we all do at least once per week. It pays to be strong for the movements we do regularly.
Same with a push-up. How often do you have to get down on the floor to look for something under the couch or a bed? Because I do that every other day!
It’s much easier to get yourself back up off the floor when you do push-ups regularly
This is the most important you can start working on today. A lot of people talk about diet being more important than exercise. But honestly with out the discipline you get from building habits nothing else matters.
If you don’t have the discipline to stick to a routine it won’t last. What’s the point in starting a new diet if you don’t have the discipline to commit to it long-term?
I work on this with all my clients. And its the main focus of my 21-day course ‘How To Build Sustainable Fitness’.
The main cause of the dad’s belly is doing the opposite of what we’ve just gone over. Living a sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits. In other words, not moving enough and eating too much.
Life gets hard when kids are on the scene, and as dads, we tend to put what’s best for us last. But we really need to be a little selfish and make sure that we are at our best.
But this really doesn’t have to mean that we take away from our kids. We just need to prioritize time for some exercise. And make better choices with food.
And as I’ve said you don’t need to make any crazy changes. You just need to make time to move 20 minutes a day to begin. And you need to make some small changes to your diet.
Get more whole foods in and eat more protein. Your diet doesn’t need to be more complicated than that.
Start off by implementing those small changes to your diet we just mentioned. And then start doing a bit of exercise most days. I’ve got a really good exercise routine you can do anywhere with or without equipment.
It’s made up of the 6 main functional movements you should be doing, plus I added in an extra core exercise. And if you do this workout as a circuit you can get it done in 20 minutes!
Below is the full workout.
The following routine is called The Grizzly Fit Dad Routine. Write it down and do this every week. If you want a customised version of this flick me a message here and let’s chat about it now.
Squat
Glute Bridge
Pike Push Up
Body Rows
Push Up
Pull Up
Pike Push Up
Hanging Knee Raises
Squat
Glute Bridge
Push Up
Body Rows
Pike Push Up
Body Rows
Pull Up
Hanging Knee Raises
Pull Up
Push Up
Squat
Glute Bridge
Let’s bust a huge weight loss myth, you can not spot-burn fat. There is no such thing as a belly fat-burning workout, exercise, or diet. Fat burns off the whole body at the same time.
And the only way to do this is by eating in a calorie deficit. You can’t burn fat if you eat too much, it’s that simple. The first thing I do with new clients is find out the foods they like eating and how often they eat them.
Then we work out how many calories their body needs to stay the same as it is. We reduce the calories and little and then we start making room for some of the food they like each week.
Seems crazy right? But once you understand this and learn to treat your diet like a budget you’ve found a diet you can stick to. Eat the stuff you like eating, but no what it’s worth, and eat accordingly the rest of the time.
Want help with this? Flick me a message here.
I have a free 7-day challenge I run every 2 weeks. All you need to do is join up to the WhatsApp group and I’ll send you the rest.
You’ll get 7 days’ worth of workouts. Simple 20-minute workouts that you can do anyway! That’s right, no equipment is needed! I’ll also send you a 7-day meal guide to help you get started with cleaner eating.
All the meals are high in protein and low in calories. And I’ve got a recipe for pancakes and waffles included!
I run this every 2 weeks because I don’t want anyone to miss out. So message me here and book your spot in the next round!
