Is Putting On Weight Just Part Of Getting Older
Its true that as we get older, we need less calories to keep our body working well. Changes to our hormones during this time mean that we start to lose muscle and gain fat. This makes it harder to keep to a healthy weight but thats not to say its impossible. In fact, people who are aged 65 and over are healthier than their ancestors and are living longer.
Although you cant escape the ageing process, when it comes to managing your weight, there are other factors that are within your control. These include your lifestyle habits, choices and behaviours and how active you are.
Things That Make You Gain Belly Fat
Getting rid of excess belly fat, or abdominal fat, is a common goal for many.
While maintaining a moderate body weight and body fat percentage is important for good health, the type of belly fat you store can influence your health differently.
The two main types are:
- visceral
- subcutaneous
Visceral refers to fat surrounding the liver and other abdominal organs. Having high levels of visceral fat is associated with an increased risk for chronic disease such as metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer .
On the other hand, subcutaneous is the layer of fat that sits directly under the skin. This type is less harmful to health and serves as a layer of protection for your organs as well as insulation to regulate body temperature .
That said, having a high amount of subcutaneous fat is linked with a higher amount of visceral fat, therefore increasing your risk of health problems. Focusing on a health-promoting lifestyle, which helps prevent excessive amounts of both types of fat, is important (
Here are 11 factors that can contribute to the development of excess belly fat.
Choose Red Fruit Over Green
If you want to make a simple swap that’ll help you lose belly fat in 2 weeks, start eating red fruits over greens. That means Pink Lady over Granny Smith apples, watermelon over honeydew, red grapes over green ones. The higher levels of nutrients called flavonoidsparticularly anthocyanins, compounds that give red fruits their colorcalm the action of fat-storage genes. In fact, red-bellied stone fruits like plums boast phenolic compounds that have been shown to modulate the expression of fat genes.
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Limit Your Carb Intake
Several studies have shown that carbs stick to the water molecules in your body resulting in weight gain and bloating. If you want to lose weight and lose belly fat fast, limit your carbohydrate intake except the ones from vegetables which are a good source of nutrients. Vegetables and fruits should comprise a large part of your healthy diet because the carb source from them will help you reduce belly fat considerably.
Focus On The Way Your Clothes Fit More Than Reading A Scale
As you add muscle mass and lose fat, the reading on your bathroom scale maynot change much, but your pants will be looser. Thats a better mark ofprogress. Measured around, your waistline should be less than 35 inches ifyoure a woman or less than 40 inches if youre a man to reduce heart anddiabetes risks.
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Do Exercises Standing Instead Of Sitting
Performing exercises while standing up may benefit your health more than performing the same exercises while sitting or using weight machines.
A study comparing the effects of standing and sitting exercises showed that some standing exercises increased muscle activation by 725%, compared to sitting (
62 ).
In fact, walking briskly for 3040 minutes per day has been linked to a significant reduction of dangerous tummy fat and a slimmer waistline .
Bottom Line:
Walking for 30 minutes daily may slim your waistline and prevent the accumulation of dangerous tummy fat.
Eat Small Meals Frequently:
Although many people recommend taking small meals every 2-3 hours. This is known to speed up your digestion and reduce the load on your stomach. By planning for low-calorie, portion control meals, instead of large square meals, you can notice a visible reduction in tummy fat.
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Effective Tips To Lose Belly Fat
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Belly fat is more than a nuisance that makes your clothes feel tight.
Its seriously harmful.
One type of belly fat referred to as visceral fat is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other conditions .
Many health organizations use body mass index to classify weight and predict the risk of metabolic disease.
However, this is misleading, as people with excess belly fat are at an increased risk even if they look thin .
Though losing fat from this area can be difficult, there are several things you can do to reduce excess abdominal fat.
Here are 19 effective tips to lose belly fat, backed by scientific studies.
How To Lose Your Gut In 10 Days
Yeah, we know: A headline like How to lose your gut in 10 days screams bullshit.
But, truth be told, its actually quite possible to burn belly fat in just a week and a half. The key to success is in the details, and youll need to follow them meticulously. But dont stress: This is a short-lived emergency shred, not a long-term lifestyle plan. So whether youre prepping for a party or a vacation, weve got you covered.
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How To Lose Belly Fat
This article was co-authored by Laura Flinn. Laura Flinn is a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer, USA Olympic Weightlifting Sports Performance Coach and Certified Fitness Nutritionist, with an additional qualification as a TRX Suspension Trainer. Laura runs her own personal training program based in the San Francisco Bay Area and specializes in topics such as weight loss, muscle growth, cardiovascular training, and strength training.There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 16 testimonials and 93% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 959,182 times.
Belly fat can be unsightly and hard to get rid of, but it is an issue of more than just appearance. Carrying excessive weight in your midsection is risky, especially for men. A larger waist circumference puts you at a higher risk for a variety of chronic diseases including: diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea and even certain cancers . You can reduce the amount of belly fat and the risks it poses by losing weight. Make a few dietary and lifestyle changes to help lose weight and support a healthy lifestyle.
Health Problems Associated With Belly Fat
Before tackling how to lose belly fat, here is some information on why it is important.
There are two kinds of body fat.
One is called subcutaneous.
That is the fat that lies under the skin that you can easily grab with your hand. The other type is known as visceral fat.
Visceral fat is deep in your abdomen where it surrounds your organs.
According to a study published in Harvard Health, this is the type of fat that has been linked to heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and breast cancer in women .
Taking off this extra weight is a great long and short-term goal!
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So No There’s Not But Here’s What You Can Do
1. Start simple
Typically there are many things you may need to improve to lose belly fat. But start by focusing on changing or improving just one thing. Then, once you conquer that first objective, you can move on to the next thing, and so on.
2. Target sugar
One good place to begin improving your food choices is to eliminate sugary drinks and not just soda, but juices. Sugar increases belly fat and fiber reduces belly fat thus when you’re juicing fruits, you’re removing the fiber, leaving pure sugar. So one quick fix, a very concrete fix, would be eliminating sugary drinks.
Replacing sugary beverages with water will help dramatically cut down your sugar intake, and then once you’ve taken that step, you can figure out how to cut down on foods that are high in sugar.
If you have a sweet tooth and need to put that final accent to your meal, eat an apple, melon or fresh berries. Just remember, fruit is not a substitute for vegetables.
3. Go Mediterranean
The popular “flat belly diets”embrace much of the wisdom found in eating a Mediterranean diet, which helps everything from brain health to hearth health. The basic premise for both diets is eat foods rich in monosaturated fatty acids that may help reduce your belly fat storage. MUFA-rich foods include olive oil, nuts and seeds, avocodos, and fish. Eating yogurt regularly has also been found to be helpful in reducing belly fat.
4. Front-load your meal
5. Commit to a physical lifestyle
You’re Doing The Wrong Type Of Workout
Listen up here. “Only doing abdominal-focused workouts, like crunches, won’t help,” Luke emphasises Belly fat is simply where your body stores energy, so you need to take a whole-body approach to tackle it, he reckons. Try HIIT training he says it’s “a great way to burn fat and get your heart rate up”, with squats, burpees and treadmill sprints all being examples of moves to try.
Emily agrees, saying that, in its simplest form, training abs alone, won’t get you abs. “Focus on the staple movements and progressively getting stronger at them over time. I’m talking about your planks, crunches, twists, holds and v-ups.”
She also points out that compound movements such as squats, deadlifts, overhead press and pull-ups are all effective at activating and working your core. Her final two cents on it? “Moving your body in a way that feels good, and keeps you moving consistently.” Hear, hear.
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Add Veggies To Every Meal
“No matter what you’re eating, mix it, or serve it with vegetables. Having Chinese or Italian takeout? Making a stir-fry, burrito, or fajita at home? Split the dish in half, saving the other half for another meal, and mix in at least 1.5 cups of steamed vegetables right into your meal. Not only will you eat less of the heavier fare and slash the calories nearly in half, but you’ll also have a second serving for another day.” The Nutrition Twins, Tammy Lakatos Shames, RDN, CDN, CFT & Lyssie Lakatos, RDN, CDN, CFT
Want To Lose Some Fat From Your Waistline And Build Better Abs Here’s How
You want a trimmer waistline. You want to lose a few pounds of belly fat in a relatively short period of time. Shoot, you’d even love a set of six-pack abs.
That’s great, because when you reduce your percentage of body fat , you reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, and if you do it the right way, you improve your overall health and fitness. So while losing some belly fat will help you look better, it will also make you healthier.
Can’t beat that.
Reducing your body fat percentage isn’t easy, though. If it was, everyone would look like this. But if you follow the right program, you can. Stick to the following plan and reducing your body fat percentage — and losing some pounds of belly fat — is almost assured.
But, first, let’s get a couple of things out of the way.
One, it’s impossible to “spot reduce.” While you can target certain areas of your body in terms of building up the muscles in that area, you can’t decide to just lose weight in your stomach, or your thighs, or your rear. It doesn’t work that way. You can’t remove subcutaneous body fat from specific areas of the body by doing exercises that target those areas. Doing hundreds of crunches will certainly strengthen your abs, but that won’t reduce the amount of fat stored in your torso.
Want to lose pounds of belly fat? You’ll have to lose pounds of weight. Some will come from your stomach. Some will come from the rest of your body.
1. Follow an intermittent fasting eating routine.
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Top 10 Tips To Reboot Your Body And Kick Start Weight Loss
1. Start Your Day With A Workout Set up your alarm 20 minutes early and schedule your workout first thing in the morning. Studies suggest that people who exercise in the morning are relatively slimmer and healthier than the ones who exercise later in the day. Carry the feel good hormones and energy throughout the day by doing your exercise in the morning.
2. Skip the Scale Don’t weigh yourself daily, sometimes it just unnecessarily panics you and can be demotivating. Also, the scale can be deceiving as it ignores the fact that you might be adding muscle weight. Weigh yourself once a week and ideally in the morning.
3. Carry Your Own SnacksWhen I consult clients I have realised that their main meals are well managed, however, snack is an area where most of them end up going for unnecessary foods and jeopardise their weight loss. It’s a great idea to pack your own snack at work or on the go. Make small packs of nuts and seeds, fruits, plain yogurt, chaach, sprouts, dark chocolate, chilla, cubes of paneer or cheese.
4. Eat An Apple This one is my favorite, and I tell most of my clients “eat an apple or visualise it. If you are not hungry enough to eat one full apple, you are not hungry, just bored!”. Engage in fun activities or hobbies like singing, reading or whatever you fancy. Thinking about food all the time can be extremely taxing for your weight loss efforts.
Diet Chart to Follow for 10 Days
Day 1:
Day 2:
Day 3:
Day 4:
Day 5:
Day 6:
Day 7:
Day 8:
Day 9:
Day 10:
Get Serious About Sleep
Even a minor lack of sleep can contribute to a major gain in belly fat, so if you’re eager to keep your belly slim as you age, there’s no time like the present to get serious about your sleep. Research published in the aptly-named journal Sleep reveals that people who skimped on sleep gained 32% more visceral fat over a five-year period than their well-rested counterparts. Now, who’s up for a nap?
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How To Actually Lose Belly Fat Fast
Consume More Soluble Fibers. Soluble fibers are important for weight loss program,as they serve to absorb excess water and form gels that regulate how the foods pass the
What Should I Do If Ive Got Excess Weight Round My Middle
Regardless of your height or BMI, you should aim to lose weight if:
- you are a man with a waist measurement of 94 cm or more
- youre a woman with a waist measuring 80 cm or more
And your risk of serious health problems will greatly increase if:
- you are a man with a waist measurement of 102 cm ,
- youre a woman with a waist measuring higher that 88cm .
If your tummy weight is in the higher risk category above I would advise you to contact your GP. You might also find it helpful to contact a dietitian, who will help you to develop an individualised plan for a healthier lifestyle.
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Chew Your Food Properly And Chew Slowly
The problem when you gulp your food too quickly is that you don’t realize you’re gulping large amounts of air along with it too. The excess air gets trapped in your digestive system and ultimately leads to bloating. If you ensure to chew each morsel of your food slowly and eat at a steady pace, it will not only help you lose belly fat faster but also aid in weight loss. This also applies to consuming liquids.
May Help Maintain Healthy Blood Sugar Levels
In addition to their impressive nutrient profile and long list of health benefits, Brussels sprouts may also help keep blood sugar levels steady.
Multiple studies have linked an increased intake of cruciferous vegetables, including Brussels sprouts, to a decreased risk of diabetes .
This is likely because Brussels sprouts are high in fiber, which helps regulate blood sugar levels.
Fiber moves slowly through the body undigested and slows the absorption of sugar into the blood .
Brussels sprouts also contain alpha-lipoic acid, an antioxidant thats been researched extensively for its potential effects on blood sugar and insulin .
Insulin is a hormone thats responsible for transporting sugar from your blood to your cells to keep your blood sugar levels under control.
In one study, 12 patients with diabetes who were given alpha-lipoic acid supplements experienced increased insulin sensitivity.
The researchers proposed this was because the alpha-lipoic acid allowed insulin to work more efficiently to lower blood sugar .
Increasing your intake of Brussels sprouts alongside an otherwise healthy diet may help you keep your blood sugar levels stable.
Summary: The fiber and antioxidants in Brussels sprouts may help keep your blood sugar levels stable.
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