Belly Fat - Has it already got you?? The Dangers Which You Might Not Know About

Belly Fat - Has it already got you??

Weight around the mid-section is always a concern. This usually stems from a cosmetic view-point, but there are many health concerns that relate to extra pounds around the waist. Stress, poor diet, and lack of exercise all lead to excess weight and for many, that fat accumulates around the belly.

Belly fat is serious and increases your risk for many health problems. There is a strong correlation between central obesity and diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke. This is often referred to as metabolic syndrome and happens after a shift in the blood chemistry impacting insulin production and hormone balance. Even if you are in a normal weight range (based on your BMI), you may have excess belly fat and increase your risk of these same diseases¹.

I often see this in men, young men at that! With low muscle mass and a rather large stomach, even though they may want to build muscle, I have to educate them that firstly due to their hormones being out a whack that it won’t happen but secondly they’re likely to put more fat one! Once again proving that a number on the scale may not be the best indication of health.  

Belly fat is unique because it does not just lay dormant, taking up extra space and making your next shopping trip frustrating. Instead hormones and inflammatory substances are secreted from this fat². This happens because it is widely believed that abdominal fat breaks down easily into fatty acids that have easy access to the liver through the portal vein². Fatty acids are not the only ones to blame for belly fat but also increased insulin levels from the constant influx of carbs from the diet. When the body does not use the glucose provided, it is stored…as fat, you should all know by now if you’ve spoken to me ot read my previous work that I don’t hate carbs, far from it but they have to be controlled!

Another interesting side effect of excessive visceral fat is the presence of fatty liver. At one point fatty liver was a condition observed mainly in chronic alcoholics. However, as obesity rates have risen, so has the incidence of this disease. This happens because of the fatty acids delivered to the liver that are then stored at fat³.

Fighting the Fat

The main way to deal with belly fat comes from serious lifestyle changes with the right balance of diet and exercise interventions.  Visit brodiept.com for meal plans and exercise programmes designed to help you work away that belly fat and improve your overall life!

Diet Your Belly Away

There are no specific foods to target belly fat, reducing the amount of added sugars in your diet can help reduce belly fat.  Also, increasing your intake of citrus fruits, broccoli, kale and bell peppers (all containing vitamin C) can help reduce belly fat by regulating cortisol levels in the blood stream⁴. Keep in mind the body can only handle about 500mg of the vitamin at a time so if you are taking a supplement, consider taking it in the morning and evening instead of all at once. Foods high in vitamin C include:

·         broccoli

·         kiwi

·         strawberry

·         red pepper

·         collard greens

·         kale

·         parsley

·         red cabbage

·         Brussels sprouts.

Inflammation may play a big role in increased belly fat. Focus on foods that help reduce this inflammation such as salmon, anchovies, walnuts, flaxseeds, and grass-fed meats. The common inflammation-fighting nutrient found in these foods is omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are a great 1-2 punch because they also help reduce cortisol levels. If you are concerned about your fatty acid intake you may want to consider taking a fish oil or flaxseed supplement daily⁵.

Bloating and inflammation within the digestive tract can lead to poor gut health so you must provide it with the good bacteria it needs. Probiotics – found in yogurt, kimchi, kefir, and buttermilk – help to boost our overall immune system while also helping our gut get rid of waste. Additionally, there is a strong connection between bad bacteria and weight gain. If you are not having regular bowel movements (at least once a day) changes are you holding toxins from these bad bacteria in your gut. Drinking plenty of water, consuming foods high in probiotics and reaching your fiber goal will help move these toxins out of the body and help flatten your belly, plus make you feel much better!

Exercise Your Belly Away

Cardiovascular exercise will help shrink the size of your body, ultimately reducing belly fat. There is evidence that 30 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise, completed at least 4 times per week was most effective in targeting visceral fat – or belly fat^6.   Combining cardiovascular exercise with resistance training is more effective in ridding the body of abdominal fat than simply cardiovascular training – brodiept.com can create the perfect routine to do this for you.

If you are short on time, interval training may be your best bet to incorporate cardiovascular exercise with weight training. For example, walk at a brisk pace for 45 to 60 seconds then stop and do crunches or other abdominal exercises. The key is to keep your heart rate elevated during the entire workout to burn more calories and fat whilst creating that all important post exercise calorie burn for hours afterwards! While you may be able to reduce abdominal fat with diet alone, to create a flatter more lean look in that area you will need to strengthen those muscles through correct exercises which target the muscles that contract to keep it all tight, ask to see my 6 pac ill be sure to sure you how its done :P

Thanks Brodie – for once I've referenced some of the points in-case people want a further read.

p.s Don’t be shy about contacting me, all details can be found on my website brodiept.com

References:
1. Abdominal obesity and metabolic syndrome. Nature. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17167477

2.. Abdominal obesity and your health. Harvard Medical School. http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/abdominal-obesity-and-your-health.shtml

3. Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. Mayo Clinic. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nonalcoholic-fatty-liver-disease/DS00577

4. A randomized controlled trail of high dose ascorbic acid for reduction of blood pressure, cortisol, and subjective responses to psychological stress. Psychopharmacology. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11862365

5. Omega-3 fatty acids. University of Maryland Medical Center. http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/omega3-fatty-acids

6. Increased dietary protein and combined high intensity aerobic and resistance exercise improves body fat distribution and cardiovascular risk factors. International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17136940