Belly fat, flab, muffin top. Ugh, you know, that little bit (or lot) of doughy fat around the midsection, that gets more stubborn the older we get? that Ugh! I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had frustration with understanding why it's there, and of course trying to get rid of it! Well we may not all be able to have “washboard” abs, but we can certainly lean out that tire a little bit ;). In fact, I’m working to slim mine down now to get ready for summer - YAY!!!
Let's start with some background. What is that fat? Why does it seem like an endless battle to get rid of it?
Aside: I'm going to simplify this for everyone's better understanding - so you doctors and scientists reading: please send me a note if I over-simplify this too much or if there is additional information to add!
There are actually two types of fats accumulating around the midsection. There's the muffin-top, loose, doughy fat that you can physically grab with your hand, and there's fat that lies much deeper than the skin and surrounds our vital organs.
The deep layered fat surrounding the organs is called "visceral fat", which has sparked a lot of chatter in the last decade. Studies are indicating that while extra fat accumulation in general can be an indicator of whether someone is obese, the amount of visceral fat is much more dangerous to our long term health. The good news is that studies also show that visceral fat responds well to exercise, so if you start moving, your adverse health risks will decrease! That is such good news!
Now - back to stubborn fat. The other belly fat - the stuff we can grab onto to (love handles and such...) is a bit trickier to get rid of. This is Adipose Tissue, and its main purpose is to store energy. When you eat fats (foods that are rich in fats such as olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds and other fatty foods) in excess of what your body requires for energy, your body will store it for later - a greta mechanism when food is scarce. However, food isn’t scare for us anymore! Here’s the kicker that a lot of people find surprising - when you eat carbohydrates and proteins in excess of what is needed immediately by the body, or to store energy in the muscles and repair/rebuild tissues, then your body will convert the excess to fat and store it as well.
When you eat carbohydrates and proteins in excess...your body will convert the excess to fat and store it
Most people read labels that say "low in fat, or 0g of fat" and think that if they eat it they won't get fat. But most of the time, check the nutrition label and notice that they are adding calories elsewhere to make that food delicious. Often it is sugar (gasp!). And if you eat too much of it, guess where it goes?!?!
Okay, so how the heck do you get RID of it?? Here are a few tips to consider:
STOP Yo-Yo dieting (this is when people are constantly fluctuating more than 10 lbs). Studies have suggested that the fat will tend to accumulate and remain longer in the upper body when our weight fluctuates constantly more than 10 lbs (this causes undue stress in the body). Losing weight slowly and safely (0.5 lbs/week for most people) will help ensure you are changing your lifestyle to make the weight loss permanent, rather than a crash diet that is unsustainable. You should be tweaking your habits so that you achieve your goal weight without big sacrifices, which will increase your chances of keeping the weight off (i.e. maintenance phase) once you are at your ideal body weight.
Eat more protein: Most people do not eat enough protein.To clarify, most people eat too high of a ratio of carbohydrates compared to the amount of protein they are eating. You should absolutely have protein with every meal, and there is a scientific reason for that. Protein helps balance the hormonal response to carbohydrates (specifically high-glycemic carbs), because it slows the digestion process. When you eat something that is high in sugar, your body metabolizes it very fast, releases Insulin, which then reduces the mobilization of fatty-acids stored in the tissue. This means that spikes in sugar, and therefore insulin, will slow-down the fat burning process! Further, protein is necessary for maintaining muscle, and muscle is what burns calories, so you don’t want to lose it. There are other reasons our body needs protein, but we’ll stick to the reasons for getting rid of belly fat.
Photo by Brooke Lark
Eat healthy at LEAST 85% of the time: I'm a firm believer in balance, and let's face it - we can't fully deny or avoid the foods we love, especially in our culture when food means friends, family and love. So my rule is that I eat very healthy consistently 85% of the time (that means six days a week!). You can manage this how you want - I like to stick to healthy eats during the week, and save my wine and chocolate for one day on the weekend! The word “healthy” is confusing and overused, but really you should be eating most of your foods from real, whole ingredients. That means if you often eat food that comes from a package - you need to change this habit (a post coming on this one!).
Eat Within your Caloric Requirements: Most people overeat. It’s a fact. We are used to indulging, and we often eat until we feel full. We should actually be trying to eat slower, because the hormones released in our stomach to tell our brains we are full take time to register. So often we eat too much, too fast, and then feel very full. We should be aiming to eat until we are 80-90% full. Which really means, eating until we aren’t HUNGRY. This one is very hard - at least for me, because I love food, and I am in the HABIT of eating to feel full. If you don’t know what your caloric requirements are, then you can contact me here to help you.
Reduce stress! If you have a very stressful and demanding life, I STRONGLY recommend finding ways to reduce those stresses. When we are stressed our hormones become imbalanced, causing weight fluctuations. Also, when under emotional stress, many people turn to eating and food for comfort, and often don't realize it. We are often not in a good mental state to control our nutrition. There are a lot of stressors acting on us at any given time, but there is increasing research suggesting that high stress will completely HALT the weight loss process, because our hormones control our body’s metabolism. More on this topic soon!!
Genetic Predisposition: yes, unfortunately genetics certainly has a role. Every body is different, which is why there is no one-size fits all approach for people. Some people are lean and will remain that way despite the food they eat, and others look at a cupcake and gain weight. We can’t all be perfect, but eating properly and within our caloric range will improve the body’s ability to function optimally.
If you are trying to lose weight, you absolutely need to move more and eat less. Period.
Exercise: Adding more movement and activity to your life will cause your body to demand more energy, thereby using up your fat stores. Once you begin exercising, you need to eat the same amount, not MORE (unless you’re an athlete or maintaining your current weight). WARNING: you can never out-exercise a poor diet. this means you must eat well, AND exercise ;). Therefore, exercising is NOT the only way, and my no means should you be exercising BECAUSE you eat too much.
I hope you can implement some of the tips above. It's not an easy answer to weight loss, but it is the only natural way to lose weight and keep it off without making drastic change that are harmful!!! If you are looking for a fast fix that you can do with little to no discomfort, then this is not the place to look. It takes time to gain the weight, maybe months, even years. Therefore, it will not, and should not be a fast process to lose it. Otherwise you don’t build the habits you need to keep it off. It's a constant journey to a healthier life - there is no finish line. So you can choose to take it on, and enjoy the process of it.
Be proud of your decision to improve yourself. The goal should be to be a little bit better every day. Feel good about reducing stress and eating well - because soon enough you will feel better. And then your body will thank you :)
Sending lots of love,
Leigh