Central adiposity, more commonly known as belly fat, can have serious health consequences. Generally speaking, waist measurements of greater than 40 inches in men and 35 inches in women are known as abdominal obesity. By shrinking your waistline, you will not only feel better, but you’ll be also living a longer healthier life!
Why Belly Fat is Bad
Everything from high cholesterol and diabetes to heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure, cancer, osteoarthritis, fatty liver, and depression can all be tied back to carrying around excess weight in your middle. One of the main theories on why belly fat is so harmful to your health could be its location near the portal vein. This major vein carries blood from the intestinal area to the liver. Because of this, fatty acids can be released into the blood stream which has a direct impact on higher total cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol, lower HDL (good) cholesterol.
Another major health condition that can be impacted by belly fat is the body’s responsiveness to insulin. Insulin resistance means that your body isn’t able to process glucose property. This causes blood sugar to rise which can heighten your risk for diabetes.
Myths About Belly Fat
Belly fat won’t go away by just doing crunches! Target-area exercising, such as doing sit-ups, will activate the muscle around the belly and can tighten abdominal muscles, but that does not mean you’ll automatically reduce at visceral fat.
Belly fat may seem like it is the hardest fat to lose when compared to other areas of your body, but where you gain fat the most is typically where you’ll lose it first. This is why it’s important to incorporate whole body muscle building activities like Super Slow Motion Strength training along with a healthy diet that’s low in carbs and high in fiber to help you combat belly fat.
Strength Training Can Help You Lose Belly Fat
The most important factor when it comes to losing belly fat is getting your weight under control. A good place to start is by incorporating 30-60 minutes of exercise per day.
Strength training, like your Loyalty Fitness workout, not only helps you meet your daily exercise goals, it also helps you increase your muscle mass. Having a higher muscle mass will boost your metabolism which means you are burning more calories, and therefore more fat, both at rest and during exercise.
Proper Nutrition
Exercise alone will only do so much, which is why it needs to be combined with healthy changes to your diet. New research is showing that a diet that is lower in carbs and fat will help you to shed those extra pounds. Hate dieting? Try thinking of it as an eating plan rather than a diet.
A great place to start is by making better food choices and filling your plate with lean meats and vegetables. Also try and get about 10 grams of soluble fiber per day. Studies have shown that those with diets high in fiber tend to build up less belly fat. High fiber foods include:
- flax seeds
- shirataki noodles
- Brussels sprouts
- avocados
- legumes
- blackberries
If you’re concerned about belly fat, talk to your Loyalty Fitness trainer today and see how they can help you address your problem areas. Our team is dedicated to helping you set attainable goals and live a healthier life through fitness!