Belly Fat Is More Serious Than Just a Few Extra Pounds

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Belly fat is more than just a few extra pounds that are keeping you from fitting into your favorite pair of pants. Belly fat is visceral fat that surrounds your organs and increases your risks of chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

It helps to add fiber to your diet when you are trying to shed unwanted belly fat. Fiber moves more slowly through the digestive tract and absorbs water along the way.

Nominal amounts of belly fat can serve a real purpose in padding and protecting the vital organs in the abdominal area of your body. Visceral fat is more dense and helps protect the stomach, spleen, pancreas, and intestinal tract. The visible fat that you notice around your stomach area is not the biggest problem. That is a subcutaneous fat that is between the outer layer of skin and outer wall of the abdomen. Belly fat is deeper visceral fat that is dangerous and difficult to loose.

Tips to Get You Started Losing Fat

Belly fat loss goes through phases starting with glycogen depletion that triggers your body to release stored fat, which is your primary goal. After the process plateaus, metabolic recovery occurs and the process resets. Listed below are some helpful strategies to get you started:

Consume More Healthy Fats – A good choice for adding fatty fish to your menus include salmon, herring, mackerel, sardines and anchovies. Doctors often suggest their patients take fish oil supplements to prevent fatty liver disease.

Eat Plenty of Protein – Observational studies have shown that participants who consumed more protein tended to have less belly fat than those who followed a low-protein menu plan.

Increase Fiber Intake – Consuming foods with soluble fiber can help slow down food as it passes through your digestive system. Studies show high-fiber foods may also decrease the number of calories your body absorbs from food.

Add Vinegar to Foods – According to Harvard Health, vinegar contains polyphenols that help to protect cells from oxidative stress. These plant chemicals have a natural antioxidant effect and can help to stabilize blood glucose levels after a meal to promote weight loss on a calorie restricted diet.

Select Healthier Beverages – Substituting high-calorie drinks, sugary sodas, and alcohol with water or unsweetened tea is one of the simplest ways to reduce your energy consumption. By choosing healthier beverages you can cut hundreds of calories each day.

Visit MRC for a Personalized Plan to Lose Belly Fat

Although walking is not the most strenuous exercise you can do, it can help you to get in better shape. While you cannot spot-reduce belly fat, walking every day can reduce your overall body fat, including stubborn belly fat. Generally speaking, women have a higher body fat percentage than men, and men have a higher muscle mass percentage than women. That said, men are more prone to storing visceral fat deep in the abdominal cavity.

Researchers at Yale University School of Medicine say men are more prone to gain weight around the middle. However, when it comes to shedding pounds, guys with big bellies can seemingly jump start their metabolism and lose weight faster than women. At Metabolic Research Center, our weight loss for men provides the tools, tips, accountability, and motivation to help you reach your goals for eating healthy and living well. This includes reducing dangerous stores of belly fat.