Belly fat is not only unattractive and uncomfortable; it is unhealthy and may lead to serious illnesses like diabetes, lose of kidney function and heart failure. Getting rid of belly fat takes a concerted effort of diet and exercise along with knowledge of how to avoid having it return. So let's examine what we should know about the factors that contribute to the deposit of belly fat (visceral fat) in the adipose tissues of the abdomen.
METABOLISM
Metabolism: The whole range of biochemical processes that occur within us (or any living organism). Metabolism consists both of anabolism and catabolism (the buildup and breakdown of substances, respectively). The term is commonly used to refer specifically to the breakdown of food and its transformation into energy. (Definition from MedicineNet.Com)
Metabolism varies from person to person and as a function of age, activity, health and gender as well as "life style" (what, how and when you eat, drink, sleep and exercise). The good news is that you can manipulate your metabolism with diet (and dietary supplements); exercise and life style changes that will make your food to energy transformation more efficient and help you lose your belly fat.
BLOOD GLUCOSE and INSULIN PRODUCTION
The amount of sugar in your blood varies as your digestive system goes to work to meet your body's demand for energy. Increases in blood sugar naturally trigger the production of insulin, the body's blood sugar regulator. Unfortunately, insulin also facilitates the deposit of fats in body tissue. The ideal objective is to avoid fluctuations in blood glucose and the attendant insulin spikes that accompany them.
Clinical studies have shown the effects of ingesting various quantities of over 4500 foods on blood glucose levels in terms of maximum increase and time to recovery. The results of these trials suggest that the way to lose weight and stay lean is to have five or six small meals per day instead of the standard three "squares". The blood glucose level doesn't fluctuate nearly as much as with larger, more widely spaced meals. This leads to less insulin production and less retention of fat.
ESTROGEN
Estrogen is only one of many hormones produced in the body. While it is a dominant factor in the overall health of women, just as testosterone is for men, estrogen and its xenoestrogen imitators promote the depositing of fat in adipose tissue. Androgens, another natural hormone, prevent lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides or fat and oils) from being stored in adipose tissue. Unfortunately, estrogen converts androgens to estrogen, which as noted before promotes the depositing of fats in the body. Belly fat cells are adipose tissue! Ergo, we should limit our intake and production of estrogen and xenoestrogens.
Xenoestrogens are found in the air, petroleum products, plastics and foods. Most notably they are found in pesticides that are widely used on fresh fruit and produce. You may want to peel your apple or pear since washing will not remove all pesticides from their skin.
MONOUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS
Eating fat to lose fat sounds crazy on the surface of it, but it has been clinically proven that monounsaturated fatty acids actually aid in the burning of visceral fat like belly fat. When we include foods that contain monounsaturated fat in a calorie controlled, high protein-high fiber diet, we can provide a fat burning bonus to your bout with belly fat. Some good sources of these fat burning friends are avocado, nuts, seeds, olives, soybeans, chocolate, olive and canola oils, and fatty fish with omega-3.
EXERCISE
The most important aspect of exercise is movement! Constant movement! It doesn't have to be fast or strenuous, just constant for a prolonged period of time, and done regularly. Recent studies show that when the body is engaged in a repetitive, rhythmic set of motions (treadmill, elliptical, stair-climber etc.); it expends less energy then when it is challenged to make multiple random movements. Our muscles become very efficient when repeating the same motion over and over again, and actually learn to conserve energy as they perform. The result is diminishing returns for the exerciser. It has been suggested that getting on with ones normal daily routine at a sustained, but somewhat random pace will actually burn more energy than a structured exercise routine. Like Nike says, "Just do it"!
DIET
Calories still count. We consume calories, we burn calories and we store calories. When we consume more than we burn, we store the excess and get fat. When we burn more than we consume, we have to call upon our stored reserves to make up the difference and lose some fat in the process.
It is known that it takes more energy to digest protein than it takes to digest fat. Our goal is to burn more energy and to do it more efficiently. It seems obvious that a high protein diet will help achieve that goal.
We want our diet to facilitate the burning of fat and to block the storage of fat. We have learned that we have to minimize the "spiking" of insulin in our system by minimizing the variations in our blood glucose levels. Whole grains are know to trigger less of an insulin response than refined grains (white flour) and provides high fiber content. The bulk found in a high fiber diet fills you up and satisfies your hunger for a longer period of time than refined grains will. That results in your eating less. We call that a win-win in the war on belly fat. We also want to limit the ingestion of estrogen and xenoestrogen so as to not interfere with the blocking of fat deposits provided by androgens.
BYE-BYE BELLY FAT FINAL WORD
Belly fat is visceral fat which is metabolically active and easier to burn off than subcutaneous fat that lies just below the skin. The trick is to tune up our metabolism with diet and exercise and just go after it!
Author Resource:-
Phil is a retired aerospace engineer/executive who has an opinion on almost any subject; usually conservative and old school oriented. Visit him at his Website/Blog , or Click Here! for more on burning fat.
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