For the majority of women who want to lose weight, getting rid of belly fat would go a significant way to completely reshaping their shape. Those of us who have had children are quick to blame our protruding belly on residual baby fat, but what if you have never been pregnant and still find your belly beginning to sit on your lap?
Why is Your Belly Fat?
The uterus is about three inches across and although it can stretch many times its normal size to accommodate your baby, it normally shrinks back to size within a few short months after you give birth. If you still have a big belly chances are you have excess intra-abdominal fat.
It is important that you understand the truth about belly fat.There are two components to your bulging belly;
1) fat cells that accumulate just under your skin – subcutaneous fat. This is similar to the fat on your thighs buttocks and on your back under the bra line and
2) fat cells that lie deeper inside your body around the vital organs (heart, lungs, digestive tract, liver, etc.) in the chest, abdomen, and pelvis. This type of fat is referred to as “visceral” fat and is particularly dangerous to your health.
Dangers of Belly Fat
Two of the biggest health challenges from having excess belly fat are that these release toxin into the bloodstream affecting vital organs of the body thus making a person prone to certain types of auto immune diseases such as cancer and arthritis as well as increases your risk of developing metabolic syndrome of high cholesterol, triglycerides, high blood pressure, diabetes.
Burning Belly Fat
Understanding the truth about belly fat helps you determine which program is right for you.
Modern day science allows you to get an accurate determination of your visceral fat using the principle of electrical impedance and comparison charts. For your height, weight and age various systems in your body will conduct or impede the flow of a small electrical current depending on your body composition. It is relatively easy and inexpensive to get an accurate reading of your belly or visceral fat.
Dieting and exercise can reduce your overall body fat percentage. But as a busy professional, perhaps facing many stressors in other areas of your life, you should be looking for diet and exercise programs that are easy to do, proven effective and does not require preexisting skills or fitness levels.
It’s easy to request a free wellness evaluation and get customized nutritional recommendation and meal plans. This can be done in person or online
Choosing an Exercise Regime
Everyone tells you a different story about how to exercise when you have a busy schedule. Losing weight and belly fat is not the only benefits you gain from to exercising – exercise will help you distress, maintain muscle integrity, prevent bone loss, keep your poise and balance among other things. But what you are looking for right now are fat blasting exercises. So that rules out the slow cardio, the two hour gym routines, or abdominal crunches which may tone and streamline your abdominal muscles but leave it buried under blobs of fat and leave you still susceptible to metabolic syndrome.
Fat Burning Zone – you need exercises that quickly get you in the fat burning zone. The main characteristic of these types of exercises is their intensity. These exercises make your muscles burn and leave you breathless.
If you are the athletic type you will have no problem jumping right into High Intensity Interval Training. However the majority of you will be able to begin doing high intensity circuit training focusing on the lower half of your body. The reason why these exercise burn fat is because they make the body work in a way which exceeds its ability to get energy from the blood stream or from glycogen stored in the muscles, in this way it forces the body to burn fat.
In another post I will cover some of my favorite high intensity circuit training exercises such as squats, mountain climbing, lounges and reverse curls and the plank.
Take the First Step
Until then, keep a positive attitude; work on your flat belly mindset. You can do this! Inch by inch it’s a clinch. It all begins with ONE pound and after a few days or weeks you’ll look back and see many pounds lost, and exhale as you behold a completely new body in the mirror.
