BELLY FAT BLUES
Getting rid
of your belly bulge is important for more than just vanity’s
sake. Excess abdominal fat—particularly visceral fat, the kind that surrounds
your organs and puffs your stomach into a “beer gut”—is a predictor of heart disease,type 2 diabetes, insulin
resistance, and some cancers. If diet and exercise haven’t done much to reduce
your pooch, then your hormones, your age, and other genetic factors may be the
reason why. Read on for 11 possible reasons why your belly fat won’t budge.
YOU’RE GETTING OLDER
As you get older, your body changes how it gains and
loses weight. Both men and women experience a declining metabolic rate, or the
number of calories the body needs to function normally. On top of that, women
have to deal with menopause. “If women gain weight after menopause, it’s more
likely to be in their bellies,” says Michael Jensen, MD, professor of medicine
in the Mayo Clinic’s endocrinology division. In menopause, production of
the hormones estrogen and progesterone slows down. Meanwhile, testosterone
levels also start to drop, but at a slower rate. This shift in hormones causes
women to hold onto weight in their bellies. The good news: you can fight this
process.
YOU’RE DOING THE WRONG WORKOUT
A daily run or Spin class is great for your heart,
but cardio workouts alone won’t do much for your waist. “You need to do a
combination of weights and cardiovascular training,. Strength training
increases muscle mass, which sets your body up to burn more fat. “Muscle burns
more calories than fat, and therefore you naturally burn more calories throughout
the day by having more muscle.
YOU’RE EATING TOO MANY PROCESSED FOODS
“Refined grains like white bread, crackers, and
chips, as well as refined sugars in sweetened drinks and desserts increase
inflammation in our bodies,. “Belly fat is associated with inflammation,
so eating too many processed foods will hinder your ability to lose belly fat.”
Natural foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are full of
antioxidants, which have anti-inflammatory properties and may therefore
actually prevent belly fat, Patton says.
YOU’RE EATING THE WRONG FATS
The body doesn’t react to all fats in the same way.
Research correlates high intake of saturated fat (the kind in meat and dairy)
to increased visceral fat, says Patton. On the other hand, monounsaturated fats
(the kind in olive oil and avocados) and specific types of polyunsaturated fats
(mainly omega-3s, found in walnuts, sunflower seeds, and fatty fish like
salmon) have anti-inflammatory effects in the body, and if eaten in proper
portions may do your body good. But Patton warns that eating too much fat of
any kind increases your calorie intake and could lead to weight gain, so enjoy
healthy fats in moderation.
YOUR WORKOUT ISN’T CHALLENGING ENOUGH
To banish stubborn belly fat, you have to ramp up
your workouts. In a study published in the journal Medicine and Science in
Sports and Exercise, people who completed a high-intensity workout regimen
lost more belly fat than those who followed a low-intensity plan. (In fact, the
low-intensity exercises experienced no significant changes at all.) “You need
to exercise at full intensity because the end goal is to burn more calories,
and high intensity exercise does just that. High intensity workouts mean you’re
going all out for as long as you can. If this sounds intimidating, think of it
this way: you’ll burn more calories in less time.
YOU’RE DOING THE WRONG EXERCISES
Doing crunches until the cows come home? Stop it!
When you’re down to your final inches of belly fat, the dreaded crunch won’t be
the exercise that finally reveals your six-pack. “You can’t spot reduce,” Jill
says. Instead, she suggests doing functional exercises that use the muscles in
your core—abdominals, back, pelvic, obliques—as well as other body parts.
“These exercises use more muscles, so there is a higher rate of calorie burn
while you are doing them,” she says. Planks are her favorite functional exercise—they
activate not just your core muscles but also your arm, leg, and butt muscles.
YOU’RE STRESSED
Tight deadlines, bills, your kids—whatever your
source of stress, having too much of it may make it harder for
you to drop unwanted pounds, especially from your middle. And it’s
not just because you tend to reach for high-fat, high-calorie fare when you’re
stressed, though that’s part of it. It’s also due to the stress hormone
cortisol, which may increase the amount of fat your body clings to and enlarge
your fat cells. Higher levels
of cortisol have been linked to more visceral fat.
YOU’RE SKIMPING ON SLEEP
If you’re among the 30% of Americans who sleep less
than six hours a night, here’s one simple way to whittle your waistline: catch
more Zs. A 16-year study of almost 70,000 women found that those who slept five
hours or less a night were 30% more likely to gain 30 or more pounds
than those who slept 7 hours. The National Institutes of Health suggest adults
sleep seven to eight hours a night.
YOU’RE APPLE SHAPED
If you tend to pack the pounds around your middle
rather than your hips and thighs, then you’re apple shaped. This genetic
predisposition means ridding yourself of belly fat will be harder, Dr. Kashyap
says, but not impossible.
YOU’RE SICK
If your testosterone levels are high—something that
can occur with polycystic
ovary syndrome (PCOS)—you might have difficulty losing weight. “If
you’re an apple shape and overweight, it’s a good idea to see your doctor,” Dr.
Kashyap says, since there may also be a chance that you are prediabetic or diabetic.
YOU’RE UNMOTIVATED
Are you committed to the work needed to lose belly
fat? “Reducing belly fat takes a combination approach of a low-calorie diet
that is high in fiber and low in carbohydrates and sugar along with
cardiovascular and weight training,” Dr. Kashyap says. “If you are willing to
do the work, you can move past genetics and lose it.”
