Contents
7 Tricks To Lose Stubborn Belly Fat (Backed By Science)
We all are looking for ways to get rid of these extra undesired extra kilos that stick to our bellies. Right? But stubborn as it is, the belly fats are the most tedious ones to remove and the easiest to put on. Adding on it, our little crazy indulge during the lockdown has made the belly fats more stable in their position.
So how do we get rid of them? The Internet will send you in crazy-frenzy doling out tips and tricks on how to loosen up in 7 days and so. But is it effortless as it seems? No. It may be possible for you to cram your entire syllabi and prepare for the exam in a week, but the belly fats don’t work that way.
A firsthand experience of having them will make you realize the efforts you have to put in getting rid of them.
WHAT IS IT?
When the abdominal fats accumulate, leading to an increase in the size of our belly (abdomen) or the waist (hip) region, it is called belly fat. A much scientific term will be to refer to it as abdominal obesity. It is a general site that when we gorge on the extra carbs being the couch potato, we do develop these bellies. However, it is also a natural process as we age. Also, having belly fat may indicate the presence of other diseases like Type 2 Diabetes, heart ailments, and hormonal imbalance in our body.
THE CAUSES
Real-life experiences point fingers at the couch potato lifestyle that we all love to enjoy. Eating more than what our body requires leads us to accumulate the extra fats. And the favorite region in our body for the same is our belly and the thighs.
Let us look over the facts that lead us to develop the beer-belly.
- Consuming too much sugar: Take a look at your daily diet. From the sumptuous cereal breakfast to your last savoring dessert, our daily diets are laden with sugar, sugar, and sugar. The cereals, shakes, bread, pasta, refined carbs, the coffees, and even the protein bars. All of them have loads of sugar, which we often don’t look over.
- Snacking too much: The snacks we eat are not really to just fill our hunger pangs between the meals. We love to gorge on them. Watching movies or going to a picnic is incomplete without them. They cater to your taste buds more by providing you crunchy and salty foods. And that is precisely what your body does not need.
- Too little exercise: Our lifestyle is pushing out our need to move the body. As technology advances, more and more comfortable living has replaced our body’s movement. This lack of exercise has also led to the creeping in of many lifestyle-related diseases into our life—type 2 Diabetes one among them.
Does this seem to be your daily lifestyle? Then you need to take action and work out to keep the belly fat at bay.
WHY IS IT DIFFICULT TO REMOVE BELLY FAT?
Anyone can surely vouch that these belly fats are stubborn. Once they set up, it is tough to get rid of them. Let us know the reason.
The fat cells in our body have two receptors – α and β. The β receptors stimulate the hormones and accelerate the process of fat breakdown, whereas α receptors don’t stimulate. Hence the fat cells break down slowly. Hence the ratio of fat cells with α and β cells determines the rate at which our body fat burns. In our belly region and other hard to lose fat regions like hips and thighs, the fat cells with α receptors are more in ratio.
7 RIGHT MOVES AGAINST THE BELLY FATS
Yes, it is difficult, but not entirely impossible. The right diet plans and complimentary exercises will help you get rid of those extra kilos and keep them at bay in the future.
Your Food: About 80% of your lifestyle is determined by the food that you eat. It is recommended to remove all the excess fat and carb-laden foods in your diet. According to dieticians, if you eat 500 calories less than your daily requirement each day, you can lose up to 1.8Kg every four weeks.
A healthy diet is the first step towards a healthy lifestyle. The foods with a high amount of sugar and refined carbs should be replaced with healthy protein and fiber-rich foods. Foods like nuts, olive, oatmeal, dairy products, and fruits enrich your diets with your nutrient requirements without loading in the fats. The foods rich in proteins, apart from boosting your metabolism, also keep your stomach full. Enrich your diet with soluble fibers.
- Say bye to the salty snacks, sweet desserts, and especially the sweetened beverages (yes, including your fruit juices).
- Increase in the intake of spices like cinnamon, ginger, and black pepper and decrease your salt intake.
- Boost your body’s metabolism by having a glass of lemon water or honey in the water on an empty stomach.
- Keep track of your eating habits. Often, we subconsciously indulge in snacks and other fast foods that we don’t need.
- Avoid eating food late at night. Science says you must eat your food at least 3 hours before going to bed. This eating habit will save you from heartburn, indigestion, and sleep disturbances and will increase your metabolism.
CAUTION: Eating healthy and eating less is entirely different.
Exercise: As said, exercise governs about 20% of your lifestyle. Including the cardio-vascular exercises like jogging, running, and swimming into your lifestyle will surely help you. Resistance training helps in burning those extra fats and developing muscles. Including exercises in your daily schedule often seems tiresome. Hence start slow and enjoy what you are doing. Starting with aerobics or yoga may help you get acclimatized, and gradually you can build up your endurance.
Make your body move around more. Technology has eliminated our need to move our bodies around. Don’t sit for long hours at a stretch. Move around, take a short walk during a break, and walk to nearby areas. All these small exercises will keep your body healthy.
Stress-free lifestyle: Even if you manage your food and exercise, yet still fail to get off the extra fats, stress might be the reason. A stressful lifestyle leads to mindless eating i.e., foods rich in carbs and fats. Also, the body increases the production of hormones called cortisol. These cortisols enlarge fat cells, thus increasing appetite and hence your belly fat.
Change in food lifestyle: Intermittent or broken fasting is a cyclic alternating between eating and fasting. There are various styles of fasting, like between days or in a week. Depending on your body capability and preference, you can opt for a healthy fasting type. Fasting gives time for your body to recuperate and hence cleanses your body.
CAUTION: Don’t follow drastic fasting plans that promise to trim you down in a week. They are more hazardous.
Another way is to change your portion size. A smart way to cut down the calories is by reducing the portion of food. Lower portion means lower calories. Diet plans based on portions are available. For example, the wrist portion. Here you eat various foods but limit the size to your arm/fist. Like, a fistful of cereals and legumes and meat as the size of your palm.
Sleep: Scientific studies show the immense importance of sleep in the healthy lifestyle of an individual. According to experiments, people who had a maximum of 5 hours of sleep had a high chance of gaining weight and were constantly feeling tired.
Lack of sleep results in the release of a hormone called Ghrelin, which further stimulates your appetite. Sleeping for 7 hours per day is highly recommended. To ensure this, you must stay away from late-night coffee trips. Also, keep away from electrical appliances like television and smartphones just before retiring to bed.
Boost metabolism/ resting metabolic rates: Optimize your thyroid function by having an iodine and zinc-rich diet. Hormones from the thyroid impact your metabolic rates very much. Change from regular cooking oils to MCT. For example, substituting coconut oil for butter can lead to a 5% increase in the metabolism rate.
Have a lot of water. Generally, having 8 cups of water is suggested for the average healthy body. Also, cold water is proven to burn more calories than hot water. Though this figure may not be too much, they add up when you follow a healthy diet and exercise.
Refrain from a high dose of Booze: anytime wondered where the term beer belly propped up from? Yes, you can have a guess. Alcohol consumption has become a usual way to unwind yourself after a long and tiring day. A high level of alcohol increases your risk of having visceral fats, i.e., belly fats. Therefore if you can, then avoid. Or less have it in moderation.
You may want to stay away from those pills that guarantee weight loss, as almost 2 out of 3 people face allergy issues.
So these are 7 healthy science-backed ways to get rid of those extra belly fats.
(CAUTION: Your investments directly impact the output.)
Live a Happy, healthy lifestyle.
