How To Lose Belly Fat Naturally.

 Too much belly fat can increase your risk of certain chronic conditions. Drinking less alcohol, eating more protein, and lifting weights are just a few steps you can take to lose belly fat.

It’s not uncommon for people to carry extra weight, especially in the form of belly fat. However, this is one such instance where following the crowd is not a good idea. The contents of this health blog will help you understand how to reduce belly fat quickly.

The fatty adipose tissue known as belly fat accumulates and causes multiple health issues such as type 2 diabetes and heart diseases. Luckily, there are ways to reduce this unwanted fat. Let’s see how!

What is Belly fat?

Two main types of fats contribute to abdominal obesity or belly fat, also known as central obesity. These are:

1. Visceral fat
2. Subcutaneous fat

Visceral fat is excess fat accumulated within the abdominal cavity. It wraps around your internal organs like the liver, pancreas, and kidneys. Whereas, subcutaneous fat is a superficial fat stored just below your skin.

Two main types of fats contribute to abdominal obesity – Visceral and Subcutaneous (Image Source: Sandra Cohen-Rose | Flickr)

You can’t always feel or see visceral fat. In fact, you may be thin with a pretty flat tummy and still have visceral fat. While it is easy to see and feel subcutaneous fat because you can pinch the skin and feel the fat stored under it, visceral fat is visible only with advanced imaging techniques like CT scans and MRI. It is associated with serious diseases such as heart disease, fatty liver, insulin resistance and even cancer. When you feel bad about the shape of your body, it is mostly due to subcutaneous fat.

Is visceral fat the same as belly fat?

In most people, about 90% of body fat is subcutaneous, the kind that lies in a layer just beneath the skin. If you poke your belly, the fat that feels soft is subcutaneous fat. The remaining 10% — called visceral or intra-abdominal fat — lies out of reach, beneath the abdominal wall.

What causes belly fat

Factors like carbohydrate-rich heavy diet, inflammation, and chronic stress can all lead to excess belly fat (visceral).

While poor eating habits like under or over-eating leads to obesity, stress can actually amplify the rate of visceral fat storage. Body fat storage is also influenced by genetic factors and hormones. It also includes the ratio of subcutaneous to visceral fat in your body.

Many studies suggest that stress can lead to obesity. It might be true, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need stress hormones. A stress hormone like cortisol is essential for the body to deal with stressful situations that need quick energy and attention. However, it causes fat storage in your abdomen when it’s in excess.

Studies have also shown that cortisol and insulin tend to increase the accumulation of visceral fat, while healthy levels of growth and sex hormones may help prevent it.

Visceral fat range:

1-4 – excellent
5-8 – healthy
9-12 – bad
Over 13 – alarming

Types of belly fat based on shape:

1. Stress belly or Adrenal belly

The adrenal glands respond to short term stress situations by releasing the ‘Cortisol’ hormone. Cortisol helps the body regulate blood sugar levels, metabolism, reduce inflammation, and boost memory formulation.

It triggers an immediate flood of glucose into large muscles. It also inhibits insulin production so the glucose won’t be stored but will be immediately available.

Under stressful conditions, cortisol provides the body with glucose using protein stores in the liver via gluconeogenesis. This energy aids the individual in fighting or escaping a stressful situation. However, high cortisol levels over the long term can lead to elevated blood sugar levels.

This usually happens when the cells become resistant to the hormone (Cortisol Resistance) and it lingers in the bloodstream. Too much cortisol circulating in the blood causes a high deposition of belly fat.

People with cortisol-related belly fat have symptoms like fluid retention, buffalo hump (fat deposition on the back of the neck), backache, inability to climb stairs, cravings for salty foods, and chocolates.

Solution:

• Get proper sleep.
• Walk daily.
• Go slow with exercise.
• Do yoga and meditation instead.
• Vitamin D and sunlight can help lower your cortisol levels.

  *You need regular sun exposure to get enough vitamin D.

2. Mummy Belly

It’s the soft pouch below a woman’s belly button that develops after she has had a baby. Pregnancy causes the muscles to stretch to accommodate the growing fetus. As a result, the connective tissues between the abdominal muscles can thin and weaken, causing the belly to bulge or become saggy. This bulge is commonly referred to as “a mommy pooch” or a “mommy tummy.”

Solution:

• Getting the right exercise and eating healthy will help you get back to your pre-pregnancy belly shape within a few months.
• Yoga asanas like chakrasanas, cobra pose, and stretching exercises can reduce belly fat.

3. Hormonal belly

This happens due to estrogen imbalance in females. This fat is present in the lower belly. Women with a Hormonal Belly have issues like bloating, PCOS, backache, acne, facial hair, and irregular menstrual cycles.

Solution: Eat home-cooked food, avoid stress and avoid processed foods. Also, sleep well.

4. Potbelly or bloated belly

It appears in the form of a protruding belly which comes and goes. It may happen due to certain types of foods like cruciferous vegetables, gluten, or dairy.

Potbellied people feel shoulder pain, frequent hunger, and cravings for sweet foods.

Solution:

• Be very mindful of what you eat to check what triggers bloating.
• Add herbs and spices to your meals.
• Cut down on junk food completely.
• Exercise regularly.

5. Alcohol or beer belly

Alcohol adds empty calories to your body, but you may not be fully aware of what this can do to your stomach.

Alcohol-related weight gain results in a larger belly that protrudes from higher up underneath the diaphragm. It is closely linked to fatty liver.

Solution:

• Lower your carbohydrate intake.
• Stop consuming alcohol.
• Consume proteins and fat moderately.
• Consume cruciferous vegetables.
• Do Intermittent fasting.

6. Thyroid belly

People with low thyroid hormone levels may gain weight and have an increased body mass index (BMI). Even mild cases of hypothyroidism may cause weight gain. People with this condition generally have a puffy face as well as excess weight around the stomach and other areas of the body.

Solution:

• Avoid refined sugars.
• Add anti-inflammatory foods sources or supplements.
• Maintain a low-carb diet.
• Do intermittent fasting.

Foods to reduce belly fat naturally

1. Pasteurized meat
2. Grass-fed ghee or butter
3. Eggs
4. Green leafy vegetables
5. Fibrous vegetables
6. Nuts
7. High-quality protein powders
8. Berries
9. Apple cider vinegar
10. Cottage Cheese

Exercises to reduce belly fat

Most people try to lose weight to get a toned and taut tummy. We hate to break it to you, but doing hundreds of crunches every day isn’t the best way to lose belly fat. As a matter of fact, there are no exercises that promote spot reduction.

1. Walking

Yes, you read that right. Simply walking can help you lose belly fat. You may not realize it but walking 45 to 60 minutes a day can boost your metabolism. Furthermore, it ensures you won’t overtrain, which may lead to an overproduction of cortisol, a stress hormone that has been linked to belly fat.

It’s also an effective way to drop pounds – including the fat that conceals your abdominal muscles. One hour of rapid walking a day can lead to one pound of fat loss a week.

2. Burpees

Burpees engage your core, chest, shoulders, lats, triceps, and quads. Because they require explosive plyometric movements, they get your heart pumping too.

3. Mountain Climbers

This exercise works on your core, as well as a slew of other body muscles.

4. Russian Twists

The Russian twist is a core exercise that improves oblique strength. It involves rotating from side to side while holding a sit-up position with the feet off the ground.

5. Strength Training

Using heavier weights and cutting back on rest time between sets can help you lose belly fat. Heavy lifting gives you a greater afterburn effect as well.

You continue to burn calories even after you leave the gym. So, make sure your technique doesn’t slip as you increase your weight, which can lead to injury.

6. Yoga

Some of the highest calorie-blasting yoga poses include plank, chair, and wheel pose. Although yoga doesn’t burn as many calories as a hilly run or lifting weights, it can build muscle and improve your endurance. These are vital to boosting your metabolism.

To Summaries

Spot-targeting isn’t a viable approach to reduce belly fat. If you’re trying to lose fat around your stomach, a mix of resistance training and high-intensity aerobic exercise, along with a healthy diet, may help reduce your belly fat. So, here’s what you can do:

1. Cut back on carbohydrates — especially refined ones.
2. Avoid foods that contain trans fats/refined oils.
3. Reduce or completely avoid alcohol.
4. Eat a high protein diet.
5. Reduce your stress levels.
6. Don’t consume sugary foods and beverages.
7. Keep moving.
8. Lift weights
9. Get plenty of rest.
10. Try intermittent fasting.
11. Become a nutrition label reader.
12. Focus on the way your clothes fit more than reading a scale.

Are you trying hard to figure out a diet for your health condition? Unfortunately, a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work here. It is advised to get expert guidance and consultation when it comes to health and diet. This small investment can actually help you feel better and live a healthier life. Seeing a qualified nutritionist helps you learn and practice healthy behaviors and habits, as well as identify unhealthy ones. We are here to help – get professional help from a certified dietician at The Diet Etiquette.