Belly Fat

Belly fat…………….those two little words do not bring a smile to our faces. It is, just as it sounds, a layer of fat that resides above the abdominal muscles. As we get older and after babies our bodies change and sometimes we are left with a little more belly fat than we once had.   While no area of fat can be targeted specifically including belly fat, we can incorporate daily activities o help reduce overall belly fat.

Exercise

You all know this is a must for belly fat loss and a healthy life style. When we “burn fat” by including cardio to our daily routines our fat cells do not disappear but they do get smaller. Exercise also helps build muscle, which will increase your metabolism and help shrink those fat cells.

Eating The “Right” Things

AVOID “empty calories”, what are these you ask? Lets start with all those sweet yummy sugary snacks. Sugar should not be eaten in excess, because sugar is highly addictive. Those commercials that say you “can not  only have one” it is the truth.

Instead, satisfy your cravings with proteins and, healthy fats, like nuts. As it takes fat to burn fat, fats should by no means be completely avoided. Additionally, vitamin C intake should be monitored to ensure that you are consuming enough of it as it is a vital component necessary for the body to be able to convert fat cells into energy expended during exercise. Again, the formula for weight loss and burning fat is simple: calories consumed – calories needed to sustain fat. If you eat less than is necessary to maintain your current level of body fat, the fat will begin to burn itself. Of course, this is a much more effective and faster process when combined with exercise.

Sleeping Enough

The biggest “secret” to losing fat and being an overall more healthy individual is in allowing your body to enter and maintain the natural cycles it was intended to. The most important of these cycles is the circadian rhythm, a cycle controlled by the brain and external factors such as light and temperature. When the body is deprived of sleep or some other necessary function, the circadian rhythm is disturbed. As this rhythm is also crucial in controlling appetite and the desire to eat, one can easily start eating more unnecessary meals and gaining fat as a result. Working to maintain a healthy cycle of sleep, activity, and eating is crucial to lowering overall body fat.

Relaxation and Control Of Stress

Another commonly overlooked element that can frequently lead to weight gain is stress. While it is no secret that stress affects the body in many ways, the specifics of these effects remain a mystery to far too many people. Stress has similar effects on the natural rhythms and cycles of the body as sleep deprivation does. Stress can cloud one’s mind and lead to overeating and a general sense of weariness which, in turn, frequently leads to the omission of exercise from an individual’s daily routine. While the causes of stress are unfortunately quite unavoidable, their effects can be controlled to an extent. If you find yourself flustered take a minute for yourself….breathe.