In all honesty, a tiny layer of fat around your belly is healthy and protective.
But we are talking here about people who seem to not even eat much but gain fat around their belly. It's like even the air they breath leads to belly fat. Let's understand why this happens. It is important to understand that the body decides where to lose fat from once you start exercising and eat right. No, spot reduction is not possible.
You can however spot tone muscle fibers. So, for instance, if you work really hard on your upper body and not enough for your legs, you will develop more strength and muscle fibres on your upper body.
But could belly- fat be genetic?
Women tend to carry more fat around the lower abs/ hips and thighs just because of biology. Men tend to carry a layer of fat around the lower back instead because through generations men worked in agriculture and outdoors and an extra layer of fat around the lower back is protective and helpful to work long hours with a bent back.
Belly fat storage has been linked with high cortisol levels. Cortisol is the stress hormone released by the body in response to external or internal stress detected by the brain. External stress factors could be things like work pressure, relationship and family pressure, long work hours etc. Internal stress could be caused by not eating for long hours, hormonal imbalance in the body, lack of sleep/ rest etc. Cortisol receptors are stored around the belly. Research shows that the more the release of cortisol, the more fat cells love to go and sit around the abdomen.
External stress is not always in our control, we can however control internal stress. Taking steps like eating enough micronutrients so that the body can repair itself, sleeping well, and switch to a whole food plant- based diet that is naturally healing and anti- inflammatory. Lifestyle changes can definitely help reduce stress and cortisol, but so will exploring mental health. Include meditation or yin yoga to your daily routine. maybe discuss with an expert about steps you can take to reduce anxiety.
Not having enough good bacteria means your body's ability to digest food well and break down micronutrients goes down. Undigested food in the gut causes constipation, bloating, and belly fat. Unless we eat food rich in PREbiotic (good bacteria feeds on prebiotics and grow), we might be breading a very dangerous environment in our guts. Grains and beans are high in prebiotics, breading the good bacteria. Studies suggest that people who consume three servings of whole grains per day tend to have lower belly fat, body mass, and a lower tendency to gain weight
In most Indian women's middle years, both physical activity and metabolic rate decline. However, as the energy requirement decreases, even regular or routine eating may result in weight gain. Lifestyle’s of Indian women also expose them to environmental toxins, raising exposure to hormonal disrupters, causing elevated estrogen levels. This condition of estrogen dominance is also a key factor to weight gain.
I have seen so many people chug down protein shakes in the hope of losing weight. This is counter productive to your goals. If your goal is fat loss, you do not need 120 additional calories coming in from proteins. Proteins do not contribute towards weight loss, but consuming extra proteins will covert them to carbs through a process called gluconeogenesis and eventually be stored as fat.
Yes! If you train like a powerlifter, you will look like a powerlifter. Firstly decide what your core goal is, muscle gain or fat loss? Train and eat as per your goals. Think of taking a brisk walk on the beach or cycling on steady terrain for an hour. Your heart rate for this type of cardio should not exceed 40- 60% of your base heart- rate. A simple test to check your heart rate would be the 'talk test'.
You should be able to maintain a conversation with broken sentences during this cardio. So jogging/ brisk walking is ok but not a run where you are breathless.
