Connect Bridgeport Strong Ideas: STRONG Idea: Lose the Belly Fat; Beyond the Crunch

STRONG Idea: Lose the Belly Fat; Beyond the Crunch

By Emily Stapleton on February 26, 2013 from Strong Ideas via Connect-Bridgeport.com

As soon as people find out I’m a fitness instructor, one of the most popular questions I get asked is: How do I get rid of this belly fat? The questioners always seem to have “tried everything”, from endless crunches to giving up their favorite food.

The truth is there is no one thing that can be done to lose the belly fat. Losing the belly fat will come, over time, from adopting a healthy lifestyle. Reducing the mid-section is important, not just for vanity reasons, but also for health reasons. The latest research says that a measurement of the midsection that exceeds 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men indicates a high risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer.

Many late night infomercials will tell us that all we have to do is buy a product that works the abdominal muscles and in no time we will achieve the flat stomach we so desire. The problem with this theory is research has proven that you cannot spot reduce. In other words, you can’t control where the fat comes from that your body burns. Just because you’re working the muscles of the abdomen (or legs, arms, or hips), you won’t necessarily burn fat from that area. While all of those ab crunchers and mid-section vibrators may increase the muscle tone in that specific area, they do nothing to reduce the fat hiding the muscles.

So the question remains, how can you lose the belly fat? If you’ve been following my blog for the last couple months, these suggestions will look very familiar.

• Drink lots of water. Hydration affects all aspects of health and this is no exception. Water helps flush out impurities, aids in digestion, and gives you more energy.

• Make healthy food choices. Notice I didn’t say, “go on a diet”. You should be eating 6 to 8 times per day, with an emphasis on fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains.

• Get adequate sleep. Most people need between 7 and 8 hours of sleep each night. Even a moderate amount of sleep deprivation can lead to stress, stress eating, and can mess with your hormone production.

• Exercise at least 4 times per week. You don’t have to use a fancy ab machine. You just have to burn calories and build lean muscle to increase your metabolism. There is no doubt that exercise works to reduce body fat all over your body, and that includes the mid-section.

• Reduce Stress. See the top four suggestions to help with stress reduction. Current research links high levels of stress with an oversized mid-section. The jury is still out as to how the two are related.

When you google “reduce belly fat”, or something along those lines, you will find information about hormone imbalance being the culprit. While I do think hormones play a role, over and underproduction of hormones are affected by lifestyle. So, making healthy lifestyle choices can often correct hormone imbalance and lead to a smaller mid-section.

If you are one of those questioners who has “tried everything," ask yourself if you have indeed tried to make simple, healthy lifestyle choices.

Until next week,
Emily