How to Lose Belly Fat

If you ever wanted to know how to lose belly fat fast and simple, it is explained in this easy to follow and straight talking article.

Plenty of people are worried about gaining weight especially around the belly.

Even more so when you weigh up the health risks and problems that can crop up if you are overweight with a flabby belly. If this is you, then grab a cup of coffee, sit back and heve a good read!

Bad Lifestyle

We're all well aware that a lack of daily exercise coupled with a diet of pizzas, burgers and fries, hot dogs etc will cause our bellies to extend, bloat and expand. But what we're probably not so well aware of is that those late nights working at the office plus the stress of landing that next big project, or the hidden trans fats lurking in our favorite snacks from the vending machine were all adding up to dangerous additional inches around our midsections.

Overwork, plus lack of sleep, plus nutrient deficient, stodgy, fat laden quick snacks and ready meals all equal a disaster waiting to happen.

Up until quite recently, BMI (Body Mass Index), which is a measurement of weight relative to height, was used by doctors as a key factor in their determination of the likelihood of heart disease developing in a person. It was also sued as an indicator of the potential to lead to diabetes and certain types of cancer. However, researchers are now discovering that BMI is not the correct number to be relant on and can in fact be dangerously misleading.

In general, a BMI of 20 to 25 is considered to be normal. When it rises to between 25 and 30 you are considered overweight. More than 30 puts you into the obese category.

Problems started to arise when factors such as muscle mass and the deposition of fatty tissue were not being taken into consideration. As muscle is considerably more dense than fat as well as taking up less space, it became clear that two people the same height and weight could easily have exactly the same BMI, but one might have a much higher body fat percentage than the other.

Health Risks Associated With Belly Fat

You may or may not have heard about several health risks that accompany a flabby belly, so if you are worried some of them might relate to you, then you need to know some of this stuff.

Researchers are fully aware now that when the majority of your body's fatty tissue is located in the abdominal area (visceral), the risks to your health are greater than if it is located in the hips, thighs or backside (subcutaneous).

A recent study focusing on the correlation between colon cancer and abdominal fatty tissue found that in this location it is "metabolically active". This means it could potentially increase the risk of colon cancer by raising levels of certain hormones that do affect cell growth. This includes the growth of cancerous cells.

With diseases such as colon cancer, it has also been found that women have a higher risk than men. Female participants of the same study who possessed the most abdominal fat were found to have a 48% greater chance of going on to develop colon cancer. Men were found to have a lower chance of 39%.

How to Beat the Jelly Belly

  1. Manage Stress By managing your daily stress levels and making more time for yourself to be calm and shut out the frustrations and hassles of a busy scheduled life, you can help cut the amount of fat that is placed in your belly area.
  2. Sleep More Getting enough sleep at night is not just good for improving your daytime concentration levels and ability to coordinate your cognitive functions. It also counts toward less fat being deposited in the torso area.
  3. Avoid Trans Fats Consuming excess trans fats have been shown to increase the level of abdominal fats your body will store. When you cut these harmful products out of your diet, you greatly reduce the risk to your health and the increase storage of the fat cells in your abdomen
  4. Avoid Sugar This might seem like a no-brainer, but by avoiding foods that contain high levels of sugars you will certainly reduce the amount of adipose fat that gets deposited there. This is one of the key strategies when it comes to learning how to reduce your levels of visceral fat, as it is a direct action that you can avoid. By this, it means that the more sugar you ingest, the more fatty tissue you will produce which will be stored in your abdomen. So conversely the less sugar you ingest, the less fatty tissue you will produce.

Horses for courses!

So there are several simple methods that you can learn how to lose belly fat by simply making a shift in the way you live your life. As with most health issues, the most important part of it is firmly in your hands.