If women were granted three wishes, they would use it all up to get rid of belly fat and to get flat abs. 😛 Belly fat is the reason women spend sleepless nights and it doesn’t help that your usual weight reduction strategies seem to be ineffective against stubborn tummy fat. So, have you tried every trick in the book and sipped on various herbal teas that promised to directly melt belly fat – all without any success? Before getting down to do hundreds of crunches in a day, it would be prudent to find out the kind of belly fat you have and then employ the right kind of strategy to get rid of that. So, without further delay, let’s take a look at different types of belly fat and how to melt it all away.
Why Belly Fat is Stubborn?
As we have mentioned above, it’s a bit difficult to trigger burning of belly fat and that’s why crunches, herbal teas that promise spot reduction would not actually work. The breakdown of fat happens through a process called “lipolysis.” Elaborating the fat-burning process further – Certain chemicals such as adrenaline and noradrenaline get inside fat cells and attach themselves to alpha or beta receptors on these cells and stimulate the release of fat molecules from within. These fatty acids are then utilized as fuel when there’s calorie deficit (less calories consumed and more calories should be torched mainly through diet). Research done in this area has revealed that alpha receptors obstruct the process of fat burning whereas beta receptors facilitate it. The fat cells that have beta receptors are more sensitive to fat burning while those with alpha receptors don’t respond actively. That’s why, belly fat, which is comprised mainly of fat cells with more alpha receptors do not participate in the fat-burning process. We now know that fat cells around the belly don’t respond that well to this process because abdominal fat cells have more alpha receptors rather than beta receptors which respond readily to the fat-burning process, and that’s why belly fat is stubborn, and it would take a lot more effort to get rid of it.
Now, let’s see different types of belly fat so that you can determine which one you have. P.S. – no matter what kind of belly fat you have, following a good weight loss diet, such as Rati Beauty will not only trim the waistline, it would also help shed extra pounds overall. Download the Rati Beauty app for more details.
8 Types of Belly Fat:
1. Subcutaneous Fat: This is the fat which is visible in your lower body area. From the health point of view, this fat is not dangerous, but it may affect your physical appearance. And, can you believe this is one of the easiest fat to get rid of? Here’s what you should do:
- Do 30-50 waist circles every day.
- Do running, cycling, jogging or any other exercises that tone your thighs.
- Always sit straight.
- Do some stretching exercise.
- Also, try butterfly yoga to tone your thighs and hips.
2. Low Belly Fat: This one is quite common, also called as the soft stomach. It’s mostly due to wrong dietary practices, but with moderate exercise and following a good diet, making lifestyle changes can make a big difference. Here’s what you should do:
- Avoid calorie-dense and oily foods.
- Avoid transfat completely.
- Do ab exercises which target lower belly (leg raises, flutter kicks, mountain climbers, double crunchs for example).
- Sit straight and stand straight too, do mind your posture.
- Incorporate some stretching exercise in your routine.
- Do follow cardio routine a few times in a week.
3. Punctured Tired Belly Fat: This type of belly is round around the waist, and bulges out. It is a result of too much sugar, an unhealthy diet, and of course leading a sedentary lifestyle. Here’s what you should do:
- Avoid sugar-based products, junk food, transfat, alcohol, and calorie-dense food.
- Exercise regularly.
- Eat a high-protein diet.
- Be on your feet for most part of the day.
- Lead an active lifestyle.
4. Visceral Abdominal Fat: Visceral fat should be addressed asap as it poses serious health risks because it’s the fat cushions your abdominal organs, liver, intestines, and heightens the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers as well. Eating a lot of processed food, a high-calorie diet, and lead a sedentary lifestyle. Here’s what you need to do:
- Switch completely to a healthy diet and lose weight asap.
- Quit smoking and drinking.
- Avoid sugar in daily diet.
- Give up processed food.
5. Bloated and Distended Belly: Bloating is indicative of a digestive problem more than fat accumulation. Food intolerances, allergies, eating too fast can cause bloating. Here’s what you can do about it:
- Check whether you are lactose or gluten intolerant.
- Chew food slowly.
- Cut down on salt intake.
- Drink lots of water.
- Eat enough fiber.
- Do these things to avoid bloating.
6. Hormonal Belly: Hormones such as insulin and cortisol have a huge role in buildup of fat around the belly. Insulin resistance, chronic stress are the reason why it becomes a challenge to flatten out the belly. Estrogen imbalance in perimenopausal and pre-menopausal women can also pack a lot of pounds in the tummy area. What you can do about it:
- Consult a medical practitioner and find ways to balance out hormones.
- Eat a healthy diet.
- Sleep for 7 hours or more.
- Cut down on sugar.
- Find ways to de-stress.
7. Mommy Belly: Also called apron belly, it’s a soft layer of fat that falls down below the belly button, commonly seen in women post delivery. It can also be due to a condition called diastasis recti (separation of rectus abdominis muscle). Her’e’s what you can do about mommy belly:
- Follow a weight loss diet.
- Practice core strengthening exercises such as wall sits, pelvic tilts, planks, leg raises, etc.
8. Stress Belly: Leading a stressful life can cause accumulation extra fat around the belly region. High levels of stress hormone, cortisol, not only builds belly fat, it makes losing overall weight extremely difficult. Here’s what you can do:
- Sleep for more than 7 hours (sleeping for less than 7 hours increases the level of cortisol significantly).
- Find ways to de-strses right now.
Some Great Tips To Lose Belly Fat:
1. Get Into a Calorie Deficit: If there are excess calories available, your body will hardly reach out to fat stores, in fact, it will start storing up surplus calories, particularly around the waist. It’s important to cut down extra calories by following Rati Beauty diet which helps to lose weight without food deprivation or crash dieting.
2. Say no to Transfat: Fried foods, margarine, certain baked goodies, junk food contain transfat that not only shoot up calories, they build fat around the abdomen, and here’s the bummer, they move fat from other areas of the body to the belly area! Totally avoid them!
3. Reduce Chronic Inflammation: Inflammation makes the body insulin resistant, and as a result, pancreas continuously pumps up insulin to lower blood sugar levels. Insulin, apart from being a blood sugar regulating hormone, is also a fat-storage hormone which triggers the creation of new fat cells. So, inflammation triggers insulin resistance, which in turn leads to more insulin production, and larger creation of fat cells which converts all extra calories into fat, and stores it particularly around the belly area. Belly fat is particularly dangerous because it increases the production of cytokines, which are released as body’s immune response, and continue to keep the body in chronic inflammatory status. Release of cytokines increases the risk of heart disease and even cancer.
4. Include Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Diet: Nuts, seeds, flaxseeds, chia seeds, fish oil are rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids that improve insulin sensitivity and help flatten the belly.
5. Reduce Stress Levels: High levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, increases insulin resistance, and buildup of fat around the waist. Find ways to destress to cut the flab effectively, here are some ways to destress.
6. Sleep Tight for 7 Hours: It’s a fact that people who sleep for less than 5 hours every night tend to put on more abdominal fat compared to those who complete 7 or more hours of shut eye.
7. Give up Refined Carbs and White Sugar: These are two primary reasons why someone gains bulge around the belly area. Refined carbs and sugar cause insulin resistance and increase in waist circumference.
8. Practice HIIT: HIIT workouts are popular to burn fat when compared to cardio exercises such as walking or running on the treadmill. Even after you have finished HIIT routine, your body continues to burn calories because of increased oxygen consumption, keeping up the metabolism high all through the day. You would be surprised to know that you can burn up to 100 calories per hour for 24 hours after a 30-minute HIIT workout. HIIT also boosts enzymes that are responsible for fat burning and also decrease levels of fat-producing enzymes. HIIT exercises are great for busy women because they burn more fat and calories in less time. Here is a list of “7-Minute Fat Burning HIIT Exercises That you can Do at Home.”
9. Avoid processed and ultra-processed food completely.
10. Eat food rich in protein to reduce belly fat as protein has a higher thermic effect than other foods. Proteins require more time and energy to digest. So, when you eat protein-rich foods, your body burns more calories. Besides, since it stays in your stomach for a longer time, it makes you feel fuller.
11. Drink green tea in the morning. It has antioxidants that help the body to burn fat and detoxify. Eliminate all juice (except natural pomegranate juice) and soft drinks from your diet. Drink only 1 cup of coffee a day.
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Source: Makeupandbeauty
