It's the most common question I hear in my training studio; "why can't I lose the weight around my midsection?"
The answer can be very complex, but it can also be quite simple, and I'd like you to focus on the simple explanation.
For a better part of the population, our bodies prefer to store fat close to the digestive organs, in the midsection. It's the one target storage area your body is even resistant to let go of fat.
This whole condition is exacerbated with high stress levels. When you're stressed, your body tends to store more fat in its favourite target zone; your midsection.
On to the solutions:
-The sure fire way to get your body to start releasing more fat is to lower your calories consumed in the form of sugar and processed carbohydrates.
-Let go of the myth that if you do enough cardio you don't have to watch what you eat. This is just so wrong.
-You store fat just about everywhere, even in your fingers! Your body is unlikely to release fat from the midsection while it has available fat stores elsewhere to pick from. As your overall fat declines, your body will begin to release abdominal fat as it will have little other choice.
-Pick one thing that stresses you and devote your effort to address it. Stress is about how you deal with life's conflicts. Learn how to respond better to one stressor and you will inevitably affect the others.
The answer can be very complex, but it can also be quite simple, and I'd like you to focus on the simple explanation.
For a better part of the population, our bodies prefer to store fat close to the digestive organs, in the midsection. It's the one target storage area your body is even resistant to let go of fat.
This whole condition is exacerbated with high stress levels. When you're stressed, your body tends to store more fat in its favourite target zone; your midsection.
On to the solutions:
-The sure fire way to get your body to start releasing more fat is to lower your calories consumed in the form of sugar and processed carbohydrates.
-Let go of the myth that if you do enough cardio you don't have to watch what you eat. This is just so wrong.
-You store fat just about everywhere, even in your fingers! Your body is unlikely to release fat from the midsection while it has available fat stores elsewhere to pick from. As your overall fat declines, your body will begin to release abdominal fat as it will have little other choice.
-Pick one thing that stresses you and devote your effort to address it. Stress is about how you deal with life's conflicts. Learn how to respond better to one stressor and you will inevitably affect the others.
Hey Sean..thanks again, I just read an article regarding belly fat. The article was about low hormone producion. Apparently, women over 30 have low production of hormones causing the accumulation of fat around the belly area. I was wondering what kind of hormone I was missing or not producing...I have a lot of belly fat. I guess I will start by watching my stress levels and exercise more frequently.
Women can start to experience shifts in their hormone levels in their mid thirties. Lower estrogen is just one culprit to weight gain for women particularly in this age group. Your instinct to watch your stress will be very helpful because it will help to manage the hormone, cortisol. Cortisol is a stress hormone that can cause your body to store more fat and breakdown valuable muscle for energy. Exercise is very important but excessive exercise without a good strategy can be harmful to women going through menopause, especially if they cut their calories too drastically to lose weight.
I'm 55 years of age and I've been active just about all my life. Since my early 40's, I've had a hard time keeping my body fat down. I run 4x per week and I am pretty good at watching the simple carbs. Do you have any suggestions? I realize you would need more specific profile info, but maybe you can give me a few general ideas.
Hi Stacey, though running is a great activity, it’s really important to include 2-3 days of weight training into your program. This way you’ll build more muscle on your frame and that will help you to burn calories even when you’re at rest. I also hope you’re eating 5-6 small meals per day. One of my concerns is that people sometimes use running to lose weight and also restrict their calories in the process. Too much cardio with too little nutrients can be very stressful for the body and lead to deficiencies that can make your bones weak and lead to stress fractures. In addition you will also be burning protein for fuel while you run on an empty stomach. I don’t need to tell you that protein is muscle and it is not advantageous to burn your valuable muscle tissue.
All that being said, one of your problems may be that you don’t have enough muscle on your body, and though it sounds contradictory to weight loss; you may not be eating enough.
Sean, thanks for sharing this information with us, It's very interesting and hepful learning about this common problem.
Also, I was just wondering if it's possible to get some information about Back pain or back problems, Thanks Again!
Maria
I will definitely be putting up some posts on back problems and pain management within the next week. Thanks for your interest.
Hi Sean,
Thank you for sharing all those useful tips. I have a preference for the receipies that are posted on you site. You could even make a special section for them. Laula
I’m glad you find the tips useful. I’ll continue to put out some more recipes as I know coming up with food ideas when we restrict ourselves from certain foods, can be a challenge. If you scroll down and check out the right side of the site, I’ve tagged all the recipes at one click. Let me know if you have problems locating it.