Most people would like to lose a few inches around their waist, often called belly fat. Most people, however, want to lose the weight fast. They try crash diets and find that they seldom work, often gaining back more than they lose.
Permanent weight loss requires changes to lifestyle. Following are 8 habits you’ll want to eliminate from your routine to improve overall health, maintain weight loss, and lose the belly fat.
Lack of Exercise
Most of us live a pretty sedentary lifestyle. Muscle helps the body burn more calories and store less fat. To start begin with a moderate exercise program, to achieve results. It is important to increase your heart rate to a point where you can carry on a conversation and still break out in a sweat. This type of exercise should be carried out 3 to 5 times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes each time for best results. For overall health benefits you will want a cardio routine to build an increased metabolism. Work with your trainer to practice exercises that work on the abdominal area.
Too Much Sugar
The consumption of sugar is probably the biggest factor in causing belly fat. The average American consumes 3 pounds of sugar a week, with soft drinks being one of the primary sources. In 1900 the average American consumed only 30 pounds of sugar in an entire year.
There is a strong connection between sugar consumption, insulin resistance, and the increase of belly fat. Since high blood sugar can lead to insulin resistance it?s important to limit too much sugar in the diet. Cutting back on soda and processed foods high in sugar is a good start when it comes to losing weight around your middle section. Drink plenty of water and eat foods that are naturally sweet like fruit.
Drinking too Much Beer
The term “beer belly” is used to describe gaining too much weight from drinking a lot of beer. Beer is pretty much empty calories, and one of the reasons that beer causes weight gain is that when the liver is processing alcohol it’s not burning fat. Drinking beer can also include snacking, causing you to eat more calories. If you’re going to drink, try changing to wine, when drank in moderation wine generally has fewer calories than a glass of beer.
Eating When Stressed
Eating when stressed can cause several problems when it comes to belly fat. For starters, we often eat more when we’re stressed and quickly lose track of just how much food we’ve stuffed in our mouths. But there is more to it than that. While it’s true that calories matter, hormones and stress can determine in part where those calories are stored in the body. This is especially true for women. Being stressed can cause the hormone cortisol to increase which in turn increases belly fat, Not only that, but it can make each fat cell get larger.
Eating When Bored Causes Belly Fat
Eating because there is nothing better to do is a sure way to add belly fat. The next time you are bored and crave a snack try taking a short walk or engage in another activity to get your mind off of food. This can be especially helpful when avoiding late night snacks (eating within two hours of going to sleep is another factor in weight gain). To avoid boredom eating keep packaged snacks to a minimum and keep a list of fun hobbies or tasks that you can distract yourself with when you feel like indulging in doughnuts and pizza.
Late Eating
As we mentioned avoiding late night snacks is an important part of losing belly fat. After going to sleep our bodies generally tend to slow down all biological systems. When you eat late your digestive system simply won’t process all the food in the same efficient manner it would have several hours earlier. It’s generally recommended to stop eating at least two hours before going to bed. Going to bed feeling just slightly hungry is the goal you should reach for. Another tip is to drink enough water, sometimes we mistake being hungry when all we need is a glass of water.
Get Enough Sleep
Not getting enough sleep each night can cause more problems than simply leaving a person tired and groggy the following day. This is one of the many weight loss tips that a lot of people may not be aware of. Our bodies increase the hormone known as cortisol when we don’t get enough sleep. A high cortisol level can increase appetite which makes it easier for us to overeat the day after we have been sleep deprived. Getting a good night’s sleep is crucial to good health in many ways.
