There are several things that contribute to lower belly fat, including your age, gender, what you are eating, and your overall lifestyle choices. By making a few changes in your life, including your diet, your workout routine, your sleep schedule, and the way you handle stress can help you get rid of this fat.
Lower Belly Fat Issues
Lower belly fat is made up of two kids of fat: subcutaneous and visceral. Visceral fat is what lies deep inside, packed around your vital organs. It pushes out to the subcutaneous fat which is just under the skin on your arms, hips, torso, and thighs.
Visceral fat is much more dangerous than subcutaneous fat, as it secretes hormones and other compounds that increase your risk of disease. As the visceral fat increases and causes your midsection to expand, you’ll notice the subcutaneous fat drooping into the lower region of your belly.
Visceral fat is metabolically active, meaning that it breaks down to enter your bloodstream and restock at a faster pace than it decreases. On the other hand, since it does break down so quickly, it’s much easier to lose with some changes in your diet and exercise routine than subcutaneous fat.
Aging and Hormonal Causes of Belly Fat
As you get older, belly fat accumulates, which is where the term “middle age spread” comes from. You begin to naturally lose muscle mass and excess calories are stored as fat- especially in your belly region.
In addition, changes in hormones cause belly fat to accumulate. Women who are in their child-bearing years will see fat gained in their buttocks, hips, and thighs so that they have an energy reserve during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Then, as estrogen takes a dip during menopause, fit tends to migrate to the belly area.
Men are always likely to develop fat in their belly, but there’s no clear reason why. One thing is clear, once testosterone drops in men over the age of 40, the gain of belly fat is expedited.
Dietary Causes of Belly Fat
While it is true that age and the decline of certain hormones do contribute to the gain of visceral fat, food also plays a significant role. According to one study, consuming 25 percent of your calories over a 10 week period in the form of fructose-sweetened beverages results in visceral fat increase. You can also blame other sugary snacks. So, if you want to lose that belly fat, you’ll want to decrease your consumption of processed baked goods, candy, and sugary drinks.
In addition, refined grains such as commercial pizza crust and white bread also cause lower belly fat gain. One study indicated that increasing your consumption of refined grains resulted in more belly fat, while an increased consumption of whole grains does not. So, instead of products made with white flour, choose products made with whole wheat flour, quinoa, or brown rice.
When you consume too many saturated fats, your belly is going to naturally swell. You will find these fats in products such as full-fat dairy and fatty cuts of meat. Instead, choose foods with polyunsaturated fats such as avocado, nuts, salmon, and seeds.
Lifestyle Causes of Belly Fat
It’s also quite possible that your belly is due to your sedentary lifestyle. After all, if you don’t burn off the calories that you consume, then they are going to settle and accumulate in your belly. You should make getting active a priority- work up to 150 minutes per week of moderate cardio. In addition, small movements such as pacing/fidgeting offer some benefit.
Lower belly fat is also indicative of bad sleep habits. Those who are sleeping less than 6 or more than 9 hours every night are going to have higher amounts of belly fat. These results indicate that getting a good nights’ sleep, between 6-8 hours, helps discourage belly fat.
Finally, stress contributes to belly fat. The higher your stress levels, the more weight you will gain. Stress from family, work, bills, etc. causes your body to release a hormone known as cortisol. This hormone encourages your body to store calories as fat. In addition to the secretion of cortisol, you may have the tendency to eat mindlessly and have increased cravings for foods that are high in fat and calories. Try to find other ways to deal with your stress.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are several causes of belly fat gain. It’s not something that’s just going to appear overnight and it’s not something that you can banish overnight either. This is a process that you will have to take seriously if you really want to lose. Don’t forget to see what the Lean Belly Breakthrough has to say about belly fat and how you can lose it.