Belly fat is excess abdominal fat surrounding the organs in your stomach. There are three types of fat: triglycerides (the fat that circulates in your blood), subcutaneous fat (the layer directly below the skin's surface) and visceral fat (dangerous belly fat).
What is visceral body fat? Visceral body fat, also known as 'hidden' fat, is fat stored deep inside the belly, wrapped around the organs, including the liver and intestines. It makes up about one tenth of all the fat stored in the body. Most fat is stored underneath the skin and is known as subcutaneous fat.
These include fruits, pulses, fish, beans, almonds, green leafy vegetables, peanut butter, oatmeal, protein powder, whole grains, eggs, broccoli, and nuts. In addition, lifestyle changes, such as avoiding packaged fruit juices and regularly exercising can help manage belly fat effectively.
Adipose tissue, otherwise known as body fat, is a connective tissue that extends throughout your body. It's found under your skin (subcutaneous fat), between your internal organs (visceral fat) and even in the inner cavities of bones (bone marrow adipose tissue).
As a result, losing belly fat often takes hard work, especially if you're in your 40s or older. That's because your hormones and your belly fat affect each other, and as your hormone levels change during middle age, fat around your midsection tends to accumulate faster than it does in other areas.
Because visceral fat is located so close to a critical body vein in your abdomen, it carries fatty acids to your liver. Once these acids are in your liver, they can contribute to the increase of blood lipids or fats.
If reducing overall body fat, including belly fat, is your ultimate goal, aerobic exercises that increase your heart rate, such as walking, running or swimming, and aerobic exercise combined with strength training are the gold standards when it comes to exercise that supports weight loss.
Oestrogen and fat distribution
Reduced levels of oestrogen after menopause can cause fat to be stored around your waist rather than on your hips and thighs. In postmenopausal women, belly fat accounts for 15 to 20% of their total body weight, compared with 5 to 8% in premenopausal women.
To lose stomach overhang you have to burn fat cells in both the fat you can see directly under the skin and also the more dangerous fat that you can't see that surrounds your organs. Cardio such as swimming, aerobics, running or dancing will burn this excess fat store.
If your belly is hard and not squishy, it's likely due to an excess of visceral fat. This can increase your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers.
Keep your room temperature cool while you sleep.
According to the National Institutes of Health, sleeping in a cool room can boost your metabolism and activate brown fat, which burns calories to generate heat. So turn down the thermostat and let your body do the work while you rest.
Studies show walking is one of the best ways to shed belly fat, in less time than you think. Researchers reviewed 40 years of studies on exercise and belly fat and found that just 2 1/2 hours of brisk walking a week--about 20 minutes a day--can shrink your belly by about 1 inch in 4 weeks.
Mostly, losing weight is an internal process. You will first lose hard fat that surrounds your organs like liver, kidneys and then you will start to lose soft fat like waistline and thigh fat. The fat loss from around the organs makes you leaner and stronger.
As against areas such as legs, face and arms, our stomach and abdominal regions possess beta cells that makes it difficult to reduce the fats easily and lose weight in these areas. However, as per research, belly fat is the most difficult to lose as the fat there is so much harder to break down.
Research has shown that without caloric restriction, doing sit ups will not decrease abdominal fat loss. To get a flatter stomach, you need to lose body fat, which can take 6-12 weeks depending on how much fat you need to lose.
You're Eating More than You Think. Cutting calories is the only way to shed pounds. If you are eating less than you burn, you will lose weight. This is the single most important thing you can do for fat loss - eat fewer calories!
This is because when we are under stress, our bodies think that we need extra energy reserves in case of an emergency. As a result, even if we are eating healthy and exercising regularly, our bodies will still hold onto some of the fat in order to keep us safe from potential danger.
Lemon water can promote fullness, support hydration, boost metabolism, and increase weight loss. However, lemon water is no better than regular water when it comes to losing fat. That being said, it is tasty, easy to make, and can be used as a low-calorie replacement for high-calorie beverages.
Apple cider vinegar isn't likely to be effective for weight loss. Proponents of apple cider vinegar claim that it has numerous health benefits and that drinking a small amount or taking a supplement before meals helps curb appetite and burn fat. However, there's little scientific support for these claims.