RSS Feeds: Fighting My Big Belly
I'll be the first to admit that I have a bigger belly than I should have. It's not as big as what some men have, but it's big enough to irritate me. I don't have a "beer gut" as some people like to call it because I don't drink beer regularly. I know what caused it and now it's time for me to get rid of it.
We all know that exercise burns calories. Does it burn the fat your body has accumulated? Not necessarily. If your exercise routine is the same routine every time you exercise, your body will become accustomed to it and it will have little effect. I know this little tidbit of information for a variety of reasons that would take hours to explain. I'll shorten it greatly just by telling you that even though I ran 3 to 5 miles at a time at a minimum of 3 times a week for the last two years of my career in the military, my belly still continued to get bigger.
There are three major causes:
- As you get older, your metabolism gets more efficient at storing fat. You can eat less and still gain weight.
- Consumption of trans fats. Consuming trans fats not only makes you gain more weight than with non-trans fats, it causes the fat to collect around your abdomen. It will even cause your other excess fat to redistribute itself to the abdominal area.
- Consumption of saturated fats. Most foods that contain trans fats also contain saturated fats.
I identified my problem as too much trans fat consumption. What foods contain trans fats? Trans fats are found in vegetable shortenings, some kinds of margarine, and in manufactured baked goods such as cookies, crackers, and snack foods. A major source of trans fat in American diets is fast food fried in oil that's high in trans fats.
Now that I live in the Philippines, I know that my consumption of trans fats has reduced tremendously. I am slowly losing my belly. Rice has a lot of carbohydrates (but I eat a maximum of a cup per day) but contains a low amount of "unsaturated fat" which helps in the absorption of vitamins A, D, E, and K and carotenes. It took me 10 years to get a large belly and I don't expect it to flatten in less time than that, realistically speaking.
Don't get me wrong. Fat is a major energy source and important for proper growth, development, and maintenance of good health. Younger teens and pre-teens have a much easier time burning all types of fat. As you enter your adult years, you have to restrict your fat intake (as best as you can) to the unsaturated type in order to prevent health problems from occurring.
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Good stuff. Interesting. Obesity is one huge problem all around the world. Some actually cant help about it because it must be just be in there genes. But others just don't control. Which is bad as everyone knows. And they need to do something about it.
Well I too had a weight problem. Not just the tummy but all my body. It was a huge problem for me as I always have to move out with people in the society in my line of work. Anyway I got some excellent motivation and worked really really hard to lose pounds. And it all paid off. If you have the motivation and the hard work I believe weight loss wouldn't be a big problem
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My friend just celebrated his 45th birthday a few days ago and he has been fighting the fat for the past year. Unfortunately for him, his family is not into working out so he kinda relies on me for motivation. He purchased a Wii Fit and we try to go to the gym a few days every week.
Hi,
Excellent article! One thing I came across the reasons responsible for growing fat around abdomen. I think the regular exercise and proper diet is the best solution to get rid of big belly. Please check out our website for useful exercises and tips regarding fat burn.
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This site has some great tips and tricks to lose those pounds fast. It also contains great info on diet and exercise and general good health.
I was overweight and managed to lose it by changing the way i lived. Read about my story here and learn the secrets of my weight lose!
Eating right doesn't mean we have to suffer! Check out recipes for low-glycemic meals that will delight your taste-buds.
I found that one thing which helps me keep a flat stomach is to NOT eat late at night, eat lots of fruits and vegetables and to exercise regularly. Every other thing doesn't really matter that much.
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Weight gain isn't just a physical issue. Vital Solutions MD uses a holistic approach to hCG weight loss addressing emotional issues and life – stresses that may cause weight gain.
Using the mirror will tell you what you need to do. Usually its train more and eat less.
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I strugled for a while with my belly fat. I simply trained correctly and changed my diet. This worked wonders for me.
Eating less sugary and fatty food at night shifts the weight of I find, and stay away form fast food retails.
Correct breathing with slow reps helps fight the flab.