8 Ways to Lose Belly Fat and Live a Healthier Life

8 Ways to Lose Belly Fat and Live a Healthier Life

Maintaining a trim midsection does more than make you look great—it can help you live longer. Larger waistlines are linked to a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes and even cancer. Losing weight, especially belly fat, also improves blood vessel functioning and also improves sleep quality. 

It’s impossible to target belly fat specifically when you diet. But losing weight overall will help shrink your waistline; more importantly, it will help reduce the dangerous layer of visceral fat, a type of fat within the abdominal cavity that you can’t see but that heightens health risks, says Kerry Stewart, Ed.D. , director of Clinical and Research Physiology at Johns Hopkins.

Here’s how to whittle down where it matters most.

1. Try curbing carbs instead of fats. 

When Johns Hopkins researchers compared the effects on the heart of losing weight through a low-carbohydrate diet versus a low-fat diet for six months—each containing the same amount of calories—those on a low-carb diet lost an average of 10 pounds more than those on a low-fat diet—28.9 pounds versus 18.7 pounds. An extra benefit of the low-carb diet is that it produced a higher quality of weight loss, Stewart says. With weight loss, fat is reduced, but there is also often a loss of lean tissue (muscle), which is not desirable. On both diets, there was a loss of about 2 to 3 pounds of good lean tissue along with the fat, which means that the fat loss percentage was much higher on the low-carb diet.

2. Think eating plan, not diet.

Ultimately, you need to pick a healthy eating plan you can stick to, Stewart says. The benefit of a low-carb approach is that it simply involves learning better food choices—no calorie-counting is necessary. In general, a low-carb way of eating shifts your intake away from problem foods—those high in carbs and sugar and without much fiber, like bread, bagels and sodas—and toward high-fiber or high-protein choices, like vegetables, beans and healthy meats.

1. 3. Keep moving.

   Physical activity helps burn abdominal fat. “One of the biggest benefits of exercise is that you get a lot of bang for your buck on body composition,” Stewart says. Exercise seems to work off belly fat in particular because it reduces circulating levels of insulin —which would otherwise signal the body to hang on to fat—and causes the liver to use up fatty acids, especially those nearby visceral fat deposits, he says.

   The amount of exercise you need for weight loss depends on your goals. For most people, this can mean 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise nearly every day.

2. 4. Lift weights.

   Adding even moderate strength training to aerobic exercise helps build lean muscle mass, which causes you to burn more calories throughout the entire day, both at rest and during exercise.

3. 

   
   

4. 5. Become a label reader.

   Compare and contrast brands. Some yogurts, for example, boast that they’re low in fat, but they’re higher in carbs and added sugars than others, Stewart says. Foods like gravy, mayonnaise, sauces and salad dressings often contain high amounts of fat and lots of calories.

5. 6. Move away from processed foods.

   The ingredients in packaged goods and snack foods are often heavy on trans fats, added sugar and added salt or sodium—three things that make it difficult to lose weight.

6. 
   

   
   
   
   
   

7. 7. Focus on the way your clothes fit more than reading a scale. 

   As you add muscle mass and lose fat, the reading on your bathroom scale may not change much, but your pants will be looser. That’s a better mark of progress. Measured around, your waistline should be less than 35 inches if you’re a woman or less than 40 inches if you’re a man to reduce heart and diabetes risks.

8. 8. Hang out with health-focused friends.

   Research shows that you’re more apt to eat better and exercise more if your friends and family are doing the same.

10. Definitions

    Insulin (in-suh-lin): A hormone made by the cells in your pancreas. Insulin helps your body store the glucose (sugar) from your meals. If you have diabetes and your pancreas is unable to make enough of this hormone, you may be prescribed medicines to help your liver make more or make your muscles more sensitive to the available insulin. If these medicines are not enough, you may be prescribed insulin shots.                                                                                                                     

     

    Blood vessels (veh-suls): The system of flexible tubes—arteries, capillaries and veins—that carries blood through the body. Oxygen and nutrients are delivered by arteries to tiny, thin-walled capillaries that feed them to cells and pick up waste material, including carbon dioxide. Capillaries pass the waste to veins, which take the blood back to the heart and lungs, where carbon dioxide is let out through your breath as you exhale.

     

    Arteries (are-te-rease): The blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood away from your heart for delivery to every part of your body. Arteries look like thin tubes or hoses. The walls are made of a tough outer layer, a middle layer of muscle and a smooth inner wall that helps blood flow easily. The muscle layer expands and contracts to help blood move.

11. JOIN NOW

13. Losing Weight Leads to Heart Health

14. A diet that’s low in fat and carbohydrates can improve artery function, according to a 2012 study by Johns Hopkins researchers. After six months, those on the low-carb diet had lost more weight, and at a faster pace. But in both groups, when weight was lost—and especially when belly fat shrank—the arteries were able to expand better, allowing blood to travel more freely. The study shows that you don’t have to cut out all dietary fat to shrink belly fat. For heart health, simply losing weight and exercising seems to be key

16. 
    

Read More

 

Maintaining Weight Loss

Benefits of maintaining weight loss

While losing weight is difficult for many people, it is even more challenging to keep the weight off. Most people who lose a large amount of weight have regained it 2 to 3 years later. One theory about regaining lost weight is that people who decrease the amount of calories they consume to lose weight experience a drop in the rate their bodies burn calories. This makes it increasingly difficult to lose weight over a period of months. A lower rate of burning calories may also make it easier to regain weight after a more normal diet is resumed. For these reasons, extremely low calorie diets and rapid weight loss are discouraged.

Losing no more than 1/2 to 2 pounds per week is recommended. Incorporating long-term lifestyle changes are needed to increase the chance of successful long-term weight loss.

Weight loss to a healthy weight for a person's height can promote health benefits. These include lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels, lower blood pressure, less stress on bones and joints, and less work for the heart. It is vital to maintain weight loss to obtain health benefits over a lifetime.

Keeping extra weight off takes effort and commitment, just as losing weight does. Weight loss goals are reached by a combination of changes in diet, eating habits, and exercise. In extreme circumstances, people turn to bariatric surgery.

Weight loss maintenance strategies

The strategies that encourage weight loss also play an important role in maintenance:

• Support systems used effectively during weight loss can contribute to weight maintenance. According to the National Weight Control Registry, 55% of registry participants used some type of program to achieve their weight loss.

• Physical activity plays a vital and essential role in maintaining weight loss. Studies show that even exercise that is not rigorous, such as walking and using stairs, has a positive effect. Activity that uses 1,500 to 2,000 calories per week is recommended for maintaining weight loss. Adults should try to get at least 40 minutes of moderate to vigorous level physical activity at least 3 to 4 times per week.

• Diet and exercise are vital strategies for losing and maintaining weight. Ninety-four percent of the registrants in the National Weight Control Registry increased their physical activity.

• Once the desired weight has been reached, the gradual addition of about 200 calories of healthy, low-fat food to daily intake may be attempted for one week to see if weight loss continues. If weight loss does continue, additional calories of healthy foods may be added to the daily diet until the right balance of calories to maintain the desired weight has been determined. It may take some time and record keeping to determine how adjusting food intake and exercise levels affect weight. A nutritionist can help with this.

Continuing to use behavioral strategies is necessary to maintaining weight. Be aware of eating as a response to stress. Also, use exercise, activity, or meditation to cope instead of eating.

A temporary return to old habits does not mean failure. Paying attention to dietary choices and exercise can help maintain weight loss. Identifying situations, such as negative moods and interpersonal difficulties, and using alternative methods of coping with such situations rather than eating can prevent returning to old habits.

Weight cycling

Weight cycling is losing and regaining weight multiple times. Some studies suggest that weight cycling, also called "yo-yo dieting," may result in some health risks. These include high blood pressure, gallbladder disease, and high cholesterol. However, these studies are not true for everybody. The best strategy is to avoid weight cycling and to maintain healthy weight through a commitment to increased physical activity and healthy eating.

One myth about weight cycling is that a person who loses and regains weight will have more difficulty losing weight again and maintaining it compared to a person who has not gone through a weight-loss cycle. Most studies show that weight cycling does not affect the rate at which the body burns fuel. Also, a previous weight cycle does not influence the ability to lose weight again. In addition, weight cycling does not increase the amount of fat tissue or increase fat distribution around the stomach.

Always talk with your healthcare provider for more information.

JOIN NOW

Read More

10 Reasons to Try Low Impact Exercise with Fitness

 Switch up your workout routine

2. Choosing the right exercise for you can mean all the difference between committing to a life of fitness or not. However, unless you understand the two types of exercise and the effect they have on the body, it can be hard to choose the one for you, which will enable you to enjoy it and stick to it. Low-impact exercise is one type of exercise, and it differs from the other type of exercise, which is high-impact exercise, in that it doesn't require you to bounce around so much to see results. In fact, there are at least 10 reasons to try low-impact exercise, which include:

   Anyone Can Do It

   With low-impact exercise, at least one foot remains on the floor at all times, which means anyone, no matter their build or mobility, can do it. Low-impact cardio can also be low, moderate, or high intensity, which enables people of all fitness levels to work out at their own pace. There is also low-impact strength training, which utilizes your body weight as opposed to heavy weights for resistance, thus again, anyone can incorporate it to help strengthen their muscles and bones for improved balance, posture, and more, especially as you age.

   It Provides the Same Benefits as Traditional Exercise But Easier on the Joints                                           

   Research shows that low-impact exercise provides many of the same health benefits as high-impact exercise but without exerting much pressure on the frame and joints, which makes it especially beneficial for those with pain issues. Some of these benefits include increased breathing, which helps strengthen the heart and lungs and builds endurance for increased physical activity levels, and it also increases the body's oxygen intake, thus encouraging cell rejuvenation and healthy blood and lymph flow for greater protection against infections and illnesses. It also increases the heart rate, which boosts the metabolism, thus helping you burn more fat and calories, even at rest, and it also helps protect against diabetes, low blood pressure, depression, and more. However, though it is a gentler form of fitness, if you suffer from a health condition, mobility issues, or are currently nursing an injury, it is advised that you speak with your doctor before participating in exercise to ensure it will not cause additional damage or discomfort. They can also recommend the best fitness routine based on your condition for more favorable results.

   It Burns More Body Fat Than High-Impact Exercise                                 

   According to one certified personal trainer, low-impact workouts are more efficient at burning fat per session than high-impact exercise that increases your heart rate but is more likely to burn carbohydrates than fat as fuel. This is because your body is simply more efficient at burning fat for fuel at a lower heart rate. In the meantime, another study published by the US National Library of Medicine showed that low-impact exercise also helps improve memory and motor skills, further suggesting that you don't need to work out until exhaustion to achieve the results you want.

   It Requires no Expensive Equipment to Participate                  

   Many low-impact exercises require simply your body to conduct the moves; therefore, you don't have to join a gym or purchase fancy machinery to work out. Thus, it not only provides a more convenient way to exercise, which makes you more likely to do it, but it's also a low-cost solution to exercising as another advantage. However, should your chosen activity require the use of equipment, and you want to work out at home, there are many gym-quality, low-impact exercise machines designed for residential use, including stationary bikes, ellipticals, treadmills, and more, that will enable you to. There are also recumbent models specifically designed to provide joint and back support for a more comfortable workout.                                                                                                                         

   It Can be Done Anywhere

   The absence of equipment during low-impact exercise also means it can be done anywhere, including home, vacation, on your work break, and more, so you remain consistent and can reap the benefits when you need it. Many of the exercises can also be modified and done right from your chair or couch for even more convenience.      

   It's a Great Way to Get Introduced to Exercise and Its Benefits

   If you have never really engaged in or committed to regular physical fitness, low-impact exercise makes it easy to get a feel for working out and the rewards it provides, so you want to continue to do it and reap the benefits. Then, as you progress, you can even switch to more high-impact exercise if you want to really challenge yourself. And, since anyone can do it, it's also a good way to bond with family, friends, or co-workers, so you can enjoy the benefits of improved health together.                                                                                                                             

   It's a Great Way to Relax and Rewind

   Low impact workouts put less pressure on the body as well as the heart; therefore, they provide a more relaxing form of exercise that also enables you to easily relax afterward as opposed to high impact exercise that puts more strain on the body and causes your heart rate to increase, which can make it difficult to wind down once you're done. A study published by John Hopkins Medicine shows that low impact exercises, such as yoga, in particular, are especially relaxing on the body and the mind; hence, it can also be used right before bedtime or at the end of a stressful day to relax and unwind while still receiving cardio and/or muscle-strengthening benefits. Hence, to destress with low impact exercise, consider leisurely exercises, such as a low to moderate intensity walk in the park or on the treadmill, a low to moderate intensity swim, or gentle stretching exercises, such as yoga and Pilates for instant calming.                                                                                                                   

   It Helps With Pain Management

   According to several reports, low-impact exercise is also effective for pain management in those who suffer from chronic pain conditions, such as arthritis, lower back pain, IBS, and more. It does so by strengthening the tissues and tendons around the joints, strengthening the bones, and aligning the muscles, thus helping to alleviate undue pressure on the skeletal system, which can lead to swelling, inflammation, and other discomforts throughout the body. Some low impact exercises especially useful for soothing chronic pain include; -Recumbent exercises -Elliptical exercises -Walking -Range of motion exercises -Water exercises -Cycling -Gentle stretching exercises -Strength training exercises However, it is advised that you take your time doing the exercise and stop if you feel more pain than normal in the affected area or areas, which is a clear sign that they are taking on more than they can handle, in which case, they are prone to further injury if you continue. It also helps to prepare your muscles and joints with a quick warm-up before your exercise to help avoid discomfort. In the meantime, if you are new to exercise, it is common to experience some pain following your workout, but it should only last a short time. For pain that lasts longer than a few hours, consult your doctor to see if it is normal for your condition.

   It Can Help Keep You Independent As You Age                                                     

   As we age, the muscles and joints begin to break down and stiffen, which can lead to various issues with muscle strength, stability, and movement, all the main causes of falls and decreased mobility in the elderly. Low impact exercise has been proven to help address many issues of immobility, including helps strengthen the ankles and hips for better walking, jumping, running, and more to help keep you moving and independent in your golden years. Many of the exercises also require you to take your time with the movement, which really helps establish balance in the body. They also often utilize a full range of motion, which helps enhance the length and strength of the muscles for greater flexibility and stability, putting you at less risk of injuries. Thus, if you are part of the mature population, you don't have to live with the threat of losing your independence due to stiff joints, muscle loss, bone loss, and even obesity from an immobile lifestyle. Simply adopt a lifestyle of low impact exercise to help ​keep your joints, bones, muscles, and mind strong for a greater quality of life and overall well-being as your body ages.                                                 

   It Fosters Proper Alignment and Technique for Everyday Activities and Sports

   Because low-impact exercises are typically performed at a slow pace; hence, they cause you to focus on your body positioning as well as the technique, so you get a feel for proper body alignment and movement, which, over time, can also be used to help improve your sports performance and your workouts.

3.                                                                                                                       

4. 
   

6. 

   
   

7. 
   Final Thoughts

8. As you can see, there are many reasons to try low-impact exercise, so simply pick the best reason for you and get started! For more tips like these, check out
9. 
   
10. healthcenter2024

JOIN NOW

Read More

Is Too Much Sitting Bad for Your Health?

 

Is Too Much Sitting Bad for Your Health?

Stuck at your desk all day? Sitting too much 

can raise your risk for a variety 

of diseases and affect your mental health — but taking short, 

frequent breaks can help.

When you're working at your computer, remember to stand up and move around as much possible whenever you can to decrease your risk for “sitting diseases.”Charday Penn/iStock

The human body is built for movement. The ancient Greeks and Romans recognized the importance of physical activity for proper health, and modern medicine has confirmed the links between regular exercise and disease prevention.

But it wasn’t until relatively recently that sitting and other sedentary behaviors emerged as threats to public health.

So-called “sitting diseases,” which are health issues linked to sitting and inactivity, are now a major area of research. And there’s ample evidence that spending too much of your time motionless — even if you exercise regularly — raises your risks for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and premature death, according to an editorial published in 2022 in BMJ. There is also evidence that it raises your risk for mental health conditions such as depression, according to a cohort study published in January 2023 in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

“Our evolution and genetic makeup dictate that humans are made to move,” says Emmanuel Stamatakis, PhD, professor of physical activity, lifestyle, and population health at the University of Sydney in Australia. “While sitting motionless, our bodies and minds degenerate and age quickly, leading to chronic disease and premature death.”

Dr. Stamatakis has pushed for public health authorities to issue formal warnings and guidelines about the risks of too much sedentary time. Many other researchers in the field have done the same, according to a review published in 2019 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Also worrisome: Stamatakis says some of the more recent findings suggest that while sitting is bad, standing in one place (for example, at a stand-up desk) and other forms of inactivity may not be all that much healthier.

“Movement is the key,” he says. “Standing can be a part of a healthy activity pattern but, on its own, it is unlikely to lead to substantial benefits and cannot improve fitness.”

The Claims About Too Much Sitting

The theory here is straightforward. Your body is built for movement, and spending too much time not moving can cause a wide range of negative health effects. That seems to be true even if you’re exercising regularly.

“The bad effects of inactivity seem to be separate from the good effects of exercise,” says Edward Coyle, PhD, a professor and director of the Human Performance Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin. “Even if you meet the current guidelines for exercise, if you otherwise sit all day long, you still seem to be at increased risk for heart disease and death.” Current guidelines recommend that adults get at least 150 to 300 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, according to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

Dr. Coyle says exercise is still absolutely necessary and healthy. But just as exercise won’t protect you from the harms of smoking, it also can’t wholly offset the risks of spending all your nonexercise time sitting or in other sedentary behaviors.

“‘Sitting is the new smoking’ was a popular saying for a while,” he points out. “I think there’s some validity to that,” he adds, adding that smoking is almost certainly more dangerous than sitting.

What the Science Says About Too Much Sitting and Health

There is a “dose-dependent” relationship between sitting time and risk for cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality, according to a research review published in 2019 in The Journal of Nutrition, Health, and Aging. In other words, the more time a person spends sitting, the more their risks for these sitting diseases go up.

Regardless of physical activity levels, too much sitting is associated with an increased risk for heart disease, according to past research.

And studies have shown that sedentary behaviors are associated with an increased risk for symptoms of anxiety and depression, according to a cross-sectional study published in April 2020 in Preventive Medicine.

Why are sitting and other sedentary behaviors so risky? “We don’t know the exact mechanism at a physiological or molecular level, but it seems that something is generated with prolonged inactivity and sitting that affects a number of the body’s systems,” says Coyle.

For a study published in 2022 in the journal Exercise and Sport Science Reviews, Coyle and his coauthors found that a one-hour bout of sitting interfered with the kind of fat breakdown that normally occurs following exercise.

He says a lot of his work has focused on the relationship between sitting and fat metabolism. “Fat metabolism is rapidly responsive to both inactivity and exercise, so we’re using it sort of like the canary in the mine,” he says. “If you’re inactive, you have impaired fat oxidation and also reduced clearing of triglycerides from the blood after eating.”

The exact relationship between sedentary behaviors and mental health problems such as anxiety and depression also remains unclear. But there is a strong relationship between mental and physical health, according to a study published in 2019 in Perspectives in Psychiatric Care. If sitting is bad for the body, it makes sense that it could also negatively affect a person’s mind.

How Can You Make Sure You're Not Sitting Too Much?

Coyle says the total amount of time you spend sitting seems to matter less than how often you break up long bouts of chair time with periods of activity.

In one of his studies, published in 2020 in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, he and his coauthors had people sit for eight hours at a stretch. However, some of the people got up five times each hour to engage in very short bouts of vigorous exercise — specifically, a four-second sprint on a stationary exercise bike.

While the total amount of exercise for the entire eight-hour period was just 160 seconds, the people who got up for the four-second breaks burned significantly more fat and cleared triglycerides more effectively the next day, his study found.

“Short, frequent breaks from sitting seem to be very helpful,” he says.

Unfortunately, standing up doesn’t seem to be much better than sitting if you’re not moving around.

Another of Coyle’s studies, a paper published in 2021 in PLoS One found little difference between people who stood for six hours and those who sat for six hours. However, that same study found that getting up and going for a two-minute walk every 30 minutes seemed to offset the risks of sitting.

Stamatakis echoes many of these recommendations. “Break up prolonged sitting every 20 or 30 minutes,” he advises.

Some of his work, published in Nature Medicine in December 2022, used wearable activity trackers to show that even short (one to two minute) bouts of activity, such as climbing stairs or walking quickly, seemed to offset many of the health risks associated with long bouts of sedentary time. 

Finally, both Coyle and Stamatakis say that exercise is still important.

“The healthiest thing to do is to be active throughout the day, and then also exercise on top of that,” Coyle says. “So it’s avoiding sedentary behavior to prevent the bad from happening, and also exercising to gain the good.”

The Bottom Line

Modern life makes it pretty easy to spend most of the day sitting down. But the latest research, not to mention common sense, suggests that our bodies weren’t designed for so much inactivity.

While it took some time for medical scientists to catch up to our changing patterns of behavior, it seems clear that sitting and other sedentary pursuits are a risk to our health. Fortunately, the antidote to this seems fairly simple and painless: Break up long stretches of sitting with frequent movement breaks.

“Movement — at any intensity and as often as possible — is the goal,” Stamatakis says.

JOIN NOW

Read More