Lose Belly Fat With These Practices
(BeWellBuzz) Do you often crave for a perfect body shape? You receive one off-handed comment about your looks from someone you barely know, and you start gazing at the mirror for hours to deliberate. But, does that mean you care enough?
In this age, when “slim and trim” figure matters to almost everyone, especially the women; belly fat has become a tough situation to fight. Abdominal Obesity usually occurs due to the deposition of excess fat in the abdominal area. Obesity is often determined by waist size and weight – men with the waist size of 40 inches or more and women with 35 inches are considered obese.
Excess belly fat is often associated with multiple health risks. However, there are a lot of underlying problems that many people fail to acknowledge when hoarding belly fat:
- According to The Harvard Medical School journal, abdominal fat is more than just a storage depot for fat blobs, which is waiting passively to be used for energy. In fact, these fat molecules are active and release substances like ‘leptin’ and ‘adiponectin’ which influence the functioning of Insulin (a blood glucose metabolizing hormone). They collectively disrupt the normal homeostasis of hormone regulation, creating a wide range of health problems.
- Abdominal fat molecules also release immune system chemicals called ‘cytokines’ that are mainly involved in tumor necrosis and other defense mechanisms. Unregulated release of these chemicals can increase risks of cardiovascular diseases. They also dangerously alter several other mechanisms like the cells’ sensitivity to insulin, blood pressure and clotting.
- Another reason why abdominal fat is so harmful is by virtue of its location. Belly fat is placed close to the portal vein, which connects the intestine to the liver. Excess of fat enters the vein and causes the secretion of blood lipids. This is dangerous because it causes an increase in the ratio of LDL (bad cholesterol) to HDL (good cholesterol).
- According to the study done by Rachel Ballard-Barbash (published in the Oxford Journal), an increased “central to peripheral” body fat distribution can also increase breast cancer risk. Those people, who have an “apple-shaped” physique, are more susceptible to storing belly fat around the stomach and abdomen.
- The Harvard Medical School Journal also says that people with bigger bellies are more susceptible to diminished memory and verbal fluency. Besides this, since belly fat disturbs the normal functioning of the insulin hormone, many abdominally obese people suffer from diabetes.
What Are The Best Practices To Lose Belly Fat?
Belly fat might be a formidable enemy to not only our health, but also to our confidence and the way we see ourselves. The good news is – there are many ways to lose the belly fat, and to get the beautiful abs that you’ve always wanted.
One must bear in mind that no two bodies are alike, and you are the best judge as to what you are comfortable with and how your body responds. The idea is to enjoy the exercise while reaping the benefits, and more importantly to prevent any injury. The abs exercises can range from easy to tricky. If you are a beginner, it is important to start slowly, as you need to acclimatize the body to the changing workout routine.
Some of the best exercises for losing belly fat are:
- Abdominal Crunches: The best part about abdominal crunches is that there is no equipment required, and they are safe. For a beginner, this is one of the most effective practices.
- Stomach Twisting: This is very effective for both beginners as well as for advanced exercisers. For effective stomach twisting, you should start with slow and rhythmic breathing.
- Alternate leg lifts: This is an extremely easy method to strengthen the core (the abdominal muscles) and tone it at the same time, without stressing out the back muscles and the spine. Again, if one coordinates the movement of the legs with slow breathing, it produces better results. Once comfortable, both legs can be simultaneously lifted.
- Log roll-Stability Ball exercise: This requires the use of a gym ball. The idea behind this exercise is that the ball provides an unstable surface. So, the body starts to rely on the core muscles, to provide stability and stillness.
- Plank Position: According to FlattenBelly.com, another superb method to tone up the abdomen is by maintaining a plank position. The abdominal muscles need to resist the gravitational pull from the ground.
Safety Measures While Trying To Lose Belly Fat:
- One must realize that belly fat loss is not a process that takes place overnight, but it takes a lot of discipline and diligence towards the workout. It requires a certain amount of commitment before these exercises can become a routine.
- It is also suggested that a controlled diet contributes significantly to the process.
- A proper body form is also important to prevent any injuries due to abs exercises.
- In order to get stronger muscles, one must progressively increase the number of repetitions of the exercise. Variations in the routine are also useful as this ensures that all the muscles are active.
So what are you waiting for? There is a whole range of exercises for you to lose that belly fat. Get up and get going. You are beautiful, and it’s time YOU see it too!
References:
http://weightloss.about.com/od/glossary/g/abobesity.htm
http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Abdominal-fat-and-what-to-do-about-it.htm
http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/93/10/783.short
