Keep Portions In Check And Consider Your Eating Patterns
Your metabolism has slowed down by the time you hit menopause with some research suggesting it burns a couple hundred calories fewer a day. Extra weight can very quickly add up if you dont reduce the number of calories you consume, says Christine Palumbo, RD, a nutrition expert in Chicago.
Its also this time in your life, Palumbo notes, when you may be easing up from the daily duties of preparing meals for your family, and you’re delighted to take a break from the kitchen . She has cooked for 25 years, and is sick of it, and she just wants to go out to eat, says Palumbo. What happens then is that you will inevitably eat twice as many calories as you need at that meal, and its often accompanied by alcohol, which is also associated with abdominal weight gain. Order appetizers as entrees and ask for a to-go container for leftovers when you do indulge in a large main course.
Will I Have Loose Skin After
It is possible that you will develop loose skin following weight loss, especially if you lose a significant amount of weight. Unfortunately, its hard to know if you will.
Factors that may affect the amount of extra skin you might have include:
- Amount of weight lost
- How quickly you lost the weight
Ideally, it would be best if you tried to lose weight slowly and steadily. Maintaining good skin elasticity through proper hydration and a healthy diet is also important.
In some cases, a surgical procedure is necessary to remove the stretched skin.
I discuss Skin Changes After Pregnancy in more detail in another post.
Boost Your Fiber Intake
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You’re Not Tracking Your Progress
Another important point from Dr James: tracking your progress can serve as an encouraging reminder that what you are doing is working.
“There are some great apps and wearable tech devices available that make it easier to stick to your plan. They can help you monitor your goals, your food intake and the calories burned during exercise. If these arent an option, write down a meal and exercise plan. This will help you stick to your goals and remain focussed,” he explains.
What Can Cause Hormone Imbalance
As we mentioned, your hormones are the messengers for the body and cause organs to respond to change. Normally, theyre tightly regulated and controlled. But genetic and medical illnesses can cause them to be dysregulated and imbalanced. A hormone imbalance causing belly fat is not uncommon there are multiple etiologies, and well talk about the common ones.
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Too Much Alcohol Consumption
Yes, we know how fun drinking can be been there, done that. Were pretty sure that youre going to be willing to make some certain changes too.
Listen, we are all beautiful and we all have someone who will love us for who we are. However, lifes possibilities are limitless so why limit ourselves to something that we have total control of?
You are who are am today because of your choices in the past. Our future is highly reliant on what we do today and if you choose to have a flat belly, you shouldnt stop yourself from achieving that dream.
Less beer and more wine! Kidding aside, there are actual reports that link excess alcohol consumption to obesity. Excess alcohol also targets males more and this is why you see a lot of men who are skinny everywhere else aside from the tummy area.
Before we get to the ways on how to get rid of belly fat effectively, lets move on to something that we have less control of.
Don’t Let Diets Take Over
If you find every spare second is given over to thinking about calories, plans and cutting, then maybe the best thing you can do is to take a break from dieting. Research by the University of Tasmania revealed that people who broke from their diet every two weeks and aimed to just keep their weight stable during that period lost more weight and gained less back when their diets had finished.
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How To Break The Cycle Of Stress And Weight Gain
When you’re stressed out, healthy behaviors likely eating properly and exercising regularly can easily fall by the wayside. Maintaining a schedule and/or routine can help make these healthy behaviors a habit and combat stress-related weight changes. Here are a few strategies that can help you break the cycle of stress and weight gain:
Unwind With A Daily Yoga Practice
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Watch Your Carbohydrate Intake
Not all nutrients are created equal, and some experts believe that a steady diet heavy in processed or refined carbs like pasta and bread are a significant factor for excess belly fat. Carbs are the enemy of the middle-aged woman, says Dr. Boling. If you are perimenopausal, look at how much sugar you are eating. Carbs turn into sugar in our bodies. Some turn faster, like candy bars, oatmeal burns slower, but eventually it all turns to sugar. If you are aware of how many carbs you are eating, you are going to do better. Research published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that a reduced-carbohydrate diet may decrease the risk of postmenopausal weight gain.
Add Purslane To Your Salad
Most people have no idea what purslane is. I didnt either until I discovered my problem with eating excess fructose and how it contributes to fatty liver, among other problems.
So I decided to up my omega-3s, particularly since an omega-3 fatty acid known as docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, seems to reverse the harmful changes to belly fat produced by fructose. In fact, DHA doesnt just change one or two genes, it pushes an entire block of genes back to normal.
Purslane offers the richest of omega-3s and melatonin that you can obtain from a green vegetablemostly alpha linolenic acid , which can be converted into DHA. One chef calls it a miniature jade plant. I call it a super food, a weed worth eating, because its nutrient density strengthens synapses, or connections in your brain, and enhances memory and learning.
I grow it in my garden, then chop it in salads or add it to soups at the very end. You can grow it too, or buy it at your local farmers market, next to the sorrel and nettles.
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Get A Good Nights Sleep
When youre tired you can produce more of a hormone called ghrelin, which in turn can lead to cravings for sugary food, which for obvious reasons are not ideal for a lean stomach.
Lack of sleep can also be a cause of increase levels of our friend cortisol. When cortisol is elevated we normally want to snack on sugary foods as a means to overcome these stressful periods. You can see a pattern here, but Ill surmise for you, lack of sleep can often lead to us reaching for sugary snacks, which over time will play havoc with your waistline.
Sleep For 7 To 8 Hours Every Night
Research shows that getting quality sleep can help regulate cortisol levels.
According to a 16-year study of over 68,000 women, participants who slept for less than 5 hours of sleep each night had higher chances of becoming overweight than those who got 7 hours of sleep or more per night.
In addition to getting at least 7 hours of sleep per night, its important that your sleep is deep and uninterrupted. If you notice any problem with your sleeping pattern, see your doctor.
In the meantime, you can use these tips to sleep better.
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Choose Fats Wisely And Eat Meals With Healthy Fats To Counter Weight Gain
Fat adds flavor, makes our food taste better, and is part of a healthy diet. So the good news is that it isnt necessary or recommended to completely eliminate it from your diet altogether. You just need to learn how to be more choosy, says Palumbo. Think more walnuts, fewer Whoppers.
The healthiest fats are the ones that derive from plant sources like olives and nuts, but keep in mind that healthy fats like those found in avocados have the same number of calories as the fat found in a hot fudge sundae. An ounce of nuts has 170 calories, so you have to be very careful, says Palumbo. The same goes with extra-virgin olive oil. The American way is to go overboard, so you have to be extremely cautious when you use it and measure the amounts of fats and oils that you consume.
And restaurant meals are not your friends in the fat department, either. Restaurants are not in business to make us healthy. They add a lot of flavor carriers, which are known as fats, Palumbo says. Salad dressings are one of the biggest sources of added fat in our diet, so order your salad with the dressing on the side.
Increased Health Risks From Visceral Fat
According to Harvard Health, visceral fat may increase your risk for:
Genetics influences where your body stores fat. Hormones, age, and how many children a woman has given birth to also play a role.
Women tend to add more visceral fat after menopause, when estrogen levels drop.
Still, there are things you can do to lose belly fat.
First, avoid all those lose belly fat fast solutions, because theres no quick fix. Making lifestyle choices with a slow, steady mindset is your best option to help establish long-term positive results.
Here are some recommendations:
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Be Mindful Of Your Food Cravings
Many women with PCOS experience intense food cravings and frequently give in to binge eating as a result of hormonal imbalances and high blood sugar levels, which only worsens their feelings about weight gain. Although cravings can be a challenge, there are specific techniques you can adopt to stop them.
You can control your food urges more effectively if you can identify what is causing them. Many PCOS women claim that daily meditation helps their minds to let go of recurring ideas about food.
Some women feel that going outside for a stroll in the fresh air takes their minds off their cravings, while others find satisfaction in a healthy snack.
It may feel even more difficult and burdensome to lose PCOS belly fat due to the hormone fluctuations associated with it.
In addition to maintaining a calorie deficit, other strategies such as managing blood sugar, eating a lot of protein, exercising to reduce PCOS belly fat, and using medications can be helpful.
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Slow Down Your Eating
Eating slowly will also help cinch your waist, too. Inhaling croissants while run-walking to work will do little to satiate you not that youll do much digesting anyway, with all that cortisol flooding your system. Instead, by making time to eat and focusing on your food , youll wind up eating less and youll feel fuller for longer.
9. Get Quality Sleep
Multiple studies have shown an association between short sleep and weight gain. When youre low on Zzzs, activity in the brains frontal lobe is impaired. At the same time, the more primal parts of your brain that deal with things like desire and motivation are lit up like the Blackpool Illuminations.
Inadequate sleep also wreaks havoc on your metabolism. When the body doesnt get enough rest, it conserves energy by slowing down basic functions. The combination of untameable cravings, little willpower and inefficient processing is an open invitation for fat storage. Follow our advice to improve your sleep tonight.
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Exercise But Not Too Much Or Too Late
Regular exercise is a great way to reduce stress and improve your overall well-being. It can also lower your cortisol response to stress and low-intensity workouts can actually decrease cortisol levels.
However, high-intensity workouts increase cortisol levels â you are putting your body under a type of stress, after all. While this is okay every now and again, if youâre over-exercising, you may suffer the consequences of high cortisol. So, be sure to throw some yoga or gentle swims into your week instead of back-to-back HIIT classes.
As well as not over-exercising, be sure to get the timing of your exercise right. Avoid working out too close to bedtime or you run the risk of disturbing your sleep, which, of course, can lead to high cortisol and weight gain.
You can learn more about exercise before bed here and the best time to work out here.
How To Get Rid Of Lower Belly Fat
It doesnt matter whether they are male or female, young or old, a huge percentage of my personal training clients come to see me because they want to lose belly fat. This might not necessarily be because they want abs they could wash their clothes on, especially as in this day and age they probably have a washing machine, it is simply because they need to lose a little bit of the podge after too many months over indulging.
For you girls, who love to describe yourselves as if you are fruit, having belly fat would mean you are apple shaped. For men, it usually means you are married with two kids and work in finance.
Belly fat has long been linked to the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol is something that is necessary to the body its the hormone that makes us run from a lion if we see it, unless you happen to be an idiotic dentist from The US of course. Its the fight or flight hormone that makes us able to deal with stressful situations. It is elevated during bouts of intense exercise, which is another reason it can be useful to us, as it helps us train harder. So if cortisol is a good thing, how can it make us fat?
So what can we do about it? Here are my top tips to get rid of belly fat:
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Does Cortisol Cause Belly Fat
Yes, cortisol can cause belly fat, but its not a direct reaction to its secretion.
Cortisol is the primary stress hormone produced by the adrenal glands located on top of the kidney. During stressful events, physiological or emotional, the hypothalamus located in the brain sends a message, via the pituitary glands, to the adrenal glands to secrete the hormone.
The hormone, along with adrenaline, then responds by increasing the bodys metabolic rate and energy production through glucose. This is to provide the body with extra fuel to get it through whatever the stressful event might be. When cortisol is chronically in excess, glucose/blood sugar that isnt actually needed as fuel for the body is converted into fat stored in the abdomen belly fat.
Its also called abdominal obesity, central obesity, central adiposity, intra-abdominal fat, or visceral fat.
When stress is a prolonged physiological occurrence, the body continues to secrete cortisol above the required amount as it awaits use. The excess cortisol levels remain circulating the body for extended periods, which then causes the belly fat to develop and increase.
Unfortunately, cortisol weight gain belly is a different type of fat storage that isnt converted to body fuel easily. If youre under stress often, your body continues to build this fat reserve in your abdomen until your belly apple-shaped.
- Cancer breast and colorectal
- Alzheimers disease
Add More Soluble Fiber To Your Diet
Soluble fiber may help reduce belly fat since it increases satiety and prevents overeating.
Research also suggests that soluble fiber can reduce the number of calories your body stores from your meals.
Researchers in this study found that participants reduced belly fat gain by 3.7 percent, for every 10-gram increase in consumption of soluble fiber, over a period of five years.
Remember to eat high-fiber foods in every meal. Flaxseeds, legumes, avocados, and Brussels sprouts are excellent sources of soluble fiber.
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The Link Between Stress And Cortisol
Researchers have long known that rises in the stress hormone cortisol can lead to weight gain. Every time you’re stressed, your adrenal glands release adrenaline and cortisol, and as a result, glucose is released into your bloodstream. All of this is done to give you the energy you need to escape from a risky situation .
Once the threat has subsided, your adrenaline high wears off and your blood sugar spike drops. This is when cortisol kicks into high gear to replenish your energy supply quickly.