Belly Fat
So what is belly fat, otherwise known as visceral fat, about? We know we don’t like it but vanity aside, belly fat is correlated with many health risks. Studies show belly fat drives inflammation, increases the risk of blood clots, changes hormones, changes brain chemistry, and increases the risk for type 2 diabetes, estrogen dependent cancers, and heart disease. Not only does belly fat surround the organs but it is an organ of its own. Belly fat produces hormones and inflammatory proteins of its own that contribute to disease or disease risk.
Belly fat. Midsection weight gain. Muffin top. Unwanted weight, typically around the middle, is one of the most frequent concerns women have when they come to the clinic. Some women notice an increase even though they’ve changed nothing about what they eat or how they move. Some women notice that even with changes to their diet and exercise, they can’t lose the belly fat.
Belly fat is generally the clinical manifestation of insulin resistance or block. We end up with fat storage when sugar or glucose can’t enter the cells and be used. Declining levels of estrogen typical during midlife contribute to insulin resistance, rendering the diet and exercise we maintained during our 30s and 40s no longer effective in our 50s and 60s.
So, what can be done? Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
Reduce simple carbohydrate consumption - Excess consumption of simple carbohydrates like bread, cereal, pasta, and alcohol increase our insulin levels which ultimately can result in belly fat.
Restore adrenal health - Adrenals are glands that sit in top of our kidneys and are primarily responsible for our stress hormone production. When stress levels are high, our cortisol levels are high. Cortisol is our primary stress hormone. When cortisol levels are high, insulin levels are high kind of like after we eat a bagel. Managing our stress and restoring adrenal health ultimately results in lower insulin levels and less belly fat.
Restore hormone health - Restoring hormone health, particularly estrogen levels, results in more balanced insulin levels, decreasing the deposition of belly fat.
Restore gut health - Microbes in the digestive tract, known collectively as the gut microbiotia, are linked to the accumulation of belly fat. Ensuring we have enough of certain microbes and not too many of others is central to preventing belly fat.
Start speed interval training - All forms of interval training have been found to be effective for burning belly fat, but sprint interval training has been found to be the most time-efficient method of burning visceral fat. Research shows that sprinting burns belly fat and does so in less time than other forms of training.
Weight loss is not a calorie-in-calorie-out equation. If that worked there wouldn’t be a bazillion dollar weight loss industry. If you’ve done what you can nutritionally and with your movement, there is likely an underlying physiologic imbalance. I recommend finding a functional medicine practitioner to work with to restore physiologic balance which ultimately results in the loss of, or at least reduction in, belly fat.