In our modern world, we tend to think of a man’s belly hanging over his belt as simply the norm. However, did you know that when it comes to your health, it is in your best interest to lose your “beer belly?”
This is because having a gut isn’t just unsightly, it’s unhealthy. It means you are carrying around unnecessary weight along with an increased risk of diabetes, heart attack and many other chronic diseases.
And, losing belly fat is not only important for your health and longevity, but for mobility and quality of life as well.
Ready to drop a few pounds and get healthy?
Here’s how.
The Types of Belly Fat
When it comes to belly fat, there are two kinds to be aware of: subcutaneous fat and visceral fat, both of which play different roles in your girth. For instance, visceral fat is just below the skin and accounts for 90% of your body fat. It is the most apparent type of fat since it is what we refer to when we “pinch-an-inch.”
However, subcutaneous fat lies deep in behind the abdominal muscles and around your organs and represents the other 10% of your body’s fat content and is what forms a pot belly.
Unfortunately, while excessive accumulation of either kind of fat isn’t good for you, accumulation of subcutaneous fat has some particularly serious health risks. These include lower testosterone production along with increased inflammation, insulin resistance and risk of diabetes and death. (1)
Losing Your Beer Belly
Sure, some of us wear our beer bellies like a badge of honor, although losing yours may be one of the best things you can do for your quality of life.
For instance, would you want your car to be fitted with more fuel capacity than it could reasonably use?
No, of course not. Not only would carrying this much gas be unnecessary with the number of fueling stations conveniently available, it would add so much extra weight that performance would suffer, and the running gear would wear or fail quickly under the burden.
Unfortunately, this is almost exactly what happens to you with excess belly fat. While your body stores extra fat as a survival mechanism to get us through lean times, we rarely have lean times in our modern world which means you are simply carrying around unnecessary fuel.
And, this leads to increased fatigue and wear-and-tear to your joints and lower extremities.
However, there are ways to eliminate belly fat for better health and mobility. These include:
- Exercise—Just as driving faster in your car increases the amount of fuel it burns, exercising increases your fat burn. However, the type of exercise you perform also matters, and unless you have unlimited time on your hands you should ditch the low-intensity steady-state versions in favor of more intense interval or weight training. This is because high-intensity exercise requires more energy and oxygen to disturb the body’s homeostasis than low-intensity aerobic exercise, which naturally means more-fat burn in less time. (2)
- Avoid alcohol—Yes, it may be stating the obvious, but reducing or eliminating your intake of alcohol’s empty calories is the first step in losing your beer belly. Plus, alcohol lowers your inhibitions and makes it harder to make good dietary decisions along with making it easier for you to skip workouts due to hangovers.
- Eat a healthy diet—We realize that you have likely heard this before but adhering to a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, grass-finished meats, whole grains and other natural whole foods helps you maintain a healthy weight. And, there is good news since acquiring a taste for these foods is likely easier than you think.
- Drink plenty of water—Replacing beer with water will not only reduce the number of calories you consume it can increase your body’s metabolism. Staying hydrated also helps remove toxins and waste, and water even acts as a natural appetite suppressant by helping you feel full. Plus, water is necessary in the metabolism of fat, and drinking water also helps you avoid drinking sweetened or caloric drinks. (3)
- Manage your stress—When you experience stress, your body responds by increasing production of cortisol, which is a hormone directly linked to increased belly fat. Unfortunately, the prolonged stress response we often feel in our modern world keeps the cortisol coming, which is why relaxation techniques can help you control your belly fat. Try spending time in nature, enjoying a relaxing hobby, taking a walk or breathing deeply while envisioning a relaxing scenario in your mind, all of which can help lower your stress levels. (4, 5)
So Long Kegger, Hello Six-Pack
While there are also other ways to help you lose your beer belly, the important thing is that you understand why it’s important to do so, and that you act sooner than later.
Doing so can not only help you look better, feel better and have more energy, it can save your joints, increase your testosterone levels and help you live a longer, fuller life.
References:
- https://www.uspharmacist.com/article/belly-fat-in-men
- https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/1/10/18148463/high-intensity-interval-training-hiit-orangetheory
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322296.php#six-reasons-why-drinking-water-may-help-you-lose-weight
- https://www.stress.org/stress-cortisol-and-abdominal-fat
- https://www.huffpost.com/entry/stress-relief-that-works_n_3842511
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