Learn About Women's Health - Medical, Health and Wellness for Women

Is there really a “Secret” to losing Belly Fat for Women (and Men) Over 40.

Most medical experts will tell you that the possible reasons that you have accumulated all that belly fat over the years is because of hormone changes, heredity, or aging. The plain truth of the matter “it’s all of these”, not to mention lack of exercise and poor eating habits. As the years go by; many women will start to notice an increase in belly fat as they get older, especially after the age of 40 – even more so after menopause.

Men have the same problem, just not as pronounced. It’s a fact - women tend to experience a larger fat percentage increase than males do once they hit 40!

As you get older your metabolism starts to slow down at a rate of 5-10% every decade(10 years). Some women will tend to see this slowdown of their metabolism earlier than others. The signs of this slowdown is your body fat increases and your energy levels drop.  After menopause (the time in a woman’s life when she stops having menstrual periods, the average age for the onset of menopause is 51 years), your body fat distribution will tend to shift and you will not only notice more fat in your legs, hip area and arms, you’ll notice a lot more belly fat accumulation.

Men will actually see this pattern start to happen to their body’s also. Although they don’t go through menopause (obviously), they go through “andropause” in which their testosterone drops sharply. They also will notice less energy and more stomach fat accumulation.

What is Visceral fat?    ”It’s Belly Fat”

Visceral fat is fat that is inside your peritoneal cavity(inside your rib cage) between internal organs, unlike subcutaneous fat which is found beneath the skin and intramuscular fat which is found in and between the actual muscle tissue.  The “Belly Fat” syndrome (pot belly, spare tire, or beer belly) is simply excess visceral fat.

Belly Fat is not only unattractive, it can be downright dangerous! (Belly Fat) in women can lead to :

*Cancers including breast cancer and colorectal cancer.

*Diabetes

*Cardiovascular Disease

*Metabolic Syndrome

Can certain foods help you to lose belly fat?

No, there are no secret magic foods that will cause you to lose your belly fat.  However if you eat the right kinds of foods and eat them at the right times throughout the day, along with the proper exercise program that will increase your metabolism, you will not only eventually lose weight from all areas of your body including that problem belly area, you will find that you will have an excess of energy. You’ll find yourself burning more calories and toning your muscles at the same time.

Before beginning the exercises to lose belly fat you should measure your stomach or waist (or better yet, TAKE PICTURES )

**Some Myths about how to lose belly fat!

Myth #1) If I do hundreds of crunches or situps a day, I will burn my belly fat!

A: NO – this is false. Abdominal exercises will help you to firm your abdominal muscles and flatten your belly, but It wont burn the fat in that area any more than arm exercises will burn fat in your arms. You need to increase your metabolism and control your calories to lose that fat.  When does it make more sense to eat the bulk of your calories throughout the day? During the time that your metabolism is at a higher rate so you can absorb, assimilate and utilize those calories as energy!

Generally about an hour after you wake up in the morning, your Metabolic Rate is at its peak and should remain at or near peak most of the day. As the day progresses, your Metabolic Rate decreases and that is why you should eat lighter meals in the evening. Consuming heavy meals late in the day decreases your energy level and the excess calories are more likely to be stored as Fat.

It doesn’t make much sense to eat the majority of our calories at a time when our metabolism is slowing down, does it?   I know with absolute certainty that once you really understand that there is a direct connection not only to what you eat but when you eat it, you’ll start seeing mind blowing changes and finally shed that excess body fat and you’ll have an  abundance of energy all day along (even into the evening!).

Myth #2)   If I do 45 minutes of Cardio 4x per week, I will burn my belly fat!

A: NO – this is false also. One of the first things that I tell a fitness client when they first hire me is…..don’t place too much importance on cardio (treadmill, bike, elliptical machines, etc.) as the major component on their quest to boost their energy levels and shed all that excess body fat! Cardiovascular exercise is great for Cardiac Muscle (heart muscle) and Vascular System (circulatory system) and definitely plays a role in increasing your metabolism to some extent if done correctly; but don’t expect it to be like waving a magic wand and your Excess Body Fat will just melt off, (Honestly, that’s just wishful thinking).

Just about everything you’ve been told or led to believe about cardio is wrong.

Did You Realize?

a)     One (1) pound of fat = 3,500-calories

b)    One (1) hour of cardio = approximately 750-calories

c)     To burn one (1) pound of body fat, you would need to complete 4.6-hours of cardio exercise.    Most people don’t do that much cardio exercise in two (2) weeks…… and they are doing the wrong type of cardiovascular training;

The answer is not more cardio…it’s less.

Want to know the  Real Secret to losing your belly fat?

Diet and Metabolism Connection

Show me someone that has a moderate calorie diet with moderate protein,  low fats and I’ll show you someone that has a good metabolism, constant energy, lower body fat and a better quality of life! There is definitely a connection…….adversely, show me someone that skips breakfast and most of their calories are consumed later in the day and the bulk of their caloric content is high cholesterol fats and carbohydrates and I’ll show you someone that has very little energy, no vitality and they never seem to be able to lose that excess body fat! Don’t underestimate the importance of this universal law. I don’t make the rules but I certainly understand them! I’m here to tell you that no amount of exercise or cardio will make up for a terrible eating program; especially when you are over 40-years of age.

Make sure you eat protein for breakfast.

If you don’t eat breakfast, you slow down your metabolism and send the body into “hoard mode,” thinking it’s starving because you’re going a long period of time frequently 6 to 8 hours or more, without food. Eat more protein rich foods…protein spikes you’re Metabolism Resulting in More Energy and Burning of Body Fat as an Energy Source. In a perfect world you could or should have small protein meals every 4 to 5 hours. This gives you plenty of energy throughout the day and plays a major role in keeping your blood sugar level constant. Control fats in your diet. Too much excess fats makes you lethargic and sluggish and if your trying to burn stored excess body fat – then don’t replace them. Use your stored body fat as an energy source. Try to stay around 10 to 15% fat intake throughout the day.

Don’t starve yourself – this is a big mistake

Dropping your calorie intake below 1,000 calories a day will signal to your body that you are in starvation mode, and will slow down your metabolism. You also need to understand that there’s a big difference between;

1) a 400 calorie meal that has 200 calories of fat in it (that’s 50% fat) = Bad

2) a 400 calorie meal that has 80 calories of fat in it (that’s 20% fat)  = Good

Eat smaller meals more frequently.

Smaller, more frequent protein rich meal keeps your blood sugar stable and provides a steady source of energy to fuel metabolism.

Water
I can’t stress this enough, you need to drink a minimum of 8 8-ounce glasses of water every day. Water provides extra energy and the process of metabolism needs water to work effectively.