What you don’t know about Belly Fat and HOW it is S-L-O-W-L-Y Killing Everyone! Part 1.

How will YOU cope and do you have a strategy in place for losing excess belly fat?

Because of the extreme dangers of belly fat and in the quest to lose weight and get rid of your own unattractive (and unhealthy) belly fat, you may have a tendency to ‘people watch’ and notice others who are overweight.

Maybe it’s because you can sympathize with how they’re feeling and how they look; many of them look very lethargic!

Even the act of walking is a monumental effort, especially in the summer months of the year when the heat works to drain your body.

While sitting in your car at the supermarket or stopped at the traffic lights you get the chance to study people. Start paying attention to how many of the people in the crowd are overweight versus those who aren’t.

The numbers will shock you.

Also have a little peek in their shopping trolleys; this will soon explain a lot of things.

Don’t even measure how many are just a little overweight, but count how many are very noticeably overweight. There will be men, women and some kids who are carrying excess belly fat. Some people will make fun of them, too.

Belly fat has quite a few nicknames. Jelly Belly. Muffin Top. Spare Tyre. Santa Belly. Beer Belly. Porky. We’ve all heard these derogatory terms and know exactly what they mean. Sometimes, we try to give belly fat kinder, more gentle names but there is no getting away from what it really means for you and your health, both physically and psychologically.

Some doctors even refer to belly fat as the apple shape, which really doesn’t sound so bad. But whether derogatory or a softer label, they all mean the same thing – too much fat around the middle of the body that either sticks out noticeably or flops down over our belts.

Are you having trouble burning off belly fat? Then do this instead of exercise to burn the most belly fat.

For most of us, gaining that spare tyre or muffin-top isn’t intentional.

There are many factors that gang up on the body as we grow older. One minute it seems as if we’re twenty and fit and the next…not so much. We are middle aged, stressed and overweight.

We get busy with life. In some cases, we’re overburdened with responsibilities. Our health gets pushed to the bottom of the ‘to-do’ list.

There’s a commercial for a car insurance carrier that says, “Life comes at you fast” and it usually shows someone who’s just been involved in a car accident. Because life comes at us all fast and not just when it comes to driving, it’s easy to get bombarded on all sides by life’s circumstances.

Not many people are true gluttons – someone who will overeat or over drink just because. When it comes to overindulging, there’s usually a reason behind it and that reason can be valid – even understandable but the good thing is……you can do something about it.

In your university days, when there’s the pressure of cramming for exams, trying to pay tuition fees, and keeping up with a heavy class load, good nutrition takes a backseat to whatever food is quick, cheap and can be eaten on the run. Might be the odd drink or three in there as well.

Then the next part of the dubious nutrition cycle begins. You finish Uni, get a job, have some fun for a few years (you are young and still fit so your diet is not a concern), maybe then you get married and have some kids. Now the real fun begins!

This is when you’re working harder than ever and doing long hours trying to make ends meet; exhaustion now plays a big part in helping you develop that extra weight around the middle. You come home worn out and all you want to do is get something to wolf down and veg out in front of the television as soon as you have finished reading the kids their bedtime story.

The last thing in the world you want to do is hit the gym or go take a jog around the block. That’s perfectly understandable. We all find our habitual ways of trying to deal with stress.

Stress is known to help in the harbouring of belly fat because it acts as a trigger. When we get stressed, we eat.

But weight gain can often be a real sneak attack.

One minute, we look fine. We get busy, life is hectic and the next thing we know, we’re staring in shock at a new photo of ourselves. The camera doesn’t lie and it’s hard to reconcile the belly fat we see on film or in digital format with how we feel.

Inside, we still feel like our appearance is the same as it’s always been, but on the outside, in that moment of shock, we and everyone else, sees how the weight has snuck up on us.

Fat through the Ages

If you’ve ever looked at any of the paintings done by the world’s renowned artists throughout history, you might have encountered ones showcasing people who were overweight.

Some of the people were more than a few pounds overweight. In fact, their belly fat, especially on the nude models, was very obvious. Yet the women’s bodies weren’t considered to be ugly.

Instead, they were considered plump and visually pleasing to the eye.

Why?

Because years ago, being overweight was thought to be attractive and even healthy. It also meant you had money to afford food, so it reflected riches as well.

A woman with belly fat was thought to be a good candidate for child bearing, a man with belly fat was thought to be a successful and good provider for his loved ones. People were judged in reverse back then to the way they are now, but science and medical technology have come a far cry from the age of those historical paintings.

Now we know that not only is belly fat unattractive, but left alone, it can shear years off your life span.

Continue reading Part 2:

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Cheers – John – your Active Ageing Mentor and Coach.