Not all fat is created equal Such padding around the sides, glutes, thighs or upper arms may look cosmetically unpleasing, but it's actually fairly harmless. Visceral fat, on the other hand, is very harmful. It accumulates deep within the abdominal cavity, where it can't be pinched, but pushes the belly out.
One reason belly fat is so hard to lose is that it's considered an “active fat.” Unlike some fatty tissue that simply sits “dormant,” belly fat releases hormones that can have an impact on your health — and your ability to lose weight, especially in the waist and abdomen areas.
Visceral fat is belly fat found deep within your abdominal cavity. It surrounds important organs, including your stomach, liver and intestines. It's different than subcutaneous fat, which is fat just below your skin. Visceral fat is actually more dangerous to your health.
Research at UT Southwestern, which was led by my former colleague Dr. Ian Neeland, has shown that this kind of fat puts people at greater risk for developing several kinds of health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, liver problems, some types of cancer, and risk for sudden death.
While alpha cells are more responsive to the fat-breakdown process and are quicker, beta cells are the complete opposite. As against areas such as legs, face and arms, our stomach and abdominal regions possess beta cells that makes it difficult to reduce the fats easily and lose weight in these areas.
Even if you're thin, you can still have too much visceral fat. How much you have is partly about your genes, and partly about your lifestyle, especially how active you are. Visceral fat likes inactivity.
Too many starchy carbohydrates and bad fats are a recipe for that midsection to expand. Instead, get plenty of veggies, choose lean proteins, and stay away from fats from red meats. Choose healthier fats in things like fish, nuts, and avocados. Even a moderate cutback on carbs (grains, pasta, sugars) can help, too.
You can strengthen and tone abdominal muscles with crunches or other exercises focused on your belly. But doing those exercises alone won't get rid of belly fat. The good news is that visceral fat responds to the same diet and exercise strategies that can help get rid of other extra pounds and lower total body fat.
The comprehensive study confirmed that obese people tend to die earlier than people of normal weight. But it also found that overweight people – those with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 30 – had a lower risk of dying than people of normal weight.
As it turns out, the worst place to have body fat it is along your waistline. This body fat is called visceral fat which is inflammatory. Studies have linked visceral fat to chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and even some cancers.
Obesity Definition and Criteria
Women with more than 30 percent body fat and men with more than 25 percent body fat are considered obese. Morbid obesity is defined as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of more than 40, which equates to approximately 100 pounds overweight for men and 80 pounds for women.
Then, as you move past 40 and head to middle age, changes in muscle, hormones and metabolism all make it harder to stay trim. But it's not a lost cause. By understanding how your body changes, you can work to manage your weight more effectively.
However, generally speaking, people tend to lose weight in their face and neck first. When it comes to weight loss, facial and neck fat is typically the first area to experience noticeable reductions. This is because these regions tend to be the most sensitive and react positively to even a small amount of weight loss.
If reducing overall body fat, including belly fat, is your ultimate goal, aerobic exercises that increase your heart rate, such as walking, running or swimming, and aerobic exercise combined with strength training are the gold standards when it comes to exercise that supports weight loss.
Yes, fat can get “jiggly” before or during weight loss — BUT, it's a good sign, and there are ways to prevent it or make it better.
To get a flatter stomach, you need to lose body fat, which can take 6-12 weeks depending on how much fat you need to lose.
The amount of time it takes to lose belly fat varies from person to person. However, training harder and reducing your calorie intake to achieve a daily calorie deficit of 500 calories will lead to a weight loss of around 12 pounds within 12 weeks. This will likely also result in belly fat loss.
A woman of average build, who exercises moderately intensively every day, burns about 2,000 kilocalories a day, and a man around 2,500 kilocalories. This means that you can live off your fat reserves for an average of 66 days (for a woman) or 53 days (for a man), as long as you don't become more active.
To lose stomach overhang you have to burn fat cells in both the fat you can see directly under the skin and also the more dangerous fat that you can't see that surrounds your organs. Cardio such as swimming, aerobics, running or dancing will burn this excess fat store.