Aging brings many changes to your body, and unfortunately, one that creeps up, especially in middle age is beer gut.
It begins with subtle signs like tighter jeans, and before you know it, there is no hiding you have a beer belly.
Whether you are motivated by the clothes you want to fit into or out of concern for your health, it’s comforting to know that you can get rid of your beer gut.
With that said, belly fat is one fat that’s easy to accumulate but harder to lose. It takes some changes in your lifestyle and commitment to stick to a new routine. (simonsezit.com)
But losing it can be critical and even life-changing. Excess belly fat or beer gut is one harmful type of fat for your body, releasing toxic substances to the portal vein.
These substances cause inflammation, when reached the liver through the vein, they can lead to insulin resistance.
It’s one reason why the accumulation of belly fat, particularly visceral fat is harmful. According to Harvard Health, visceral fat is linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. It also signals sensitivity to blood clotting, blood pressure, and insulin.
It’s a good thing there is a lot you can do to lose your beer gut and reduce your health risk.
Here are 3 scientifically proven tips to lose your beer belly.
1. Limit processed foods
A good starting place for getting your weight under control and losing beer gut is to limit processed foods.
While many diets focus on cutting calories, for many people, the practical approach to accomplish this is to cut processed foods.
Processed foods like breakfast cereal, pastries, and meat products like salami and bacon seem harmless.
But in reality, they are high sources of calories yet deprived in nutrients.
They also tend to be high in sugar, unhealthy fat, and sodium. None of which taken in excess is good for your belly.
Eliminating or limiting the amount of processed foods you eat on a regular basis alone helps cut back on taking those ingredients in excess.
It also inevitably leads to a reduction in daily calorie intake, which aids weight loss.
What’s more, if you replace processed foods with fresh produce and lean protein, you’ll boost your nutritional intake. You can also reduce your health risk associated with hypertension, diabetes, and others.
2. Eat more soluble fiber
Soluble fiber is a type of fiber that promotes the health of your gut bacteria. It can also help boost the overall fat loss by reducing your appetite.
The soluble fiber in contrast to insoluble fiber dissolves in water.
When mixed with water, the soluble fiber becomes a gel-like substance that helps slows down digestion.
One study at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center associated every 10 grams of soluble fiber eaten in a day with a reduction in 3.7% of visceral fat. This is over 5 years.
Their recommendation is simple.
Take more soluble fiber from fresh produce such as vegetables, fruits, and beans.
Foods particularly high in soluble fiber include lima beans, black beans, avocado, broccoli, and pear. Other foods like sweet potatoes and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli are also high in soluble fiber.
3. Get active and add workouts
The Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center’s study on visceral fat and ways to reduce it had another finding.
They found in addition to boosting the intake of soluble fiber, adding moderate exercise can help reduce visceral fat.
Over the same 5-year period, their study saw a 7.4% decrease in visceral fat accumulation when participants added moderate exercise.
So what constitutes as moderate activities? It’s 2-4 times a week of 30-minute vigorous activity.
Anything from swimming, and resistance training, to biking can be a great way to get active and add in moderate exercise.
But if you are looking to even boost more fat loss, you can do HIIT workouts where you combine anaerobic with resistance training. It’s a great way to increase your metabolism, tap into the after-burn effect, and boost fat burning.
Be warned that HIIT can be a high-impact workout depending on what’s included in your routine. Anytime you start a new exercise regimen, be sure to check with your physician to make sure it suits your needs.
With these few simple changes in your life, you can begin to see a reduction in visceral fat and beer belly.