Maintaining a trim midsection does more than make you look great—it canhelp you live longer. Larger waistlines are linked to a higher risk ofheart disease, diabetes and even cancer. Losing weight, especially bellyfat, also improvesblood vesselfunctioning and also improves sleep quality.
It’s impossible to target belly fat specifically when you diet. But losing weight overall will help shrink your waistline; more importantly, it will help reduce the dangerous layer of visceral fat, a type of fat within the abdominal cavity that you can’t see but that heightens health risks, saysKerry Stewart, Ed.D., director of Clinical and Research Physiology at Johns Hopkins.
Here’s how to whittle down where it matters most.
Try curbing carbs instead of fats.
When Johns Hopkins researchers compared the effects on the heart of losingweight through a low-carbohydrate diet versus a low-fat diet for sixmonths—each containing the same amount of calories—those on a low-carb dietlost an average of 10 pounds more than those on a low-fat diet—28.9 poundsversus 18.7 pounds. An extra benefit of the low-carb diet is that itproduced a higher quality of weight loss, Stewart says. With weight loss,fat is reduced, but there is also often a loss of lean tissue (muscle),which is not desirable. On both diets, there was a loss of about 2 to 3pounds of good lean tissue along with the fat, which means that the fatloss percentage was much higher on the low-carb diet.
Think eating plan, not diet.
Ultimately, you need to pick a healthy eating plan you can stick to,Stewart says. The benefit of a low-carb approach is that it simply involveslearning better food choices—no calorie-counting is necessary. In general,a low-carb way of eating shifts your intake away from problem foods—thosehigh in carbs and sugar and without much fiber, like bread, bagels andsodas—and toward high-fiber or high-protein choices, like vegetables, beansand healthy meats.
Keep moving.
Physical activity helps burn abdominal fat. “One of the biggest benefits ofexercise is that you get a lot of bang for your buck on body composition,”Stewart says. Exercise seems to work off belly fat in particular because itreduces circulating levels ofinsulin—which would otherwise signal the body to hang on to fat—and causes theliver to use up fatty acids, especially those nearby visceral fat deposits,he says.
The amount of exercise you need for weight loss depends on your goals. Formost people, this can mean 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to vigorousexercise nearly every day.
Lift weights.
Adding even moderate strength training to aerobic exercise helps build leanmuscle mass, which causes you to burn more calories throughout the entireday, both at rest and during exercise.
Become a label reader.
Compare and contrast brands. Some yogurts, for example, boast that they’relow in fat, but they’re higher in carbs and added sugars than others,Stewart says. Foods like gravy, mayonnaise, sauces and salad dressingsoften contain high amounts of fat and lots of calories.
Move away from processed foods.
The ingredients in packaged goods and snack foods are often heavy on transfats, added sugar and added salt or sodium—three things that make itdifficult to lose weight.
Focus on the way your clothes fit more than reading a scale.
As you add muscle mass and lose fat, the reading on your bathroom scale maynot change much, but your pants will be looser. That’s a better mark ofprogress. Measured around, your waistline should be less than 35 inches ifyou’re a woman or less than 40 inches if you’re a man to reduce heart anddiabetes risks.
Hang out with health-focused friends.
Research shows that you’re more apt to eat better and exercise more if yourfriends and family are doing the same.
Definitions
Insulin (in-suh-lin): A hormone made by the cells in your pancreas. Insulinhelps your body store the glucose (sugar) from your meals. If you havediabetes and your pancreas is unable to make enough of this hormone, youmay be prescribed medicines to help your liver make more or make yourmuscles more sensitive to the available insulin. If these medicines are notenough, you may be prescribed insulin shots.
Blood vessels (veh-suls): The system of flexible tubes—arteries,capillaries and veins—that carries blood through the body. Oxygen andnutrients are delivered by arteries to tiny, thin-walled capillaries thatfeed them to cells and pick up waste material, including carbon dioxide.Capillaries pass the waste to veins, which take the blood back to the heartand lungs, where carbon dioxide is let out through your breath as youexhale.
Arteries (are-te-rease): The blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich bloodaway from your heart for delivery to every part of your body. Arteries looklike thin tubes or hoses. The walls are made of a tough outer layer, amiddle layer of muscle and a smooth inner wall that helps blood floweasily. The muscle layer expands and contracts to help blood move.
Research Shows Losing Weight Leads to Heart Health
A diet that’s low in fat and carbohydrates can improve artery function,according to a 2012 study by Johns Hopkins researchers. After six months,those on the low-carb diet had lost more weight, and at a faster pace. Butin both groups, when weight was lost—and especially when belly fatshrank—thearterieswere able to expand better, allowing blood to travel more freely. The studyshows that you don’t have to cut out all dietary fat to shrink belly fat.For heart health, simply losing weight and exercising seems to be key.
- Digestive Weight Loss Center
- Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease
Find Additional Treatment Centers at:
- Howard County Medical Center
- Sibley Memorial Hospital
- Suburban Hospital
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