Here's The Honest Truth About Belly Fat

Here’s The Honest Truth About Belly Fat

Most people think that you need a big fat beer gut – or at least a paunch – in order to be afraid of belly fat.

Unfortunately, that’s just flat out untrue.

The fact of the matter is, even people with washboard abs and 6 packs are still carrying belly fat, and it might be dangerous to their health. I know, it might sound crazy, right?

Well… the reason is because there are 2 types of belly fat. The first kind, which sits right under your skin, is what makes up the “beer belly” that so many people carry around.

The second kind, which is deeper inside your body and wraps itself around your organs, including your heart, liver, and lungs, is called “visceral fat”, and that’s the dangerous kind to look out for (1).

In fact, even people with washboard abs can have dangerous levels of visceral fat – and that can cause health problems immediately and down the road. It’s about a lot more than just looks.

So What Is Visceral Fat?

Visceral fat isn’t bad, per se. Your body needs some of it, because it will cushion your major organs and keep them safe.

Too much of it is a huge disaster. It increases your chances of breast cancer, colon cancer, type 2 diabetes, dementia, heart disease, high blood pressure… the list goes on(2).

That’s because visceral fat in your body doesn’t just sit doing nothing, it excretes all sorts of harmful substances that can wreak havoc on your health.

The risk of too much visceral fat increases as a person trends towards obesity – because the body has no normal places left to store the fat, and so it stores it around the major organs in the form of visceral fat.

more: The Tools To Help You Lose Weight Are Here

How Do You Tell How Much Visceral Fat You Have?

You could go to the doctor and get a ct scan or an mri to find out for sure – but that’s crazy expensive and it’s probably overkill.

Instead, use this simple, low cost method instead – just take a measuring tape and wrap it around your waist right at belly button level(3).

You want to be standing up to do this measurement. Women should aim for 35 inches or less, men should aim for 40 inches or less. If your waistline at your belly button is wider than your hips, it’s considered an “apple shape”.

Doctors consider an “apple shape” to be less safe than a “pear shape”, where your waistline measurement at your hips is wider than at your belly button.

That’s because an “apple shape” generally indicates that you have more abdominal fat, and thus more visceral fat.

The truth is, even thin people can have visceral fat. Your visceral fat levels are controlled partially by your genes, but mostly by your lifestyle.

Studies have found that inactive people are more likely to have visceral fat, and that thin people who dieted but didn’t exercise were far more likely to have excess visceral fat.

Here’s Exactly How To Beat Belly Fat

So if you want to beat belly fat, here are the 4 steps necessary to doing it:

1. More Exercise

Like I just said, exercise is the key step towards beating visceral fat, because sedentary and inactive people are much more likely to develop unhealthy levels of visceral fat.

Try working out for 30 minutes, 5 days a week. You’re aiming to have your heart rate rise and to break a sweat with this exercise.

more: Take The Quiz – Do You Know The Unique Veggies That Burn Abdominal Fat?

If you want to cut down on the time exercising, you can try jogging or walking at a vigorous pace to really get your heart rate up. You can do that for 20 minutes, 4 times a week.

You can slow down the rate of visceral fat spread by doing moderate, low intensity exercise, but if you really want to turn back the clock on visceral fat in your body, you need to step up your exercise intensity.

2. Eat Better

Your diet is also in control of how much visceral fat your body gains. If you want to start cutting down on visceral fat, focus on what you’re putting into your body.

If you’re looking for an easy and quick change, try eating more fiber. Studies have found that people who eat 10 grams or more of soluble fiber every day wind up with less visceral fat than others.

That’s not much – just a half cup of pinto beans or a couple small apples. If you make this one change, it could greatly help your belly fat levels.

3. Get Enough Sleep

Want to get rid of belly fat? Sick of being tired all the time? You’re in luck! You can kill two birds with one stone!

Just get at least 6-7 hours of sleep every night. You’ll gain less visceral fat over time than those who only sleep for 5 hours or less.

4. Handle Your Stress

Unless you’re a billionaire who has a team of experts handle every aspect of your life (and even then), you’re going to have stress.

But if you want to cut down on the amount of belly fat you build up, handling your stress matters, and it matters bigtime.

Try relaxing with friends and family, or exercising, or even trying meditating to mitigate the effects of stress. If none of that works, you could try counseling. Whatever it is – cutting down on your stress will also cut down on your belly fat, and leave you healthier in the long run.

In summary…

The Truth About How To Lose Belly Fat

  1. Get more exercise
  2. Eat better and improve your diet
  3. Get enough sleep
  4. Handle your stress

truth about how to lose belly fat

24 comments… add one
  • Melanie Wiggins September 17, 2015, 9:48 pm

    Belly fat, or Visceral fat is not good for you. It is also not easy to get rid of, but it looks like you are outlining a bunch of good tips to get people started!

  • Catherine Galvez September 16, 2015, 12:27 pm

    This kind of scares me. I have a toned tummy, but my sister has some fat there and I do not want that to be the reason that I live longer than her some day.

  • Joan Kelley September 16, 2015, 12:17 pm

    There are already so many risks associated with breast cancer, colon cancer, type 2 diabetes, dementia, heart disease, high blood pressure, why would I want to add to it?

  • Jessica Kimura September 15, 2015, 10:17 am

    Belly fat is not good. We all know what Dr. Oz has said about things like this.

  • Katherine Benton September 14, 2015, 11:32 am

    Belly fat is not only bad for your body, but it doesn’t look good either :) Take care of it, or at least keep it in your shirt :)

  • Kathleen Wilson September 14, 2015, 11:20 am

    I never really thought about thin people still having body fat. That is a very good point!

  • Robin Rivera September 11, 2015, 5:59 pm

    Truth = belly fat sucks.
    Truth = getting rid of it sucks, too!

    • Deborah Howerton September 17, 2015, 9:57 pm

      LOL, good point!

  • Crystal Sweeney September 11, 2015, 4:23 pm

    Getting rid of belly fat is a task! My doctor said that in order for me to get pregnant, that would have to be taken care of first. That was enough to get me motivated!

  • Wendy Casey September 11, 2015, 11:15 am

    When you are talking about belly fat after a child, that might not be that easy to get rid of. You can keep the fat content down, but what about the stretched skin?

  • Gary Self September 9, 2015, 12:35 pm

    Well, these tips seem to be easy enough. I can get more sleep, that should not be a problem, but what about better eating? Where do I start with that?

  • Ashley Myers September 8, 2015, 8:28 am

    Thank you for opening my eyes about this. After I had my daughter I noticed the belly fat more than ever before. I am going to concentrate on this part of my body.

  • Laurie Dorn September 8, 2015, 8:15 am

    Belly fat is such a bad thing. I have been reading a book for a while now that is about that and how it affects the organs inside your body. It is enough information for me to make sure I reduce it as much as possible.

    • Patricia Mota September 9, 2015, 12:44 pm

      I read that Dr. Oz says it is the number one killer of most people that are obese and such. There are organs there that need to operate and when you have them all packed behind fat, it is not a good thing.

  • Christina Pauley September 7, 2015, 9:02 am

    With the tips that you give here and the page where you outline the perfect workout, I am in the best position that I could be to lose weight and be healthy!

  • Jeana Palomino September 4, 2015, 8:50 am

    Belly fat is bad. It took me about 2 years to finally get a routine down that would tone up my mid section, but it the time was well worth it!

    • Anna Collins September 11, 2015, 6:11 pm

      Yes it is. I look at people with big bellys and I try to figure out how the organs can be doing ok.

  • Tiffany Landers September 4, 2015, 8:37 am

    I have belly fat like this since my first child. I always thought I would be able to get rid of it, but it appears to be more of a problem than I thought it was going to be.

  • Rita Wells September 3, 2015, 8:55 am

    Belly fat is bad. These are good tips that I am going to try soon.

    • Rhonda Meadows September 15, 2015, 10:07 am

      Yes it is and yes they are good tips. I am going to share these with my Facebook friends too!

  • Joyce Wheeler September 3, 2015, 8:43 am

    You say more exercise, but what kinds? Does that mean I should do sit ups all day long, or crunches or something?

    • Raymond Wiggins September 7, 2015, 9:29 am

      I have been teaching my clients about belly fat for many years now. It is not good and cannot always be taken care of with exercise only. Your diet is a major role there.

  • Linda Musso September 2, 2015, 9:35 am

    Belly fat is so bad for you and might be one of the hardest things to get rid of. Thank you for focusing on this and telling us how to get rid of it.

  • Karen Parks September 2, 2015, 9:23 am

    Thanks for posting the way that you can check for this fat. I can see it on my body, but without a measurement, you really never know what you have.

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