EFFECTIVE WAYS TO LOSE BELLY FAT

There are two major type of belly fat;

Subcutaneous Belly Fat: These are fats found under the skin and can be poked with the finger; jiggling on your belly area. This kind of fat is common and does not pose so much health risk, but too much of it can be dangerous too.
Visceral Belly Fat: These are fats that surround the internal organs like your liver and kidney, much deeper in your abdomen. They pose more health risk than the subcutaneous fat.

Both type of fat are accumulated through same processes. However, the over accumulation of the subcutaneous fat leads to the visceral fat accumulation.

These are some of the process we accumulate these fats over time.
* Genetics
* Eating Habit
* Sleeping Habit
* Excessive Alcohol Consumption
* Smoking

* Medication

* No Exercise

HOW TO MONITOR, CONTROL AND REDUCE THE ACCUMULATION OF BELLY FAT

GENETICS: Our genes play a major role in our body type and how fast we accumulate fat as individuals. There are three body types, ectomorph, mesomorph and endomorph. The ectomorphs are the skinny body type; they have a hard time gaining weight. The mesomorphs lose body fat easily and gains muscle quickly. The endomorphs gains weight easily and work harder to lose them. To monitor, control and reduce your belly fat, you need to understand your body type and monitor your calorie intake.

EATING HABIT: What you eat, when you eat and how you eat, plays a huge role in your belly fat accumulation or reduction. Eat more foods high in protein (fish, egg, meat) and soluble fiber (fruits, oats, vegetables), as they are highly recommended for fat loss. Avoid sugary food and refined sugar (soda, sweeteners). Cut on your carbs especially refined carbs (bread). You don’t have to starve because you want to lose belly fat, but rather eat your three square meals in smaller and appropriate portions. Eat breakfast 1-2 hours after waking. Lunch, 4-5 hours after breakfast. And dinner should be taken at least 3 hours before bed time. Avoid late night meals or mid-night snacking. Take water 20-30 minutes before eating and after eating to help you get full easily. Eat your meals as slow as possible. Do not rush your meals, as it takes around 20 minutes for your stomach to receive signal that it’s full.

SLEEPING HABIT: Lack of sleep is one leading factor to increase in belly fat. The longer awake into the night you stay, the more likely it is to get hungry and consume more calories through late night food. Fat is preferentially stored under the skin (subcutaneous fat), but lack of sleep directs this fat deeper to the organ area (visceral fat). It is advised to get 7-8 hours of sleep within the 24 hours in a day.

EXCESSIVE ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION: Alcohol consumption can increase your belly fat in the following ways;

* It stops your body from burning fat
* It makes you feel hungry even when you are full
* It is high in calories
* It enhances your craving for greasy and salty foods. 

It is no news that the constant consumption of alcohol is associated with the formation of beer belly due to its high calories. If you can’t cut your alcohol consumption, try to make sure you take it only on the weekends. Learn the act of sipping and not gulping.

SMOKING: Smoking has been associated with belly fat accumulation and not overall body fat accumulation. However, quitting smoking has been found to come with a lot of effect that increases overall body fat. The addiction to nicotine and constant craving for it after quitting drives hunger pangs through the body increasing your calorie consumption through food. Cut off smoking, pace by pace and remember that when you get hunger pangs even after eating, it is just your body playing tricks on your mind.

MEDICATION: The reason you might have those belly fat amidst doing all the right things could just be the medication you are on. Certain medications (anti-depressant, steroids) make you feel hungrier; others slow your body’s ability to burn calories. If you observe that the medication you’re on is causing you to gain extra belly fat, talk to your doctor. You may be able to switch to an alternate medication, or you will be adviced on the ways you can offset the fat accumulation.

EXERCISE: The importance of exercise cannot be overemphasized for belly fat burning. However it should be noted, that exercise cannot target specific areas for the body to burn fat from. Rather the body chooses where to burn fat when exercise demands production of body energy from fat burn. When we carry out exercises, we place a demand on the body to produce energy. The body uses energy stored as sugar and then goes on to convert fat into more sugar when the body sugar depletes. It is advised to begin your workout with strength and resistance training (weight lifting, pushups, crunches, sit-ups, squats) and end with aerobics or cardio workout (treadmill run, stationary bike, stair climb). Strength training uses up the present body sugar fast and aerobics places a demand on the body to convert fat to more sugar for energy.

CONCLUSION
The Process of losing belly fat is a marathon and not a sprint. It took unchecked habits and actions for months and years to accumulate those fats. It’ll also take conscious and determined actions for months or years to burn those belly fat and achieve your goals. 

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