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Wednesday May 09, 2007

Reducing Belly Fat

by Chet Day from ChetDay.com

For most of us who are overweight, we seem to have the most fat on our belly. And when someone wants to lose weight, the main thing they really want to do is lose belly fat.

Some say obesity is an epidemic these days, but I beg to differ. I think belly fat is the real epidemic. Yes, there are plenty of people who have fat on their arms and legs, or evenly distributed throughout their bodies, but the majority of overweight people today harbor more fat on their belly than anywhere else on the body.

And there’s a reason for it. Today’s life is hectic, rushed, and stressful. We don’t routinely cook anymore, and when we do it’s not actually cooking at all. Instead, we warm up microwave meals, or mix something with water out of a box. If it can’t be ready in a few minutes, most people won’t bother with it.

That’s convenience. That’s why fast food is so popular… we don’t have to spend any time or effort on it. But that’s also why we have so much belly fat in the United States today.

You see, your body is a very smart, very efficient machine. When you feed it junk and convenience foods, you’re not giving it much in the way of nutrition. Instead you’re actually giving it a lot of sugar and empty calories.

The body thinks you’re starving, though. Since there’s no decent nutrition being fed to it, you must be in the midst of a famine. So the body’s job is to keep you alive. And if it thinks you’re in a famine phase, it will store away anything it can, in any way it can. And this usually ends up meaning you get more fat stores added.

Now the body creates these extra fat stores on your belly, because that’s the core part of your body. You need your arms and legs to run away from predators and survive in general. Over hundreds of thousands of years, the body has evolved to allow you easier free use of your arms and legs.

This is all part of the body’s built-in survival mechanism.

Sadly, many diets and workout programs attempt to short-circuit or simply go around your body’s survival mechanism.

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There’s several programs guaranteed to incorporate this survival mechanism so your body will not go into starvation mode. They are designed to help you burn off that unwanted belly fat.

For more information, pick up Jon’s book “Fit Over 40” by clicking here now.

— Chet Day

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The body hasn’t had time to adapt to modern uses of itself. It evolved into it’s current state over thousands of years, but we’ve just begun to use convenience foods and processed, chemical-loaded junk in the past hundred. So it’s still doing what it needs to ensure you stay alive; thus you get fat created on your belly.

Getting rid of belly fat is fairly easy to do, but most of us don’t like it. Why? Because it generally involves not eating those sugary and convenient foods we adore so much these days.

Changing what you eat, though, is the major key to reducing and eliminating the fat on your belly. And elsewhere on your body as well. If your meals started consisting primarily of healthy protein and vegetables, the body would assume you’re now in a “feast” phase instead of famine.

And if you feed it those good foods regularly, it would start automatically releasing the emergency stores it has built up, because it would assume they’re not needed during this feast phase.

Start eating primarily fruits, vegetables, and protein instead of junk and convenience “foods.” You might just be surprised at how quickly your body starts letting go of all that extra, unnecessary, and ugly fat.

Chet Day has one of the largest health and fitness sites on the web. Check it out at ChetDay.com.

[jB]

Archived in Fit Over 40, Nutrition.

This entry is tagged: bodyfat, Fit Over 40

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Comments (3)

Paul said:

I agree with Chet and of course you too Jon.

But to get lean it has taken me allot of work. Lots of sweat, running, eliptical tranier and of course weights. You gotta work those big muscles. Consistency, persistence and patience all help. Not going to get er done in 6 weeks folks.

Not just food modifcation..it’s the place to start. I know that you know this. Just thought I’d add the comment.

BTW for me to maintain a BF of 7% is difficult for a long period of time it seems my body always settles back at 10% to 11%. I feel great at that but to maintain the low % is pretty tough.

Paul

Posted on May 10, 2007 08:49 PM

Jon Benson said:

Paul;

You don’t need to be in single digits to get a flatter stomach, as you know. But yes, to get down there requires effort. I believe the most vital aspect is the food, but weights and cardio play key roles.

Kudos on doing it!

Posted on May 10, 2007 11:59 PM

Frank said:

Sounds good, but at 59 I am having a darned hard time of it. I am now on an oatmeal, salads & soup, grapefruit, with some chicken a couple of times a week, diet. I do not do much cardio (one or two days a week on the eliptical), but lift dumbbells four to five days a week for at least an hour. Yes there are muscles forming, but the stomach stays pat. Do I need more vegies and cardio, and what do you consider good protein?
Thanks, I am hungery to shed the gut.
Frank

Posted on Feb 26, 2008 08:14 PM

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