Why is belly fat so hard to lose?
Do you have a hard time losing belly fat? Want to get a tight tummy and get rid of love handles? Well, join the club! Losing stubborn belly fat is one of the most frustrating problems people have on their weight loss journey. If you are ready to finally banish that belly fat, it’s important to know why it is so tough to lose so that you understand the reasons why you need to make certain lifestyle changes.
Daily stress, refined sugar, and too much cardio may cause your body to store belly fat. By controlling these factors, you can shed pounds and lose the gut. Since belly fat is the last to go, don’t expect overnight results.
Why You’re Not Losing Belly Fat
If you’ve been dieting for a while, you might wonder why you still have belly fat. Healthy eating and exercise are critically important but if they aren’t done in the correct way, they could be sabotaging your efforts. Just because you are eating healthy doesn’t mean that you will lose weight. Healthy foods, just like unhealthy foods, can make you gain weight if they are consumed in large enough portions. For example, nuts and beans are both nutritionally dense and are often recommended in clean eating plans. However, they are also very high in calories. It is important to remember that healthy food needs to be consumed in the right portions or else you won’t see the scale moving in the right direction.
Are you hitting the gym daily and not seeing any results?
The reason may be that you are over-training. Over-training is just as problematic as being sedentary. Exercising too much puts a great deal of stress on your body and this can cause
increased amounts of cortisol to be released. Too much cortisol will result in a bigger belly that won’t budge because this hormone causes your body to store fat in the abdominal area. It also triggers hunger and sugar cravings. It isn’t only excessive exercise that causes an increase in cortisol – you may not realize it but your everyday stress at home and work are playing a role in your inability to lose weight.
Stress will cause the release of cortisol and the more stressed you are, the more cortisol is released. Therefore it plays a key role in the accumulation of belly fat. Fortunately, there are a lot of things you can do to keep stress levels under control. It all comes down to the choices you make every day. Put your health first and spend more time doing the things you love. Avoid excessive workload, stressful situations, and people who put you down. Try yoga, pilates, progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, deep breathing, and meditation. These
relaxation techniques will calm your mind and lower the stress hormone cortisol levels.
Visceral fat may also be caused by high sugar consumption
A diet that’s rich in added sugars, fructose, and simple carbs increases blood sugar levels and
affects insulin sensitivity, which leads to the accumulation of fat. Ideally, your meals should be high in protein, healthy fats, and slow digesting carbs, and low in sugar.
There is no need to give up carbs completely to shed belly fat. Just steer clear of refined sugar in all its forms, such as molasses, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, caramel, treacle, and glucose. Fill your plate with whole foods and load up on fiber. Drink plenty of water to flush out toxins and metabolic waste. These small changes can make it easier to lose belly fat and improve your health.
On part 3 we will take a close at the stress-belly fat connection and what you can
do to relax and rejuvenate your mind and body.
Talk Soon,
Coach Gino
