A bulging upper stomach, commonly known
as pot belly is actually a more serious issue than you ever imagined. It not
only looks unsightly but also can lead to fatal health issues such as
hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, high cholesterol, cancer,
dementia and the like. The accumulated fat in upper stomach is actually
visceral fat that collects in abdominal cavity around the organs and is one of
the most stubborn fats in the human body.
If
you are engaged in a battle with the bulge, you must first understand what all
leads to accumulation of stubborn fat in your upper belly making it pop out
over the belt line.
The most common causes of upper stomach
fat are:
1. Aging
2. Genetics
3. Stress
4. Unhealthy food
habit
5. Physical
inactivity
6. Diseases like
PCO, Thyroid gland malfunction, hormonal imbalances
Fat in upper stomach not only bulges your
tummy in an embarrassing way but also blows your waistline out of proportion
and unfortunately, it is indeed difficult to get rid of upper stomach fat.
However, if you are someone who can persevere till the end, you can see good
results in the long run.
A combination of dietary & lifestyle
changes along with proper exercises can let you flatten your belly but you need
to keep patience because results won’t come easy and may try your patience
every now and then.
Here are some ways that can help you
reduce upper stomach bulge in the long run…Read on to learn more:
Diet Change
Eating right is very important when you
are trying to lose upper abdomen fat. So, make sure to drop out all processed
or packaged food items from your daily diet. Most of us are drawn towards
processed foods such as crackers, chips, white bread and refined white sugars
in cakes, pastries, other store-bought desserts and sweetened drinks. But if
you are trying to lose upper belly fat, you need to maintain a safe distance
from such food items. According to research, refined, processed foods cause
inflammation and inflammation adds to your belly fat. So, its best for you to
take real foods low in carbohydrates and high in fibers and proteins. Include
lots of fresh fruits and veggies in your daily diet. Also, consume protein rich
food items like eggs, turkey, chicken, fishes etc on regular basis.
These food items boost metabolism and
promote satiety for long hours. Also, taking the right kind of Fat is
important. If you are consuming loads of saturated fats as present in dairy
products and meats, you’ll only end up adding to your visceral fat. On the
other hand, if you consume monosaturated and specific kinds of poly-saturated
fats, you can help yourself because monosaturated and polysaturated fats are
often regarded as ‘fat burners’ and are considered helpful in making you lose upper belly fat. Popular sources
of monosaturated fats are Avocadoes and Olive Oil. Popular sources of
polysaturated fats are fatty fishes like Salmon, nuts like Macamadia, Peanuts,
Almonds, Walnuts etc, Seeds like Sunflower seeds, Pumpkin seeds etc.
Also, try to drink 8-10 glasses of water
per day to keep your body thoroughly hydrated. If your body is dehydrated, your
body develops a tendency for water retention and that again leads to swelling
in the entire body and even in the belly.
If you include Green Tea in your daily
diet, it will definitely help you in losing upper belly fat. Green Tea is rich
in Catechins, a very powerful antioxidant that boosts your metabolism
significantly. The catechins thus lead to increased rate of fat combustion for
the green tea drinkers thereby helping you achieve flatter upper belly.
Lifestyle Change
Given are some of the major lifestyle
changes that you need to do in order to get a flat upper belly. Read on to
learn:
●
Try to get adequate sleep, i.e. 7-8 hours a day. Sleep deprivation can
cause your upper belly to protrude as lack of sleep can impair the functioning
of the two major appetite-regulating hormones such as ghrelin & leptin.
When you are sleep deprived, you tend to eat more calories in order to make up
for the energy that you are lacking and that leads to popping out of your upper
belly.
●
Stress can prove to be fattening for your upper belly. If your mind is
not relaxed, you’ll have very high levels of the Cortisol hormone that inhibits
fat burning and entices you to reach out for quick hunger fixes such as the
Cookie Jar.
●
BPA or Bisphenol A in plastic is said to increase toxicity in our
bodies and is said to contribute to upper belly fat. Thus, try to replace
plastic water bottles & food containers for stainless steel and copper
ones.
Exercises
Doing the right kind of exercises can
help you get rid of your upper stomach bulge without much struggle. But there
are several misconceptions when it comes to exercising for flat belly. Most of
us believe that doing exercises such as sit-ups or crunches can help in
shedding upper abdominal fat. But the truth is that you’ll hardly see any
results if you stick to sit-ups and crunches alone. The reason for that is that
most of the common workouts targeted towards mid-section usually work the small
muscles out and the calories burnt are not enough to give a wash-board belly.
If
you really want to see results in matters of losing upper belly fat, you need
to do the compound exercises where several muscles are put to work
simultaneously leading to increased heart rate & fat combustion. Compound
exercises are functional exercises that strongly impact your core muscles
putting your body in a fat burning mode. In this context, it is worthwhile to
quote what renowned endocrinologist, MD, Sangeeta Kashyap says. She says, ‘You
need to do a combination of weights and cardiovascular training’. In other
words, doing such combination workouts helps you gain in more of muscle mass
and gaining of muscle mass leads to increased rate of fat & calorie
combustion.
The most effective workout technique that
you could adopt for successful upper abdomen flattening is the high interval training workouts. These
exercises need to be performed up to a specific time period followed by few
minutes of rest and then again repeating several rounds of the exercise after
considering the fitness status that you have. Jumping Jacks, Squats, Planks and
Burpees are some of the best exercises you could try for losing upper abdomen
fat.
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