Belly Fat Reduction and the Dangers of Visceral Belly Fat

If you are like most men, you know that you really should do something about your belly fat and should start working out a system for belly fat reduction. The problem is that the only type of belly fat you are thinking about is the belly fat you can see, the subcutaneous fat, which is the fat that hangs over the top of your jeans. While this type of belly fat is a problem and puts a great deal of strain on your joints and skeletal system, the belly fat that you really need to worry about is what you cannot see, the visceral fat.

What is Visceral Fat?

Visceral fat is deep fat, it builds up in your abdominal cavity. This fat wraps itself around your internal organs and starts to apply pressure. The constant pressure makes it very difficult for your internal organs to function properly. The organs that are impacted the most by visceral belly fat are the liver, the gall bladder, and the pancreas.

The Dangers of Visceral Fat

Over time, if you do not make a serious attempt to visceral belly fat reduction the continued pressure will actually trigger several serious health problems that include some forms of cancer, heart disease, and dementia. Individuals whose weight is constantly fluctuating as a result of crash dieting habits will often have more visceral fat than a man who has a generous layer of subcutaneous fat.

How Much Visceral Fat do you Have?

One of the problems that many men face when it comes to visceral belly fat reduction is that they do not know if they have any. It is easy to know that if you have a huge layer of subcutaneous fat, that you will also have a fairly substantial amount of visceral fat pressing against you organs. If you measure your waist and find that it has a circumference that is greater than forty inches you can also bet that you have some visceral fat. Do not assume that because your stomach is flat, that you do not have to worry about belly fat reduction. Diet plays a very important role when it comes to visceral belly fat reduction.

You should not try to starve yourself in an attempt to lose your visceral belly fat. There almost always comes a time when your hunger pains become too much to bear and you suddenly indulge in a bout of binge eating which will create more belly fat than your starvation diet caused you to lose in the first place.

Dieting to Reduce Visceral Fat

Instead of trying to starve yourself or trying to use the latest fad diet to assist you in your visceral belly fat reduction, you should change the types of food that you eat and how you eat them. Take a look at your schedule and try to figure out how you need to rearrange your schedule so that you can eat several meals throughout the day instead of just eating a few huge meals three times a day. Your body really is not designed to eat large meals. When several hours go between meals, your body will enter starvation mode and store fat, creating more visceral belly fat.

If you are like most guys, you probably like to spend your Sunday afternoons stretched out on the couch with a bag of chips and a cold beer while you watch the football game. This type of behavior does not help with belly fat reduction, in fact it creates it. You do not have to give up your leisurely Sunday afternoon, but you should take some steps to make it healthier. Instead of going through an entire six-pack restrict yourself to a single beer. Instead of eating potato chips, try something healthier like some dried fruit or nuts.

Just because you are no longer eating chips, it does not mean that you should throw away your salsa. Salsa is an excellent choice when you are trying to lose your belly fat. Most people don’t know it, but salsa is an excellent source of antioxidants. A couple of spoonfuls of salsa will actually equal a complete serving of vegetables. One of the best things you can do when you are trying to eat foods that will reduce your visceral belly fat is to mix some salsa with scrambled egg whites. The milk you use to scramble the eggs will help strengthen your bones while the egg whites a low-fat source of protein.

You are going to have to stop drinking beer, or at least reduce the amount of beer that you drink. The first problem with beer is that it is very high in carbohydrates, the same carbohydrates that you are trying to avoid. The second issue is that beer has no nutritional value. If you cannot get through the night without beer you should try to talk your significant other into splitting one with you instead of drinking the whole thing.

Driving seems to be one of the times when you put on the most belly fat. One of the reasons for this is because you are not moving, so you are not burning many calories. We also have a bad habit of eating junk food while we drive, not because we are hungry, but because the act of eating helps break up the monotony. The next time you are at the gas station grab a pack of sugar-free gum and bottle of water instead of a candy bar and soda, you will be surprised by how much belly fat this can cause you to lose.

Fish is an excellent food when you are trying to reduce your belly fat. Fish is a good source of both protein and omega-3’s, but it will not cause a boost in your cholesterol the way that red meat does. Chicken is another good, fat reducing food choice when you are trying to lower your body mass index.

When you are trying to get rid of your visceral and subcutaneous belly fat you should make sure that you are eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, which are low in calories but high in all the nutrients that your body needs. Foods that have a low glycemic index are excellent choices when you are trying to lower the amount of visceral fat that you have.

Exercising and Visceral Fat

The first thing you need to do is accept that you are going to have to be aggressive when it comes to getting exercise to lose belly fat. You cannot go through a halfhearted exercise once a week and hope that it is going to be good enough. You are going to have to be serious. Shedding your visceral belly fat is going to be a lot of work. When you exercise to lose belly fat you are going to have to plan on working out at least four times a week.

The goal of doing exercise to lose belly fat is to burn calories. In order to do this you are going to have to get out and really get your heart pumping. This means you are going to have to do some aerobic work. This does not mean that you have to join the same kick boxing class that your wife takes, it does not even mean that you have to join a gym. A good aerobic workout can be something that you put together yourself. One of the best things you can do is to spend some times swimming. If you have access to a pool you should spend some time swimming laps. The great thing about swimming is that you can reduce your visceral belly fat without putting any strain on your joints.

If you don’t have a swimming pool, you should running. Plot a pleasant route near your house and get out and run every morning. This is a great way to get some exercise to lose belly fat while also boosting your metabolism and prepare for the upcoming day. You want to run with long steady strides, do not jog, this puts a great deal of stress on your joints. Every once in while you should put on some speed and sprint for a short distance which will increase your heart rate.

Weight training is another great example of exercise to lose belly fat. When you build muscles you will be burning fat. There are several great exercises you can do with dumbbells that only require a weight bench and a set of dumbbells. The key to lifting weights to develop muscle and burn belly fat is to move with slow steady movements and to breathe as you work out.

When you watch what you eat and consistently workout you will steadily reduce your visceral fat and be well on your way to leading a healthy and long life.