Tag: Belly Fat

Nowadays we see the infamous beer belly just about everywhere. More and more men have them and most want to get rid of them. Some pop up in just a few weeks over the holiday season and most end up hanging around for the rest of your life.

The Beer Belly is a fashion trend that everyone would love to avoid and with the ever expanding North American waistlines fewer are able to make it through their 20’s without one.

In today’s post we’re going to dissect, so to speak, what makes up a beer gut and 3 important steps you can take immediately to drastically reduce the inflatable tire around your mid-section.

To defeat the beast we must first understand it, get to know it and figure out what makes it tick. Let’s take a closer look at the anatomy of a beer belly.
 

Visceral Fat is Beer Belly Fat

 
The fat located around your internal organs and not the stuff next to your skin is responsible for your beer gut. The over accumulation of visceral fat causes weakening of the transverse abdominal muscle (TVA) and is responsible for the protruding potbelly appearance associated with a beer gut.

Normally, your organs have a thin layer of visceral fat in order to protect and insulate them. An over accumulation of visceral fat gives that firm, hardened beer belly look and can be very dangerous to your health.

Visceral fat is one of the hardest adipose tissues to get rid of but it can be done.
 

Subcutaneous Fat is Not Beer Belly Fat

 
The fat underneath your skin is subcutaneous fat and although it looks bad, flops around a bit and can increase the size of your beer gut- it is not the main cause of your beer belly.

Subcutaneous fat is deposited in various fat stores around your body. Typically men deposit fat around their midsection first (beer belly and love handles) and back, chest, thighs and ass secondly. Women deposit subcutaneous fat in their hips, thighs and butt first and beer belly second.

Your genetics play a major role in determining the distribution of subcutaneous fat. Subcutaneous fat is easier to lose than visceral fat. Typically it is used as energy storage and insulation by the body. Unfortunately in today’s day and age, due to over-consumption of refined sugars and starches there is an over accumulation of subcutaneous fat. We are storing way more energy than we are using and this is not a good thing.
 

Beer Belly Health Risks

 
Beer bellies that measure 40 inches or greater are directly related to some serious health conditions. Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, metabolic syndrome and increased risk of stroke are all more prevalent in men with beer bellies. These conditions are no laughing matter and worst-case scenario can lead to an early death.

Add 6 inches to the 40 already around your waist and your beer gut falls into the category of abdominal obesity. Yep- you’re not just the guy with the big beer gut anymore, you are clinically obese. Time to do something about it.
 

How can I tell if my beer belly is visceral fat?

 
Because visceral fat is packed deep inside and around your internal organs there is no easy way to tell how much a person might have. The most accurate way to gauge your visceral fat level is by CT scan but that isn’t always an option for everyone.

To start, a “beer gut” is a pretty good indication of visceral fat accumulation. Secondly, men tend to internalize visceral fat more easily than women do. Thirdly, Caucasians tend to have more than African Americans. And lastly the older you are- the more fat you internalize and store around your organs versus subcutaneously when you are young.

Either way- fat tissue is fat tissue and it is important to reduce the amount you have throughout your body. Here are 3 simple steps you can take to reduce your beer gut and overall body fat percentage:
 

3 Simple Steps to Lose Your Beer Belly

 
1. Stop eating anything in a bag or box.

When trying to lose your beer belly you should avoid processed and refined foods that are high in sugar, sugar derivatives and preservatives. Foods like this cause a toxic environment within your body wreak havoc on your system rob you of energy making you sluggish and tired and lead to beer belly fat gain.

Avoiding processed/refined foods and eating whole food, as close to their natural state as possible is one of the easiest ways to help lose the beer gut.

2. Incorporate a combination of high intensity interval training (HIIT) along with strength resistance training into your daily workout routine.

Hopefully you are working out in the first place, and if not, get started because that is your first problem. But if you are already working out studies support the combination of high intensity interval training and strength resistance training to be far superior to steady state cardio or weight training alone.

High intensity interval training is a form of cardio that utilizes shorts burst of intense activity followed by a quick rest period repeated for either a length of time or a number of repetitions.

The intensity of both the strength resistance training and the HIIT is very important as researchers at Duke University concluded that low to moderate activity levels were not intense enough to contribute to visceral beer belly fat loss. You have to hit it hard when you workout if you want to lose your beer gut.

3. Drink beer.

That is a statement you probably would not expect to see in an article on the anatomy of beer belly. In all honesty, beer is not the culprit when it comes to losing your beer gut. Enjoyed in moderation, beer can be considered a healthy beverage when compared to all the sugary soda pop and fruit juice most of the world consumes. People’s waistlines are expanding due to the over consumption of processed sugars and not beer.

When it comes to drinking beer in moderation, here are the rules:

• For men- 5-7 beers per week with no more than 2 or 24 oz in 24-hour period.

• For women- 5-7 beers per week with no more than 1 or 12 oz in a 24-hour period.

Unfortunately for all you weekend warriors who would prefer to pound back a case of 12 on a Saturday night, studies support the link between binge drinking and visceral beer belly fat gain.
 

Beer Belly Wrap Up

 
If someone mentions the term “beer gut”, thoughts of a Homer Simpson-Esque physique pop into my head. Don’t let me picture you.

Adopt the “earn your beer” mentality, put in a good hard workout and reward yourself with an ice-cold beer at the end of the day. It is as simple as that to lose the beer gut. No secret, magic bullet, pills or potions… just good honest hard work and you will be well on your way to losing the beer belly.

Yours in health,

Sean

Click Here and Start Earning Your Beer

When you ask people what they associate beer with you get a mixed bitter-sweet response. On one hand it reminds people of the amazing taste that water, barley, yeast and hops make when they come together and hit your lips. And on the other hand they think of the dreaded beer belly, beer gut and belly fat associated with drinking beer.

For the record- I have and always will drink beer. Regardless of the reputation floating around that beer is bad and will make you fat, I know from experience and my clients experiences that it is possible to drink beer and still lose the beer gut, beer belly and belly fat. I’ve seen countless people lose fat, get stronger and still enjoy the wonderful taste of beer.

The reason it worked for these people (and can work for you) is because they adopted an attitude we call the “Earn Your Beer” mentality. The mentality states that if you want to enjoy beer guilt free and never worry about how it might expand your waistline, you have to EARN it.

Start implementing the following steps and you’ll be on your way to Earning Your Beer and torching off the “beer” belly fat from your midsection.
 

1. Beer Intake Control- The Beauty of Moderation

 
Depending on what kind of beer you drink the calories per bottle vary. Light beers range from 65-100 calories per bottle while a standard bottle of beer has around 150 calories.

Moderation is key. If you want to enjoy beer you must consume no more than 2 in a 24 hour period and keep it to under 5-7 drinks total per week. In moderate amounts beer has even been shown to be good for your heart and reduced the risk of cardio-vascular disease.

When in doubt choose darker beers. They are often more rich, contain anti-oxidants and are more nutrient dense. This in turn will fill you up faster so you’ll avoid over drinking.

The real culprit is the food you eat while you enjoy your beer. Fried, fatty and salty foods are the worst offenders and can do much more damage than 2 beers ever could. Don’t let the enjoyment of beer turn into a days worth of calories all in one sitting.
 

2. What to eat and your new shopping list

 
Beer bellies should really be called the sugar belly or the processed carb belly. If you truly want to get rid of that beer belly you must take nutrition seriously and look at getting all the fast convenient processed foods out of your kitchen. There are so many misconceptions out there regarding which foods are good for you and which ones are bad.

Typical foods that people think are OK to eat but are low in nutrients are:

 
The easiest way to avoid pre-packaged, processed and refined foods is to shop around the outside of a supermarket and avoid going down the middle aisles. Sticking to the perimeter of the store guarantees that you will hit mostly fresh foods that come with an expiry date. The goal is to remove clutter from your shopping cart, kitchen and body.

The shopping list that follows has been stripped down to the basics. Strive to eat good quality food that is nutrient dense and works with your body rather than against it. The following foods will keep you energized, lean, strong and keep the fat off your belly effortlessly.

Items for your cupboards or pantry

 
Items for your refrigerator or freezer

3. How and when to eat carbs

 
Burning fat from your midsection depends on your body’s ability to regulate cortisol and insulin. If you have chronic high levels of both you will likely have more belly fat than you need. Cortisol is best controlled by keeping your stress levels down and getting adequate sleep.

Whenever you eat a carbohydrate- insulin is released to remove the calories from your blood stream. When this hormone is released in excess (by eating processed carbs) it will take those calories and stuff them in your fat cells. End result- a rapidly expanding waist line and beer belly.

The best time to have carbs and not worry about this boost in insulin is when you first wake up and immediately after an intense workout. Otherwise if you are going to eat carbs in a meal make sure they are eaten last. Always start with a salad and plenty of vegetables, then your protein source (eggs, meat, fish, poultry, shellfish, dairy) and follow it up with your carb. Eating vegetables and protein first will ensure your stomach is better suited to digest and break down carbohydrates (yams, sweet potato, wild rice, quinoa), as well as shunt any potential spike in blood sugar.

Do not mistake this as an open invitation to eat all the carbs you want. Much like step #1, moderation is key. If you have a sweet tooth stick to mixed berries with a piece of dark chocolate (85% or higher) for dessert.
 

4. Sleep your way to a leaner waistline

 
You’ve heard it before and no one likes being told the same thing over and over again. So I’m going to lay it out for you in a different way, one that will help you realize that if you’re falling short on sleep- you might be expanding your waistline as a result. Aim to get 7-8 hours of sleep every night.

Inadequate sleep has been shown to:

 
Hormones are the common theme. Without proper sleep good hormone levels drop and bad hormone levels rise. Chronic elevated levels of cortisol can lead to brain cell deterioration, decreased function and belly fat.
 

5. Exercise

 
Mention cardio and people generally think of going for a jog or sitting down on an exercise bike. Whatever the exercise you choose, it is then done at a steady pace for a set amount of time. The longer the session the more calories you burn, right?

While that isn’t necessarily a wrong statement, it’s just not the best way to burn fat. Would you rather workout for 40 minutes or 15? Studies show you can burn more fat and save more time with shorter, more intense cardio sessions.

A long jog at a slow to medium pace does not elevate your metabolism enough to generate exercise post oxygen consumption (EPOC). EPOC can keep your metabolism elevated for 15-25 hours after you stop exercising. The beautiful thing about generating EPOC is that it can be done in a high intensity interval session lasting as little as 12-20 minutes. The same can not be said for a 40 minute jog where oxygen consumption falls 30 minutes after completion.

Also of note, a large percentage of exercise options for cardio only target the lower body. Making use of your entire body when performing cardio/interval training involves more muscle mass and will burn more calories by creating a bigger oxygen deficit.

High intensity interval training (HIIT) incorporates both aerobic (oxygen dependent – walking/jogging) and anaerobic (non oxygen dependent – sprinting) training into one brief, but intense workout. This type of training will strengthen your heart more than aerobic (long slow boring cardio) training due to the strain involved with an all out effort. The increased pressure constricts your artery walls and forces your heart to work harder with each beat to maintain proper blood flow throughout the body.

Typical cardio prescription

Type: Running
Total time: 45 Minutes
Pace: 5-7 mph

The New HIIT prescription

Type: Flat sprint or uphill sprints with 4-6 push ups between each sprint
Total time: 15 minutes
Pace: top speed sprint for 8-10 seconds (uphill or flat) walk 40 seconds then drop down and complete 4-6 push-ups. Repeat process for 15 minutes.

In order to get rid of a beer belly, beer gut or belly fat you need to be determined, willing and patient. Healthy fat loss of 1-2 pounds per week can be expected. Think of it as a long term goal rather than an overnight fix and I guarantee you will get there.

Stay Strong,

Drew

Click Here and Start Earning Your Beer