What causes belly fat depends upon many factors including hormonal balance, genetics, body type, activity level, and of course diet.
But here’s the thing – abdominal obesity is not just a cosmetic challenge.
That’s often why people are trying to target it, but belly fat is actually a very serious health challenge as well.
Despite what causes belly fat, it’s a very good indication that you have increased inflammation in the body as well and that can cause problems anywhere in the body, not just your belly.
Also, people with a lot of belly fat typically have higher blood pressure, and they’re also at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
What Type Of Belly Fat Do You Have?
One of the main reasons behind what causes belly fat is that it’s largely visceral fat.
You actually have different types of fat on your body.
Intramuscular fat runs through your muscle tissue.
Then you have subcutaneous fat, which is the belly fat just below your skin, the kind most people think they’re trying to get rid of.
But then you also have visceral fat and visceral fat is the really dangerous stuff that’s in and around your organs, behind your muscular wall.
Visceral fat is often the “hidden” factor in what causes belly fat.
How To Get Rid Of Belly Fat Fast:
While many people end up going to the gym to exercise to get rid of belly fat, they’re actually mostly targeting subcutaneous fat instead.
Visceral fat, the hidden cause of belly fat, responds best to diet.
Excessive carbohydrate intake is largely what causes belly fat from a diet perspective, therefore, you should limit the amount of carbohydrates that you consume.
You don’t really have to get too drastic with it, but for most people, you want to limit your carb intake throughout the day to below 200 grams of carbohydrates.
The type of carbohydrates you consume make a big difference as well.
If you consume high glycemic carbohydrates (from high sugar or highly processed food), it spikes your insulin hormone very rapidly and causes belly fat.
Instead, you want to make sure that you’re taking in low glycemic carbohydrates, often called “complex carbohydrates”, found in fresh vegetables, whole grains, whole grain rice and whole grain bread.
These carbohydrates won’t spike your insulin levels as easily.
The other really big tip that I find works really well for a lot of my clients trying to get rid of belly fat is actually timing when you consume your carbohydrates.
It’s better to consume your carbohydrates early on in the day when your metabolism is the highest.
Throughout the rest of the day, your metabolism slows down as you get closer to the evening.
That’s the time when your body is not as efficient at burning up those additional carbohydrates and are easily stored as belly fat so reduce your carbohydrate intake in the evening and you’ll eliminate one of your biggest obstacles in what causes belly fat.
B
Thanks for the detailed information about belly fat Karan.... It explained a lot..
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