The Hidden Risks of Your Excess Abdominal Fat–It's Not Only Ugly but Extremely Dangerous and More Serious Than a Vanity Issue!
Find out the difference between subcutaneous fat and the more deadly “visceral fat.” Plus the simple and proven steps to REMOVE this fat permanently
The original article of Mike Geary , Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
author of best-selling programs –– The Truth about Six-Pack Abs –– The Fat-Burning Kitchen
Although this picture portrays just one overweight man, this article refers to these dangerous types of fat stored inside the bodies of both men and women. This analysis is also helpful even if you have only a slight amount of excess belly fat.
Did you know that most people today have excess abdominal fat?
Yes, it is true–almost 70% of the population in some “westernized” countries, such as the US, UK, and Australia, are now considered either overweight or obese. The first thing that most people think of is that their extra abdominal fat is obnoxious, ugly, is hiding up their abs from being visible, and makes them feel awful at the thought of showing off their body.
However, what most people don’t understand is that excess abdominal fat, in particular, is not just ugly but is also a grave risk factor to their health. Scientific research has clearly proved that although it is generally unhealthy to have excess body fat throughout your body, it is even more dangerous to gain excess fat in your abdominal area.
Two types of belly fat
There are two kinds of fat that you get accumulate in your abdominal area. The first type that envelops your abs, hiding them from being visible, is so-called subcutaneous fat, which lies directly under the skin but over the abdominal muscles.
The second kind of fat you have in your abdominal area is so-called visceral fat, and that lies deeper in the abdomen beneath your muscle and which envelope your inner organs. Visceral fat also has a role in giving certain men that “beer belly” appearance–their abdomen extends excessively, and meanwhile, also feels sort of hard if you push on it.
Both visceral fat and subcutaneous fat in the abdominal area are dangerous health risk factors!
However, science has confirmed that having excessive visceral fat is even riskier for your health than subcutaneous fat.
Both of them considerably increase the risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke, various forms of cancer, sleep apnoea, and other degenerative disorders.
One of the reasons why visceral fat is dangerous is that it has simply been shown it releases much more inflammatory molecules regularly into your inner organs, such as the liver, kidney, etc. than the other fat.
Why some people collect more visceral fat than others?
Scientists point out that among the primary reasons that some people collect more visceral fat than others can be from the high carbohydrate diet.
Over time, it usually results in insulin resistance. It’s due to years of bombarding the body system with too many sugary and starchy foods. That high-carb load makes it difficult for the pancreas to handle the constant high blood sugar levels properly.
Studies have proved that high fructose intake, particularly from high-fructose corn syrup(the main component in most processed foods), can be a significant contributor to excess visceral fat. So, if you are concerned about your life and your loved ones’ quality, lowering your abdominal fat should be one of your TOP life priorities!
Simply, you need to face it as there’s just no way around it. What’s more, a side effect of finally getting rid of all of that excessive ugly abdominal fat is that your belly will flatten out. And if you lose enough of that stomach fat, you will be able to see those sexy six-pack abs that everyone wants to be visible.
How to remove visceral belly fat?
What is to get rid of extra abdominal fat? Is there a REAL solution behind all of the hype and gimmicks you see in ads and commercials for “wonder” fat loss products?
There is definitely NO quick-fix solution
The first thing you must realize is that there is definitely NO quick-fix solution. There are no such pills or supplements of any kind that will help you lose your abdominal fat faster(and even if they do, but you don’t fix your lifestyle at all, it will end in more regained weight). None of the gimmicky ab belts or “magic” devices will help get rid of abdominal fat either. You can’t achieve a sustainable reduction of your stomach fat by using any of these worthless contraptions. It only doesn’t work that way.
A particular study divided thousands of participants into two groups–a diet-only group and an exercise/diet group. While both groups are made good progress, the diet-only group dropped significantly less abdominal fat compared to the diet & exercise combined group.
Now, the critical thing to realize is that any old exercise program will not certainly do the work you expect. Today, most people who strive to get into a good exercise routine are NOT working out effectively enough to stimulate the loss of stubborn abdominal fat. I see this every day at the gym.
Why most people crash in their fitness goals?
Most people typically practice boring, ineffective cardio routines, apply some outdated using body-part style weight training. They pump away with some crunches thinking that they are doing something useful for melting their abdominal fat. Then they get frustrated after weeks or months of no results and wonder where they went wrong.
The only reason why most people crash in their fitness goals is that they have good intentions at first to apply a new lifestyle, start to fade during time. And unfortunately, after a few weeks or even months, they forfeit their good intentions and slip right back into the bad old habits, those that have been brought them the excess body fat in the first place.
The ONLY right solution to long lastingly lose your abdominal fat and keep it off for good is to combine a healthy, nutritious diet rich in unprocessed natural foods with a properly planned strategic exercise program.
This approach will stimulate the necessary hormonal and metabolic response within your body, leading to sustainable healthy weight loss. Both your food intake as well as your training program are essential if you are to get this effect.
The BEST, time proved approaches to getting rid of visceral belly fat
From my research, two of the most powerful approaches to getting rid of visceral fat are:
#1 The use of high-intensity types of exercise and full-body resistance training
➤ Low-intensity cardio exercise isn’t as efficient for removing visceral fat in particular.
✓ High-intensity exercise like interval training, sprints (bike sprints or running sprints), AND full-body weight training are a potent means of improving your body’s ability to control glucose levels and increase insulin sensitivity–both with crucial meaning in removing visceral fat.
👌 These forms of high-intensity exercise routines are also very effective at improving the work of your fat-burning hormones. They contribute to creating a hormonal environment conducive to burning off abdominal fat, including visceral fat.
#2 It’s imperative to get blood sugar under control and restore insulin sensitivity through the right nutrition
➤ This means, in the first place, you need to reduce sugars and refined starches in your diet, including eliminating any use of harmful high fructose corn syrup at all significantly!
✓ Focus more on healthy fats (including avocados, seeds, nuts, grass-fed butter, coconut fat, olive oil, fatty fish, free-range eggs, and fish oils, etc.), as well as increasing protein and fiber in your diet. !!! The standard diet recommended by the government, which is rich in unnaturally high grain consumption, is NOT conducive to managing blood sugar and reducing visceral fat!
👌 Avoiding grain-based foods in your diet and obtaining more of your carbs, mostly from veggies and high fiber fruits(such as berries, pineapple, green apples, etc.), can go a long way to easing to solve this problem.
Other important tips below on the next pages to specifically help you lose abdominal fat (and visceral fat)
Discover a specific “class” of veggies that FIGHTS upon stubborn belly fat (how to neutralize xenoestrogens to reduce belly fat and visceral fat)