We have all been told to cut back on eating carbohydrates and . . . yes excess carbs can be bad for your waist but it is a necessary nutrient our body needs.
The energy that powers you through the day comes from glucose stored in your body’s cells.
If you are very active and use up glucose stored in your cells, your body turns to glucose stored in your liver
How does excess carbs cause belly fat
Carbohydrates is a macro-nutrient that converts into glucose during the digestion process. Glucose, also called sugar, is then transported from your circulating blood to the body’s cell via insulin.
Insulin is a hormone that acts like a key to open the doors of your cells to let sugar in. It also acts as a storage signal to tell your liver to store any excess sugars until it’s need. The problem comes when all these places are full to capacity and there is no other place to store any over supply of glucose. You body is then forced to store it as fat deposits.
The danger of excess belly fat
A lot of us can pinch anywhere from two to four inches of belly fat right now. Yes. it might not look it now but if you were to take off your shirt or blouse you would be embarrassed in front of others.
Belly fat is not only unsightly but unhealthy. The jiggly fat you see on the outside – called subcutaneous fat – is not as bad as visceral fat that is not visible. This type of fat surrounds your vital organs – liver, pancreas, heart, etc. – and is a main cause of serious disease. And even skinny people can have excess visceral fat (skinny fat). It overworks the production of insulin and will eventually cause the body to not use it effectively. One result of this is pre-diabetes which is a precursor to full-blown diabetes . . . if you are at risk.
Will cutting carbs help to lose belly fat?
As stated earlier we need carbs in our diet but to prevent any excess fat storage we need to limit the amount of glucose our body stores. To do this we must adjust our carbohydrate intake by cutting back on those foods that have it as their main ingredient. Yes – reducing the amount carbs will help you lose belly fat. Remember you can’t spot reduce. You must lose fat all over you body including your belly. Here is a partial list of carbs to cut back on:
- Sugary drinks including juices with added sugar, sodas – diet and regular, alcohol
- Breads
- Pastries and cookies
- Candies
- Pastas and many other flour products (pizza, bagels)
- Juices – eating an orange is OK but drinking an entire glass of OJ is not
- Potatoes fried in trans-fat
Best way to lose belly fat
I have mentioned many times in my posts and I will remind you again the best way to get rid of the jiggly belly – both subcutaneous as well as visceral fat – is to fix your diet and become more active. Some types of foods to consume daily are:
- Fiber rich foods – veggies like spinach, lettuce, fruits, broccoli, beans and lentils
- Quality proteins like free ranging chicken, eggs, beef
- Good fats – butter and not margarine, avocado, nuts and legumes
The exercises I do to maintain my weight include cardiovascular movements and resistance or weight bearing type routines. Your cardio should be high intensity and not steady state even if it’s a walking program. Dancing, rope skipping, swimming and high intensity aerobics class are other forms of cardio that burns excess calories. Do high intensity exercises three times each week and resistance two to three days.
Check out some of the exercises I do to keep my sugar level in the normal range. Visit How to Prevent Pre-diabetes today.