Okay, I got back into posture blogging. Then I got back into nutrition blogging. I guess that means it’s time to get back into fitness blogging.
Lose the Fat
If you want a longer and healthier life, live a healthier lifestyle. Get fit, lose the fat, get rid of the gut. Seems pretty obvious, right? Well, if it’s so bloody obvious, why do I see so bloody many lardasses waddling around?
Let us return to basics. What are the keys to your health and wellbeing?
- Diet and nutrition
- Exercise
- Sleep
- Stress
- Community
This being a healthy lifestyle kind of place, have I addressed all of the above? Why, yes. Yes, I have. No links, you know how to use a search function. Today we shall mash a few of them together and talk about your beer belly.
Belly Fat
Fat is a complex topic. Is it;
- Brown or white?
- Visceral or subcutaneous?
- Belly, butt, or thighs?
All of these classifications (and more) have meaning, and how good or bad the fat is depends on a mix of all the classifications. And yes, there is good fat; brown fat, which actually helps you burn white fat to keep warm (particularly helpful in babies).
Without going into all the complexities of classification and locations, let us simply focus on white belly fat. White belly fat is a mix of white subcutaneous fat (bad) and white visceral fat (really bad). In short, that beer gut of yours is bad.
How bad is your belly fat?
Excess belly fat is linked to a laundry list of evil, including; type two diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, cancers, and sleep problems, any and all of which can lead to premature death.
Did I mention something about living healthier and longer? Why, yes. Yes, I did. How? I already said it, lose the belly flab. But how?
I know, do lots of sit-ups or crunches.
First, have you not been paying attention? Never do another sit-up or crunch as long as you live, m’kay? Second, even if sit-ups weren’t destroying your lumber spine, they wouldn’t get rid of your gut because you can’t target an area for fat loss. You want to lose fat? Lose it all over. Lemme repeat that:
You can’t target an area for fat loss
Okay, I’ll walk/jog/run/bike/roller blade it off.
Nope. Cardio doesn’t get rid of fat, sorry. Although HIIT training, along with it’s other benefits, does. To a degree. Even better than HIIT training is resistance training; building muscle increases your metabolism, and that burns off the fat.
Okay, I’ll just go on a diet.
Go ahead, but before you do, do a little research into how a temporary diet makes for a temporary weight loss. “Going on a diet” doesn’t work, although permanently changing your diet to something healthier will.
There’s good new and bad news to be found in that advice; some dietary changes can be really easy, like adding more protein. Let’s face it, replacing your morning bagel with a hard boiled egg isn’t too hard. Unfortunately, highly refined carbs are (1) tasty, (2) addicting and (3) don’t give your body an “I’m full, stop eating” signal so cutting out the cakes and cookies is a lot harder.
Let’s boil all that verbiage above into a few simple rules:
- Stop eating crap
- Eat better food
- Get off your butt and move
If you follow those three simple rules, you will lose weight. You will also cut your stress and improve your sleep. Would you like to know one of the effects of stress and sleep deprivation? Weight gain. It’s all tied together; sleep, stress, weight gain, disease, longevity, diet.
Fortunately, while the problems are all tied together, if you were paying attention you saw that the solutions are also tied together. Vicious cycle to virtuous cycle.
