Did you know that there are two types of belly fat? You have both subcutaneous fat (subcutis) and organ fat (visceral fat). Both types of fat are present in everyone, including muscular people.
Subcutaneous fat is the fat directly under the skin. You can often grab it and it feels soft. Subcutaneous fat is also called subcutis. This fat is not only around your stomach, but also at the thighs, hips, buttocks etc ..
Organ fat is the fat around your organs. This fat is found around your heart, lungs, stomach and liver. Organ fat is also called visceral fat.
Because many organs are in the vicinity of your abdomen, a belly is produced that is pushed outwards. If you then also have a lot of subcutaneous fat around your stomach, a big belly quickly develops.
Do not think right that you only get a flat stomach when you get rid of all that organ fat. Organ fat protects the organs and contributes to hormone regulation. Too little organ fat is therefore not healthy.
Too much organ fat, on the other hand, is also not healthy. This is related to type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, cancer and many more diseases ( source ). Even thin people with too much organ fat run an increased risk of these chronic diseases.
4 MOST COMMON MISTAKES IN BURNING BELLY FAT
MISTAKE #1: ABDOMINAL EXERCISES
Some people think that you get a six pack with abdominal exercises, but that does not have to be the case at all. If there is still a layer of fat over it, you can do abdominal exercises until you drop without getting a six pack.
What you should actually want is to reduce your fat percentage so that your abdominal muscles become more visible . Eating the right food is the key here!
Of course, abdominal exercises are very good for your body and burn you some calories. If you make your abdominal muscles stronger, they can also be defined more . That means that the blocks of your abdominal muscles become bigger and they come out more.
In addition, strong abdominal muscles are important in preventing or supporting low back pain and contribute to stability .
MISTAKE #2: BURNING FAT WITH CARDIO TRAINING
You may not have expected this, but cardio training is not very effective to lose belly fat.
Note: every kind of movement is better than no movement at all.
There are only better ways than cardio training to lose belly fat (more on this later in the article).
It is true that when you do cardio training you burn calories, but there are also some disadvantages (especially long-term) cardio training:
The insulin sensitivity is affected slightly positive. This keeps the body sensitive to fat storage ( source ).
More cortisol is produced. This is the stress hormone and blocks fat burning ( source ). This is especially detrimental to the abdominal area ( source , source ).
A reduced production of testosterone . This is the male sex hormone, but for women this hormone is also important. It stimulates fat burning!
MISTAKE #3: AVOID FOOD
Fats have been unjustly labeled as fattening for a long time. It may sound logical that you get more fat from fatty food, but unfortunately it is a lot more complicated than that.
Recent studies show that fats actually contribute to a slim body. This is because fats take away the hunger feeling faster ( source ). This is because fats are subjected to a longer digestion process and contain many nutrients.
Note: not all fats are healthy!
Trans fats and certain saturated fats can best be minimized.
MISTAKE #4: G ON LINES
I’ve said it often, but going lines (low calorie eating) is not the solution for burning belly fat.
Lines creates a very annoying and, in the long run, irresistible hunger . The chance of a food droppings only becomes higher. In addition, a biological signal is given to your body that it has to store extra energy. That means that fat is being held longer.
Your body is so economical with the energy it receives, because who knows, the body still needs this energy at a later time. So keep eating enough so that your body knows that there is enough nutrition in the area.
6 MAIN CAUSES OF ABDOMINAL FAT
I can talk about this long and short, but the cause of too much belly fat and a too high fat percentage comes in almost all cases by an unhealthy lifestyle . The 5 main causes that I can mention are:
- Eating too much processed (refined) carbohydrates
- Structurally eat more calories than burn calories
- Too many eating moments in a day
- No to too little movement
- Chronic stress
- Too little sleep/rest
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