How to Lose Belly Fat - Results in 3 months
Do you always reach out for babydoll or loose tops or even dresses, to avoid the tight fit around the tummy? Or are you often puzzled over the fact that most fats in your body seem to accumulate around your waist area only? Before you start on that 100 crunches regime to get rid of belly fat, you should know that it has been scientifically proven that exercise to reduce fat in a specific area is a myth. You may be disciplined enough to do core exercises every day, but the result of a slimmer waistline is not within your reach.
Let us help you achieve that healthier, more svelte you as we help to clear the mystery around belly fat, and guide you on how to lose those extra inches off your waist.
What is Belly Fat
There are two types of fat that get accumulated around your torso area - namely Visceral and Subcutaneous Fat.
Subcutaneous fat is different from Visceral fat, as it is the fat layer just below the surface of the skin. This fat can be measured with body fat callipers.
[Visceral fat]
Visceral fat is stored in the abdominal cavity and surrounds internal organs such as liver, intestines and kidneys. Known to be linked with numerous health risks such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and more, visceral fat is not the kind of fat you’d want.
It usually is the leading cause of extra inches around the waist, and is responsible for releasing fatty acids and inflammatory agents in your body, causing a lot of health issues such as affecting our hormones function, provoking glucose intolerance and blocking insulin. There are a few methods to estimate visceral fat:
- Measure your waist circumference at belly button level (Standard Figure Measure – SFM) Measurement over 80cm for women and over 90cm for men, indicate unhealthy levels of visceral fat.
- Electronic Body Analysis Weighing Machines
Weighing scales with a current that passes through your body to assess your body composition.
Visceral fat is a genuine risk and danger to everyone, even those who may appear skinny! Have you heard of the term “Skinny Fat”? Otherwise known as Metabolically Obese Normal Weight, this means that a person may have an unhealthy level of visceral fat hidden in their abdominal cavity, even though they look slim on appearance - this may lead to a false sense of security in thinking that they are not at risk of obesity-related diseases, but this is far from the truth.
“Generally, obese people will have more visceral fat than skinny people. But even if you are skinny it doesn’t mean that you will not have excess visceral fat. Someone who is ‘skinny fat’ has a normal weight but shares many metabolic problems as someone who is overweight or obese. Two simple ways to know if your visceral fat is in the healthy range is to measure using body composition analyzer or waist-hip ratio (WHR). WHR = Waist circumference ÷ Hip circumference. A WHR > 0.9 in men and a WHR > 0.85 is considered to be unhealthy. To prevent accumulation of visceral fat and the chronic diseases associated with it, maintain healthy diet and exercise.”, as explained by Mr. Chia Siew Meng, Head of Nutrition from BMF.
He replied further, “Singaporeans need to watch out for excess visceral fat because majority of our population are Asians who are genetically more prone to high visceral fat compared to Caucasians. Visceral fat is commonly known as belly fat and is stored in the abdominal cavity and around the internal organs. If your favorite foods and drinks are sugar-laden ones, like bubble tea, that put you at risk of excess visceral fat. As sleep-deprived people with stressful lifestyle, Singaporeans added two more risk factors for high visceral fat.”
What Causes Belly Fat?
There are several reasons that fat starts to accumulate in your abdomen area; some of the more common ones are:
Stress
No, it’s not related to stress-eating. Studies have shown a strong correlation between feeling stressed and abdominal fat distribution. This phenomenon is caused by a hormone called Cortisol, which your body produces and releases whenever it is stressed.
Besides accumulated weight gain at the tummy area, prolonged periods of high cortisol levels can be troublesome as it can suppress immunity, increase carbohydrate cravings, cause inflammation and more.
Diet
You are what you eat - this old adage rings true time after time. If you find yourself a big fan of sweet, high-fat, processed or carbohydrate-rich foods, you may find your fat levels a tad higher than most especially if your activity levels do not match your intake of calories.
Foods high in trans fats are particularly dangerous as besides contributing to obesity, it can also cause inflammation in the body.
Postpartum
Losing weight around the midriff area after pregnancy is no easy feat! With fluctuating hormones and stress of being a new mom, the extra inches around the waist will take extra effort and time to slim down.
Genetics
If your parents are showing a little more weight in the midsection, you might be a predisposition to accumulate more fat in your stomach area as well. A 2018 comprehensive study revealed that genes also affected how your body stores fat, unfortunately.
However, the good news is you can break away from this! Read on to find out how you can get extra help in torching off excess weight around the waist.
How to Lose Belly Fat - in 3 months!
Here are just 3 simple steps for you to follow to see results in only 3 months - No surgery and no pills needed.
1. Assess & Plan Your Diet
Begin by seeking professional advice from a certified Nutritionist to assess your current lifestyle and diet. Find out how your current food choices affect your weight goals and what your average calorie needs is.
Then discuss with your Nutritionist to set realistic goals, and make a meal plan that you will find easy to follow, to reach your weight goals.
Some tips to start now to help you in reducing that waistline would be:
- Reduce your sugar and carbohydrate intake as visceral fat is triggered by insulin resistance
- Increase intake of foods rich in soluble fibre such as oatmeal or barley to remain satiated longer
- Eat more protein-rich foods for muscle maintenance, as muscles help to increase your body’s metabolic rate
2. Scientifically-backed Treatment for Spot Reduction
Remember how earlier on in the article, it was mentioned that exercising to reduce fat in a body area was a myth? The good news for all who are happy with their body except the tummy area is that modern technology holds the answer for them now.
There is a plethora of non-invasive technology for spot reduction fat loss, such as low-level laser therapy, and Pro-freeze which is a fat freezing treatment have been scientifically proven to help in fat reduction on focused areas12.
[LipoVisceral Trim treatment]
1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4444424/
2 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11695-010-0126-y
*Results will vary for individuals
Visceral fat, which is much harder to lose as it is induced by insulin levels and diets, can also be specifically targeted by weight management technology such as the new BMF treatment - LipoVisceral Trim.
LipoVisceral Trim is currently the only non-invasive and pain-free treatment in the market to be clinically proven to reduce visceral fat levels. This is done using a patented technology called Biostimology®, to induce natural fat breakdown by stimulating the decongestion of fat cells with a BioMagnetic Field.
3. Stick to the Plan and Relax
To see results in 3 months, stick to the plan! Be sure to follow the advice of your Nutritionist and be stringent in your food choices for just 3 months. Make smarter food choices and opt for swapping out unhealthy food with healthier alternatives such as yoghurt instead of ice cream. A diet doesn’t automatically mean a restriction; you can look at it as an introduction to a whole new world of food options!
Be diligent when going for your treatments, at least once a week, to maintain the momentum that you’ve set off in your weight-loss journey.
Remember to also get 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night and manage stress levels to avoid an increase of visceral fat formation!
Your health and body will thank you for your discipline at the end of 3 months, as you find your clothes a little more loose than usual around the waist area.