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Exercise, Less Stress Can Reduce Belly Fat

Posted on: Tuesday, 16 November 2004, 00:00 CST

Q. I am a 49-year-old woman, and I am not happy with my abdominal area. As I have gotten older, my stomach sticks out more, and I am collecting more and more fat in my love-handle area and even on my back around my waist. Help me!

A. Belly fat - don't we all hate it? There are several causes, so there needs to be a multi-faceted plan to deal with them.

Causes of belly fat

*Aging slows metabolism, so we use fewer and fewer calories each year. However, most people continue to eat the same amount of food, and more food is stored as fat.

*As women age, estrogen levels drop. As this happens, the hormone testosterone begins to talk to the body. Testosterone tells the body to store fat in the belly. At your age, testosterone is signaling you to store excess calories as belly fat.

*Stress signals the body to secrete cortisol, which signals the body to store belly fat. Sometimes as we age we find ourselves under more and more stress; thus we have more and more belly fat.

*Each year, gravity pulls on us, so as we age our skin and fat tend to hang down more, thus the ugly "pooch" of the belly.

How to get rid of it

As I write down all the problems, it begins to look daunting. But don't despair. I have some suggestions.

* First and foremost, as you get older you need to perform more and more exercise to get the same result that you obtained when you were younger. Sorry about that. You can embrace it or you can moan about it. I say embrace it and begin adding 10 minutes more of cardio day by day and week by week, slowly and progressively, until you are performing 45 to 75 minutes five to six days a week. (You can do it.)

* Metabolism is affected by how much muscle is on our bodies. The more muscle, the higher the metabolism. Aging robs the body of muscle. Strength training creates muscle. To keep your metabolism pumped up, make sure you include strength training in your exercise program. Train hard, performing 12 to 15 repetitions of two to three different exercises for each muscle group.

* Pay attention to food intake. To lose pounds, limit calorie intake to 1,500 to 1,800 a day. On days that you don't exercise, reduce your calorie consumption by 300 calories. Eat a variety of foods, and strive to eat 60 grams of protein, 20 grams of fiber and 30 to 60 grams of fat each day.

* Practice good posture. Take a very deep breath. This will lift up your chest. Now, as you exhale, continue to hold yourself up. This requires your abdominal muscles to work and will enhance your posture and reduce the "pooch" in your abdominal area.

* Perform 10 minutes of abdominal exercises and core exercises a day. Hire a good trainer to teach you a variety of movements, or take some specialty classes that stress ab and core exercises.

* Begin to ask yourself if you feel stressed each day. If you do, practice skills that will help you let go of the stress. Yoga, deep breathing, tai chi, counseling, biofeedback or talking about your day with a friend all are great for relieving stress.

I know this looks like a lot of stuff to do, but don't stress about it. Systematically work most of the solutions into your life over time, and you will conquer your belly fat.

Julie Luther is a certified fitness trainer and the president of PurEnergy Health & Wellness Services, a wellness and fitness company with a fitness center and corporate headquarters in Greensboro. Write to Getting Fit, c/o Life Department, News & Record, P.O. Box 20848, Greensboro, NC 27420. Questions cannot be answered personally. YES

Source: Greensboro News Record

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