Banish belly fat
A round middle may lead to a hurting heart
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
BY MEG NUGENT
Star-Ledger Staff
If you want to have a healthier heart, you might want to go with your gut.
More to the point, research has linked a bigger belly with a bigger risk of developing heart disease.
That means some of that flab has got to go for the sake of your self and -- here comes the guilt trip -- the people who love and depend on you.
Plus, wouldn't it be nice to be able to zip up those jeans without having to resort to embarrassing gymnastics?
Below are some of the best ways to flatten your tummy:
Know your enemy, in this case cardiovascular disease, by finding out how much belly fat you really do have.
You do this by measuring your waist. Men with a waist measuring more than 40 inches and women whose waists measure more than 35 inches are at greater risk.
To accurately take your measurement, place a tape measure around your bare abdomen, just above your hipbone, according to the Mayo Clinic. You want the tape measure to feel snug but not tight enough to push into your skin. Make sure the tape measure is level all the way around. Breathe out first, then measure. Resist the urge to suck it in. That's cheating.
There's no way around it.
The only way you're going to lose belly fat is the old-fashioned way. You have to eat less food and burn more calories, which translates into adopting a healthier eating plan, in which you eat smaller portions, and finding a type of exercise you like and will do on a regular basis. The Mayo Clinic wants you to remember this simple tenet: When you consume more calories than you burn, your body stores those extra calories as fat.
Yes, you will lose some belly fat through diet alone. But you'll lose more and lose it faster if you also exercise.
Also, common sense should tell you to ignore all those products out there that guarantee instant and dramatic belly-fat loss if you pop that pill, drink that po tion or slather that lotion.
"Anything that seems too good to be true, probably is. Anything that's so radical that you can't eat that way over long periods of time is a bad idea," says Mary Finckenor, a registered dietitian and diabetes educator at Morristown Memorial Hospital's Cardiac Health Center.
Exercise, but choose the right moves.
Crunches do not burn belly fat. In fact, it's impossible to "spot" reduce, to target fat in a particular part of the body through exercise. This is because, when you burn calories through physical activity, you're pulling fat out of fat cells distributed throughout your entire body, not just from the one area on which you want to concentrate.
Once you feel you're ready to exercise, pick an activity that will actually attack the layer of fat that's hiding your washboard pecs from the admiring eyes of the viewing public. You'll find your best calorie burners are aerobic (cardio) exercises, especially those that are weight-bearing.
"Anything that forces you to hold yourself up while you're doing them burns more calories," says Scott Fisher, an exercise physiologist and director of the Fitness Center at Fairleigh Dick inson University in Teaneck. These would include activities such as brisk walking, running or stair stepping. Swimming and biking are worthy forms of exer cise, but you don't burn as many calories because your body is being supported by the bike or by the buoyancy of the water.
It's important that you do your aerobic exercise at the appropriate intensity so you start seeing the results you want, says Fabio Comana, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise. Start by performing your exercises to the point where it becomes a challenge to be able to talk continuously for 30 seconds. If you don't have an exercise buddy, test your intensity by reciting the pledge of allegiance to yourself.
One more thing: Don't forget to fit in some strength training at least a couple of days a week. Strength training doesn't burn as many calories as cardio workouts but it does help to build muscle mass. The neat thing about muscle mass is that it helps your body burn calories, even when you're just sitting around doing nothing.
Get enough sleep.
Lack of sleep raises your levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that has many receptors available to it in the abdominal area. When cor tisol levels are higher, your appe tite is boosted and the signals that tell you you're full are lessened. "You feel hungry and you don't ever seem to feel full," says Cynthia Sass, a registered dietitian and co-author of "The Flat Belly Diet" (Rodale, $31.95). Shoot for at least seven hours of sleep per night.
Reduce stress.
Stress also tends to raise levels of appetite-boosting cortisol. And if you're chronically stressed, your body causes the adrenal glands to secrete an abundance of cortisol. "Cortisol not only stimulates our appetite," says Emilie Rowan, a licensed clinical social worker at Morristown Memorial Hospital. "It stimulates us to eat sugar and fat."
Start counteracting the stress with some breathing exercises, Rowan says. "As simplistic as it sounds, deep breathing is really important. It short-circuits this response and sends a different message. It lowers your heart rate and blood pressure, and it's a way to circumvent the reactions you're having as you're sitting in your car in traffic or while you're standing in line or sitting at your desk worrying."
Try this: Close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing. Breathe in to the count of four and exhale to the count of four, and repeat several times. "This sends the opposite message to your body," Rowan says. "Now, we're going to downshift, we're going to slow it down."
De-bloat yourself.
"The Flat Belly Diet" outlines a 1,600-calorie eating and exercise program that's preceded by a four-day "Anti-Bloat Jumpstart." Authors Sass and Liz Vaccariello, editor-in-chief of Prevention magazine, describe the jump-start as "a prescribed list of foods and drinks you can eat that will help flush out fluid, reduce water re tention and relieve digestive is sues like gas and constipation, which can make your belly puff unnecessarily."
The authors also write, "Dropping even a few pounds of unnecessary water weight can be thrilling and can give you a major confidence boost -- essential for suc cess on any diet plan."
Some of the items they recommend you refrain from during that four-day-only period include whole grains, gas-producing vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, beans, peppers and onions, citrus fruits, salt and salt- based seasonings, fried foods, spicy foods and carbonated beverages. Instead, they recommend your jump-start meals be composed of easily digestible foods such as potatoes and low-fiber grains, carrots, mushrooms and squash.
Skip the trans fats.
This is a recommendation from "The Flat Belly Diet," based on research conducted at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine that suggests trans fat, a type of saturated fat, may cause more weight gain than other fats, especially in the abdominal area. But don't be seduced by the claims of "no trans fats" that you see on so many food labels these days. Many food manufacturers have merely substituted other saturated fat products that include palm oil and coconut oil, according to Finckenor, the registered dietitian.
Sass and Vaccariello recommend you also include a serving of one "mufa," their nickname for monounsaturated fatty acid, with each meal. Their advice is based on recent research that shows this type of fat can help prevent weight gain in the stomach. Mufas include foods such as olives, nuts and seeds, avocados and dark chocolate.
Avoid diets that are super-low in fat.
These eating plans will only make you "crazy hungry," says Sass. You want to eat a variety of healthful foods that will keep you sated and help you avoid gaining weight (as long as you eat the right portions). Try choosing from among whole grains, lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy, fish and beans, and focus on less damaging fats such as mono- and polyunsaturated fats.
Don't skip meals.
Doing without any meal will only set you up to be ravenous by the time the next meal comes around, which means you'll probably end up overeating big-time. Having several portion-controlled meals throughout the day will cut down on your hunger pangs and keep you from going overboard