While most people are aware of “belly fat,” the fat you can see and pinch around your waist, many don’t know about visceral fat, which is far more dangerous because it causes serious health problems. Bess Berger, Women’s Health Registered Dietitian Nutrition by Bess says Eat this, not that! Health, “visceral fat it’s the fat around your organs. We usually focus on fat that’s on the outside of our bodies, since it’s seen earlier, but visceral fat is probably more dangerous. In particular, visceral fat is linked to higher rates of heart disease, including heart attacks and strokes, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol (the bad one!), high blood pressure, and respiratory problems in general. As a women’s health dietitian, visceral fat comes into play when working with women with PCOS and going through menopause. Both PCOS and menopause encourage fat to be stored in the midsection, which correlates with visceral fat.” ETNT Heath also spoke with a personal trainer, Lance Goyke, MS, CSCS, who explains five ways to burn visceral fat. Read on and to ensure your health and the health of others, don’t miss these Sure signs you’ve already had COVID.
According to Goyke, “Protein is a wonder drug when it comes to burning fat. Protein increases our metabolism and makes us feel full longer. This helps reduce our caloric surplus by burning more calories and eating fewer calories.”
Goyke says: “Vegetables are rich in vitamins and minerals, but low in calories. They are the best way to eat until you are full without having excess calories stored as fat. Vegetables help reduce our caloric surplus, but they also provide nutrients that keep our bodies functioning at their best.”
RELATED: This is how it feels like being in your 20s again, doctors say
Goyke reminds us that, “Movement is great for the mind and body. Walking at least 10,000 steps a day helps us stay active and speeds up our metabolism. Try walking the next time you’re on the phone or need some time to thinking about a problem at work. This helps reduce caloric surplus by burning more calories.”
RELATED: Here’s how to tell if you have diabetes
“Walking is a good first step, but higher levels of activity can burn calories almost 10 times faster than walking,” says Goyke. “More calories burned means less caloric surplus to store around the organs. But on top of that, exercise also gives calories another place to go. Eating a large meal after a day of inactivity forces all carbohydrates, fats and proteins to be reduced. be stored as fat. However, fatiguing the muscles leaves room for energy storage in the muscles and liver. These are the two best places to store energy.”
RELATED: This is how it feels like being in your 20s again, doctors say
Goyke explains: “We’ve thoroughly established that a caloric surplus causes us to store fat, but why is it stored around the organs instead of under the skin? The answer is hormones. Low testosterone in men, low estrogen in women, and persistently high cortisol increase this visceral fat. Exercise and a good diet help to reverse these hormonal effects, but it is necessary to reduce psychological stress to completely change our hormonal profile. Start by sleeping at least 7 hours a night.”
