If you're like most women, you probably know whether you're shaped like an apple (big waist, small hips, thin legs) or a pear (small waist, big hips and thighs). And you probably have heard that it's better healthwise to be a pear. Having too much unwanted belly fat increases your risk of age-related diseases like heart disease and diabetes
A woman with a normal body mass index of 25 whose waist size increased by 4 inches over the years wound up with a 15 percent greater risk of heart failure than those whose waist sizes remained the same. Medical experts recommend that women maintain a waist size of less than 35 inches to reduce their risk of chronic diseases.
To help in this area try the following:
1. Exercise. You can't exercise to spot reduce, but getting active on most days of the week can help you shed excess pounds. And often the fat our body sheds first comes from our belly: nature's way of getting rid of what's bad for us.
2. Be a mindful eater. Researchers are currently investigating whether teaching women to really pay attention to what they eat can help redistribute body fat from the waist to the hips. Other studies, though, have shown that mindful eating can help with weight loss efforts.
3. Get adequate amounts of sleep. Too little sleep (less than six hours) or too much (more than eight hours) results in an excess production of the stress hormone cortisol. This hormone promotes the storage of fat in the belly. Your body, knowing it's in a state of stress, shuttles fat off to a storage place where it can be easily burned off for fuel in an emergency.
4. Reduce stress. Scheduling 15 minutes a day for relaxation can lower your cortisol levels, helping you shed belly fat.
No comments:
Post a Comment