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Y’all know how the problem of excessive belly fat is the hardest to get rid of. You could invest hours in abdominal exercises and hardcore core workouts. And you could be eating clean too, but chances are that your stubborn belly fat would still not leave you alone for a very, very long time despite these efforts.
Y’all also know of the common causes of excessive fat around your belly such as eating more calories than you burn, consuming excessive sugar, refined carbohydrates, and packaged foods, and finally—living a sedentary lifestyle that involves no physical activity.
However, chances are that you might end up gaining fat around the belly even if your fix these problems—all thanks to these five “other” causes of belly fat that you might not be paying attention to:
1. You’re not eating enough
When it comes to weight loss, being in a calorie deficit is the go-to approach for one and all. For the uninitiated, it means consuming lesser calories than you need on a daily basis so that your body can derive the remaining energy by burning your body fat. There is no denying the fact that this approach can definitely help you achieve your weight-loss goal.
However, it is also highly likely that in a bid to cut down your calorie intake, you also end up cutting out the essential micro- and macronutrients from your diet.
Protein, for instance, is proven to help one feel satiated for a long time and boosts muscle strength and growth as well. Vitamins too are essential to keep your skin and hair healthy and your body functioning properly. Now, if you end up minimising these nutrients, chances are that you might end up losing weight due to loss of muscle and extra water from your body instead of fat. This simply means that there’s no chance of losing the stubborn belly fat at all—despite being in a calorie deficit.
2. Stress
Perhaps, you’re always on your toes and maybe, you even enjoy the idea of being busy and working hard. However, if all that work translates into stress, you’re doomed my friend. This is because stress leads to the secretion of the cortisol hormone in your body. According to a study conducted in 2012, this vicious hormone can slow down your metabolism, thus, making you burn fewer calories than your actual potential and leading to obesity. Needless to say, all the extra weight might just start showing on that belly.
3. You party way too hard
Surely, all work and no play, makes Jill a dull girl. But too much play can turn Jill into a girl with a hanging belly. What we’re prompting at here is the fact that excessive alcohol consumption can lead to weight gain—especially around the belly area as per a study published in the journal Current Obesity Reports.
So, if you’re a party animal, who cannot do without half a bottle of alcohol or a heartbroken aashiq drinking to drown your sorrows down, you’ve got to stop drinking excessively for your belly’s sake at least.
Additionally, if you don’t drink and “just” smoke, you’re at risk again. A study published in the journal PloS One showed how smokers were more susceptible to gaining more belly and visceral fat as compared to non-smokers.
4. You got it from your mama
According to a study conducted by the Centres of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S., your genes can influence the way your metabolism functions. Hence, if your mom or anyone from the same gene pool has a tendency to gain belly fat, you could inherit that tendency as well.
5. You’re a night owl
A study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine highlights the link between poor quality/inadequate sleep to unhealthy eating behaviour as well as slowing down of the metabolism.
The result? No points for guessing, weight gain, obesity, and some belly fat to make your life more difficult than it already is.
Twenty kilos down and struggling to maintain the weight loss by preaching healthy eating, while eating unhealthy every now and then. ...Read More
