Why am I gaining belly fat? - Extra Large Living

Updated on July 7th, 2023 at 06:36 pm

The fat on the stomach is the most difficult fat to get rid of, especially for men with low testosterone. The easiest way is to avoid foods that make you put on belly fat from the beginning, but if it’s already too late – and you feel that the fat is almost stuck – these tips can help you get rid of it.

Belly fat, or visceral fat, is unhealthy for many different reasons. It increases the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. This applies not only to the extremely overweight but to anyone with a lot of belly fat.

The belly fat is also what covers your stomach. It does not matter how intense your training is, how many CrossFit workouts you complete, or how frequently you strength train, but if you do not get rid of belly fat stomach, your abs will never pop out clearly.

Fortunately, belly fat is not as difficult to get rid of as you might think. Don’t get me wrong: it’s simple because there are concrete, easy-to-understand methods to do it, but it’s challenging because it takes time and a lot of patience. Before we go through some of the things you can do to lose belly fat, let’s take a quick look at some common reasons you put on a lot of belly fat.

1: Too much sugar in your food and drinks

Sugar is the single biggest cause of people accumulating large amounts of belly fat. You may be consuming more sugar than you think, especially if you take a lot of soft drinks, energy drinks, coffee, tea, sugar, or other sweets.

There is a difference between good and bad carbohydrates, just as there is a difference between good and bad protein – for example, animal protein and soy protein. It’s not just about what kind of nutrient but what it consists of. For instance, soy protein does a better job of controlling blood sugar levels than animal proteins. Studies have shown that sugar is a common cause of belly fat, and other research shows that people who drink a lot of soft drinks have impaired insulin sensitivity and more belly fat.

Add to this the fact that liquid calories aren’t as filling as food, which means you’ll consume a lot of soft drinks and eat more. This is one more reason you should avoid soft drinks and other beverages with artificial sweeteners.

2: You drink alcohol

Another common cause of belly fat is excessive consumption of alcohol. I think the negative effects of alcohol on exercise results are a bit exaggerated. Still when it comes to body fat, overweight, and abdominal obesity, the negative effects of alcohol on your results are all the greater.

Alcohol can shut down fat burning in your body for 12-36 hours. Any calories consumed in your drink or food during this time are readily stored as body fat. There are even studies that show that men who consume alcohol are 80% more likely to put on belly fat compared to men who do not.

As someone trying to avoid gaining belly fat or trying to lose weight, this fact should shock you into action. You could either halt alcohol consumption completely or reduce it. It’s also important to note that some types of alcohol can be worse than others when it comes to gaining belly fat. A regular beer will have more consequences than a glass of red wine.

# 3: You barely move

To say that people are moving less and inactive is like claiming that the earth is round; people know it and seem okay with it. But whether you’ve embraced this way of life or not, know that inactivity can lead you to put on more body fat.

Physical activity becomes increasingly important as we become more connected via smartphones, more sedentary in front of the TV, and move less. If you want to keep your stomach from swelling up in fat and reduce your risk of fat-related health problems, you need to change this.

A study shows that people who continue strength training one year after weight loss can reduce the risk of abdominal obesity and belly fat. If you lose weight but stop exercising regularly and slip back into bad food habits, you risk gaining all your belly fat back.

How to get rid of belly fat fast

You cannot spot exercise or diet to lose the fat in your stomach only. Burning this specific fat takes time and therefore feels difficult. The truth is, you have to get rid of body fat all over your body – until the fat on your stomach disappears.

To make sure you do things that pull in the right direction and don’t lose weight and muscle but get rid of body fat and maintain muscle mass, you need to know how to exercise and eat right. Here’s what you should do to get the guesswork out of the process.

The plan

Create a calorie deficit of 400-600 calories
Eat 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of your body weight
Eat all macronutrients, zero fat or carbohydrates
Take supplements if you need to

Complicated? Not too much. Challenging? Definitely, especially if you are not used to counting calories and macros. The good news is you can learn if you want to. If you are just getting started with meal planning, the above numbers should give you a good starting point to get rid of belly fat.

The training

Strength training 3-4 times/week
Train for strength first, then muscle building
Focus on multi-joint exercises
Exercise for 60 minutes every day

In terms of training, you want to focus on multi-joint exercises such as squats, deadlifts, and military press – basic exercises. First, train to be strong and explosive. Strength training 3-4 times a week is enough to see results quickly. In addition, you want to be physically active for at least 60 minutes every day. This can be walking or anything else you find fun. That’s all you need to do in terms of training.

Summary

You do not have to exercise every day, starve yourself, or run several hours of cardio every day to lose weight, burn fat, and get rid of belly fat. In fact, if you exercise too much or eat too few calories, it can even worsen your results.

The key is to find the golden mean with diet and exercise. But no matter how high frequency you exercise, which diet you choose, or where you place the bar, there is no shortcut; you need to burn fat all over your body.

The easiest way to achieve this is to focus on the whole; strength train regularly, follow a diet with a calorie deficit, and be more physically active throughout the week. With this, you have a proven recipe for losing weight that is guaranteed to work.

When you get down to body fat, you may want to consider increasing your protein intake. Otherwise, a good tip is to lie relatively low on carbohydrates at the beginning of the diet without excluding them completely to improve insulin sensitivity and, after a while, increase the intake of carbohydrates again.

Once you have mastered the above plan, you can dive deeper into the best time to train cardio, whether periodic fasting can help you towards your goal or if you need performance-enhancing supplements such as creatine to boost a little extra.

In addition to the above, the following blogs share some good insights you can use while losing belly fat.

3 reasons you are gaining belly fat