Have you heard of visceral body fat? Yes, it’s the fatty deposits stored deep inside the belly, below the abdominal muscles and all around our organs, including the liver and intestines. They make up about one tenth of all fat in the body. And if subcutaneous fat poses essentially aesthetic problems, the adipose tissue hidden deep down is linked to very dangerous health problems. So how do you lose visceral fat, even after age 50, when hormonal changes begin to impede this process?
Losing visceral fat at age 50 or more: a possible mission!
Visceral fat brings out the belly or entire pelvis, often giving its wearer an apple shape. Worse, even in an otherwise thin person, it produces chemicals and hormones that can be toxic to the body. Most often, this fatty tissue becomes excessive when one consumes too many calories and has too little physical activity.
Adipose tissue in men and women
For men, age and genetics play critical roles in visceral fat accumulation, along with alcohol consumption and other lifestyle choices. In women, natural aging processes can change where the body stores fat. Especially after menopause, women’s muscle mass decreases at the expense of fat, and women are more likely to accumulate visceral fat, although they generally do not gain weight.
Why does losing visceral fat matter?
Before we look at how to lose visceral fat, let’s take a look at the right reasons to do so… According to experts, the risk for the health from excessive amounts of visceral fat are quite numerous. Some of the more serious include heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, and breathing problems. Research has shown that even if women had a healthy BMI, they were more at risk of cardiovascular disease when they had a waist circumference greater than 89 centimeters and in particular a waist-hip ratio (WHR) greater than the recommended 0. .85.
What is my waist-to-hip ratio?
To measure yours, stand upright and place a bare “dressmaker’s” tape measure around your waist and then around your hips. Then divide the first number by the second and you will get your RTH. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), women should aim for a value no higher than 0.85, and men – 0.9 or less. So if your waist is 90cm and your hips are 100cm, your index is 0.9, which is within the healthy range for gentlemen, but can be problematic for ladies. So how do you lose visceral fat?
The natural decline in estrogen that comes with age not only changes the way our bodies store fat, but also makes us more prone to heart disease (because estrogen has heart-protective properties). At the same time our metabolism begins to slow down in your mid-thirties and you lose muscle mass. Finally, we tend to be less active with age and all of these factors contribute to the accumulation of visceral fat. Fortunately, there are ways to fight it, no matter our age! Here are some of the most successful:
Pay attention to the type of fat consumed
Losing visceral fat does not mean giving up any kind of existing lipid. Indeed, we need fats to survive and stay healthy, but we must choose the “right” ones. The sources of unsaturated fats and rich in essential fatty acids (Omega 3, 6, 9) are:
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Many edible vegetable oils such as olive, peanut, sesame, canola and safflower
Natural peanut butter
Almonds, peanuts, cashews, walnuts and pecans
Olives
Sesame, pumpkin and sunflower seeds
Fish – salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines, trout and tuna
Linseed
Tofu
Soy milk
As for bad fats, avoid red meat and cold cuts like salami and bacon. The same goes for palm oil and all the cakes and pastries that may contain it. It is also necessary to abstain from bacon, tallow, lard, butter, fresh cream and ice cream. Several cheeses are similarly inadvisable, but do we leave at least a reason to live, eh?
Stay active to keep your muscles at 50+
Resistance and endurance training is extremely important because it is the only way to reverse the loss of muscle mass due to age. The aerobic exercises and cardio are also beneficial in this regard, with a combination of the two producing better results. Even if it’s only for 10 or 15 minutes a day, try to stay active every day if you want to lose visceral fat and keep your muscles. Burpees, dumbbell exercises, dynamic lunges, stretching with resistance bands and the back to wall chair are just some of the good activities to do at home.
Lose visceral fat with fiber
If you haven’t already, replace that white bread with whole wheat. Adding raspberries to your natural yogurt and consuming green vegetables every day are the other essential good gestures for losing visceral fat thanks to the benefits of fiber. Other top high fiber foods are:
acorn squash
Artichokes
Asian pears
Avocados: 10.5 grams of fiber per cup, sliced
Black beans
blackberries
Brussels sprouts: 7.5 grams per cup
Chia seeds
dried figs
Linseed
Peas
Quinoa
red berries
Sources used: www.healthdirect.gov.au
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