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Will crunches burn belly fat: Do Sit-Ups Burn Belly Fat? Here’s What’s Happening… – BSc

Do Sit-Ups Burn Belly Fat? Here’s What’s Happening… – BSc

Losing belly fat is a common goal when it comes to weight loss. if you’re spending hours doing crunches and sit-ups wondering why your abs still haven’t shown through, you’re not alone.

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of misleading information out there about fat loss and spot reduction (given spot reduction isn’t actually a thing). so, do sit-ups burn belly fat? Spoiler alert: nope, and in this guide we explain why. We also share science-backed tips on what will actually help you lose belly fat and tone those abdominal muscles.

DO SIT-UPS AND CRUNCHES BURN BELLY FAT?

The short answer is no; sit-ups and crunches, or any abdominal exercise for that matter, does not burn belly fat.  

 

However, abdominal exercises can help to tone the belly. Sit-ups and crunches are particularly effective for strengthening the core and toning the rectus abdominus, transverse abdominus, and oblique muscles. 

 

Unfortunately, in a misguided effort to burn belly fat, many people over-engage in abdominal exercises. Excessive crunches and sit-ups can actually put stress on the lower back and neck, leading to injury. 

SIT-UPS OR CRUNCHES: THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE EXERCISES 

Forget what you heard about that miracle machine, exercise, gadget, or gizmo designed to rid you of belly fat once and for all. 

 

Put simply, targeted fat loss — also known as spot reduction — isn’t possible. This fact is widely backed by scientific studies. 

 

For example, a 2011 study followed 24 participants over a 6-week training period. They were split into two groups. The first group completed 7 abdominal exercises (2 sets of 10 repetitions), while the control group did not complete abdominal exercises. All participants followed the same diet through the study. The study found that while the exercise group experienced increased muscular endurance compared to the control group, they did not lose any more belly fat than the control group. 

 

Another study followed 40 overweight or obese women for a 3-month period. All followed the same diet. One group combined this diet with abdominal training, while the control group only followed the diet. Both groups experienced weight loss, but there was no significant difference in belly fat loss between the two groups. 

 

So, if sit-ups and crunches don’t burn belly fat, what does?

HOW FAT BURNING WORKS 

The only way to lose fat from the belly is to reduce fat from the entire body.  

 

Think of your abdominal muscles as a window, and the layer of fat that covers your abs as a curtain. 

 

You won’t be able to see the ‘window’ until you remove the ‘curtain’. To shed the curtain, you need to burn calories.  

 

Sit-ups and crunches are very small movements that strengthen a group of muscles, but because the muscle group is small, working them doesn’t burn enough calories to promote fat loss.

 

To burn calories, we need energy. Our bodies source energy from fat, carbohydrates, and protein; which source your body draws from will depend on the activity you’re doing and the food you’re consuming. 

Many people assume that using fat for energy means more fat loss. However, using fat as your energy source doesn’t necessarily mean losing more fat. 

What matters is how many calories you burn, and ultimately the harder you workout, the more calories you’ll burn. 

To burn calories and therefore lose fat, our body temperature needs to increase — this triggers our metabolism. Working a small muscle group, such as the abdominal muscles, doesn’t generate enough heat for fat burning to begin.

In other words, if the muscle group you’re working is small, the amount of heat being generated will be small, too.  

So, exercise that creates heat in the body — think running, HIIT training, and dancing — burns more calories and promotes overall fat loss.  

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO MAINTAIN A HEALTHY BELLY FAT PERCENTAGE

There are two types of fat in our bodies: subcutaneous fat and visceral fat.

 

Subcutaneous fat sits just below the skin, meaning you can grab it with your hand. 

 

Visceral fat, which is also known as abdominal fat, lies deeper in the stomach. It wraps around our abdominal organs and can directly impact our health. For example, the amount of visceral fat we have can affect how our bodies respond to insulin, and can cause our blood sugar levels to rise.

 

When visceral fat builds up in our bodies, we are at a higher risk of heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, and other health conditions.

 

So, maintaining a healthy belly fat percentage, whatever that may be for your body, it’s important for your overall health.  

HOW TO LOSE BELLY FAT

As mentioned, to lose belly fat, you need to reduce your total fat percentage. Unfortuntaely, no abdominal exercise will do this for you. 

 

In fact, for overall weight loss, including belly-fat burning, diet is just as important — if not more important — than your exercise regime. 

 

Combining an effective high-intensity exercise program with a balanced, calorie deficit diet is the key to burning belly fat. 

 

Let’s take a look at some of the things that can help you reduce your overall body fat, including belly fat. 

 

IMPLEMENT A CALORIE DEFICIT

 

To be in a calorie deficit, you need to burn more calories than you consume. 

 

This is achieved by reducing your calorie intake and increasing your level of physical activity. 

 

For people assigned female at birth, the recommended daily maintenance calorie intake is around 2,000. For people assigned male at birth, the recommended daily maintenance calorie intake is about 2,500.  

 

Please note that these numbers vary according to someone’s age, weight, muscle mass percentage and other factors

 

To implement a calorie deficit, you should decrease your daily calorie intake by 500 to 1000 calories per day. 

 

While you may be tempted to drop your calories significantly to lose weight quicker, this is not an effective or safe approach. Drastically reducing your calorie intake can cause: 

 

  • Your metabolism to slow down (meaning you’ll actually burn less calories)
  • Fatigue and nutrient deficiencies
  • Weakened bones, because calorie restriction can lower two hormones that are essential for bone strength and formation
  • Lower immunity, especially when restricting calories is combined with frequent, high-intensity exercise

LIMIT CARBOHYDRATE INTAKE

Limiting your carbohydrate intake can also help to reduce belly fat.

 

This study found that, compared to a low-fat diet, a low-carb diet was associated with higher reductions in abdominal fat. The low-carb diet also proved to benefit overall body composition, fat distribution, and gluclose metabolism function. 

 

You don’t need to switch to a no-carb diet — it’s essential to maintain a well-balanced diet no matter your exercise goals. Just reduce your intake of processed carbs and swap them out for high-fibre, complex carbs. 

 

A low-carb diet will also encourage your body to use fat instead of glycogen for energy. 

REDUCE SUGAR INTAKE

Sugar directly increases the amount of visceral fat on the body. 

 

Reducing your intake of refined sugars, such as sugary drinks, sweets, and processed foods, will help prevent visceral fat gain, which we know affects the abdominal area.

 

Research has shown that sugar also has a negative impact on our metabolic health. Consuming excessive amounts of sugar, particularly fructose, can lead to a build-up of fat around the liver and abdomen.  

 

This is because when you eat a lot of sugar, your liver becomes overloaded with fructose, ao ir converts it to fat. This can result in insulin resistance and metabolic issues. 

INCREASE FIBRE INTAKE

A high-fibre diet can assist with weight loss, but not all types of fibre are made equal. 

 

Soluble and viscous fibres can help to promote weight loss by increasing the feeling of satiety (fullness). 

 

When ingested, these fibres bind with water and form a thick gel that sits in the stomach. This gel substance helps to slow down the movement of food through the digestive system, and slow the absorption of nutrients through the body. This means you’ll feel full for longer, and therefore reduces your appetite. 

 

Research has shown a direct link between high-fibre diets and a reduction in abdominal fat. 

 

This study found that an increase of 10g of fibre per day can reduce the risk of gaining belly fat by 3.7%. Another study found that an additional 14g of fibre a day was linked to a 10% decrease in calorie intake, as well as an average weight loss of 2kg over 4 months 

 

This evidence suggests that soluble fibres can be particularly helpful in reducing belly fat.  

 

So, how can you incorporate soluble fibres into your diet? Go for whole grains such as oats, brown rice, quinoa, legumes, and popcorn. 

 

INCREASE PROTEIN INTAKE

Protein can help to reduce overall body fat, and therefore belly fat, because it helps to increase satiety and speed up our metabolisms. 

 

Protein has been shown to reduce food cravings by 60%, boost metabolism by 80 to 100 calories a day, and help keep you full for longer, meaning you’ll consume fewer calories.

 

Increased protein intake has also been directly linked to reductions in abdominal fat. One study showed a moderate to strong correlation between the consumption of high-quality protein and reduced central abdominal fat.  

 

Similarly, this study found that over a 5 year period, women who increased their protein intake had a reduced chance of gaining abdominal fat. 

 

High-protein foods to add to your diet include eggs, fish, meat, nuts, and dairy.   

WHAT EXERCISE BURNS THE MOST FAT?

As we know, to burn calories and lose weight, we need to generate body heat. 

 

That’s why high-intensity, full-body training is effective for fat loss. Around 45 to 60 minutes of high-intensity cardiovascular exercise on most days of the week will help to reduce overall body fat, including belly fat.

 

HIIT training, running, playing soccer, hill sprints, and swimming are all great exercises for fat burning. Each of these exercises use both the upper and lower body and generate significant heat in the body.

 

Remember when we mentioned that sit-ups don’t generate enough heat to burn calories? Compare the heat generated by sprinting up a hill with the heat generated from doing sit-ups or crunches. The difference is clear. 

 

So, any workout that involves multiple muscle groups and elevates your body temperature will promote calorie and fat burning. 

 

It’s also a good idea to add strength-building exercises to your workout routine. Squats, lunges, bicep curls, and abdominal exercises will help to build muscle, which is what gives your muscles a toned, shapely appearance. 

 

Building muscle mass also increases your metabolism. The more muscle you have, the more heat your body will generate during exercise sessions. This means more fat loss in all areas, including the abdomen. 

HOW MANY CRUNCHES DO YOU NEED TO DO TO LOSE BELLY FAT?

No amount of crunches or sit-ups on their own will help you lose belly fat.

 

However, this doesn’t mean you should skip out on these abdominal exercises altogether. Incorporating abdominal exercises into your workout routine will help to tone your abdomen and strengthen your core. 

 

Aside from providing that shapely look (which is really just a bonus), the main benefits of strengthening the core are functional. 

Strengthening your core can lead to: 

 

  • Better posture and balance — A strong core can improve your posture and help you sit straight, which in turn improves your balance and reduces the likelihood of falls. This is particularly important as you age, when falls can result in both non-fatal and fatal injuries. 
  • Reduces back pain — Core exercises that target the deep abdominal muscles help to reduce lower back pain and increase muscle thickness.
  • Improve performance — Core strength can improve overall athletic performance for all exercise and improve quality of your movements. 

BENEFICIAL CORE EXERCISES

Combining these core exercises with high-intensity training and a deficit, well-balanced diet will help to reduce belly fat and tone your abdominal area. 

 

  • Crunches — Bicycle crunches are one of the best exercises for the core because they target all 4 abdominal muscles, including the notoriously hard-to-engage lower abs. Start off with 3 sets of 15 repetitions and build from here. 
  • Sit-ups — Sit-ups are particularly effective in targeting the stabilising muscles; the obliques, transverse, and rectus abdominus muscles. They also work the hip flexors, lower back, and chest. Target obliques, transverse, and rectus abdominis. Go for 2 sets of 20 to 25 repetitions. 
  • Full Plank — The full plank is an essential exercise for strengthening the core. It is a full-body exercise, but it focuses primarily on the abdominal muscles. Planks can help to improve posture and balance muscle strength throughout the body. Though you may not notice your core burning as much as with these other exercises, your core is very working hard! Aim for 3 sets of 1 minute (beginners can start with 3 sets of 30 seconds).   
  • Side Plank — The ‘thread the needle’ side plank is very effective for working the obliques, improving the function of the core, and increasing the body’s range of motion. Start with 3 sets of 30 seconds on each side. 
  • Burpees — We love to hate ‘em. Burpees are the ultimate full-body, fat-burning, high-intensity exercise that focuses on strengthening the core. Challenge yourself and see how many burpees you can get through in 1 minute! 
  •  

BURNING FAT COMES DOWN TO MOVING RIGHT AND EATING RIGHT 

Myth busted: sit-ups and crunches don’t burn belly fat. 

 

In fact, spot reduction isn’t possible. The only way to reduce abdominal fat is to reduce overall body fat, and then tone the abdominal muscles through core-strengthening exercises. 

 

To burn overall body fat, you need to burn calories. To burn calories, you need to generate heat in your body (this triggers your metabolism). So, combining high-intensity, heat-generating exercises with a low-carb, high-protein, high-fibre calorie deficit diet is the recipe for success. 

 

However, sit-ups and crunches still have a place in your workout routine. They help to tone your abdominal area and strengthen your core — so go forth with your sit-ups, just don’t rely on them for fat burning. 

Have a question about the best exercises for fat burning? Ask one of our Body Science experts through our ‘Ask The PT’ form.  

 

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Are crunches and sit-ups the best way to deal with belly fat?

Exercises such as sit-ups and crunches strengthen the muscles in the body’s abdominal region but what about the fat layer covering our toned abdominal muscles? Can regular crunches and sit-ups also cause spot fat reduction around this area? In a word, the answer is no.

First, it is essential to understand what causes our body to accumulate fat around the abdominal region to understand why spot reduction is impossible. Fat in our body accumulates due to a combination of modifiable and unmodifiable factors such as genetic tendencies, age, gender, exercise, diet and hormonal environment in the body. Belly fat poses a significant risk factor for lifestyle diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cancer and heart disease because most of our organs responsible for good health are found in this region.

Thus, too much fat accumulated in this area increases the risk of diseases. Visceral fat contributes to organ malfunction and, thus, ill health. This type of fat accumulation is also known as abdominal or central obesity. Men preferentially accumulate fat around their abdominal region because higher testosterone levels encourage fat accumulation in the belly region, contributing to central obesity when the lifestyle is unhealthy or due to an individual’s predisposition to accumulating fat around their belly due to family history.

WHY INDIANS HAVE MORE BELLY FAT? WHAT IS THE ‘LAST IN FIRST OUT’ PRINCIPLE?

As for Indians, there is a rising concern about the prevalence of central obesity. Research suggests that genetic factors make us more prone to this problem than other populations.

The human body is a complex system designed to sustain an internal balance within the body known as homeostasis, which roughly translates to ‘staying the same’ to function well and survive. One of the vital elements of this well-designed system is regulating our body weight and fat stores. Hormones are essential in controlling where and how much we gain or lose fat. Hormones are chemical messengers in the body that control our energy (calorie) use, metabolism and appetite, which govern our behaviours that influence our weight and quantity of fat stored in the body, such as eating and exercising.

The body works as per the last in, first out (LIFO) principle regarding managing fat stores in the body. It will remove new fat before releasing and burning old fat for energy to sustain the survival of our species and give us energy when exercising. Thus we have no control over how the body stores and removes fat. By understanding these hormones and how to control them, we can reduce our overall fat levels in the body, which in turn will cause our belly fat to reduce.

HOW OUR HORMONES FUNCTION?

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Our pancreas releases insulin in response to food intake, which causes our blood sugar levels to increase after meals. When blood sugar is high, insulin helps clear excess blood sugar, store it as fat and store it in the liver as emergency stores of sugar. So whenever we habitually eat junk food or sugar, the body experiences high blood sugar and thus is forced to preferentially store excessive sugar in the belly and abdominal area as the fat tissues around this area are susceptible to insulin.

Another hormone that promotes fat accumulation around our belly region is cortisol, which is released in response to chronic stress. It is detrimental to our health and goal of losing belly fat. It is a hormone our adrenaline gland produces during emotional or physical stress to the body. When the stress of the modern world is combined with our modern high-calorie, easily palatable food, it increases our propensity to accumulate fat around our belly.

Thus, losing belly fat would require us to make it a lifestyle with healthy choices, look at and observe the problem holistically, and not just focus on crunches or sit-up exercises. We need to create an environment in the body to strike a balance in our hormones and achieve continuous negative energy balance by following a nutritious diet, regular exercise, including cardio exercises and weight training, regular practice of pranayama, meditation and seven hours of restful sleep every night to reduce chronic stress and cortisol levels. Doing so will result in an effective plan to lose belly fat.

THE HOLISTIC APPROACH

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A healthy diet would comprise millet, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, protein-rich animal foods, and naturally occurring fats that would ensure healthy insulin response and reduced appetite to attain a negative energy balance in the body without feeling hungry or deprived.

Cardio exercises such as walking 10,000 steps daily, going for outdoor runs, swimming, and joining dance or martial arts can help make your body insulin sensitive, improve your metabolic health, balance your hormones and will allow free flow of fat from the fat stores, including the belly fat to be used as energy during the day. Target to get a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise or some combination of the two per week. Such an exercise regimen may also include weight training exercises targetting major muscle groups such as the legs, back and chest to help you improve your muscle mass, which will increase the lean stores in the body to put calories you eat and reduce fat storage burden in the belly if one tends to accumulate fat there. Also, high lean mass means better metabolism and calorie burning throughout the day.

Activities such as relaxing, joining yoga classes or doing online yoga sessions will help you manage your stress better and reduce chronically high cortisol levels, facilitating better fat loss from your belly.

Finally, it’s critical to note that the idea that one can burn fat from a specific body area or do spot reduction by doing targetted exercises is pseudoscience. Fat loss occurs throughout the body as per the LIFO principle. The best method is a holistic approach that includes making the right choices with diet, exercise, sleep, and, most importantly, staying in a negative energy balance.

Before making changes to your lifestyle, it is always recommended to consult with a healthcare expert who can assess your health status and design a suitable and personalised exercise and nutrition programme for you.

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(Vijay Thakkar is a functional medicine expert and celebrity fitness coach in Mumbai. He is author of the best-selling book “Eating Less is Making You Fat,” aimed at dispelling misinformation about nutrition, calorie-deficit diets, metabolism and how hunger and satiety work)

How to burn belly fat quickly?

Nutrition experts call belly and flank fat problematic because getting rid of it is quite difficult. Indeed, it is more resistant to chemical processes in the body than subcutaneous fat deposits in other areas. Therefore, when losing weight, the volumes melt first on the chest and arms, and the stomach decreases last.

How to burn belly fat if it is so unyielding? – Confidently, with an understanding of the physiological side of the process and the fact that the results will not be quick.

Fat is different

It is necessary to distinguish between two main types of fat in the body – subcutaneous and internal.

● Subcutaneous accumulates between the skin and abdominal muscles. It makes the body soft (at best) or even flabby (in advanced versions). Easily accumulated due to excess calories and improper diet. This is facilitated by fast carbohydrates (pastries, white bread, sweets), fried fatty foods, combined with a sedentary lifestyle.

Visually, an excess of subcutaneous fat in the abdomen and sides is noticeable, for example, when a person is sitting. But for health, such fat deposits are not dangerous if the permissible percentage of fat in the body is not exceeded (depending on age and gender).

How to burn subcutaneous fat on the stomach? – Stick to a calorie deficit diet, principles of proper nutrition and combine it with moderate physical activity.

● Internal fat (visceral, deep, abdominal) hides in the abdominal cavity around the vital organs, it is from him that the stomach “spreads out”, acquiring a rounded shape.

It disrupts the hormonal background and metabolism, can squeeze the internal organs of the abdominal cavity, and disrupt posture. You can burn it with long-term cardio loads of low and medium intensity in the fat-burning zone of the pulse – while maintaining a calorie deficit and following the principles of proper nutrition.

What is fat burning

To understand how to burn fat on the stomach and sides, you need to understand what fat burning is and how it works.

Fat burning is a process of fat reduction, which includes two stages: lipolysis and oxidation.

Lipolysis occurs under the action of adrenaline and norepinephrine, which are released during exercise. Under the action of hormones, fat cells are released, enter the bloodstream, rush to those places where the muscles are actively working, and “burn out” there.

By the way, the daily swing of the press to combat fat in the abdomen is absolutely useless. These muscles are too small to provide a serious calorie burn during training and burn fat in the problem area. It is impossible to burn fat on the stomach without starting the fat burning process throughout the body!

Then how to burn belly fat? – With the help of complex training. Engage a large number of muscle groups or large muscles (for example, the gluteus maximus, pectoral, latissimus dorsi) – then adrenaline and norepinephrine are evenly distributed throughout the body and contribute to uniform fat melting, including in the abdomen and sides.

Workouts that help burn fat

In everyday life, we spend calories that we get from food, but the expenditure of fat cells is a process that needs to be “started”. And you can do this with the help of sports training.

Cardio

Cardio training is an effective way to get rid of excess weight and fat reserves. But to start the fat burning mechanism with cardio, you need at least 40 minutes of exercise. Only after this milestone the body begins to use up the reserves of fat cells.

Cardio training is characterized by prolonged work at approximately the same heart rate level – 60-70% of the maximum value. With this rhythm, the body receives enough oxygen to oxidize the released fat cells.

Strength training

During strength training, energy consumption is anaerobic, i.e. without the participation of oxygen. The body does not “pull out” fat cells from reserves, their oxidation does not occur.

But thanks to the formation of lactic acid, muscle fibers are strengthened and enlarged. This speeds up metabolism, increases basal metabolism, weight loss does not occur during training, but after it, during the period of muscle recovery.

Strength training helps to get rid of fat without significant loss of muscle mass.

High Intensity Interval Training

How to quickly burn belly fat with exercise? – Try HIIT.

The program is built on alternating the pace of exercises. In the high-intensity period, the body works to the limit, it spends energy as much as possible, burning body fat. In low-intensity – there is an opportunity to relax, gathering strength for a new approach.

This workout burns more fat than regular cardio, and faster. In 20-25 minutes of HIIT, you lose more fat cells than in an hour of cardio.

Proper nutrition for burning belly fat

The process of losing weight is a complex work that combines physical activity, a balanced diet, good rest, and body care.

And 80-90% of the success of fat burning depends on how you eat.

How to eat to burn belly fat?

● Do not be afraid of carbohydrates. The body needs energy – for daily activities and in order to build muscles. Just opt ​​for unrefined, whole grain foods that will keep you feeling full for longer and give you the energy you need.

● Watch the amount of protein in the diet – it should be enough. Eating dairy, seafood, meat, eggs, beans, and other legumes can reduce the risk of new belly fat and provide protein to help maintain muscle mass.

● Replace unhealthy fats in your diet with healthy ones. Avocados, red fish, nuts, unrefined oils (pumpkin, linseed, olive, sesame, etc.) help to overcome hunger and are not deposited at the waist.

● Balance your meals so that you have a complete breakfast that includes carbohydrates and protein. For lunch, choose carbohydrates with vegetables – you need energy. Dinner is better to make protein with the addition of fiber. Use fruits, dairy products, nuts for snacks.

● Do not forget to drink water and eat fiber in the form of vegetables, fruits, mushrooms.

Fat Burning Workouts at The Base

The schedule of THE Base club and its studios includes workouts for body modeling and fat burning.

For those who start the fight against fat on the way to a healthy attractive body, CXWORX is suitable
at Les Mills Studios. This intense 30-minute workout allows you to deeply work your back, abs and buttocks. All exercises with a rubber shock absorber keep the muscle fibers in the abdomen in tension and have a positive effect on posture.

Bootcamp training at the Functional studio belongs to the direction of functional interval fitness, within which elements of strength training and cardio are harmoniously combined. Allows you to work out all muscle groups, “getting” even the deepest, has a fat burning effect.

Gym Class from the CrossFit studio is a strength training program that allows you to model the body by working out all muscle groups. Strengthening ligaments and muscles, active fat burning, increasing strength endurance and accelerating metabolism will help you successfully fight fat and build your body.

Fat Burning Workouts at The BaseE

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Visceral fat, which accumulates in the abdominal cavity, disrupts the hormonal balance and causes a protruding tummy. Do you want to have a slim waist? Urgently reconsider these eating habits that provoke the appearance of fat in the abdomen.

April 7, 2022

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Visceral is a type of fat that accumulates in the abdominal cavity and is located near the vital organs. Its excess, like excess subcutaneous fat, disrupts the hormonal profile, causes inflammation in the body and can lead to diabetes and heart disease.

– Adipocytes – fat cells – release hormones, growth factors, pro-inflammatory cytokines that affect neighboring cells, organs, tissues and change metabolism, – said Irina Yuzup, Candidate of Medical Sciences. — Like in other cells of the body, in adipose tissue there are several types of macrophages — cells that destroy bacteria and damaged tissues. M2 macrophages are a defense against inflammation, while M1 macrophages, on the contrary, produce a large amount of pro-inflammatory cytokines that cause inflammation.

With an increase in visceral fat, the balance begins to shift towards M1 macrophages, which actively produce the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin 6, the hormone resistin, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, the expert explains.

– All this becomes the cause of chronic inflammation in the body, as a result of which metabolic disorders (including type 2 diabetes), cardiovascular diseases, and atherosclerosis develop. High levels of the hormone resistin are associated with osteoporosis, autoimmune diseases, chronic kidney disease, says Irina Yuzup.

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Unhealthy eating habits

One of the reasons for the deposition of visceral fat – along with a sedentary lifestyle, chronic stress and lack of sleep – is improper nutrition.

– To avoid the accumulation of visceral fat, it is necessary to increase the intake of plant foods (the daily diet should consist of 70% of it), – advises the doctor, nutritionist Irina Yuzup.

Passion for trans fats

– The deposition of visceral fat is promoted by trans fats used in the preparation of confectionery, biscuits, crackers, cakes, muffins, biscuits, says the expert. Store baked goods contain up to 30% trans fats.

Abuse of foods with a high GI

– Foods with a high glycemic index (GI) provoke a sharp jump in blood sugar, which leads to an increase in insulin synthesis. It is insulin that acts as a conductor in the accumulation of visceral fat, the doctor explains.

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Too much processed foods in the diet

Abuse of ultra-processed foods high in sugar, salt, fat can lead to an increase in belly fat. This is a food made from refined and maximally purified ingredients – nuggets, sausages and sausages, store-bought sweets, including ice cream, various chips and crackers, all types of cereals, sweet carbonated drinks, instant noodles and mashed potatoes.

Fatty salad dressings

Many people think that eating various salads for lunch and dinner is a great way to lose weight and get rid of belly fat, but they forget that not only the healthy ingredients in the dish are important, but also how you use it refuel.

The use of salad dressings with high fat content can only increase the amount of visceral fat in the abdomen, not get rid of it. It is better to choose lemon juice, yogurt or salad vinegar to reduce the amount of fat in the diet.

Yogurt diet

It is important here what kind of yogurt you choose. If you have rows of curds and jars of drinking yogurt in your refrigerator, which contain sugar, sweeteners and a high percentage of fat, you will only make your body worse.

For a healthy diet, choose high protein , , as it will help you stay full longer and prevent overeating.

Products that promote the deposition of visceral fat

  • Candies, marshmallows.

  • Baked goods: cookies, cakes, rolls, white bread – anything made with 100% refined wheat flour.

  • Sugary drinks: soda, sweet tea.

  • Alcohol.

  • French fries, snacks.

  • Sausages and frankfurters.

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How to get rid of belly fat

– Reducing visceral fat is facilitated by sufficient protein intake in the diet, advises Irina Yuzup. – Studies show that people who consume 1-1.5 grams of protein per 1 kg of weight daily have a lower percentage of visceral fat than those who have an insufficient amount of protein in the diet.