Hello world! Welcome to yet another juicy topic. In this article, we’re going to talk about the three different types of belly fat, and we have to understand that it all follows with three different problems.
We’re also gonna talk about the underlying causes of each particular belly type as well as the shape and possible solutions.
THE 3 MAIN TYPES OF BELLY FAT
1. The Saggy Belly
The sagging belly fat is either a problem with too much insulin or too much cortisol. (Cortisol is a stress hormone.)
Underlying Cause
This type of belly fat is usually associated with visceral fat. Have you ever heard of visceral fat? If not, it’s simply fat that’s in your stomach.
So, in this situation — the liver is filled up with fluid and as a result, it leaks out around the organs, intestines, heart, and pancreas. This fluid becomes fat and subsequently, the fat also gets inside the organs.
This fat is more harmful since it prevents some organs from working properly, particularly the pancreas, and it releases substances that cause an increase in inflammation, which then causes problems in the heart.
- It can also lead to insulin resistance, which still creates problems for other organs.
- It is also as a result of too much insulin, which is triggered from too many carbohydrates. Yes! That’s right– you read right. Too much carbs leads to an increase in insulin and further leads to more fat production in time.
You should note that— just because someone doesn’t have a big saggy belly fat doesn’t mean they don’t have visceral fat. Ever heard of the term called T.O.F ? This means “thin on the outside, fat on the inside”. So just because someone doesn’t have that fatty looking belly, doesn’t mean they don’t have visceral fat. Just wanted to point that out.
Now, Let’s talk about cortisol, the stress hormone;
- Insulin is indirectly increased by cortisol. Consequently, insulin is therefore what causes a drooping stomach. Which is either as a result of too much carbohydrates, or stress from cortisol.
- So cortisol promotes the creation of glucose from sources other than carbohydrates, and this causes a spike in the amount of insulin released, which causes your belly to grow. So in other words, it will take your protein and turn it into glucose, which then triggers insulin. The term for that is called gluconeogenesis, this simply means — creation of new sugar.
So when you go through stress, it will increase your blood glucose from other things, not just carbs.
Therefore, stress, and sugar all have the same effect, belly fat– and many other problems.
Possible Solution
As far as getting rid of this type of belly, do you think exercise would be a significant thing to focus on? The answer is no. Exercise won’t yield any significant effects. Why? You may ask. It’s simply because regular exercise does not significantly reduce insulin. The majority of the effects will come from restricting your intake of carbohydrates. So the main factor is YOUR DIET!
Now–While you should keep in mind that exercise will help reduce stress, it’s not going to be a significant factor. If your problem is stress, there’s a lot of things you can do. See these tips on how to manage stress. Cos if you want to be honest we all face a little bit of stress from time to time, some mild and some chronic.
The other point is sleep. You can significantly reduce your stress if you can improve your sleep.
2. The Protruded Belly
You usually see this with the guy that’s wearing the speedo on the beach or at a bar, probably a regular (LoL). Sometimes they’re thin but still have this basketball, or pregnant looking stomach, that is not fat. It is a liver problem. The liver is very, very damaged, and this person is leaking fluid from the liver into a sac in the abdomen. So it’s a fluid filled sac.
If you take one part of the belly and you tap on the other part, you’ll feel a little bit of a ripple effect.
Underlying Cause
This is a liver problem. Usually cirrhosis or advanced liver disease you may need to get to the hospital to get yourself checked out. The issue is that this has most likely been going on for a while. If you don’t discover it early and drastically alter your lifestyle, your chances of restoring the damage done to your liver when it starts producing fluid in your belly are quite poor.
You may need to go to the hospital every 14 days to get it drained out. Not a good situation.
Unfortunately, a lot of these cases sadly is tied with alcoholics and they have a very difficult time giving up alcohol. Nonetheless if you discover this you should go see a doctor real quick.
Possible Solutions
On the other hand, certain kinds of foods can be recommended to help your liver. Consume foods such as cruciferous vegetables such as turnip, cabbage, broccoli, etc, with a moderate to low quantity of protein, but not an excessively low amount. Avoid foods with a high protein content because your liver is damaged and lacks the ability to properly process that protein. So when you overload your damaged liver with too much protein, you don’t help the situation.
3.The Lower Pooch Belly or the Superficial Belly Fat
This type of belly is seen a lot in women but it’s also in men. It’s more of a superficial fat. It is called subcutaneous fat (i.e. fat that is beneath your skin).
And it’s not necessarily the fat that’s around the organs ( that one is referred to as visceral fat).
Underlying Cause
It’s just subcutaneous and a lot of it comes from too much estrogen.
Subcutaneous fat is quite common and it’s not very dangerous. With this kind of fat, exercise would be very, very beneficial, in addition to cutting your carbs, and doing intermittent fasting.
I will say though, it does take a long time to get rid of that last bit of belly fat and I acknowledge it is easier said than done. But if you increase the amount of fasting that you do, and you follow these next recommendations, you should be able to speed up the process. But most times it is due to dominant estrogen(especially in men).
Possible Solutions
So, you would want to focus on the decrease of estrogen because estrogen increases the superficial fat around the body, especially in the hips, the thighs and the buttocks. So you would want to lower estrogen (In men).
How do we do that? By avoiding soy products. We avoid things with pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and consume more organic foods. Dairy products too can significantly increase your estrogen, so it’s something you should try to avoid. We want to avoid plastics. Yeah, that’s right. Plastics are in your foods.
Research shows that the average person in the US consumes the amount of plastic that equals the size of a credit card. [Shocker!]
Most of the estrogen in your body actually comes from testosterone. A certain enzyme called aromatase converts testosterone to estrogen, and when you have too much of that enzyme, you make too much estrogen and therefore leading to more subcutaneous fat.
Sometimes it is also as a result of hormonal imbalance and increase in aromatase activity.
What increases the function of aromatase?
Factors that would increase the activities of aromatase would be;
- Alcohol
- Age
- Obesity
- Increase in Insulin
Natural aromatase inhibitor may Include:
- Maca
- White button mushrooms
- Extract from grape seeds
- Oats
- Hot chilli pepper
etc.
Generally, cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage would be good too.
And lastly, Omega three helps to inhibit the enzyme, lessen the amount of excess estrogen. And you can get omega 3 fatty acid in meals like; olive oil, eggs, nuts and seeds, fish and other sea foods, etc.
Note that since women do produce the estrogen naturally and it is the primary hormone responsible for most of the major feminine changes that occur. It still stands that– The best way to get rid of subcutaneous belly fat is through better diet and exercise, as well as looking at other factors like managing stress levels.
Get rid of belly fat with these easy steps.
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So there you have it, the three types of belly fat. I hope it was a good read and as well insightful.
Stay true to a healthy diet, for a healthy diet as well as regular exercise equals a healthy life.
And as always– if you enjoyed this article please share with friends and family. Thanks.🙏🏽
Fitness is Health!👌🏽
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This was so interesting! I’m currently in the process of trying to get rid of mine lol so determining the differences and what may help is perfect!
Great and helpful post. I’m always in search of new ideas to stay healthier. I will definitely give some of these tips a try.