Belly fat is one of the most dangerous types of fat as it increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cancers and heart diseases. Are you above 40 and tired of your profitless efforts on removing belly fat? Today, here at MyFitness7, we will discuss about losing stubborn belly fat after 40. But before we go, let’s have a brief knowledge about belly fat.
Inside this article (Quick Summary)
Belly fat and abdominal fat are different while a belly falls in a subcategory of abdominal fat. Abdominal fat is found just below your skin, subcutaneous fat is within your skeletal muscles and visceral fat is packed in between your abdominal organs. In general terms, Visceral fat is referred as belly fat but scientifically it is called intra-abdominal fat.
How to measure belly fat?
We can account several methods to get an estimate figure of belly fat but here are some of the common ways to get track them. Make sure you follow both of them to fight with stubborn belly fat after 40, just in case.
- Body Mass Index (BMI): Body Mass Index measurement helps people to identify the risk of diabetes. People with BMIs 25-29.9 are normally considered overweight and people over 30 falls into an obese category. If you need help calculating BMI, we have all the tools ready to go inside our MyFitness7 Pro.
- Waist Circumference: One of the best and DIY ideas to measure belly fat is measuring waist circumference. For reference, waist circumference higher than 35 inches is considered as a high risk.
Getting back to ideas about fighting stubborn belly fat after 40, lets start with some easy steps that you can do at your home or at local gym:
Exercise: Fighting Stubborn Belly Fat after 40
No matter you are already 40 or less, exercise helps to keep your body in shape. But what matters after 40 is the intensity of exercise. You might be pushing yourself hard into exercise but are you sure your body can take it.
So, it is good to have knowledge of different types of exercise and their required intensity. You can do crunches, sit-ups, planks to pull out your six-pack buried under the abdominal fat.
Intake more complex carbohydrates
Complex carbohydrates from fruits, vegetable and whole grains is associated with a lower percentage of body and belly fat in older adults. Foods like millet, sorghum, amaranth are enriched with fiber and many other nutrients which helps to cut belly fat sooner than you expected.
Limit sugar intake
Sugar has always been a problem in a human life. But when you are 40+, the problem simply doubles as the digestion system of your body slows down which can cause unnecessary spikes and crashes of blood sugar levels. We are not saying right after 40, your body changes, it depends on how you spent your young age.
Sweet craves everyone, you can keep fruits like strawberries, blueberries to satisfy. A quarter cup of banana smoothie, grape juice can also be an option for you. Sprinkling some cinnamon in your morning coffee is also a great idea to stabilize your blood sugar level.
Intake protein rich food
Your body needs extra protein if you want to get rid of stubborn belly fat after 40. To compensate, include tuna, chicken, turkey, soybeans and salmon on your dinner or lunch. Dairy products like milk can be beneficial too but they come with some price called fat. Other alternatives can be nuts, eggs, grains and beans.
Emphasize healthy fat
Polyunsaturated fats are great replacements for saturated and trans fats. Healthy fats from salmon, avocados, olive oil and walnuts can still make you full. Alternatively, you can have fish oil but before you proceed make sure to consult a physician as fish oil may not be beneficial for everyone.
Go Green
Are you the one who need to sip coffee first before anything to start the day? Then, this might be disappointing for you. We (MyFitness7 Team) change our course for 3 months where we took oath of starting out day with green vegetable. We found some fascinating results at the end.
Follow good health habits
To all above 40 adults, you already had enough fun in your life, its time to be slightly serious about your health now or else you will suffer when you retire. Do not skip meals, even if you drink alcohol try to have little amount of food as it helps to suppress cortisol levels in abdomens. Pay attention to portion size, only eat what makes you full not whatever is on the table. Take time offs from work for personal care.
When you are stressed, try to relax. Tight deadlines in work, financial crisis increases your stress level and raises cortisol level. We know at 40 its hard to skip work as you are still paying for your house/car or something. However, we recommend you proper time planning. Lifestyle management is crucial when you struggle to get over stubborn belly fat after 40. What you eat, when you sleep matter a lot in your daily life.
Take Vitamin C and D
Vitamin C can be easily found in citric food and drinks like lemon water, and sunlight is primary source for Vitamin D. Vitamin C can helps in production of carnitine which our body uses to convert fat into energy. It also helps to balance cortisol spikes. On other hand, Vitamin D helps suppressing extra abdominal fat. We recommend you talking to a physician about Vitamin D supplementation.
Intake probiotics food
Probiotics food are live microorganism that are intended to have benefits on human health when consumed. They are commonly found in fermented milk, yogurt and other fermented foods. Kefir can be one of the best probiotics’ food for adults above 40.
Now you have the knowledge that you need to fight with abdominal fat. Fighting stubborn belly fat after 40 can be tactical but once you follow our simple guide, it is not much hard to get over the belly fat. Remember to eat smart, exercise, relax and subscribe MyFitness7 to fight against stubborn belly fat after 40.
