NEWS

What is visceral fat and is it detrimental to your health?

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Excess weight leads to a number of health risk. It turns out the biggest culprit is visceral fat. Visceral fat is the ‘deep’ fat that's stored further underneath the skin than ‘subcutaneous’ belly fat. So the question is: how do we deal with this bad guy? How can we burn the fat that is stored around our organs?  

The first step in our plan of action is figuring out exactly how much visceral fat we’re talking about. In order to determine this we use the ‘tanita’ scales in our Vitacheck, which indicates a score between 0 and 60. Anything above 12 suggests a higher health risk. So the plan should definitely be to remain under this threshold. But how?

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1. Food: calorie consumption > calorie intake

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One of best ways to invest in your health is by sticking to a balanced eating pattern with lots of vegetables and fruit. Eat lean meats or fish. Try replacing saturated fats (minced meat, chips, etc.) by unsaturated fats (nuts, olive oil, oily fish, etc). Specifically avoid fast and singular sugars such as soft drinks, cookies, etc. and prioritise slow and multiple sugars that are high in fibre, such as whole wheat or dark bread.

 

Conclusion:

• Eat and drink healthy products to avoid the risks brought on by visceral fat. By making your portion sizes smaller and keeping tabs on calories and saturated fat you’ll be able to keep your weight under control.

• Limit your alcohol intake as it is detrimental to abdominal fat.

• Also pay attention to trans-fat, or trans-unsaturated fatty acids, that you find in for instance chocolate spread.

• How much and what you eat has a direct impact on your weight and visceral fat. Make sure you always burn more calories than you consume. This is the only way the body will use up its fat reserves. Also, don’t eat too little as that will increase the odds for muscle breakdown. Aim for a difference between calorie intake and uptake of about 500 calories a day.

 

2. Exercise enough to get rid of that belly fat.

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It helps to do strengthening exercises combined with cardio exercises. The effect of HIIT-trainings (= High Intensity Interval Training) on burning visceral fat has been proven to be highly efficient by several studies. Example: start with 50 Jumping Jacks and follow up with 30 squats. Repeat twice. Build this up without forcing anything (start, for instance, with half of the proposed repetitions) and make sure you rest enough in between.

 

Enhance your metabolism to start with. If you consume too many calories without sufficiently burning them, they will be transformed into fat cells. You use calories while exercising, hence the importance of consistent activity throughout the day and improving your condition by gradually increasing the intensity. The combination of more exercise during the day and exercising at a higher intensity is a crucial step towards a healthier and fitter lifestyle. Regular exercise and training stimulate fat burning, especially visceral fat.

 

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3.Rest and recovery

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Sufficient rest also helps in the battle against stress, that poses a threat to weight control. In stressful situations the body produces the hormone cortisol, which is connected to the accumulation of visceral fat. 

Make sure you get enough sleep. Try to have at least 6 hours of good sleep. Not sleeping enough can also have a negative effect on our weight. People who don’t spend enough time in bed – sleeping! – tend to eat more and carve fatty foods. All this is bad news when it comes down to weight, fat percentage and visceral fat.

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4. Stay motivated

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There is no quick fix when it comes down to healthy weight loss, so don’t expect miracles after just one week. Stay motivated and be realistic about your targets. Any small improvement is a huge step in the right direction, so be proud of it!

 

Keep calm & work out!

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#exerciseworks

We wish you good luck!

Springbok Coaching