The Sunday Mail
Body Makeover
The most difficult kind of fat you will encounter is belly fat. I have seen people who are fit and seemingly healthy but they just cannot get rid of belly fat. What is worse is that some of them want to have a six-pack (entirely unnecessary in my view) and they get so frustrated after exercising vigorously but still failing to see that six pack. Well the solution to that small problem is in the diet.
Your body fat content needs to fall quite low and the only way you can do that is by strictly controlling what you eat.
I find it all quite unreasonable, but if you are eager for those packs, then you really need to tailor your diet toward that.
I won’t get into such vanities today, but hopefully we can make time for that in the coming weeks.
More generally, excessive belly fat is toxic and leads to a number of adverse health conditions.
You have probably tried it all in the quest to blast off the big belly; sit-ups, abdominal contraction belts, creams, pills, flat belly recipes, starving yourself and countless workout routines, but the belly jelly just won’t budge.
Belly fat is the hidden culprit of numerous health problems; cancer, fatty liver disease, it ups the risk of both heart disease and type 2 diabetes, low sex drive and bloating.
Losing belly fat by starving yourself is not the best of ideas. Starvation actually induces the body to store fat because it slows down the metabolism.
This is quite a tricky area because you can find people who are actually pretty slim but somehow they find themselves with excess belly fat. The only solution is to carefully watch what you eat.
1. Eliminate foods that contribute to bloating and inflammation in your body; bloating is caused by mindless gouging of processed foods.
2. Ease up on grains. Limit (or eliminate) intake of foods like rice, sadza and wheat products.
3. Hydrate, water is important to flush out toxins and transport vital nutrients. It also helps your body fight fat.
4. Watch what you drink. Too many sweetened drinks and alcohol (beer is the worst offender) can see you packing on a big belly.
Having a beer or two on the weekends, or a glass of wine, or a glass of alcohol, isn’t going to kill you.
It’s not going to sabotage your results. But you cannot binge drink, you cannot drink every day; don’t drink on an empty stomach, as this can lead to unhealthy snacking.
Food helps get rid of Stomach Fat
Eating generously does not have to mean to eat irresponsibly. The important thing to remember is to eat natural and nutrient-dense foods.
A common myth among dieters is that exercising the muscles beneath the fat on a certain body part will reduce the fat on that one body part. I get people telling me they cut out one group of “bad” foods or doing lots of sit-ups in hopes of reducing the big belly, this will not get the job done.
On the contrary, belly fat loss only occurs when the entire body is exercised and supplemented by a healthy diet. “
Try a little spice with your foods, celery, pears, tomatoes, watermelons, apples, avocados, bananas, mangoes and other healthy foods.
Exercise Plan
Monday to Saturday: Your body by now is used to walking intervals. Add five kilograms of weight to a satchel and walk for 6 kilometres.
Try and reduce the time it takes you to walk that over the week. Monday 45 minutes, Tuesday 43 minutes, Wednesday 41 minutes, Thursday 41 minutes then Friday and Saturday 40 minutes.
Sunday: Rest
Tatenda Musonza is a personal trainer and runs a body makeover course and can be reached on [email protected]
