Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Reduce Excess Stomach Fat

By Jose Loni

Excess stomach fat is fat that is excessively accumulated in the stomach region. Food that we consume, either gets used up as energy or is converted and stored as fat in our stomach area. This happens when we overeat, lack exercise as well as have high stress in our lives.

Our diet plays a major role in excess stomach fat. When we overeat, our bodies cannot consume the carbohydrates to be utilized as fuel. As a result, it converts the excess carbohydrates into fat and accumulates it in the stomach.

We need to watch our intake of food and ensure we consume quality foods more often through out the day. If we decrease the meal portions and increase the number of meals per day, we enable our bodies to maintain a more stable blood sugar and keep up our energy level throughout the day.

Physical activity is a key factor in reducing excess stomach fat. By exercising more and burning more calories and at the same time decreasing the amount of food we eat, we can allow our bodies to increase its metabolic activity and reduce excess stomach fat.

The combination of decreasing food intake and increasing physical activity allows our bodies to burn the food we eat as well as burn off the stored fat in the stomach.

Studies have shown that increased stress causes the release of a hormone called Cortisol, which has been linked to fat storage in the stomach region of the body.

When the stressful situation occurs, the body is placed in a survival mode and stores fat in the stomach area, so it can be used as fuel later. The body goes into a protective mode and stores the fat in case it is needed to fuel bodily functions.

The management of what we eat, how much we eat, the amount of exercise activity we do, and our stress levels, can effectively change our body and help us lose excess stomach fat. Stress reduction allows us to decrease the amount of Cortisol, which causes fat storage in the stomach area. By controlling these factors, we can make permanent and lasting changes to lose excess stomach fat. - 16004

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