Did you know there are 2 different types of fat?
Yup, there’s subcutaneous fat which is the fat found in the lowest layer of our skin and then there is visceral fat which is located in the abdominal cavity, surrounding our internal organs. These two fats are very different.
Subcutaneous fat is usually found around our thighs and butt, it’s what gives us an apple or pear shape.
Visceral fat on the other hand is the fat that gives us a potbelly, and it can actually smother our organ and while both of these types of fat secrete hormones, they hormones that visceral fat releases are extremely pro-inflammatory and linked to all those illnesses of aging that we don’t want.
The amount of visceral fat you collect is determined by genetics and lifestyle factors.
Genetics determines the shape of your body and how you store visceral fat and lifestyle factors determine how much you have. A poor diet with a high intake of fatty foods, processed carbohydrates, trans fats, refined sugar, fried foods, dairy, soda, and candy, stress and a lack of movement will cause your body to collect more visceral fat.
There are a few ways you can measure your body fat.
The first is your waist measurement. For women higher and 34” means you’re at risk for health problems stemming from visceral fat and for men that number is 40”.
The next is your waist to hip ratio. You’ll divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement. Higher than 0.85 for women and 0.90 for men indicates abdominal obesity.
The last is your waist to height ratio. Divide your waist measurement by your height. A healthy ratio for both men and women is 0.5.
Visceral fat is actually easier to lose than subcutaneous fat because it metabolizes faster and your body can get rid of it as sweat or pee.
The best way to lose visceral fat is by making healthy lifestyle choices.
A healthy diet that includes proper portions, tons of vegetables and limits dairy, fruit, and processed foods is always a first line of defense to reduce fat.
And there’s always movement. Get up and move throughout your day. A minimum of 30 minutes each day is a great place to start.
Intermittent fasting has been shown to help reduce people lose weight which in turn can reduce the amount of visceral fat you have.
Sleep is imperative to reducing your amount of visceral fat. Try for at least 7 hours each night.
Managing stress is also extremely important to reducing visceral fat. Our fight or flight hormones, which is cortisol triggers the storage of visceral fat. Find something that works for you.
Limit alcohol, it increases the amount of visceral fat your body stores.
Let’s create an amazing you! Schedule a free consultation to discuss how we can work together to accomplish just that: https://calendly.com/donnajskincare/let-s-connect
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