What Causes Belly Fat in Females?
Especially for all the women out there, belly fat is an all too common problem as we grow older. And aside from affecting our overall body figure, it can also bring more serious health problems when we keep adding fat to our middle areas.
A healthier number on our waistline is something that we should all aspire to. Let’s look at what exactly makes belly fat so difficult to address, and what are the best ways to lose belly fat and keep it off.
Why is belly fat so difficult to shed?
The trouble with losing the weight on our stomachs is that we’re dealing with two different kinds of belly fat. The first type is subcutaneous belly fat, which means it’s the kind that is found just underneath the skin. When you pinch or press a finger to your belly, the soft parts you’ll feel are the subcutaneous fat.The more difficult kind is what is called visceral belly fat, fat that is located deep in the belly behind the abdominal wall. Visceral fat fills up the spaces surrounding the different organs, like the liver and intestines.
The visceral belly fat is a prominent reason why the stomach starts bulging out as we grow older. As women age during their middle to menopausal years, their body starts to favor storing the fat in the middle area instead of the lower hips and thighs. That’s why even if you don’t gain weight, your belly can still protrude because of the visceral fat pushing out against the abdominal wall.
But aside from the inevitable impact of aging, different factors can also lead to women developing belly fat, compounding each other’s effects and becoming a much more difficult issue to address.
What causes belly fat in females?
Poor and unhealthy diet
Perhaps the most common cause of belly fat is a calorie surplus that makes us pack the pounds. An unbalanced diet rich in trans fats and sugars (including alcoholic drinks) disproportionately leads to visceral belly fat.
Sedentary lifestyle
If somebody takes in more calories than they burn throughout the day, they will ultimately gain some weight. For most people, this weight gain manifests in the gut, among other places.
Abnormal sleeping patterns
Studies have shown that getting too little sleep, as well as getting too much sleep, is directly related to weight gain.
Hormones
Hormonal changes and fluctuations as we age are another major cause for belly fat accumulation. A premenopausal decrease in estrogen levels will mess up your fat distribution, leading to a larger gain on the stomach instead of other parts of the body.
Stress
Stress may be the secret agent that is causing you to gain belly fat. Aside from directly impacting our hormones and metabolism towards gaining weight, stress can also lead us to develop bad habits such as overeating or being sedentary.
Can belly fat lead to more serious problems?
While most of us want to deal with belly fat purely for cosmetic reasons, we must also consider the health risks that excess belly fat can expose us to.
In particular, visceral fat is the culprit behind the various health complications associated with a bulging stomach. Visceral fat is known to release different molecules that link it to a variety of different chronic diseases.
The excess visceral fat on your belly can significantly increase your risk for severe health conditions such as:
- High blood pressure
- Cardiovascular disease
- Stroke
- Type 2 diabetes
- Asthma
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Certain types of cancers
What are the best ways to lose belly fat?
Losing belly fat must be done through steady weight loss in order to see lasting and healthy results. Going the easy route to lose the belly quickly usually means getting back the belly just as quickly. Instead, it is recommended to live a healthy, well-rounded lifestyle and properly address the factors that are behind your belly fat.First, you may want to do a quick measurement of your waistline as an easy, preliminary way to check if you have excess body fat. Measure at the level of your navel, and the tape measure must be level all the way around your waist. The tape measure must also fit snugly around without compressing into the skin.
In women, a waist measurement of 35 inches and above is generally considered as a sign for excess visceral fat. Here are the different ways that you can slowly shed those pounds away.
Maintain a healthy diet.
Keeping a healthy, well-balanced diet significantly helps a person lose belly fat in the long run, as well as positively impacting their overall health and well-being.
Eat healthy portions throughout the day, and look for fruits and vegetables, lean meat, and whole grains. Stay away from trans fats and sugary treats and drinks. Also, don’t succumb to diet fads which will only bring you short-term results.
Move more often.
Regular exercise helps you get rid of visceral belly fat, even if you don’t immediately lose weight. Prioritize routines that involve cardio and aerobic activities, as well as strength training. Spot-reduction exercises like sit-ups can help develop the abs, but will not address your visceral fat.
Get enough sleep.
Make sure to get seven to eight hours of sleep every night, and have a regular sleep schedule that you can stick to every single day.
Mind your mood.
Look for healthy ways that can help you deal with the stressors around you. This can be anything from breathing exercises and meditation to yoga or a quick walk. Find what works best for you, and practice these relaxing practices whenever you feel the stress coming in.
Are there other ways to lose belly fat?
Although slow and steady weight loss is the best way to deal with belly fat, it is still undeniable that the results are usually too slow that most people tend to give up.
However, it is still a fact that beauty is reflected in self-esteem and the quality of life. Most people want to stay perfect and beautiful based on their own standards and having little to no result in a short time could lower their own outlook and happiness. So for those people who want faster results, the usual way is to undergo treatments in good and trusted clinics while following their weight loss plan.
HOO Dermatology offers three types of treatments for belly fats. They are listed as follows:
HOO Lift (Thermage) Body
This treatment is a non-invasive and non-surgical method of body contouring. They offer a monopolar radiofrequency with EMW RF Contouring technique to remove the undesired fat, bulges and cellulite.
RF (radio frequency) contouring uses a form of radiation called RF waves. They release energy in the form of electromagnetic waves that can increase the temperature of the deep layer of your skin. Once this layer is heated properly it can stimulate the production of collagen in your body. Collagen is the most common protein in the body and is also responsible for maintaining your skin's firmness.
RF frequency has a variety of benefits and is mainly used for the tightening of your skin. But it can also be used to remove those pesky body fats in your body.
HOO Lift Body offers a comfortable session and could provide a smooth and tight skin surface. It could easily be done over your lunch break or while waiting for your order to be ready from another store as it could be done in around 20~45 minutes. This treatment is suitable for most people and can help firm up, tighten, lift and reinvigorate your skin, giving you a healthy and rosy glow.
Although relatively faster than conventional weight loss alone, this treatment needs at least a few sessions to see results in your body. However, the longest it would take for results to show is only one month. And it can be considered to be a good addition to your weight loss plan.
So if you dislike pain but still want your belly fat sculpted and removed, this can be your go-to treatment.
Mesotherapy
This treatment injects miniscule amounts of medication and supplements to the specific areas of your body that you want sculpted.
To explain further, mesotherapy is a medical technique that was developed in France by Dr. Michel Pistor in France. It is a technique that injects various vitamins, supplements and medications into the mesoderm, the layer of the skin where the fat and the connective tissues are located.
Although it was developed mainly for treatment of vascular and lymphatic disorders, further research has led them to discover that body fat can be reduced depending on the substance injected in the skin. It is believed that certain medications injected into this skin layer can melt the underlying fat to help in weight loss, body sculpting, cellulite reduction and even facial rejuvenation.
Although plastic surgeons would advise you to not resort to this method as your main treatment for fat removal, this is still a treatment that has been popular in Europe for decades. It is proven to be effective in treating a variety of skin related concerns, and even chronic pains for some people. If you are not sure whether you will dive into this, you can go to trusted clinics and doctors for advice on mesotherapy treatment. HOO Dermatology offers their MesoLipo treatments for those who want body sculpting by removing your undesired body fat. This treatment boasts of improved circulation while dissolving the excess fat in your body.
Slimming and Weight Loss Drinks
If you're still uncertain about the treatments stated above, you could try slimming drinks.
Generally, if you already started changes in your lifestyle and shifted to a healthier diet, you can drink certain beverages to help with your belly fat reduction and weight loss. It is quite well-known that drinking certain beverages can encourage weight loss if partnered with a healthy lifestyle.
Weight loss drinks include tea, green coffee or other specially formulated slimming drinks to aid those who want to lose those persistent belly fats.
HOO Dermatology has a Slim-On Lemon Drink alongside their variety of products.
This product contains Brindall berry. Brindall berry, one of the most common ingredients in natural appetite suppressants, can raise your body's serotonin levels. Once your serotonin has increased, this can signal to your brain to stop craving food. One of the components of Brindall berry can also help inhibit the enzyme that is responsible for fat storage, meaning the enzyme will not pack and store the fat that you accumulated for the day in your body.
This product also contains white kidney bean extracts which interferes with starch digestion. When starch is left undigested, the body will bypass them and will not store them as carbohydrates. This lessens the chances of fats being stored in your body.
It also contains a soluble dietary fiber that can soak up water and expand which can result in higher levels of satiety while fostering healthy bowel movement.
So if you're still undecided about what treatment to accompany your weight loss plan, you can try Slim-On Lemon Drink to increase your satiation and suppress your appetite.
At the end of the day, slow and steady weight loss is the way to go when dealing with belly fat and overall body weight. Ultimately, the solution to addressing belly fat is to follow a healthier lifestyle in all aspects, from diet to sleep to mentality. By simply living healthily, you can avoid the growing waistline and all the bad that comes with it.