If you really love beer, a beer belly is something you are likely to develop after a while. A beer contains 150 calories, and this quickly adds up after some time of constant drinking.
When one consumes alcohol, the liver starts burning it instead of fat, and this leads to excess pudge around the waistline.
Yet, visceral fat poses serious health risks, accumulating around critical internal organs, like the pancreas, liver, and intestines, and thus increases the risk of breast cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and Type 2 diabetes.
According to Harvard Health Publishing:
“One reason excess visceral fat is so harmful could be its
location near the portal vein, which carries blood from the intestinal
area to the liver. Substances released by visceral fat, including free
fatty acids, enter the portal vein and travel to the liver, where they
can influence the production of blood lipids. Visceral fat is directly
linked with higher total cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol, lower
HDL (good) cholesterol, and insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance means that your body’s muscle and liver cells
don’t respond adequately to normal levels of insulin, the pancreatic
hormone that carries glucose into the body’s cells. Glucose levels in
the blood rise, heightening the risk for diabetes. “
Fortunately, you can eliminate belly fat by following these tips:
Strengthen Your Core
You need to exercise and build up your core muscles, as this will help you finally lose the beer belly.
Assess Your Alcohol Consumption
Drinking alcohol boosts the natural hormone production, fat
mobilization, and improves insulin sensitivity. Yet, studies have shown
that moderate beer drinkers have a 42 % lower risk of heart disease
compared to non-drinkers, so it would be wise to control your habit.
To reduce or slow down drinking, it would be helpful to record the drinks you have every day.
Get Active
Physical activity accelerates metabolism and supports the fat burning
process, so a 10-minute cardio daily will strengthen the stomach
muscles and burn the fat accumulates in the abdominal area.
Fix Your Diet
You can eliminate belly fat by increasing the consumption of
nutritious foods such as veggies, lean protein, fresh fruits, and
healthy fats. Intermittent fasting is beneficial when trying to lose fat
in the belly area. It will help you to control cravings and lower the
overall intake of calories.
Beer is rich in calories and carbohydrates, so if you reduce the
intake of carbs and increase the protein intake, you will speed up fat
loss and your metabolism.
Note that stress contributes to the accumulation of fat in the belly
area, and also causes hormonal imbalances, especially involving
cortisol, which stimulates the storage of fat around these problematic
areas. Don’t panic, this will take time, but after some time, you will
notice the changes occurring in your body.
