Metabolic Health
Five Tips to Melt Visceral Fat and Have a Defined Belly
How to melt belly fat easily and quickly with simple lifestyle adjustments
Beating Fat by Understanding the Fat Metabolism
Undoubtedly, visceral body fat poses health risks. Tapping into our belly fat can be challenging if we don’t meet the fat-burning requirements of the body.
Abdominal fat is extra obstinate due to the hormonal effects of insulin and cortisol hormones coded in our survival system.
I introduced the effects of hormones in an article titled Hormonal Intelligence: Sharpen It to Achieve Optimal Health.
However, with a few practical lifestyle adjustments, it is possible to melt visceral fat and prevent its accumulation.
While some of us want to lose belly fat for aesthetic reasons, my goal is for health reasons. Many resources I reviewed point out that visceral fat, which significantly enlarges our waistline, can cause serious health issues.
Major risk factors for visceral fat are unhealthy diets, sedentary lifestyles, excessive alcohol use, chronic stress, and chronic inflammation, as mentioned in this story with facts backed by World Health Organization.
Body fat is essential. In addition to serving as a natural energy source, our body needs some fat under the skin for various reasons.
For example, our organs need fat as padding to protect them from external pressure.
So subcutaneous fat under the skin serves this purpose. However, visceral fat is accumulated around the organs. So when visceral fat passes the threshold, our metabolic risks significantly increase.
As mentioned in an article by Harvard Medical School titled Visceral fat more of a health concern than subcutaneous fat:
“Visceral fat has been linked to metabolic disturbances and increased risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. In women, it is also associated with breast cancer and the need for gallbladder surgery.”
Fat metabolism and profile is a complex and comprehensive topic. Fat metabolism has an impact on our physical and mental health.
Therefore, I plan to introduce white fat versus brown fat in another article. By the way, I prefer brown fat as it has more mitochondria. In the meantime, here are the five tips that helped me keep my visceral fat at an optimal state.
1 — Blood Sugar and Insulin Control
Ironically, excessive sugar can become fat when our muscles and other organs cannot accept elevated glucose in the bloodstream.
I mentioned the importance of insulin sensitivity for metabolic health. I also highlighted the risks of insulin resistance in multiple articles, such as this trending one titled Three Tips to Eliminate Insulin Resistance and Shrink Waistline.
Reducing sugar intake from refined carbs can significantly lower insulin secretion after meals. Even though proteins raise insulin spikes, the effect is not as high as carbs, as proteins are digested at a much lower rate than carbs.
Healthy fats have the lowest impact on insulin spikes. Therefore, I prefer consuming healthy fats to carbs for calories as an energy source.
I know some people are more tolerant of carbs metabolism, so choosing fat or carbs is an individual matter based on advice from qualified dieticians.
When we reduce sugar consumption, the pancreas creates less insulin. Therefore, our bodies can stay insulin sensitive. There are, of course, several other factors raising insulin.
However, sugar has the most effect. Thus, it can be a low-hanging fruit to prevent insulin resistance by reducing sugar intake. Tapping into fat stores can be much more efficient when insulin is under control.
2 — Getting Fat Adapted
From my experience, the most efficient way to melt visceral fat is going into a fat-adapted state as I explained in this article. This means that the body uses stored fat as an energy source, especially with no food intake.
Therefore, time-restricted eating is ideal for losing fat without losing muscles as it puts us into a better hormonal balance.
When I got fat-adapted using time-restricted eating and moderate exercises such as calisthenics using my body weight and barefoot walking around 10,000 steps a day on the beach and grass, I experienced significant visceral fat loss all over the body.
My goal was to lose belly fat, but targeting specific body parts was not feasible.
Our body determines to utilize fat, not our thinking. However, the good news is the body also uses belly fat in the fat-adapted state. I couldn’t tap into belly fat before being fat-adapted.
The best part for me, after getting fat-adapted, I did not need to count calories anymore. Fat burning has become a natural process.
Since then, I have never gained any fat in my abdominal area and have kept my waistline in my desired state.
I explained the importance of a fat-adapted state and how to get it in this article.
3 — Moderate Exercise and Little Fasted-Cardio
In addition to moderate exercise in the form of resistance training and cardio, adding 20 minutes of fasted cardio, especially in the morning on an empty stomach, can create an opportunity to tap into fat stores.
As I pointed out in a story, Eliza used this fasted-cardio technique with the supervision of her personal trainer Adrian during his inspiring fat-loss journey.
Eliza only used it to lose accumulated fat which brought her to obesity. However, after losing substantial fat, she stopped it and continued her regular moderate exercises to sustain her healthy weight.
Even though I have no fat issues, I still perform short fasted-cardio on a trampoline every morning to keep my insulin sensitivity. This regime also boosts my mental capacity by generating mood-enhancing neurochemicals in the morning.
Aerobic exercises can increase the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in the brain. In this article, I explained the importance of BDNF, especially for preventing neurodegenerative diseases.
4 — Customized and Clean Diet
As I pointed out in several articles, diet is an individual matter. There is not a single diet meeting the requirement of everyone.
Therefore, I highlight the importance of a customized diet meeting our needs as advised by qualified healthcare professionals who have access to our medical history.
A clean diet means refraining from processed foods and food with no nutritional value. For example, some food, such as sugar, has excessive calories but little nutritional value.
Junk food, especially from fast food stores, causes many health issues. For example, harmful additives and fried fat from fast foods might cause inflammation and prevent the body from a fat-burning state.
5 — Reducing Elevated Cortisol Levels
Cortisol is a hormone initiated as a protective mechanism when our bodies experience stress. In moderate amounts, cortisol is a valuable hormone.
However, a hormonal imbalance can pose several health risks when cortisol levels pass the threshold.
Our cortisol remains elevated when we experience excessive stress, especially chronic and emotional stress. The body cannot tap into stored fat during a high cortisol state in the bloodstream.
Instead, it mainly utilizes glucose as an easy energy source. So, melting belly fat when experiencing high cortisol looks almost impossible if we understand the function of this hormone.
Sleep deprivation and chronic stress can cause excessive cortisol production. Therefore, high-quality sleep, rest, and emotional regulation via mindfulness practices are ideal intervention mechanisms to optimize cortisol levels.
Conclusions and Takeaways
I fear visceral fat accumulation but was never concerned about eating healthy saturated fats, which transformed my health.
Around 75% of my calories have come from healthy fats for over two decades. I documented my recent 15 years of experience in an article. Here’s What Happened on One-Meal-a-Day After 15 Years.
I used to believe in baseless saturated fat and cholesterol theories introduced by Ancel Keys and endorsed by governments without challenging the accuracy of his research.
Fortunately, some smart scientists and researchers have found ways to debunk these misleading theories that have confused the public for many years. Unfortunately, I was one of those victims whose health was risked by misinformation. Thus, it is a topic close to my heart.
I documented my experience consuming healthy fats, giving me a better hormonal profile and improving my metabolic and mental health. Eating 200g of Fats Daily for Decades, I Didn’t Gain Weight Yet Thrived.
People still believe these obsolete theories and refrain from eating healthy fats for fear of cholesterol. Ironically, every cell in the body needs cholesterol.
Why would our bodies develop the cholesterol structure through evolution if it was harmful? More ironically, if we don’t eat cholesterol, including fat, our body makes it in abundance, so fat intake is irrelevant to cholesterol discussion, as I discussed in the attached article. Cholesterol Paradox and How It Impacted My Health Positively.
In addition, caring and talented science journalists like Nina Teicholz and Gary Taubes investigated these obsolete theories and articulated them in their books.
If you still believe in the saturated fat and cholesterol theories, you might check out Nina’s book The Big Fat Surprise.
If you cannot afford the time to read this comprehensive review that took her a decade to compile, I recommend checking this 30-minute video by a medical doctor.
And if you cannot afford half an hour, just check this fewer-than-three-minute teaser by another medical doctor.
Our health is not a theory. The body knows what is essential and what is not. Learning about the importance of eating fat to get into a fat-adapted state was the best investment in my health journey.
In my juvenile years, I regret the fear of eating healthy fat and ruining my metabolism with junk carbs.
However, I am grateful for unlearning wrong information and learning more vital information, which helped me transform my health to the desired state. It was better to find the truth later than never.
I made seven big mistakes due to my naivety in believing in false information in my younger years.
Nevertheless, correcting my errors with mature thinking, I solved 12 debilitating health conditions with empowering information, personal responsibility, brave experimentation, and persistence.
In addition, the behavioral aspect of weight management is essential. Our habits determine our success or failure. To shed light on this critical issue, I documented a case study of a friend who shed 30 pounds after stopping some habits and replacing them with better ones.
Sample Inspiring Fat Loss Success Stories
Here’s How a Mature-Age Couple Reversed Diabetes and Trimmed Their Bodies with Lifestyle Habits.
A Single-Mum Reversed Her Obesity and Built up a Unicorn Business
Tina Quit Caffeine, Nicotine, and Alcohol and Replaced Them with Healthier Options.
Charlotte Lost 40 Pounds of Visceral Fat After Winning the Battle Against Chronic Fatigue
How Alberto Melted His Potbelly & Doubled Testosterone in a Year
Bruno’s Diet Led Him to Loss of Visceral Fat and Gain of Lean Muscles
Lifestyle Habits that Helped Me to Thrive.
The Secret: Leverage RAS to Accomplish Dreams with Less Effort
When I Skipped Breakfasts for Two Decades, I Gained Copious Benefits.
Here’s What Happened When I Replaced Carbs with Healthy Fats for Two Decades.
Disclaimer: Please note that this post does not include health or professional advice. I documented my reviews, observations, experience, and perspectives only to provide information and create awareness.
Besides aiming to increase the hormonal intelligence of my readers and writing about neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, GABA, acetylcholine, and norepinephrine, one of my goals as a writer is to raise awareness about the causes and risk factors of prevalent diseases that can lead to suffering and death for a large portion of the population.
I aim to educate, create awareness, and empower my readers to take control of their health and well-being.
To raise awareness about health issues, I have written several articles that present my holistic health findings from research, personal observations, and unique experiences. Below are links to these articles for easy access.
Metabolic Syndrome, Type II Diabetes, Fatty Liver Disease, Heart Disease, Strokes, Obesity, Liver Cancer, Autoimmune Disorders, Homocysteine, Lungs Health, Pancreas Health, Kidneys Health, NCDs, Infectious Diseases, Brain Health, Dementia, Depression, Brain Atrophy, Neonatal Disorders, Skin Health, Dental Health, Bone Health, Leaky Gut, Leaky Brain, Brain Fog, Chronic Inflammation, Insulin Resistance, Elevated Cortisol, Leptin Resistance, Anabolic Resistance, Cholesterol, High Triglycerides, Metabolic Disorders, Gastrointestinal Disorders, and Major Diseases.
I also wrote about valuable nutrients. Here are the links for easy access:
Lutein/Zeaxanthin, Boron, Urolithin, taurine, citrulline malate, biotin, lithium orotate, alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, CoQ10, PQQ, NADH, TMG, creatine, choline, digestive enzymes, magnesium, zinc, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, and other nutrients to improve metabolism and mental health.
Disclaimer: Please note that my posts do not include professional or health advice. I document my reviews, observations, experience, and perspectives only to provide information and create awareness.
As part of my creative non-fiction writing goals, I’d like to share a few stories that might warm our hearts with a bit of humor into weighty topics.
Sample Humorous Stories
Finally, After Burning Her House, Georgia Found Enlightenment
Hilarious Tips to Prevent Brain Atrophy and Keep the Gray Matter Giggling
8 Psychological Points I Had to Unlearn and Relearn the Opposite
Based on my writing experience and observations, I documented findings and strategies that might help you amplify your voice, engage your audience, and achieve your desired outcomes in your writing journey.
I publish my lifestyle, health, and well-being stories on EUPHORIA. My focus is on metabolic, cellular, mitochondrial, and mental health. Here is my collection of Insightful Life Lessons from Personal Stories.
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