Hi! My name is Desiree Winkel – owner and founder of Fitness Coaching. Fitness Coaching is a studio/gym where you can work out with professional trainers. Among the workout programs we offer are boot camps, cardio boxing, functional training, weight loss training, group training and personal training. Our studio is located in Simpson Bay.
We are all a bit more secure now of what will happen in the next weeks after lockdown, and we can start programming our minds on our new future. It is and has been a time of much insecurity and stress. Most people start eating when they’re stressed or bored. This is your time as the economy is slowly catching up; and we will be moving a bit more. So it’s time to work on ourselves again. Eat better and move more.
Long periods of inactivity and a diet high in saturated fat and high sugar lead to visceral fat storage – fat in our midsection that surrounds our internal organs. Some of the fat from the fat cells in that area can get into the main vein that supplies and delivers blood to our liver and then end up in our bloodstream raising our cholesterol levels. This can cause a variety of health issues like increased blood pressure, hormonal imbalances, cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance, which then leads to type 2 diabetes. All in all, it is not a pretty picture on the inside or on the outside.
The fat in this area is often the last one to go. Your body stores it as a safety feature. In times of need, like when there is no food or hardly any food available, your body will go to the fat storage in your body but the visceral fat is the last fat it attacks.
When we are in our prime, our bodies try to plan and save up extra resources for a rainy day, for when we are not as agile, and are unable to feed ourselves regularly. As we age, we reserve more and more visceral fat rather than the subcutaneous type, gaining a belly that only grows bigger the older we get.
The problem is that most people like to pick the body part where they would like to lose the fat at first. We can’t target the fat we want to lose with exercise or dieting, as our bodies always lose overall body fat and it is only when they are done shedding it everywhere else that they will access the fat they have reserved in problem areas like our bellies. I know it’s frustrating.
Exercising to get rid of belly fat isn’t going to work (although we’d really like that) since we cannot target our bellies specifically. No number of crunches or other ab-specific exercises will help us burn reserves there faster; it does not matter how much muscle we put on in a specific part of the body, we burn body fat in an overall way. This means that in order to get rid of the belly, you have to do exactly the same training you would do if you wanted to lose weight in general. Once you are low or out of other extra fat reserves to burn, then you will begin to burn visceral fat in your midsection and every other problem area you have.
The best way to dig into those stubborn fat reserves is through a combination of cardio, high burn and HIIT workouts. The sheer variety of each longer burn and/or higher intensity will eventually force your body to part with the fat and trade it for quality muscle instead. That is why I recommended that you concentrate on cardio instead of ab work in general, if you want to get rid of your belly fat.
You can still do some ab exercises, especially if your end goal is having a strong abdominal wall or a six-pack – but avoid making it the main goal of your training. Cardio should be what you focus on – cardio and staying active throughout the day – the more you move, the more you burn. There are many ways to do proper cardio or HIIT workouts. Ask your trainer to use your gym time or workout time effectively.
What really would help is to park your car a bit further than normal to walk to your job, grocery store or anywhere you go. Yes, I know it’s hot and you don’t want to be sweaty; but trust me –those little adjustments throughout the day will make a huge difference in the end. Adopting an active lifestyle and cutting out high sugar, high saturated fat foods will eventually lead to a flat and healthy stomach. It takes patience – and patience is vital in this case.
Fast weight loss is temporary weight loss, exactly because of that. The only way to get permanent results is to introduce conditions you can then maintain for the rest of your life.
Plan of action: Do cardio and high burn workouts; Reduce portion sizes; Be active all day long. In the end, it’s worth a try. The more you invite these changes in your life, the better you will feel. We can help you to achieve your goal. If you do not have time or money to spend, we can set up a plan for you and help you to achieve your goal and make you feel good.
Fitness Coaching is located on Welfare Road. For more information or if you have questions, call or WhatsApp +1 (721) 524 7700, check out Fitness Coaching on Facebook or Instagram, or visit www.fitnesscoachingsxm.com
