What to do if you play sports and your stomach doesn’t go away

About hormonal fat in the human body

When visiting an endocrinologist, the patient is faced with the need to undergo many tests in order to understand the cause of the disease.

Most endocrine diseases are accompanied by obesity. This is mainly due to a disruption in the production of hormones responsible for the utilization of fat in the body, a metabolic disorder in which fat is deposited in the fat depot, as well as insulin resistance, namely a disruption of the metabolic response to insulin.

Adipose tissue is the anatomical term for loose connective tissue and is the primary form of energy storage. In addition to its source, fats have other properties that signal various hormonal changes in the body. In total, there are 6 types of obesity, each of which requires a specific approach to treatment.

The number of fat cells in the body is determined by nature and remains unchanged throughout life. However, due to the individual characteristics of the body and depending on the lifestyle, these cells can increase several hundred times compared to their original size. The growth of fat cells without an increase in their number is called hypertrophic obesity.

What it looks like, symptoms

Hormonal obesity, in contrast to nutritional obesity, can be determined by the characteristic appearance of a person: a voluminous belly with relatively incomplete arms and legs.

This is explained not only by the accumulation of fat in this area, but also by water. Upon palpation, you will notice that the hormonal abdomen is very soft and significantly different to the touch from other parts of the body that are also prone to obesity.

The fact is that extra pounds can be symptoms not only of obesity, but also of swelling. There may be many reasons for this, including endocrine disruptions.

It is much more difficult to remove a hormonal belly in women because the cells in these places accumulate fat 6 times more than in others, and release it 6 times less when burned. This is why many people notice that the belly is the last thing to go when losing weight.

Nature arranges it in such a way that visceral fat is present in almost every person. But it is not its presence that is important, but its volume. Doctors have established uniform standards for men and women, according to which a waist circumference in girls of more than 88 cm is considered to be excess of the fat standard.

In addition, if the stomach is large and strongly protruding, then the fat deposits in it are hypertrophied, therefore, their sensitivity to insulin is much less, which further complicates burning. And when its volumes exceed permissible limits, a serious danger to human health and normal life appears, and an unpleasant visual effect is created.

Reasons for appearance

The following reasons lead to excess weight gain, mainly in the abdominal area:

• hypothyroidism or underfunction of the thyroid gland;
• prolonged stress;
• chronic lack of sleep, insomnia;
• side effects of medications;
• menopause;
• dysfunction of the liver and kidneys, excessive salt consumption;
• poor nutrition;
• smoking, drinking alcohol.

In addition to the above reasons, there is another specific feature that is typical for people who in the past regularly visited the gym and played sports, and then abandoned training and began to lead a sedentary lifestyle. In this case, the muscle corset begins to intensively transform into adipose tissue.

With such obesity, excess deposits accumulate mainly on the stomach and sides, while the rest of the body recovers slightly.

Psychological causes of obesity are also possible. There is a theory according to which the problem of excess weight is associated with individual character traits.

For example, fat deposits in the abdominal area can indicate tightness and loss of interest in life. This may be caused by a subconscious rejection of one’s femininity, sexuality, or low self-esteem.

One may be skeptical about such a classification, but not only psychologists, but also nutritionists say that excess weight gain largely has psychosomatic reasons. For this reason, weight loss is considered most effective when the patient works in tandem with them.

Recommendations for eliminating belly fat

What to do if the eyebrow twitches above the eye

Experienced fitness instructors and nutritionists give their recommendations:

1. You need to do cardio training for no more than 45-50 minutes, since after an hour of intense training, the body begins to consume muscle tissue instead of fat.
2. You need to start with strength exercises, then move on to cardio. Strength training will burn up carbohydrates. Then cardio training will begin to burn fat not after 20 minutes, but almost immediately after it starts.
3. Proper weight loss is between 0.5 and 1 kg per week. With faster weight loss, muscle mass will be lost and the skin will begin to sag.
4. To cleanse the body of toxins and normalize metabolism, you can try the principle of separate nutrition, based on the compatibility of products.
5. You need to train yourself to maintain your posture. A straight back, shoulders pulled back, and a straightened chest make the abdominal muscles work. The stomach and chest are tightened.
6. Stressful conditions should be avoided. Stress is accompanied by the release of the hormone cortisol, which slows down metabolism. Therefore, it is worth learning to relax through meditation.
7. Lack of sleep leads to excess weight gain. You should go to bed at the same time and sleep for at least 7-8 hours.

Getting a flat and firm stomach again is a completely feasible task. You just need to replace bad habits with good ones and introduce them into your life. The result is never given for free, but the efforts pay off with the admiration of others and increased self-esteem.

The dangers of abdominal fat

Abdominal obesity is especially dangerous because it is not just excess subcutaneous fat, but also fat inside the abdominal cavity itself.

This adipose tissue is located between the intestinal loops, envelops the internal organs located in the gastrointestinal tract, and is also one of the reasons for the increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, arterial hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus and other diseases.

One of the main consequences that female hormonal obesity can lead to is dysfunction of the ovaries, which, as a consequence, leads to infertility.

Subcutaneous fat accumulates evenly throughout the body and has a lot of blood flow, while visceral fat is that unsightly fat that often hangs like a lifeline around your waist. It encircles the internal organs, and its only purpose is to isolate them.

However, it can become metabolically active and begin to grow, which can cause serious problems in the body. This is why visceral fat is associated with glucose intolerance and other types of metabolism.

Since fat is attached to organs, it begins to receive some of its cellular functions from them. In addition, it promotes the release of substances that cause inflammatory processes in the body. Consequently, obese people are more susceptible to various inflammatory diseases.

Visceral fat, predominantly localized in the abdominal cavity, often puts pressure on the diaphragm, resulting in difficulty breathing, shortness of breath and dizziness.

It also has specific receptors that synthesize hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline. Therefore, it is more susceptible to stress hormones. This explains obesity as a side effect of frequent stressful situations and depression.

Diet rules for reducing belly fat

It is impossible to get rid of belly fat only; you need to take measures aimed at overall weight loss. And this should be done competently, in accordance with the recommendations of nutritionists:

• have meals at least 5 times a day, each serving should not contain more than 200 Kcal;
• the menu should contain proteins - eggs, chicken, fish, seafood;
• You should consume olive oil, fish or almonds every day, because they contain substances that dissolve “old” fat;
• per day you need to eat 400 g of vegetables and 200 fruits, dividing them into convenient portions;
• grapes, whole milk and white cabbage, legumes should be abandoned.

We recommend reading the article about a diet for losing weight in the abdomen and sides. From it you will learn about the causes of fat deposition, what should be included in the daily menu, and easy and effective exercises. And here is more information about cellulite after losing weight.

The belly loses weight poorly only if a person does not follow the recommendations of nutritionists. “Pushing” the body and speeding up the process of burning fat located deep in the abdominal cavity can only be done by regular exercise and adherence to nutritional rules, adjusting the rest and wakefulness regime. In this case, after 30 days, positive results will be noticeable, which will only delight you in the future.

Normalization of nutrition

Hormonal belly fat in women, which cannot be removed without changing eating habits, in most cases is directly related to eating and drinking disorders. Elimination of this problem must begin with the normalization of these conditions of existence of the body.

First of all, you should minimize the consumption of salty foods, and also exclude from the diet foods with a high content of hidden salt, such as smoked meats, processed foods and sausages.

The basic principles of proper nutrition are minimizing animal fats and fast carbohydrates, eating red meat no more than 2 times a week and preferring plant foods in the diet. You should eat in small portions at short intervals.

The use of some drugs that improve liver and kidney function and have a mild diuretic effect is allowed, but only after consulting a doctor.

Daily regime

Normalization of sleep and wakefulness is inextricably linked with the process of fat burning. With lack of sleep, the body tries to slow down metabolic processes at the hormonal level, and the process of lipolysis, that is, the breakdown of fat cells, is disrupted. Scientists have found that frequent sleep disturbances increase the risk of obesity by 45%.

Sleep is a time of general restoration of the body, when the level of adrenaline and cortisol decreases, and they are replaced by anabolic hormones - growth hormones. Therefore, the night is the main time when you can transfer fat to the mitochondria to burn it the next day through exercise.

Sleeping at the wrong time, as well as an irregular rhythm, increases the feeling of hunger at night, also due to a malfunction in the hormonal system. Maintaining a daily routine and sufficient rest is necessary for the normal functioning of the endocrine system and the process of losing weight.

In order to remove the hormonal belly, in addition to following the rules of a healthy diet and physical activity, a woman needs to normalize her sleep and wakefulness patterns

It is not so easy to remove a hormonal belly in women. In addition to getting a full 8 hours of sleep, other conditions must be taken into account in the process of falling asleep. For example, the last meal should be at least 2 hours before bedtime and should not contain carbohydrates. This is necessary to prevent the production of insulin, which also blocks the production of growth hormone.

Having had a good night's sleep, having eaten mostly protein foods for dinner, you can turn about 50 g of pure fat from your sides and stomach into fuel overnight .
And to completely get rid of it, all you have to do is move slightly in the morning for 20 minutes, for example, do light exercises.

Visceral fat is the reason why the belly is the last place to lose weight.

First of all, the face and arms lose weight, but last of all, the stomach. At the same time, a person can follow a diet, exercise, and generally make every effort to get rid of excess weight. The problem is that it is in the abdomen that visceral fat is deposited - the one that surrounds the internal organs and fills the entire peritoneal space.

The body “gives” it away very reluctantly and uses it for energy as a last resort.

It is also worth remembering that fat accumulation did not appear overnight, so you must continue to follow a diet and exercise properly, with patience.

A lot of salt in the diet is the reason why the stomach does not lose weight when playing sports

Salt retains fluid and provokes swelling, so visually it seems that the stomach does not lose weight even with active sports. You cannot completely give up this spice, because metabolic processes in the body will be disrupted. But you shouldn’t get carried away with salty foods.

The solution to the problem is to reduce the amount of salt - an adult can only consume 5 g of this spice (a full teaspoon) per day. You can emphasize the taste of ready-made dishes with olive oil, spices, and herbs.

You need to start reducing salt smoothly and gradually; the body very quickly gets used to the new taste of foods and dishes and perceives it adequately. Moreover, after a month even familiar dishes will seem overly salty.

Alcohol consumption

Nutritionists indicate that for effective weight loss you need to completely abstain from alcoholic beverages, although they allow periodic consumption of beer or wine in very moderate quantities. In fact, these drinks are very high in calories, and they are drunk with a good snack - chips, crackers, salted fish, chocolate, cheese.

In 2010, a study was conducted on a group of people who, at normal weight, drank small amounts of wine/beer. The result was weight retention and even slight weight loss, but subject to standard rules of nutrition and physical activity.

Such contradictory data mean only one thing - it is better to adhere to classical standards and give up alcohol altogether or take it no more than once a week in a volume of 200 ml for wine and 350 ml for beer.

Wrong diet, or why everything loses weight except the stomach

If the diet is too strict, contains a minimum of calories and is followed for 14 days or more, it will cause a slowdown in the metabolic process . In this case, everything will lose weight except the stomach. Again, visceral fat is to blame for everything - the body’s food supply in case of a hunger strike. The belly will lose weight, but the results will simply not be noticeable.

What nutritionists recommend: give a “push”, put the body under stress, increasing the calorie content of the diet by 20-30%. But this should be done not with sweets and pastries, but with cereals, pasta and sweet fruits. This regime is introduced for a maximum of 2 days, during which the body will understand that it is not in danger of going on a hunger strike and, after switching to a low-calorie diet, will begin to get rid of belly fat.

The mistake may also lie in frequent consumption of white rice, low amounts of protein in the menu, or consumption of sausages. It is necessary to balance your diet and consume daily:

• buckwheat, oatmeal;
• boiled/baked chicken breast;
• seafood and fish;
• vegetables and fruits without syrups.

You need to give up any semi-finished products, because they contain salt and starch - products that negatively affect the hormonal system and give a “signal” to the body to store reserves.

Watch the video about the dangers of semi-finished products for the body:

Not getting enough sleep

Scientists have conducted research and found that those people who sleep 5 hours or less per day begin to gain weight even with a limited diet.

If a person does not rest for at least 7 hours in a row at night, then he will not be able to remove belly fat even if he follows all the recommendations of nutritionists and sports instructors . This is due to the fact that lack of sleep provokes increased production of the hormone ghrelin, which literally “demands” fatty foods and sweets.

There is only one solution - to adjust the daily routine so that at night there are 7-9 hours of full sleep. A healthy lifestyle is not only about giving up bad habits and switching to proper nutrition, but also about quality rest.

Massage

Massage is an excellent tool to help get rid of a voluminous belly. Doing it for a few minutes provides an internal exercise that detoxifies and cleanses the body, promotes fat burning, and also brings blood to the surface of the abdomen.

According to experts, it is enough to spend 15-20 minutes. a day using this technique, so that after 2 weeks you can see the first results.

However, such massage is contraindicated for pregnant women, during periods of inflammatory diseases and in the presence of diseases of the abdominal organs.

Various body care products and cosmetic procedures also bring additional positive effects, but only if other necessary conditions are met. In most cases, they will only help tighten the skin of the abdomen and make it look more pleasant.

How to make your stomach flat

To remove fat from the lower abdomen, diet and exercise alone will not be enough. If you follow the recommendations below, you will be able to lose weight much faster.

Cleansing the body

Before choosing a diet, you need to cleanse the intestines. To do this, you can do enemas, but experts do not recommend this procedure often.

The best option would be a fasting day. It will not only cleanse the body, but also remove some belly fat. The essence of this diet is to drink exclusively drinking water for 24 hours. That is, you can’t eat anything. To ensure that belly fat disappears faster and swelling does not appear, you need to drink at least 2-3 liters of liquid.

Physical activity

It is almost impossible to remove the hormonal belly in women only with the help of massage. Moreover, without physical activity, the chances of getting rid of it may be zero.

The only question is what level of activity is acceptable for a particular person. If regular high-intensity training is suitable for one woman, then for another a light load, such as walking or swimming, is quite enough.

The level of physical activity should be determined depending on health status, age, lifestyle and degree of obesity. It is possible that any kind of stress may be contraindicated for a woman.

This is especially true for those whose obesity problem is closely related to endocrine system disorders. Therefore, in this case, you should start training only after consulting your doctor.

Don't forget about basic walking, including on the stairs , with the help of which, unnoticed by yourself, you can not only burn excess fat, but also keep your leg muscles toned.

Exercises against hormonal belly

As you know, there is no separation between the upper and lower parts of the abdominal muscle, however, depending on the load received, it often works unevenly. In addition, the fat layer in the lower abdomen is much thicker.

Most exercises involve the upper abs, but this does not mean that you cannot influence the lower abdomen through physical activity. Each suggested exercise should be performed for 20 repetitions.

Exercises:

1. Lie on your back, arms extended along your body, palms resting on the floor. Legs are bent at right angles, emphasis only on the heels. Lift your head and shoulders off the floor, pull your knees to your chest while exhaling using your abdominal muscles to a right angle with the floor. Next, lower your legs, touch your heels to the floor and raise them again.
2. The starting position is the same. This is followed by pulling the knees to the chest while exhaling, lifting the pelvis off the floor. The bend angle of the knees does not change. Returning to the starting position, barely touching the heels of the floor, the exercise is repeated. The upper part of the body remains motionless.
3. Starting position - lying on your back, place your palms on the floor under your buttocks, straighten your legs. Next, the head, shoulders, shoulder blades, as well as straightened legs are slightly lifted off the floor, after which the knees, alternately bending, are pulled towards the chest.
4. Lying on your back, extend your arms along your body with your palms facing the floor, and raise your legs perpendicular to the floor. Next, as you exhale, you need to lift your pelvis off the floor, resting your hands on the floor and raising your outstretched legs up.
5. Starting position: lying on your back, one leg parallel to the floor, the other extended upward perpendicularly. As you exhale, you need to change the position of your legs without bending them.
6. Starting position - lying on your back, place your palms on the floor under your buttocks, straighten your legs, and, slightly lifting them, perform criss-cross movements with them.

These exercises are great for working the muscles of the lower abdomen, which are most susceptible to obesity. For best efficiency, you need to ensure that the main tension falls on this area. By normalizing the psycho-emotional background and observing the basic rules of a healthy diet, a woman’s return to her former slimness will not take long.

By gradually changing your lifestyle, you can not only get rid of the hormonal belly, but also improve your overall health.

Author: Nadezhda Ukraeva

Why doesn’t the lower abdomen and sides lose weight when playing sports?

Physical activity is the key to effective weight loss, but even they often do not give the desired result. The whole body loses weight, but the stomach remains within the same size. The reason for this situation can be various factors - the wrong choice of exercises, lack of strength loads on the legs, too intense training.

Wrong choice of exercises

Lifting the body from a supine position, twisting, bending, leg lifts - these exercises burn too few calories to give a “impetus” to the disappearance of visceral fat . They will only help to slightly strengthen the abdominal wall, tighten the skin, but will not get rid of the fat layer. We need a complex that will have a beneficial effect on the whole body, and then, along with general weight loss, the lower abdomen will also decrease.

Instructors and nutritionists recommend doing 20-30 minutes of cardio exercise in the morning on an empty stomach - running, jumping rope, cycling, walking or dancing. Such sports will give a much better effect than doing an extra 100-200 body crunches.

There are no strength exercises on the legs in the loads, and the stomach does not lose weight

Athletes have long known that push-ups, dumbbell and barbell lifts, and planks “force” the deep abdominal muscles to work. Naturally, the result will be much faster than when pumping up the abs and doing aerobics. Squats will be effective, because the muscle tissue of the lower extremities burns so much energy during work that it is “extracted” from the abdomen.

Squats can be performed at home, but only after the weight has decreased by 10-15 kg from the initial values. Start with a minimum amount - literally 5-10 twice a day, gradually increasing. As a result, you need to bring up to 250 squats per day, which can be performed simultaneously or in 2 approaches.

The training is too intense

“Pushing” yourself, training daily and additionally running/jumping/squatting/twirling a hula hoop is not a solution, but a direct path to health problems. In the absence of the correct regime of exercise and rest, water begins to accumulate in the body, which does not allow fat deposits in the abdominal area to dissolve.

In addition, with such excessive loads, the heart suffers, blood vessels are negatively affected, and joint diseases can develop.

It is necessary to allocate time for exercise and rest so that the body can recover. It is recommended to do a full workout no more than 3 times a week, but squat, walk or ride a bike every day.