Pinching an Inch Around That Middle?

Why, despite our best efforts to exercise and eat well, do our middles keeps expanding with every passing year?  Stubborn abdominal fat can be the most obstinate fat to lose—and it's unhealthy, as well.  Belly fat, or visceral fat, has been linked to many diseases, including heart disease, osteoporosis and diabetes.

Commonly known as "middle-aged spread," it's not just relegated to the 35-plus crowd these days.  Even teen-agers seem to carry excessive fat around their middles, regardless of how thin the rest of their bodies may be.  How do we effectively get rid of this belly fat?

Doing 500 crunches daily isn't enough to sculpt a lean stomach and shrink unhealthy visceral abdominal fat. Try these effective strategies for a slim, strong and healthy middle.

Build Muscle and  Jump-start a Slow Metabolism

After the age of 25, we lose a small percentage of our existing muscle mass yearly.  Muscle is energy-hungry. It requires more energy, or calories, to exist than fat does.  The amount of calories our body thus needs just to function diminishes each year.  This is called our "resting metabolic rate" (RMR).

As our RMR declines, however, we are likely still eating like we did when we were 15.  We also may not be as active as our younger selves due to demands from work and family, so our energy needs are lower.  The result is that we are taking in more calories than we are expending, which ends up padding your mid-section.

The answer?  Replace that lost muscle mass and increase your resting metabolic rate. By strength training regularly and consistently, you'll rebuild new muscle, burn more calories even when sleeping, and in the process sculpt a well-toned body.  

The larger the muscle group, the more energy-hungry it is.  For an effective workout, perform mainly large muscle movements and incorporate as many multi-muscle movements into the workout as possible.

So, instead of doing just a row, do a lunge, row and overhead press.  Skip the machines at the club and substitute a dumbbell chest press on a stability ball.  You'll burn more calories as you use more muscles.

Break a Sweat During Cardio

Often clients will complain that they do cardio daily but still don't lose any weight.  Unfortunately, if you are drinking a Starbucks while walking and talking, you probably aren't working hard enough to budge your body off its setpoint.  The key is to always break a sweat during your cardio workouts.

Escalate the intensity of your workout by adding short sprints or faster tempo intervals.  Climb stairs and hills or kick up the incline on the treadmill.  You can also workout for a longer period of time. Try running for 60 minutes instead of just 30. 

Cardio exercise should ideally be performed four to six days per week. And remember, although you should be able to carry on a conversation while working out, it should not be comfortable to do so.

 Shuck Away the Sugar

Sugar is a nutritionally empty carbohydrate that in excess will be stored as fat. While it's OK to have an occasional treat, it's important to be aware of the hidden sugar in our diets.  Try tracking the amount of sugar you eat daily—you'll be surprised!  Even seemingly healthy foods, such as cereal and yogurt, can contain an inordinate amount of sugar.

Sugar is added to many restaurant meals and processed foods to enhance taste.  Some cereals can contain up to 3 teaspoons, and many yogurts can be laden with up to 4 teaspoons of sugar.  At 16 calories per teaspoon, that hidden sugar will add up quickly.

The American Heart Association recommends women have no more than 25 grams or 6 teaspoons of sugar daily, and men should have no more than 37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons of sugar daily. 

Limit all white, processed carbohydrates in your diet, choosing healthy, diet friendly whole grains instead.  Carbohydrates will essentially be converted to a sugar form in your body to be either used as energy or stored as fat.  Whole grains have been linked to a lower incidence of abdominal fat.

Get Rid of Trans-fats

A trans-fat is a chemically altered fat that has been stabilized by adding hydrogen to a vegetable oil. The resulting fat is used to enable a longer shelf life in prepared and processed foods.  Trans-fats are commonly seen in many processed and packaged foods, including desserts, margarines, french fries and baked goods.

Food manufacturers are required by law to list the amount of trans-fats on the product's food label. However, if the product contains less than .5 grams, it can be listed as having zero grams of trans fat. Eat enough of these products containing less than a half gram and you've still eaten an unhealthy amount.

It is important to always check food labels and ingredient listings to find out if the product contains trans fats.  Common terms are "partially hydrogenated" and "shortening."  Trans-fats are linked to an increase in abdominal fat and will raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. 

Action Plan:  Eat a diet comprised of unprocessed, whole foods rich in lean proteins, whole grains, and fresh fruits and vegetables.  Bake your own, homemade desserts and cookies.  Use a small amount of real butter in place of margarine or buy a butter substitute that is trans-fat free.  And most of all, always read a product's food label and list of ingredients.

Reduce and Manage Stress

Cortisol is a naturally occurring hormone that is linked to stress in our bodies.  Although we do require some level of cortisol production, excess stress will elevate those levels.  High cortisol levels are linked to stubborn belly fat. 

In a study at Wake Forest University, Dr. Carol A. Shively fed monkeys a typical American diet.  Interestingly, all of the monkeys on the American diet gained weight, but the monkeys that were under chronic stress gained belly fat. The highly stressed monkeys had increased levels of cortisol, which gradually led to an increase in belly fat and an increase in the size of individual fat cells.  

While we'll never get rid of stress completely, we can learn methods to control our reaction to it.  Effective stress relief methods include getting enough daily sleep (seven to eight hours), getting rid of energy drains, exercising regularly, meditating nightly and practicing yoga consistently (even if only for 10 minutes in the morning).

Remember, there will always be situations that can cause stress; you can only control how you react and deal with these stressors.  Learn to take a deep breath and realize that all things, good or bad, are momentary. 

Increase Monounsaturated Fats

According to a study published in the July 2007 issue of Diabetes Care, participants that ate a diet rich in monounsaturated fats decreased their belly fat, even if they did not exercise.

MUFA's are the healthy fats derived from olives, avocados and nuts. They are also a staple of the Mediterranean diet, widely believed to be one of the in the world.

Make MUFA's an integral part of your daily diet.  Substitute olive oil for butter and other oils, and incorporate superfoods, such as almonds and walnuts, into your meal.  Instead of a sandwich, try a handful of almonds, a couple of Italian or Greek olives, and a dark, leafy green salad. 

Try the above strategies and you'll be showing off your "abs of steel" this summer.