Upper Stomach Bulge
A bulging upper stomach, commonly known as pot belly is actually a more serious issue than you ever imagined. It not only looks unsightly but also can lead to fatal health issues such as hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, high cholesterol, cancer, dementia and the like. The accumulated fat in upper stomach is actually visceral fat that collects in abdominal cavity around the organs and is one of the most stubborn fats in the human body.
If you are engaged in a battle with the bulge, you must first understand what all leads to accumulation of stubborn fat in your upper belly making it pop out over the belt line.
The most common causes of upper stomach fat are:
1. Aging
2. Genetics
3. Stress
4. Unhealthy food habit
5. Physical inactivity
6. Diseases like PCO, Thyroid gland malfunction, hormonal imbalances
Fat in upper stomach not only bulges your tummy in an embarrassing way but also blows your waistline out of proportion and unfortunately, it is indeed difficult to get rid of upper stomach fat. However, if you are someone who can persevere till the end, you can see good results in the long run.
A combination of dietary & lifestyle changes along with proper exercises can let you flatten your belly but you need to keep patience because results won?t come easy and may try your patience every now and then.
Here are some ways that can help you reduce upper stomach bulge in the long run?Read on to learn more:
Diet Change
Eating right is very important when you are trying to lose upper abdomen fat. So, make sure to drop out all processed or packaged food items from your daily diet. Most of us are drawn towards processed foods such as crackers, chips, white bread and refined white sugars in cakes, pastries, other store-bought desserts and sweetened drinks. But if you are trying to lose upper belly fat, you need to maintain a safe distance from such food items. According to research, refined, processed foods cause inflammation and inflammation adds to your belly fat. So, its best for you to take real foods low in carbohydrates and high in fibers and proteins. Include lots of fresh fruits and veggies in your daily diet. Also, consume protein rich food items like eggs, turkey, chicken, fishes etc on regular basis.
These food items boost metabolism and promote satiety for long hours. Also, taking the right kind of Fat is important. If you are consuming loads of saturated fats as present in dairy products and meats, you?ll only end up adding to your visceral fat. On the other hand, if you consume monosaturated and specific kinds of poly-saturated fats, you can help yourself because monosaturated and polysaturated fats are often regarded as ?fat burners? and are considered helpful in making you lose upper belly fat. Popular sources of monosaturated fats are Avocadoes and Olive Oil. Popular sources of polysaturated fats are fatty fishes like Salmon, nuts like Macamadia, Peanuts, Almonds, Walnuts etc, Seeds like Sunflower seeds, Pumpkin seeds etc.
Also, try to drink 8?10 glasses of water per day to keep your body thoroughly hydrated. If your body is dehydrated, your body develops a tendency for water retention and that again leads to swelling in the entire body and even in the belly.
If you include Green Tea in your daily diet, it will definitely help you in losing upper belly fat. Green Tea is rich in Catechins, a very powerful antioxidant that boosts your metabolism significantly. The catechins thus lead to increased rate of fat combustion for the green tea drinkers thereby helping you achieve flatter upper belly.
Lifestyle Change
Given are some of the major lifestyle changes that you need to do in order to get a flat upper belly. Read on to learn:
? Try to get adequate sleep, i.e. 7?8 hours a day. Sleep deprivation can cause your upper belly to protrude as lack of sleep can impair the functioning of the two major appetite-regulating hormones such as ghrelin & leptin. When you are sleep deprived, you tend to eat more calories in order to make up for the energy that you are lacking and that leads to popping out of your upper belly.
? Stress can prove to be fattening for your upper belly. If your mind is not relaxed, you?ll have very high levels of the Cortisol hormone that inhibits fat burning and entices you to reach out for quick hunger fixes such as the Cookie Jar.
? BPA or Bisphenol A in plastic is said to increase toxicity in our bodies and is said to contribute to upper belly fat. Thus, try to replace plastic water bottles & food containers for stainless steel and copper ones.
Exercises
Doing the right kind of exercises can help you get rid of your upper stomach bulge without much struggle. But there are several misconceptions when it comes to exercising for flat belly. Most of us believe that doing exercises such as sit-ups or crunches can help in shedding upper abdominal fat. But the truth is that you?ll hardly see any results if you stick to sit-ups and crunches alone. The reason for that is that most of the common workouts targeted towards mid-section usually work the small muscles out and the calories burnt are not enough to give a wash-board belly.
If you really want to see results in matters of losing upper belly fat, you need to do the compound exercises where several muscles are put to work simultaneously leading to increased heart rate & fat combustion. Compound exercises are functional exercises that strongly impact your core muscles putting your body in a fat burning mode. In this context, it is worthwhile to quote what renowned endocrinologist, MD, Sangeeta Kashyap says. She says, ?You need to do a combination of weights and cardiovascular training?. In other words, doing such combination workouts helps you gain in more of muscle mass and gaining of muscle mass leads to increased rate of fat & calorie combustion.
The most effective workout technique that you could adopt for successful upper abdomen flattening is the high interval training workouts. These exercises need to be performed up to a specific time period followed by few minutes of rest and then again repeating several rounds of the exercise after considering the fitness status that you have. Jumping Jacks, Squats, Planks and Burpees are some of the best exercises you could try for losing upper abdomen fat.
