Intra-abdominal fat – weight loss
If you have been thinking about how to lose some of the hard
belly fat that seems difficult to shift, then listen up to some of the latest
research that will make you feel confident that you are following the science
and not the money makers.
Before we start, I wanted to say well done for reading this.
From personal experience and as a long time Personal Trainer, I know that
embarking on change can be a bit daunting – you might not think you are “up to
it” or that you don’t have the “willpower” to stick to it, or that being someone
who can make these changes is quite you. Don’t worry. Changing habits is part of this. The first
step is finding out the information. So have a read, have a think, and then
maybe look to making some small changes to begin with.
In a randomised control trial between 1997 – 2001, nearly
200 women (aged 50 – 75) took part in a programme (Irwin
et al 2003) to see the effect of exercise on weight loss – in particular, “belly
fat” or the intra-abdominal visceral fat that we talked about yesterday. The
group was split into an exercise group, a moderate exercise group and a
stretching group. Each had measurements taken for hip and waist (and I think
that this is worth recording for you if you are thinking of doing this
programme), and measurements for both intra-abdominal (deep in the trunk) and subcutaneous
(under the skin) fat.
Walking was the most popular choice of exercise for the
groups that could decide on what to do. Each day they were encouraged to do a
minimum of 30 minutes of activity and to record down what they did and for how
long – and again, I encourage you to set up a daily diary and note down your
activity every, along with your heart rate at exercise if you have a smart
watch. What is interesting from the conclusion
is this - greater fat loss was shown in
the group that exercises for a longer duration – so length of “time on your
feet” matters, which is great if you think you are too unfit to be able to take
on board more challenging exercise.
Start, I suggest, with a 10-minute early morning walk. Then
add in 5 minutes brisk walk during your lunch hour, followed by a longer walk
in the evening. Either think about ways you can tag this onto something you are
already doing – such as coming home from work – could you walk it? It might take
you 40 minutes, but your car journey might take you 10, then you faff about for
a while trying to find motivation. So, pop your trainers in your work bag, or
start to catch the bus or train in and walk some or all of the way home. Time
it on a day that you don’t have commitments, look at the forecast and add in a substitute
plan if things go awry. Do you take your children to rugby or football? Then
take your trainers and walk the pitch as they play. Find short periods of time
when you are busy, and plan a longer walk on the weekend. Find a friend to go
with you is a piece of advice I have said so much that I am bored of listening
to it, but to be honest, if you do make an arrangement to meet up for your
stroll and chat, then you are more likely to do it – fact.
There is only limited space to be able to give you tips, but
keep tuning in or message me if you are interested in joining the Happy Café Hapus
workouts which starts again in June x