Categories: Weight Loss

Skinny Fat: 10 Reasons You Are Skinny But Have Belly Fat

Ever wondered why you are skinny but have belly fat?

This article will reveal to you the basic reason why you have fat on your belly region and the best ways out.

Just before delving into the main discussion of the day…,

Why is belly fat dangerous?

Excess belly fat can lead to any of the following health conditions:

Cardiovascular disease
Heart attacks
Hypertension
Stroke
Type 2 diabetes
Asthma
Certain cancer types
Alzheimer’s disease, etc.

10 Reasons You Are Skinny But Have Belly Fat

1. You Don’t Consume Enough Magnesium

There are a number of chemical reactions your body requires magnesium for, which includes heart rhythm control, blood sugar levels regulation, and more importantly this nutrient is found to be effective for losing belly fat.

Multiple studies reveal that higher magnesium intake can be linked with lowered levels of fasting glucose and insulin as well as reduced fluid retention, which in turn reduces bloating.

Therefore, if you want to get rid of belly fat, it is imperative you consume more magnesium-dense foods, such as leafy green vegetables, beans, nuts, among others.

Better still, you can meet your physician about taking a supplement.

2. You Don’t Sleep Enough

Not getting enough rest can have negative impacts on your overall wellbeing and even make you gain excess of belly fat.

In a recent study published on American Journal of Epidemiology, it was found that people who sleep less than five hours a day are 32% more likely to develop abdominal fat compared to those who got more sleep.

In addition to that, a study from the New York Obesity Nutrition Research Center, revealed that people who do not rest enough tend to consume more than 300 extra calories a day, majorly from fatty foods.

The reason given was that poor or too little sleep can drastically increase appetite-stimulating hormone called ghrelin, which can make you crave for food than usual.

Want to really prevent or get rid of belly fat?

Then, it is important you get the expert-recommended sleep duration; seven to nine hours a day.

If you find it difficult to sleep at night, you can overcome it by following these simple tips:

Keep your electronics, especially your phone away from the bedroom
Keep your room cool
Avoid taking caffeine after lunch
Reduce your stimulant use throughout the day.

3. You Eat a Lot of Sodium

When you consume too much salt, it will cause water to move from your bloodstream into your skin, and then give you a puffy, obese look.

Some of the sodium-dense foods that could trigger belly fat include canned foods, salad dressing, deli meats, cottage cheese, and the likes.

That said, it is equally important to let you know that excess salt intake is also linked with myriads of health conditions, including hypertension, stroke, heart disease, osteoporosis, kidney disease, renal stones, etc.

4. You Take Too Much Alcohol

There are a number of studies out there which establishes that drinking excess alcohol or beer can increase your appetite and food cravings, and thus ultimately cause weight gain around the belly.

That’s not all; it might interest you to know that alcohol is often empty calories, meaning that they only provide the body with calories but contains very little amount of nutrients.

The resultant effect of this is that you will consume extra calories, which will end up stored as fat in your body.

5. You Consume Too Much Soda

Sugary soda is loaded with empty calories and can increase your chances of experience weight gain.

Numerous studies, including the one published on An International Journal of Medicine in 2017, shows that both regular soda and diet soda can lead to obesity on the long run.

When you take excess soda, part of the things it does in the body is to stimulate your body’s hunger signals and make you crave (and consume) unnecessary, extra calories – which could in turn trigger weight gain.

Aside from excess weight gain, another reason you should avoid soda is that it is linked with serious health conditions, which includes stroke, heart attacks, dementia, to name but a few.

If you really intend to lose belly fat, then you need to cut back on soda and opt for water or unsweetened tea instead.

6. Your Ab Muscles Are Weak

Yes you might be eaten healthy diet, but the plain truth is that you can still be skinny and still have belly fat.

This is because people whose ab muscles are weak are at higher risks of experiencing weight gain in their belly region.

If you have weakened ab muscles, all you need do is to do a well-rounded routine of planks and killer oblique exercises that help target your core muscles, including the rectus abdominis, obliques and transversus abdominis.

7. You Don’t Exercise Regularly

Poor exercise is among the leading causes of weight gain.

This is majorly because if you consume more calories than you burn off, you will experience weight gain, and a lot of scientific studies have proven that inactive lifestyle makes it more difficult to get rid of excess fat, especially belly fat.

Part of the weight loss benefits of exercise is the fact that it can help nudge weight balance and maintenance. It also helps you burn calories quickly and keeps you in good shape.

Want to lose belly fat fast?

Engage in high-intensity activities and interval training for about 45 – 60 minutes daily – they help to increase your metabolism so that it can burn more calories efficiently.

8. You Are Too Stressed

There is a steroid hormone called cortisol, which helps the body control and handle stress. When you are in a high-pressure situation, your body tends to release this hormone, and thus influence your metabolism.

Once you feel stressed [for instance, when you come home from an exhausting day at work], there is high tendency that you will reach for eat more food to compensate yourself, and the aforementioned hormone will cause the extra calories to accumulate around your belly and other body regions for later use.

Want to lose belly fat?

Reduce your stress levels!

9. You Smoke

Although smoking is not considered a direct cause of belly fat, but is believed to be a risk factor.

According to research, part of the things smoking does in the body is to lessen weight overall and push fat more into the belly area, and thus leading to belly fat or pot belly.

In addition to belly fat, excessive smoking can increase your risks of developing chronic health conditions, which includes but not limited to cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, metabolic abnormalities, lung cancer, to name but a few.

If you really intend to lose belly fat and get back into shape, then cutting back on smoking is a must.

10. Genetics

Multiple studies reveal that your genes can play a part in whether or not you will become obese.

It was discovered that your genes can influence not just your behavior but metabolism, and can even increase your risk of developing obesity-related diseases.

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