10 Reasons Why You Can’t Shift Stubborn Belly Fat

A little bit of abdominal fat isn’t such a bad thing. It helps to protect your vital organs, after all!

Storing too much fat around your abdomen can be dangerous and has been linked to some pretty nasty health problems, so it’s a delicate balancing act. We’re talking about heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer, to name just a few things for which it may set the scene. Scary, right?

Some of the culprits are pretty obvious, especially if you’re eating a lot of processed foods and not doing much exercise. There can be some surprising reasons behind belly fat, though, and these can come into play even if you think you’re living a healthy lifestyle. 

 

 

Here are some factors that can make you more likely to store fat in your abdominal area:

 

Factor #1 – You’re Eating Too Much Sugar and Trans Fats

If you eat a diet containing a lot of processed sugar, you’ll probably struggle to shift belly fat. According to studies, there is a definite link between the two. This can be primarily due to the fructose content in processed sugars.

Trans fats are another big no-no if you want to avoid belly fat. These are the worst type of fat you can eat as they promote inflammation, and according to studies on animals, they also encourage more fat to be stored on and around your abdomen.

 

Factor #2 – Your Alcohol Intake

You’ve no doubt heard of a “beer belly,” and this is something that can affect women too. Depending on how much you drink, it could be the culprit for stubborn belly fat. Some studies have shown that alcohol can interfere with fat burning and increase the likelihood of storing extra calories around the abdomen.

 

Factor #3 – You’re On a Low Protein Diet

If you want to stay trim, getting enough protein in your diet is important. Protein helps you to feel more sated and can mean that you consume less calories. According to studies, low-protein diets are also more likely to result in belly fat. People who eat a lot of protein tend to have very little in the way of belly fat.

 

Factor #4 – You Don’t Eat Enough Fiber

If your diet is low in fiber, you can be more likely to store belly fat. Observational studies show that getting plenty of soluble fiber reduces the chances of this. In one study involving over 1,100 men and women, every extra 10g of soluble fiber caused the storage of belly fat to decrease by 32%. This has a lot to do with low fiber increasing your appetite and belly fat.

 

Factor #5 – You’re Scared of Eating Fat

Fat has a bad rep, which can put you off eating it. While it’s true that you shouldn’t eat a lot of the unhealthier fats, good fats can help you to lose weight and keep belly fat to a minimum.

Monounsaturated fats are one of the good fats and are important for satiety. They’ll help you feel fuller for longer, so you’re less likely to make unhealthy food choices that increase your potential to store belly fat.

 

Factor #6 – You Have Too Much “Bad” Bacteria in Your Gut

According to research, an imbalance of gut bacteria can affect your weight and how much fat you store on your abdomen. If you’re overweight, the presence of a certain type of bacteria can lead to increased absorption of calories from your food.

 

Factor #7 – You’re Stressed

Under a lot of stress? It could be one of the reasons why you’re storing belly fat. The stress hormone cortisol can lead to weight gain, especially in the abdominal area. Cortisol often stores extra calories as abdominal fat instead of distributing them throughout the body.

 

Factor #8 – You Don’t Sleep Well

If you spend a lot of time tossing and turning in the average night, there’s a much higher chance that you’ll store belly fat. Some studies suggest that poor sleep not only leads to weight gain in general but also predisposes an individual to abdominal weight gain in particular.

A large-scale study of more than 68,000 women found that those who slept less than 5 hours per night gained much more weight than those who slept 7 hours or more.

 

Factor #9 – You Don’t Get Enough Magnesium

Getting enough magnesium in your diet can lower blood sugar and insulin levels. Considering that this mighty mineral is involved in over 300 chemical reactions in your body, it’s not too surprising! Some of these reactions affect your body’s ability to burn fat, so it can indirectly impact your weight.

 

Factor #10 – Your Exercise Isn’t Intense Enough

Not all exercise is equal when it comes to busting belly fat and keeping it off, especially if your workouts aren’t intense enough. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a good option, but anything that involves reasonably intense exercise several times per week should help.

 

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