Get rid of, or at least minimize this item and you will help reduce belly fat, and have an easier time losing wight. It’s an item that makes up 50% of the average American’s diet. Any idea? Bread….refined flour and sugars. The average American consumes entirely too much carbs, much more than their body needs to function optimally. Have you ever looked at the ingredients in most of the popular breads at the supermarket? High fructose corn syrup, soy, preservatives, hydrogenated oils, processed salt, emulsifiers. The refining process itself strips away the nutritious part of the grain, and you are essentially left with a form of sugar.
Take a look at what gets striped from the grain when it is refined:
* 80% of iron
* 50% of calcium
* 98% of magnesium
* 50-80% of the B vitamins
Consumption of refined flour and sugar has been linked to:
* obesity
* heart disease
* celiac’s disease
* asthma
* gluten intolerance
* vitamin B deficiencies
Vitamin B deficiencies contribute to a wide range of illnesses including: depression, dementia, anemia, cardiovascular disease, cancers, and considerably more issues. An estimated 25% of Americans are vitamin B12 deficient.
Symptoms of B12 deficiency include: fatigue; lack of motivation; apathy; mood swings; and memory problems.
There’s an extraordinary rise in digestive illnesses, such as gluten intolerance and Celiac disease, and modern industrial baking methods are likely a major contributor to these widespread problems. The rise in asthma and allergies may also be related to our modern food processing and manufacturing practices. For example, one of the enzymes commonly used in modern bread making is amylase, which is known to cause asthma.
So you have gotten this far, and are probably wondering what does any of this have to do with belly fat? Well, I’m glad you asked. It’s quite simple really. A lot of the success my clients get from my San Diego weight loss programs come from not only the workouts themselves, but the nutrition program as well. And I emphasize the reduction of carbs, especially the refined and processed type.
Here’s why: Your body has a limited capacity to store excess carbohydrates, but it can easily convert those excess carbohydrates into excess body fat. Any carbohydrates not immediately used by your body are stored in the form of glycogen. Your body has two storage sites for glycogen: your liver and your muscles. Once the glycogen levels are filled in both your liver and muscles, excess carbohydrates are converted into fat and stored in your adipose (fatty tissue.)
But that’s not the worst of it. Any meal high in carbohydrates will also generate a rapid rise in blood glucose. Your pancreas secretes insulin into your bloodstream to adjust for this rapid rise, which then lowers the levels of blood glucose. Here’s where the problem lies – insulin is essentially a storage hormone, evolved to put aside excess carbohydrate calories in the form of fat in case of future famine. So the insulin that’s stimulated by excess carbohydrates promotes the accumulation of body fat!
In addition, to increased insulin storing fat it also has these adverse effects:
* Suppresses 2 important hormones glucagon which is responsible for burning fat and sugar as well as HGH which helps with muscle development.
* Increase in hunger levels. With the rise in blood sugar and then the fall within a couple hours you will experience sugar cravings, and hunger pains. Naturally your body should be able to go 4 hours between meals without feeling cravings of any kind.
So if you are looking to rid yourself of that belly fat, take a look in your cupboard and more importantly at how often you are consuming these carbohydrates on a daily basis. I personally have seen my clients lose inches upon inches in their waist by sticking to my San Diego personal training programs and nutrition advice.
Andrea King is a holistic San Diego personal trainer offering a unique approach to health and wellness. Health and happiness is what she aims to bring to all her clients.
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