4 Sure-fire Ways to Lose That Paunch |

4 Sure-fire Ways to Lose That Paunch

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This is a guest post written by Teresa Jackson

Men tend to be shaped like apples while women are built more like pears – that’s the natural physiology of both sexes. Hormones, genes, lifestyles and other factors determine how and where we store body fat, but in general, women tend to be heavier around their hips, waist and thighs while men put on weight around their abdomen.

We call them pot bellies, paunches and even beer bellies, even though people who are teetotallers are also known to have large stomachs.

While women are not predisposed to pot bellies, their stomachs do tend to become more saggy as they grow older and reach the menopausal stage. Abdominal fat is bad news for both sexes – it is often the harbinger of heart disease and other vascular problems, and besides aesthetic reasons, it is why we should try to prevent it as much as possible, and get rid of it as soon as it starts appearing. A few ways to do this are:

· Cardio workouts: Exercise is the best and safest way to get rid of unwanted abdominal fat, and when you get a good cardio workout every day or even five days a week where your heart is pumping and you’re breathing hard and sweating it out, you can bet that belly is going to disappear in no time. The key to getting rid of your paunch using exercises like jogging, running, swimming, cycling or playing a vigorous and fast sport is to continue to do them on a regular basis – exercise should become a way of life rather than an afterthought or a short-term goal.

· A change in lifestyle: The more time you spend on the couch lazing around, the bigger your belly is going to get. When your lifestyle is sedentary, your metabolism is slow and you don’t burn enough calories to lose weight. So even if you don’t eat that much, you tend to put on weight around your abdomen. Become more active, take on more chores around the house so that you don’t sit around doing nothing, and if your work involves sitting in a chair for the better part of the day, make it a point to walk around every few hours, take the stairs when you can, and generally stay on the move as much as you can.

· Less alcohol: While it’s true that beer is not the sole reason for your beer belly, the fact is that alcohol does play havoc with your efforts to lose weight. When you drink every day, you not only risk harming your liver but also increase your chances of large fat deposits around your stomach. So while it’s ok to drink on a social basis occasionally, don’t make alcohol a way of life.

· Toning exercises: Yes, what you heard is right – those abdominal crunches and sit ups are not going to get rid of your belly fat, but they do help tone the muscles in your stomach. Even though you shed fat only through cardio workouts, you need to strengthen your muscles with toning exercises so that your body looks fit and healthy instead of looking like sagging flesh over bones. So get down to doing some strength training thrice a week, and see the difference it makes in the way you look.

Remember, it’s easier to prevent a pot belly than try to get rid of one after it appears, so work hard on prevention in order to avoid the strain of a cure.

By-line:

This guest article is written by Teresa Jackson, she writes on the subject of Nurse Practitioner Schools . Email her at teresa.jackson19@gmail.com.