Many people today struggle with belly fat. When they ask how to lose belly fat fast, they are usually told to eat less and exercise more. Unfortunately, for women, that isn’t a permanent solution. It may work short term. But the fat comes back as soon as you ease up on the diet and exercise. This is especially true for women over the age of 45.
Hormone imbalance and inflammation are often the root causes of belly fat in women. This fat can be difficult to lose, especially if you don’t know how to fix the root cause. Diet and exercise can actually make the situation worse instead of better.
How to Lose Belly Fat by Fixing Hormone Imbalance
The main culprit of hormone imbalance in women is stress. Cortisol, the stress hormone, is a naturally occurring chemical in fight-or-flight situations. When it hangs around in your system long-term, it causes imbalances in the body and your other hormones.
A prolonged stress response will affect estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone levels in your body. Chronic stress affects your thyroid, which regulates most of your body’s systems. Disrupting these hormones and systems can lead to various issues, including fatigue, moodiness, and more weight gain.
Stress can increase your appetite and mess with your melatonin levels, affecting your sleeping habits. Increased stress has been linked to abdominal fat storage. According to the American Institute of Stress, stress-induced abdominal fat secretes inflammatory molecules. These molecules are linked to diabetes, insulin resistance, and heart attacks.
Not eating enough calories to support your system and exercising too strenuously can actually trigger a stress response in your body. The brain can’t differentiate starving and running for your life from diet and exercise. This triggers the cortisol necessary to keep you alert and alive, even if you aren’t actually in danger.
The Best Way to Lose Belly Fat Through Reduced Inflammation
Inflammation and fat storage often go hand in hand. One usually triggers the other, and typically results in a vicious cycle. It can be difficult to stop this cycle without the right tools and mindset. Oftentimes, people throw themselves into fat loss with the goal of losing weight. This can actually cause more inflammation and weight gain.
The ingredients in most diet foods actually cause more inflammation, as can strenuous exercise. Hitting the gym harder and surviving off of diet shakes will only worsen the problem, causing more inflammation. This can also trigger a stress response in the body, the same kind of response that processed foods trigger. It’s essential to build a diet of whole, natural foods. The best way to lose belly fat is by consuming foods with anti-inflammatory properties. These essential nutrients will heal your system overall.
The main staples of your diet should include protein, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats. As much as possible, go for free-range, organic, grass-fed, and local foods. These will be the ingredients that will react the best with your cellular structure.
While some people’s bodies can handle things like dairy, wheat, and legumes, not everyone can. It’s important to take the time to see if your body is sensitive to these foods. An elimination diet will help discover what foods irritate your systems and which ones don’t.
Learn More About Belly Fat Loss with Metabolism Reboot
The Metabolism Reboot is a 10-week lifestyle coaching program that teaches people how to balance hormones, boost their metabolism, and reduce inflammation. The personalized support we provide changes our clients’ lives by transforming their health. Get healthy and achieve the body of your dreams by treating the root cause of your weight gain. Contact us today to schedule your Metabolism Reboot consultation call.
