The Deadly Fat

When most people think of excess body fat, they tend to visualize  the type that you can easily see, poke or pinch. This is the type of fat that sits directly beneath the skin and often creates the “spare tire” image around the abdominal region. While this type of fat, known as subcutaneous fat, certainly isn’t desirable from a visual standpoint, it’s actually much less of a risk to your health than another very dangerous type of fat known as visceral fat.

Visceral fat, also known as intra-abdominal fat, is internal fat that surrounds the organs within your body. It pads the major organs like your heart, liver and kidneys, and can eventually fill up the space within your entire abdominal cavity.

Visceral fat serves as a perfect storage bin for all types of toxins that can easily enter the bloodstream. The liver is primarily responsible for metabolizing visceral fat, and when it does so, it releases into the bloodstream as LDL (bad) cholesterol. This in turn builds up into a plaque that blocks the major arteries. Therefore, people who have excess visceral fat are virtually guaranteed to develop heart disease. In addition, excess visceral fat drastically increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cancer, metabolic syndrome, and hypertension.

Most of the causes of excess visceral fat accumulation are similar to those of overall weight gain, including lack of physical activity, diets that are high in processed or refined carbohydrates, excess alcohol consumption and overall sedentary lifestyles. However, there are other factors that influence visceral fat accumulation such as heredity and hormone imbalances that occur in women after menopause.

The scary part of visceral fat is that you don’t have to be overweight to have it. In fact, it’s estimated that nearly 30 million Americans who are considered to be a normal weight by BMI standards have higher than average levels of visceral fat. So there is such a thing as a “skinny fat person!” You may have a thin appearance on the outside but have an dangerously high level of internal fat.

Visceral fat can be particularly challenging to lose because it’s so deeply embedded in your body’s tissue. So here are a few tips that will help you in combating visceral fat.

Focus on shorter, high-intensity bouts of exercise. Most fat burning is achieved in the recovery period after your exercise is performed. Higher intensity exercise, such as interval training, will place the right demands on your body to have to work to recover for hours after you’ve finished exercising.

Be physically active everyday! Though you should use a healthy combination of strength training and cardiovascular exercise on a regular basis, you should also keep your body moving at a lower intensity on your rest days. Recover actively!

Keep a healthy diet that’s rich in whole, natural foods. Excess body fat always starts with insulin production, which is caused primarily by ingesting too many simple carbohydrates and refined sugars. Replace your simple carbs with complex carbs like fruits and vegetables.

Work your deeper abdominal muscles. Having a six pack is great, but the muscles that lie deeper within the abdominal wall are just as important! You can work these muscles by simply performing “abdominal hollowing” exercises or by drawing the belly button inward. (This is also great for midline stability!)

Combine these tips with maintaining an overall healthy lifestyle and you’ll drastically reduce your health risks…AND your waistline!