5 reasons your beer belly won’t disappear

Tom Finn

24th April 2017

Food & Nutrition, Health & Fitness

Some of us carry extra weight on our belly that just won’t disappear, and we only have our drinking habits to blame. Stomach fat isn’t at all good for you, since it includes visceral fat which lies in your abdomen, surrounding your organs.

It’s advised to shift this belly fat as soon as you can, since it has links with type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea to name a few. Doing this seems to be a lot more difficult than it should be though. Other than the obvious beer consumption, here are 5 other things that could be preventing you from losing that rounded beer belly. Address these issues, and you won’t have to give up your precious beer barrels completely.

Too Many Crunches

Spot training, or targeting a specific body area will not shed any weight in that area. It has been proven time and time again, so stop wasting your time. Doing crunches will build muscle, but it’ll be hidden under that layer of fat. Not the solution that you’re after.

Stomach fat will just lay itself on top of any muscle you develop. (Image: Authority Nutrition)

Too Many Good Fats

Sources of healthy fats can include vegetable oil, nuts and avocados but be careful. It’s quite easy to overdo it, thinking you’re doing yourself some good. Nutritionists recommend a “handful” of nuts at the most, otherwise you’ll end up with a calorie overload.

A handful of nuts is all you need to snack on. (Image: Cathe)

Not Enough Sleep

If you’re not getting enough sleep, then you will certainly be putting on weight. Most of which will result in the belly. You should be getting about 8 hours of sleep a night to keep healthy. Getting 5 hours of sleep or less will lead you to more weight gain than the recommended 6 to 8 hours, according to a study at Wake Forest University.

Can’t sleep? Keep your phone away, it doesn’t help. (Image: 13 News Now)

“Diet” Fizzy Drinks

It’s not just beer you need to watch out for – fizzy drinks will lead to a bit of bloat-age whether you like it or not anyway. However, it’s the “Diet” products that do the most damage. You may think you’re doing yourself a favour choosing it over the full-sugar alternative, but it’s not really the case. The artificial sweeteners are no better for you, and consumers tend to end up with more belly fat, apparently.

Cutting down on the diet soda type drinks should help. (Image: Market Watch)

You Don’t Lift Enough

The best result for losing belly fat seems to be mixed exercise, including both cardio and strength training. Cardio burns calories stored as fat, where strength training helps to build muscle which burns calories faster. You need to keep this up though, not just once a week.