How to get rid of visceral fat

Getting rid of the fat around the tummy area is the hardest area to lose weight from.

Unfortunately for women, putting on weight while you’re pregnant is unavoidable, and many new mammas struggle to lose the stomach fat after the baby has been born.

The good news is our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge has been created to help all mums achieve their health and weight loss goals post pregnancy, and all in a healthy and safe way.

Here’s everything you need to know about how to drop your visceral fat, which is located deep in your belly that’s wrapped around your vital organs.

There are two main types of stomach fat, subcutaneous fat and visceral fat

Subcutaneous fat

Is the most noticeable type of fat on the stomach. Women are most likely to accumulate this sort of fat around their abdomen, hips and buttocks.

Subcutaneous fat is noticeable and can cause dimpling like cellulite.

This fat serves as the body’s energy storage system. If more calories are consumed than the body uses, extra calories are laid down as subcutaneous fat.

When more calories are burned than consumed, subcutaneous fat is the first sort of fat to be burned off by the body to meet the increased demands for energy.  

Visceral fat (the dangerous one)

The second type of fat on the stomach area is visceral fat, also known as abdominal fat. This sort of fat differs from subcutaneous fat as it is less visible within the body.

Visceral fat forms within the body and around the organs. It cannot be seen from the outside and is far more dangerous than subcutaneous fat. Research is continuing into why some people seem to have greater amounts of visceral fat than others, but it is believed to have a lot to do with a poor diet.

In fact, visceral fat is of great concern as it literally wraps itself around the major organs in the abdomen such as liver, kidneys, heart and lungs, as well as contributing to the clogging of arteries.

People will high levels of visceral fat are more prone to developing serious health issues such as heart disease. Visceral fat often accumulates around the liver and this leads the liver to become resistant to the body’s insulin, which in turn greatly increases the risk of type 2 diabetes.

This type of fat is often referred to by the medical profession as a ticking time bomb as many people are unaware that they have visceral fat and it cannot be seen accumulating as subcutaneous fat can.

Several factors which make it more likely that visceral fat will develop:

These include:

• Smoking
• Heavy drinking
• Living a non-active lifestyle
• Eating a diet which is high in fat
• High levels of stress

New mums, who are struggling to find time to get to the gym and are eating on the run may find themselves falling into more of these risk groups than they did before they gave birth.

How to deal with visceral fat

Unfortunately, visceral fat is harder to remove than subcutaneous fat. As it is hidden deep within your body, it is also almost impossible to keep track of progress as difference cannot be seen from the outside.

Improving the levels of visceral fat within the body should not be seen as a “quick fix”.

Reducing the levels of visceral fat in the body and keeping them low is a long-term project, and therefore the goal should be a lifestyle change rather than simply going on a diet for a few weeks or months until goals are achieved.

Healthy eating is the key

Healthy eating is one of the key elements to dealing with visceral fat, in particular cutting down on the amount of saturated fat eaten and trying to increase plenty of complex carbohydrates.

Exercise

The second key element is exercise. The gold standard is to aim for 45 – 60 minutes exercise per day, but for new mums this isn’t easily achievable.

The Healthy Mummy Core Workouts available on the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge are 10 minute videos, designed to tighten the tummy, reduce belly fat and strengthen your core muscles.

To keep your body challenged, you should aim to complete a training routine that incorporates core exercises once to twice per week. Start with one session and as your strength increases, add in a second 10 minute session.

The Healthy Mummy Core Workout is best done at the end of any of your regular Healthy Mummy video workout – e.g Tabata, DanceFit, Butt & Thighs etc.

Any increase in activity levels will help burn calories, and this can be as simple as chasing the kids around in the park or putting the baby in the pram and going for a brisk 30-minute walk.

The aim is to raise your heart rate and give you the feeling of being out of breath. In addition to diet and exercise, cut down on alcohol and stop smoking, and also try to deal with any issues causing persistent stress in order to minimise further your risk factors.

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