7 Reasons Youre Not Losing Your Belly Fat

1. Postpartum depression:

Research has found that people suffering from depression or exhibiting depressive symptoms tend to have a lot of fat around the belly region. This could be due to lack of appetite, lack of motivation to do anything (exercise), or due to increased intake of certain kinds of food which increase fat (processed food), which accompany depression. Many women find themselves facing depression after giving birth; this is called postpartum depression and women facing this exhibit similar symptoms as any person suffering from depression. One way to overcome this situation is to try to engage in exercise. Exercising releases certain hormones and chemicals in the brain which affect one’s mood and fat regulating metabolism. These would, ordinarily, help alleviate your depressive mood to some extent and help you burn fat.

2. Food:

Food is what causes belly fat and what can help to get rid of it as well, if you control your intake of it. You might be eating the wrong kind of fats which is why you’re finding it hard to lose any fat, even though you’ve been working out or snacking less. There are certain kinds of fats (saturated fats) which increase the fat around your belly. On the other hand, monounsaturated fats and some kinds of polyunsaturated fats have anti-inflammatory properties which may benefit your body. However, these must be consumed in moderation as too much fat of any kind could lead to weight gain and increased fat. In addition, it may be so that your diet contains too low levels of magnesium which is essential for a large number of chemical processes in the body, including the regulation of blood sugar levels and heart rhythms. Recent studies conducted have concluded that it may also add on the processes of losing weight and body shaping. Therefore, consuming foods rich in this nutrient could aid the process of losing weight.

3. Exercise:

There might be a lot of different exercises you’ve tried out or very strict exercise schedules you’ve been keeping to, but you may still find yourself with a lot of belly fat which seems hell bent on staying put. This could be due to a variety of reasons such as doing the wrong kind of workout. A lot of people assume that the focus should be on cardio workout to lose weight because muscle building will not help in this respect. However, in order to properly lose belly fat and shape up, it is ideal to follow a proper combination of cardio as well as muscle building. By doing strength increasing exercises, the body is being set up to increase muscle mass and this in turn helps to burn more fat. Whereas if the focus is only on cardio activities, the body’s metabolism soon adjusts to the changed activity levels.

4. Age:

As you get older, your body’s metabolism and its ability to burn calories starts to slow down. You may find it harder to lose weight while dieting and exercising than you did when you were in school or college. The body starts to change the way in which it gains and loses weight.

5. Packaged/Processed food:

Processed food tends to increase body inflammation, and this, in turn, reduces the body’s ability to lose belly fat. These also tend to be higher in saturated fats and trans fats. These also have a lesser effect in making you feel full which induces increased intake of food which in turn adds to belly fat. Especially during and after pregnancy, you may face a lot of cravings for fatty food which might therefore make it harder for you to lose belly fat after giving birth. Natural and fresh fruits and vegetables are high anti-inflammatory properties and antioxidant properties which help get rid of belly fat. Even consumables such as diet sodas reduce weight loss as we may misinterpret how much calorie intake is being reduced, and thus consume more.

6. Sleep:

Not getting enough sleep is a foremost hindrance to weight loss after pregnancy because once you have a baby, you can say bye-bye to sleep for a long time. Lack of sleep produces a particular hormone which makes a person more hungry and produces less of the hormone which makes you feel full. Therefore, when sleep deprived, we’d tend to eat more than we would on a normal day.

7. Stress:

Being a mother is the complete opposite of a stress-free job. With all the different things to take care of, ranging from looking after the kids to looking after the house, there might be enough and more things on your mind, increasing stress levels. Increase in stress leads to an increased in the hormone cortisol. Cortisol increases the amount of fat that your body clings to and enlarges your fat cells, which makes it harder to lose weight. Most of the weight gained in this way is seen around the belly area. Adrenaline released due to stress affects digestion and you may be consuming more processed food (comfort food) to combat the stress.

While a certain amount of belly fat is good, as it protects your organs, too much fat is unhealthy as it could be a sign of heart disease or a predisposition to developing diabetes. Thus, fatty foods must be consumed in moderation and conscious efforts should be made, on your part, to ensure that you’re having the right kinds of fats.