Health Coach, Holistic Nutrition, Weight Loss Expert | Cheryl Giambattista
  • HOME
  • About
    • Health Coach Cheryl
    • My Story
  • My Programs
    • Simple Swaps
    • Simply Well
    • Coaching For Families
  • Blog
  • Clean Beauty
  • Praise
    • Success Stories
    • Press
  • Contact

Health News

10 Factors That Make You More Likely To Store Belly Fat

Comments

 
Picture

A Little Bit Of Abdominal Fat...

...isn’t such a bad thing. It helps to protect your vital organs, after all! 

It’s a fine balancing act, however, as storing too much fat around our abdomen can be dangerous and has been linked to some pretty nasty health problems. 

Some of the culprits are fairly obvious, especially when eating a lot of processed foods and not doing much exercise. However, there can be some surprising reasons behind belly fat and these can come into play even if we think we’re living a healthy lifestyle. Here are some of the factors that can make us more likely to store fat in our abdominal areas.
Book A Free Call Now!
Picture

#1: Eating Too Much Sugar & Trans Fat

When we eat a diet that contains a lot of processed sugar, we’ll probably be struggling to shift belly fat. According to studies, there is a definite link between the two. This can be largely to do with the fructose content in processed sugars. Eating too much sugar and carbs will increase blood sugar levels which can lead to fat storage.
 
Trans fats are another big no-no if we want to avoid belly fat. These are pretty much the worst type of fat we can consume as they promote inflammation and according to studies on animals, they also encourage more fat to be stored on and around our abdomens.

#2: Alcohol Intake

We've all heard of beer bellies and this is something that can affect women too. Depending on how much we drink, it can sometimes be the culprit behind stubborn belly fat. Some studies have shown that alcohol can make it harder to burn fat and makes it more likely that the extra calories it brings to the party are stored on and around the abdomen.  
Picture

#3: A Low Protein Diet

If we want to stay trim, it’s really important to get enough protein in our diets. Protein helps us to feel more satiated and can mean that we consume less calories. Low protein diets are also more likely to result in belly fat, according to studies. People who eat a moderate amount of protein and lower carb intake tend to have very little in the way of belly fat. 

#4: Not Eating Enough Fiber

If we don't eat enough fiber, we can be more likely to store belly fat. Observational studies show that getting plenty of soluble fiber reduces the chances of this. In one particular study that involved over 1,100 men and women, every extra 10g of soluble fiber led to a 32% decrease in how much belly fat was stored. This has a lot to do with the fact that low fiber increases appetite and belly fat. 
Picture

#5: Being Scared Of Eating Fat

Fat has had a bad reputation and this can put people off eating it. While it’s true that we don’t need a lot of the unhealthier fats, good fats can help us to lose weight and keep belly fat to a minimum.
 
Monounsaturated fats are one of the good fats and are important for satiety. They help us to feel fuller for longer so we’re less likely to make unhealthy food choices that increase our potential for storing belly fat. 

#6: Imbalance of Bacteria In Our Guts

According to research, an imbalance of gut bacteria can have an effect on our weight and how much fat we store on our abdomens. When people are overweight, they’re more likely to have a type of bacteria that can mean that more calories are absorbed from their food. 
Picture

#7: Stress

If we're under a lot of stress, it could be one of the reasons why we’re storing belly fat. The stress hormone cortisol can lead to weight gain, especially in the abdominal area. Rather than storing fat all around our bodies, cortisol often encourages extra calories to be stored as abdominal fat. 

#8: Not Sleeping Well

If we're spending a lot of time tossing and turning in the average night, there’s a much higher chance that we’ll store belly fat. Poor sleep is linked to weight gain in general and according to some studies, it also predisposes us to abdominal weight gain in particular.
 
A large scale study of more than 68,000 women found that those who were sleeping less than 5 hours per night gained lot more weight compared to those who slept 7 hours or more. 
Picture

#9: Not Getting Enough Magnesium

Getting adequate magnesium in our diets can lower our blood sugar and insulin levels. That’s not too surprising when we consider that this mighty mineral is involved in over 300 chemical reactions in our bodies! Some of these reactions have an effect on our bodies' abilities to burn fat so it can have an indirect impact on our weight as well. 

#10: Our Exercise Is Not Intense Enough

Not all exercise is equal when it comes to busting belly fat and keeping it off, especially if our workouts aren’t intense enough. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a good option but anything that involves reasonably intense exercise several times per week should help.
Picture

Conclusion

All in all, we can eat right and exercise, but there are still tons of factors that can contribute to building and storing fat around our bellies. If we want to avoid this, most importantly to optimize our health as previously mentioned on the blog, keep in mind this list of tips and see if any of them might align in your lifestyle. 
Simple Wins:

"Unbelievable! Effective, common sense Simple Swapping plan."

-Simple Swaps Member Cindy

Still Want More Information?

If you are wondering about habits you can integrate into your life to start losing belly fat, or if you have already started working towards your goals and want some advice, I am here to help you!

I'd love for you to book a free health coaching call. I want to find out what you are struggling with and give you my best tips to start you on a journey toward a lean and healthy body for life.

Click on the button below to book your free call now.
Picture
Book A Free Call Now!
Comments

I'm Sick. What Can I Do (Naturally?)

Comments

 
Picture

Getting A Common Cold...

...doesn't have to be so common. There are things we can do naturally to make getting sick less likely. If we do happen to get sick, however, there are things we can also do to help support our bodies to fight it off.

That's what this week's post is all about!

First, I’ll give you some tips on how to reduce your risk of getting sick in the first place. Then, I’ll let you in on some of my strategies to recover from that cold you may still get from time to time.
Book A Free Coaching Call Now!
Picture

Natural Tips To Reduce Risk of Sickness

Here are some great ideas to incorporate into our daily lives to reduce our risk of getting sick.

1. Wash our hands. A lot. Our hands can trap and transport all kinds of microbes that cause sickness. And I’m not just talking about colds here, but lots of different germs.

NOTE: Antibacterial soap is not recommended! Not only is it no more effective than regular soap and water, but it can contribute to antibiotic resistance.

2. Get enough nutrients. I know this is way oversimplified, but I would be remiss to exclude it. Every cell in our bodies, including our immune cells, needs enough of all the essential nutrients. The more nutrition we have, the better and stronger we will be, especially with vitamins A, C, and E. Vitamin A-rich foods include carrots, sweet potato, and organ meats. Vitamin C-rich foods include bell peppers and citrus. Vitamin E-rich foods include nuts, seeds, and leafy greens.

3. Probiotic foods. Helping our health-promoting gut microbes with more of their probiotic friends is in order here to help keep the immune system strong. Try 1-2 servings/day of fermented foods and drinks like sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, kefir, and kombucha.

4. Prebiotic foods. Feeding those friendly gut microbes their favourite foods can help them to grow and flourish. They love fibrous foods like onions, garlic, asparagus, berries, bananas, sweet potatoes, and seeds. Aim for 2-3 servings/day.

5. Get enough sleep. Did you know that our immune system cycles with our circadian system? When we sleep, our immune cells produce antibodies to fight infections. We should try to get at least 7 hours every single night, even when we're feeling great.


Picture

Natural Tips To Recover From Sickness

When we do get infections, not only do we need more nutrients to fight them off, but our bodies also have harder times absorbing and using the nutrients we take in. Sometimes this is because of reduced hunger, sometimes due to gastrointestinal reasons. Either way, nourishing our bodies is even more important. When we do get sick, we should make sure we are implementing tips 1-5 plus the tips below that are crucial for getting over a common cold.

6. Drink lots of fluids. Being sick can be dehydrating. Fluids like water, chicken soup, and green tea are warm, hydrating comfort drinks. Chicken soup is a source of electrolytes, especially if homemade from a real chicken with lots of vegetables. Green tea has been shown to boost some of our immune cells, and this can help to better fight off the invading germ.

7. Rest and recover. When our bodies are fighting infections, they are busy working hard for our health. We should give them a break and relax while we’re feeling under the weather.

Conclusion

There are lots of things we can do to stay healthy and reduce infections naturally. Washing our hands is a proven way to reduce our risk. Staying healthy in all other ways helps a lot as well. Getting enough nutrition, eating probiotic and prebiotic foods, and getting enough sleep are key year round.

When we do get sick, we need to keep up all of the good habits above, and make sure to add some warm, healthy fluids, and extra rest.

What do you do when you get sick? Let me know in the comments below, and make sure to keep reading for a great recipe to use when feeling under the weather... 

Picture

Recipe: Honey Lemon Ginger Cough Drops

Recipe (Throat Soothing): Honey Lemon Ginger Cough Drops

Ingredients:
  • ½ cup honey
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp freshly grated ginger root

Instructions:
  • Put ingredients into a small saucepan.
  • Stir frequently until it becomes foamy. Be careful because the honey can burn easily.
  • Remove from heat and continue to stir until the foam reduces. 
  • Put the saucepan back on the heat. 
  • Repeat this until a candy thermometer reads 300F. 
  • Drop a bit into a glass of ice water. If the mixture forms a hard, crunchy ball, it's ready! If not, keep stirring and heating for another minute or two and try with the ice water again.
  • Once a hard ball forms from a drop into the ice water, let the saucepan cool until the foam has reduced. 
  • Drizzle the candy into a candy mold or onto oiled parchment paper.
  • Let cool at room temperature until the cough drops are hard. 
  • Pop out of the mold or break into pieces, and store in an airtight container. 

Pro Tip: You can sprinkle them with vitamin C powder to keep them from sticking together.

Healthy Immune Systems, Healthy Lives!

Want to talk about how to maximize the health of your immune system? Want to work towards feeling your best as much as possible?  

I'd love for you to book a free health coaching call. I want to find out what you are struggling with and give you my best tips to start you on a journey toward a lean and healthy body for life.

Click on the button below to book your free call now.
Picture
Book Your Free Call Now!
References:
https://www.precisionnutrition.com/what-to-eat-when-sick
https://www.thepaleomom.com/natural-approaches-to-cold-flu-season/
http://www.who.int/gpsc/clean_hands_protection/en/


Comments

    Health Coach Cheryl

    I am a health coach, wife and mother of 6.  I have spent the last 20 years incorporating REAL FOODS into my family’s nutrition plan, while helping others to do the same.

      Sign Up For My Newsletter!

    Subscribe to Newsletter

    Archives

    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016

    RSS Feed

Privacy Policy • Sponsors • Contact
Photos used under Creative Commons from BarnImages.com, Rum Bucolic Ape, diettogo1, dkdykstra, Vegan Photo, markus spiske, USDAgov, semarr, Vegan Photo
  • HOME
  • About
    • Health Coach Cheryl
    • My Story
  • My Programs
    • Simple Swaps
    • Simply Well
    • Coaching For Families
  • Blog
  • Clean Beauty
  • Praise
    • Success Stories
    • Press
  • Contact