Belly Fat; Why you have it and how to conquer it.

You are eating healthy, exercising regularly, not gaining weight and yet you have that little area of belly fat that you can't quite get rid of. I know, super frustrating. As we age muscle mass may diminish which means a larger percentage of your body mass will be fat. To make matters more unpleasant women loose estrogen with age and this determines where fat is stored in the body. Meaning you may notice less fat in arms, legs and hips, but more in the abdominals. The increase in abdominal fat (visceral) can also increase the risk for diseases such as cardiovascular, type 2 diabetes, and breast cancer among others.

So what is a gal to do? Are there ways to reduce/control this fat? Absolutely! Exercise, diet, sleep and stress are all ways to keep this in check. Don't think that doing a million sit-ups will do it however. You can't spot reduce this area. Sorry Ladies! I know that would be ideal. Regular cardio and strength training 4 times a week will keep this in check along with a healthy, portion controlled diet, getting enough (~7 hours) sleep and reducing stress.

Seems like a lot to do for one area of your body, but all these things are beneficial for overall health and wellbeing. Remember this is a part of aging, but we don't have to take it lying down, we have ways to age well and look awesome doing it!

For more information check out these web sites:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/belly-fat/WO00128

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Abdominal-fat-and-what-to-do-about-it.htm

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-truth-about-belly-fat

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/abs/exercises/best-way-to-beat-belly-flab/