The Many Reasons Why You Have Middle Age Spread
Middle age spread or belly fat is often associated with diet and exercise and although that is true, there are other factors that are contributing to that growing waistline.
Middle Age Spread
Women especially suffer more due to child bearing and the menopause; but whether you are a man or a woman, having that spare tire around your belly is not healthy.
Jean-Pierre Despres, Chairman of the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Laval University in Quebec, Canada points to the following factors that are responsible for middle age spread:
Fat from Child Bearing
Carrying a child will add weight – add breast feeding to the equation and you have a recipe for belly fat. No mother wants to go on a severe diet if it means affecting breast milk production, so the high calorie foods stay on the plate.
Menopause
Not only will hormones go all over the place resulting in hot flashes and lessen libido, it will also add weight around the middle. The bodily changes explains why even if you are eating the same as before, you are adding weight on… around the belly.
Genetics
If your family has a tendency to be pear shape where weight is distributed more to the lower torso, chances are you will be the same. If your family has a history of being an apple shape where fat accumulates around the middle, chances are that will be the same for you too.
Stress
Have you noticed that if you are under stress you reach for the high carb or sugary foods? That’s because stress causes a hormone called cortisol to be released making the liver release more sugar. As a result you want to eat more even if you are not hungry – chocolate anyone?
Slow Metabolism
The days of walking everywhere, farming the land and doing manual labor are over for most modern day citizens. We drive everywhere, purchase online and no longer need to farm for our food. This in return will slow our metabolism down and the food that we eat burns slower. Result? you guessed it.
Bad Posture
If you hunch over with your tummy sticking out you will look fatter around the middle. Stand tall and pull your shoulders back – you may not lose weight that way but you will sure look better.
Late Night Eating
Going to bed with a full stomach has always been a bad idea. The food you eat has a lesser chance to digest and if you eat high calorie fatty foods, it will inevitably contribute to your belly fat.
The best time to eat at night is at least three hours before going to bed. If you are really hungry, eat something healthy like a fruit or a handful of nuts.
By now you will know that eating healthily and exercising regularly will keep that dreaded middle age spread at bay. If any of the above applies to you, pay special attention to those areas and look at ways to tackle the problem before it gets too out of hand.
Not all is lost, middle age spread can be eliminated, check this out if you want to know how.
Read the original article here
