Could Your ‘Muffin Top’ Give You Heart Disease?
Muffin tops are something we see just about every single day, people feel as if there is nothing we can do to get rid of them but there is! It is this simple!
What exactly is a ‘muffin top?’ A muffin top is a visible unsightly roll of fat above the top of a pair of tight fitting low waisted jeans. We all know the different tricks to hide or draw attention away from our muffin tops, but how do we get rid of them? It all boils down to exercise, food choices, and patience.
Now there is a major difference in an unsightly muffin top and a slight belly spill. I for whatever reason only tend to gain weight in my belly which has caused a slight muffin top several times throughout my life. It is not something I enjoy dealing with as it can be self-esteem lowering, to say the least. If you’re around the age of 40 or so then your muffin top could be hormone related. Hormonal changes play a major role in fat storage.
Muffin tops are made up of visceral fat, visceral fat is actually quite dangerous. While muffin tops are unsightly to some people they are also not healthy. The definition of visceral fat explains that it is made up of “deep” fat that is stored further underneath our skin than “subcutaneous” belly fat. It is a form of gel-like fat that actually wraps around our major organs! Allowing the muffin top to stay puts you at a higher risk for things like:
- Cancer
- Coronary heart disease
- Dementia
- Depression
- Obesity
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sleep disorders
- Stroke
Doesn’t sound so great now, does it? This fat is able to provoke inflammation of pathways and signal molecules to interfere with our bodies hormonal functions. Reducing and hopefully eliminating the muffin top, in the long run, will help you in many ways.
The first thing I want to go over is what to eat and what not to eat when it comes to ridding yourself of tummy spillage. Eating things like avocados and nuts will prove very beneficial throughout your tummy trimming process. Here is a list of foods to eat when working on your muffin top and why you should be eating them:
- Avocados
- Being rich in glutathione this food is able to block intestinal absorption of some types of fats. It is also high in monosaturated fats that are known to reduce belly chub.
- Green Tea
- The antioxidants in this can trigger weight loss by stimulating the body to burn calories.
- Nuts
- Nuts are overflowing with protein and Omega-3 fatty acids that reduce fat.
- Berries
- Berries are rich in vitamin C which combats stress. Stress causes unnecessary eating and weight gain so I suggest picking your favorite berry and eating it as a snack.
- Water
- You should drink at least 8 glasses of water a day in order to help keep you from eating foods you don’t need. Many people eat when they think they’re hungry, sometimes these people are really just in need of more water.
- Grapefruit
- Grapefruit is also packed with vitamin C and filling fibers.
- Lean Protein
- Lean protein will keep you fuller for much longer than others. It takes your body more time to digest lean protein meaning that you will not snack as much.
- Sweet Potatoes
- This one is my favorite, it contains a special type of starch that resists digestive enzymes. That means that they take a long time to break down this delays the onset of hunger pain.
Now that you know what foods you should eat, it is important that you are aware of the foods you should avoid.
Here is a list of the top foods to avoid:
- Avoid processed ingredients
- Avoid white flour
- Avoid how fat snacks (they have too much sugar and we tend to overeat them)
- Limit refined carbs
So, at this point, we know what we need to eat and what we need to avoid. What sort of workouts should we do? There is a wide variety of workouts and exercise techniques that can be done to reduce the muffin top. However, these are the four best ones I have found:
- Side Bends
- Stand with your feet hip-distance apart and have your arms at your sides.
- Reach downwards towards your toes with one arm while lifting the other towards your waist.
- Rest your hand on your waist.
- Do 100 reps of these and be sure to alternate arms.
- Jack Knives
- Lay down on the floor with you legs straight out and have your arms stretched over your head.
- Raise your arms towards your toes and raise your legs to a ninety-degree angle, be sure to keep your shoulders off of the floor.
- Bring your arms up way over your belly, this will make your body look similar to a jack knife.
- The return back to the floor.
- Do 60 reps of this.
- Standing Twists
- Place your hands behind your head and keep your elbow out wide.
- Slightly bend your knees. Isolate your core and make sure you do not move your hips at all.
- Twist one side then the other back to back.
- Do 100 reps of these.
- Pretzel Knee Crutch
- While it has a silly name this is the most effective exercise technique on the list.
- Sit in a pretzel position with your legs bent in front of your body. Make sure your left leg is behind the right.
- keep both knees at a 90-degree angle to start out.
- Straighten our spine up and hinge slightly forward from hips to torso.
- Bring your hands together in front of your chest and then place them on the floor.
- Lift your leg a few inches off the floor.
- Bring your left leg towards the right one without moving the rest of your body.
- Try tapping the left thigh to the left elbow.
- Once completed return the leg behind the body without lowering it to the ground.
- Do 40 reps of these.
Start off with the first three for about a week and when you feel comfortable try out the last one. While it is more complicated and will require some flexibility it will burn belly flab effectively. Getting rid of the extra weight around your waistline will take time. You must be patient. Oftentimes people give up and binge eat unhealthy foods causing them to gain even more weight. Don’t be one of those people.
Eating the right things, avoiding the bad things, and exercising every day will have your muffin top gone as quickly as possible. Don’t expect to see results overnight. While it may take a little time to see results in the mirror you will be able to feel the effects beginning after just two weeks. Don’t let unhealthy belly chub hold you back.