I remember it like it was yesterday. I was washing dishes in our old apartment when my former sweetheart came up and hugged me from behind. He wrapped his arms around my waist and gave me a big, warm squeeze. He then massaged his hands into my midsection like he was kneading dough and murmured into my ear: “Squishy.”
Squishy?
Later that evening, as Mr. Mountain of Charm got reacquainted with the guest bedroom (ooooh, that spare mattress sure is squishy), I gave his comment some thought. My middle had indeed gone soft over time, thanks to a combination of not-so-clean eating and skipped workouts.
Ah, the eternal quest for a flat stomach.
New clients frequently ask me “How do I get rid of this?” — as they clutch and shake their soft, loose midriff.
Indeed, excess fat loves to stake out on the tummy, and aging does not help. As we progress through the decades, muscle mass decreases, metabolism slows and our stomachs get larger and flabbier.
Women have the added bonus of dwindling estrogen levels as they move toward and through menopause, and fat navigates from the hips and thighs to the gut. (The “tub-on-toothpicks build,” as my mother likes to describe it.)
Men aren’t so fortunate, either. As they age, lower testosterone causes a redistribution of fat, and the classic beer-belly paunch starts protruding over bird legs.
Abdominal fat is far more than just an aesthetic issue . The visceral fat located deep in your abdomen and surrounding your internal organs increases your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and even certain cancers.
This increase in belly fat will happen to darn near all of us if we don’t take action. What to do? A leaner stomach requires a clean diet, aerobic exercise and proper strength-training. My advice:
Work your whole body, not just your abs. There’s no need to perform 500 crunches a day unless your goal is to blow out your back. Focus on strength training all of your muscles (core included), aiming for at least three muscle-building sessions per week.
Progression is essential: Keep track of the weight you are lifting and go heavier when the exercises are no longer challenging. This includes your core strengthening moves. Shift to weighted ab exercises once body-weight ones are easy to perform — otherwise, you will plateau and stop seeing results. (Email me for a copy of my favorite weighted ab moves.)
Get your cardio in, ideally four to five sessions per week. I prefer interval training, alternating 30- to 60-second bursts of aerobic exercise with lower intensity recovery periods. You’ll burn more calories over a shorter period than you would performing steady-state cardio (moving at a continuous pace). This being said, any movement is better than none, so if interval training is not your thing, go with steady-state work.
Eat clean. All the exercise in the world won’t negate poor eating. When I want to lose a few pounds, I limit refined carbs and eat lots of veggies. I also increase my lean protein intake — not because protein has magical fat-burning effects (it doesn’t), but because with this simple adjustment, I am not as hungry and therefore eat less. The same will likely be true for you.
Follow my advice for eight weeks and notice the improvement not only in your waistline, but also in your mood and well-being. You’ll be healthier, stronger, less stressed and more energetic — things more important than having abs like a snare drum.
Squishy. The absolute nerve.
Catherine Bongiorno, info@lifttolose.com, is a Mukilteo personal trainer and nutritional therapist who owns Lift To Lose Fitness &Nutrition, www.lifttolose.com.
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