ReduceyourWaistsize

byJamesBone Worriedaboutyourweight? Maybeyoushouldntbeitsyourwaistyoushouldbemoreconcernedwith. (AndevenTHINpeoplecancarrytoomuchfataroundtheirmiddle!) Findingthejeanstootightroundthewaist?Needingtoletthebuckleout,find thatdoingthejacketupisalittletight?thenthisarticlecouldbefor you! Wantingtostayhealthyforlifeandpreventfutureproblems,thenreadon.. Sowhatistheproblemwithcarryingtoomuchfataroundyourmiddle? Unfortunatelyalotitgreatlyincreasesyourriskofgettingheartdisease(blood vesselinflammation&damage)anddiabetes(reducingsensitivity toinsulin)2ofourworsechronicdiseasesinoursociety. Depressionhasalsobeenlinkedwithabdominalthickening. Whatisabdominalfat? Puttingitsimply,thereare2maintypesoffatstorageinyourbodyvisceral, wherefatisstoredaroundyourorgans,andsubcutaneous,wherefat isstoredunderyourskinthisisthefatyoucaneasilysee,whilevisceralfatcan behidden,andonlyperceivedviaathickeningwaist.Visceralfat isthefatmostlinkedwithhealthproblems. Healthyvsunhealthyfatbodytypescanoftenberepresentedbyasimplemodel thosewithtoomuchviseral/abdominalfathaveashapemore likeanAPPLE,whilethosewithmoresuperficialfat,tendtohaveaPEARtype shapeielargerhipstowaistmeasure.Somewomengetconcerned aboutthefataroundtheirhips,butfromahealthperspectivethisisnota problemlikeabdominalfat. Sowhatcausesthisproblem? Unfortunatelythecauseisquitecomplex,whichisalsowhythereisnosimple solution.Therearesomecausesyoucantchangeandthereare someyoucan. Factorsyoucantchange: Yourgenescandictatewhereyoustoreexcessfat,andsomeofusarebornwith veryefficientbodies,makingiteasytostorefat,especially aroundthemidline Ourgendercanalsoaffectfatstoragementendtostoremorefataroundthe midline,aswomenareprotectedsomewhatbytheestrogen hormone.However,thisprotectionreducesaftermenopause,andsomewomen canfindtheirwaistbegintothicken. Factorsthatyoucanchangearemostlylinkedtoyourlifestylechoices: DietTakinginmoreenergythanyouneedsuchaseatingtoomuch,eatingthe wrongfoods,orperhapseatinginthewrongway.Foodshighin saturated/transfattyacids,maymoreeasilygetlaiddownaroundtheabdominal

area. PhysicalActivitybeingtoosedentaryandnotusingenoughenergycanleadto problems.Alsoaftertheageof40westarttolosemusclemass. Itisbelievedalargepartofthisisduetoinactivity.Muscleprovidesan importantfunctionforhealthitincreasesmetabolism,increasesinsulin sensitivity,protectsjointsfromstress,helpsyoutomovewell,andmayhelpto keepyourwaistthinner(seestrengthtrainingbelow). Notenoughsleepthereisgrowingevidencetolinkreducedsleepwithbeing overweight,eveninchildren.Itwouldbeinterestingtoseeifthis alsotranslatestoathickenedwaist.Areyougettingenoughsleep? Stressthisisthereallyinterestingone.Mostusgenerallyknowthatlackof exerciseandpoordietaffectthewaistline,buttheeffectsofstress arelessknown. Thereareanumberofstudieswhichhaveshownthatpeoplewithhigherstress, havethickerwaistlines,eveninthinwomen.Theculpritis believedtobeCORTISOLthechronicstresshormone.Peopleexposedtoalotof stresscanproducechroniclevelsofcortisol.Cortisolinacute situationsishelpful,butchroniclevelsofcortisolcanbeverydamagingtothe bodyandbrain.Cortisolalsoseemstospecificallyhelpfattobe storedaroundthevisceralorgans,andsoexpandourwaistlines.Somepeople useeating(especiallyrichfoods)tosoothetheirstresssoiftheir cortisolishighthentheexcessfatisgoingtogostraighttothewaistline.Ifyou areastresseateritmightbehelpfultofindsomeotherstress managementstrategies. Alcoholfattyfoods(iechips)eatenwithalcoholoftengetsstoreddirectlyto thewaist.Soperhapswatchhowyoueatanddrink. OtherFactorsspecifictoyoumayalsobepresentsuchasmedicationsseeyour doctoraboutthis MeasuringyourWaist Thebestwaytomeasureifyouhavetoomuchabdominalfatisviaacrossbody CTscan.Howeverthisisexpensiveandexposesyoutoradiation. Asimplerandreasonablyreliabletestistomeasureyourwaist. Trythis: Bareyourskinandfindyournavel. Takeatapemeasureandmeasureatthelevelofthenavel(or1cmbelow) makesurethetapeisevenaroundthewaist. Measuretwice(tocheck)anddoitattheendofaneasyexhale. Men Women Healthy <94cm <80cm IncreaseHealthrisk94102cm 8088cm HighHealthrisk >102cm >88cm (AustralianHeartFoundation) Sowhatcanyoudotohelpreduceyourwaist(andimproveyourhealth)?

Implementahealthylifestylechange Changingourbehaviourisnoteasy.SodontoverdoittrychangingONEsmall thingatatime.Getusedtoit,thentrysomethingelse. GetlotsofSUPPORTfriends,family,doctors,supportgroups,thereisevena specificwebbasedsupportgroupjustformennow. Noneedtofeelguiltyifyoustuffupafewtimesweareonlyhuman. Perseveranceisthekeyjustkeeptryingithappenseventually.Staymotivated andlooktowardthelongterm,notinstantaneousquickfixes, quickdietsorweightlosses. Increaseandmaintainyourphysicalactivity Aimforatleast3060minutesofmoderatephysicalactivityonmostdaysof theweek,suchasbriskwalking,dancing,cycling,swimming.(Some researchsuggestsmorevigorousaerobicexerciseishelpfulforwaistloss,butyou needtocheckwithyourdoctor/healthpractitionerbeforedoing vigorousactivitytochecktherearenorisksinvolvedforyou). Trystrengthtraining,especiallyasyoubecomeolder StrengthTrainingcanhelppreserveyourmuscles,metabolism,bonedensity, andreducesomeotherhealthrisks.Strengthtraininginolderpeople hasalsobeenshowntoreducewaistsize,evenwhenweightremained unchanged.Aimtodoatleast2to3sessionsperweekofmoderateweight trainingofabout8to10exercisesusingmajorbodygroups,forabout8to15 reps.Seeyourphysiotherapist,gymorpersonaltrainerforspecific exercisessuitableforyourself.Rememberstrengthtrainingcanbedonewith weights,ormachines,butyoucanalsouseyourbodyweightandlow costresistancebands.Youdontneedtogotothegymtodostrengthtraining. Somepeoplestartwithjustabagofrice. Getenoughsleepandrest Aimforatleast7to9hourssleepaccordingtoyourphysicalactivitylevels. Manageyourstressandreduceyourcortisollevelsseeyogaforlife below Balancetoyourlifestyleisoftenthekeytomanagingstress.Chronicstressand highcortisolisusuallyassociatedwithchronicstressloadlookto changeyourstressload.Yogasaysthatmuchofourstressbeginswithour thinking.Dailymeditationandbreathingaresimplestrategiesthatmany peoplefindhelpfultomanagestressandbecomemoreawareofdamaging thinkingpatterns. Rememberdontallowyourlifestylechangetobecomeastress DietTips Thereisnomagicdietresearchhasshownthatdietslowinfat,highinprotein etc,solongasenergyintakeisreducedallhelptoreduce weightandwaistline.Mostdietspeakatabout6months. HowevertheCSIROhavefoundthatdietshigherinproteinmaybehelpfulfor mentolosetheirwaistmeasure. Dietshigherinproteinmayalsohelppreservemusclethoughstrengthexercise

isthekeytothis. Sotry. Eatinghealthyonlytakeinasmuchenergyasyouneedsoeatlessbutgood quality.Foodshouldbefresh,lessprocessed,smellandtaste good ConsiderregionaldietsegtheMediterraneandiethasbeenassociatedwith goodhealth Watchyoureatingwhenstressed Avoidmissingmealsandextremedietsthiscanleadtodecreasedmetabolism Eatbreakfast Bemindfulofhowyoueat,notjustwhatyoueateatingontheruncanbe stressful.Eatinarelaxed,niceenvironmentwithgoodcompany. PracticeYogaforLife Researchhasshownthatpractisingyogaregularlyatleast30minutesonceper weekfor4years,cancontributesignificantlytohealthyweight managementhelpingpeoplewithnormalweightnottogainweightand helpingpeoplewhoareoverweighttoloseweight. Noresearchhasbeendoneregardingyogaandwaistmeasure,however,yoga practice,evenaslowasonesession,hasbeenshowntoreduce cortisollevelsinpeoplewithhighlevelsofcortisol.Thisitselfmayreducefat beingdepositedaroundtheabdomen. Yogaisalsoassociatedwithhealthylifestylepracticesandtrainingtoexpand onesinnerAWARENESSwhichmayhelpwithmakinghealthier choices. References KyeongraYangAReviewofYogaProgramsforFourLeadingRiskFactorsof ChronicDiseasesEvidBasedComplementAlternatMed.2007 December;4(4):487491. Arciero,P.J.,Gentile,C.L.,MartinPressman,R.,Ormsbee,M.J.,Everett,M., Zwicky,L.,&Steele,C.A.(2006).Increaseddietaryproteinand combinedhighintensityaerobicandresistanceexerciseimprovesbodyfat distributionandcardiovascularriskfactors.IInternationalJournalofSport NutritionandExerciseMetabolism,16,373392 Epel,E.S.,McEwen,B.,Seeman,T.,Matthews,K.,Castellazzo,G.,Brownell, K.D.,Bell,J.,&Ickovics,J.R.(2000).Stressandbodyshape: stressinducedcortisolsecretionisconsistentlygreateramongwomenwith centralfat.PsychosomaticMedicine,62,623632 RobertD.Vorona,MD;MariaP.Winn,MSN,FNP;TeresaW.Babineau, MD;BenjaminP.Eng,MD;HowardR.Feldman,MD;J.Catesby Ware,OverweightandObesePatientsinaPrimaryCarePopulationReportLess SleepThanPatientsWithaNormalBodyMassIndex.PhD:Arch InternMed165:2530,2005. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/07/050720064358.htm researchonyogahelpingtoreducethemiddleagespread www.fatmanslim.com/websitetohelpmenwithweightmanagement www.csiro.au/news/HighProteinDietForMen.htmllinkofproteindietto waistloss

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/584898linkofdepressionto visceralfat http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/589416?src=mp&spon=17&uac=95194 MVweightandwaistlosscomparedtodietvariationsinprotein, fatandcarbohydrate http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/GP%20Obesity% 20Fact%20Sheet.pdf