What Causes Belly Fat?
I had my baby years ago! This isn’t fair.
It’s frustrating really!
Even when we bust our ass in a workout or stay in a calorie deficit you can’t lose the weight. And it doesn’t appear nicely all over to give us luscious curves and fuller boobs, no it likes to accumulate right around our belly.
The belly is the worst place for me to carry my weight. Let me know if this resonates with you at all.
You spend an extra 5-10 minutes getting dressed in the morning, because nothing sits right & you need to find just the right level of flowy shirt so it doesn’t hug the belly too much, but it also doesn’t make people question if you are pregnant again.
You get super uncomfortable from lunch onward. Even the high waisted pants that are supposed to be mom’s best friend are digging in. And sitting down at work all day is leaving you wanting to rush home, strip off your pants & throw on the oldest loosest pair of PJ pants you own. (even better feeling than taking off your bra!)
You sure don’t want your partner to touch you there. You pull away from casual little hugs if he grabs your waist. It is really hard to focus on the pleasure when he runs his hands over your belly during sexy time. Your mind starts racing & you are snapped out of the moment & into this self-conscious shame spiral.
WHY?!?!?
Well mama, the problem is stress. Trust me I hated this answer. I looked for every possible reason for it outside of ‘I’m just stressed’. I tried all the diets, all of the exercise protocols, all of the supplements, extreme fasting, shakes & none of it worked. My doctor even said, “maybe this is just your new normal” UGH! I’m a personal trainer for Fcks Sake!
So, I dug into the research. Turns out, it is that stress fcker!
When we spend so much time in chronic stress, our body stays in flight or fight mode (not the good kind for workout calorie burning). In this mode our body diverts the attention to the heart, the lungs & the muscles, essentially slowing down our metabolism, digestion & reproductive systems. With slowed metabolism & a reduced ability to digest food, our body is less able to burn off the fat & absorb that nutritious kale salad we keep having for lunch.
Double UGH.
So just stress less! HA! Easier said than done. But one of the number one tips I give my Burntout Mamas is to relax a bit when it comes to the diet & exercise. Pushing in the gym & reducing calories even more keeps the body scared that stress is still happening. So, it clings to that belly fat because it is worried it needs it for fuel for another run, or in case you fast again tomorrow.
It seems so counterintuitive but trust me mama. It works.
Is this resonating with you at all? Share this with a friend who might be struggling/complaining about not being able to lose the damn belly fat. We all need to stress less.