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What is belly fat? It’s that extra tire around your middle that you can’t seem to shake no matter what you do. There’s a reason. It’s visceral fat, fat in your abdominal cavity that wraps around your organs. Unlike subcutaneous fat that’s right under the skin, it’s harder to lose. One of the causes of belly fat is high-fructose corn syrup. It’s in many types of food, since it’s cheap. Belly fat produces inflammation and can cause plaque. There’s even a link to Alzheimer’s. Getting rid of belly fat means doing more than just a few sit-ups, it means making lifestyle changes.

Start by changing your diet.

Eating healthier makes a difference, cutting out high sugar items, refined flour, processed meats and fast foods is a start. Some people start by giving up sugary soft drinks, but then replace them with ones that are artificially sweetened. New studies show that diet soft drinks actually cause more belly fat. Opt for fresh fruits and vegetables that are higher in fiber, but start slowly. Eating too much fiber at once, without allowing your body to adjust, can upset your digestive system.

Low carbs and high fiber is a good route to take.

Studies show that a diet that’s lower in carbohydrates can help eliminate visceral—belly—fat. Studies show that intermittent fasting can help reduce belly fat by 4-7%. Intermittent fasting can be done several ways. The most popular is eating all your meals in an 8-hour window and fasting the other 16 hours. Increasing the fiber and protein in your diet can make a huge difference in both your weight and the amount of belly fat you have.

Get active.

Inactivity is a killer that not only packs on the pounds, collects those pounds on your midsection. Leading a sedentary lifestyle is a killer. One study showed that people who watched more TV, which was the measure of how sedentary they were, had more belly fat. Those watching more than three hours a day were at twice the risk of belly fat. Today computer or smartphone viewing are part of the mix and just the same as watching TV. You simply don’t move enough or get active enough to be your healthiest. Exercise also burns off the hormones of stress, such as cortisol. Cortisol is linked to weight gain and belly fat.

• Trans fats can create an inflammatory response, which increases insulin resistance. That also increases the amount of belly fat that accumulates.
• Alcoholic beverages can slow the process of burning fat and cause the extra calories to store as belly fat. Studies show that people who consume less than three drinks a day had an 80% chance of having less belly fat.
• The microbial balance in your gut can contribute to belly fat. So can an imbalance of hormones, such as during menopause. Exercise not only helps balance hormones, it boosts the friendly microbes and can help reduce belly fat.
• Get adequate sleep to help keep your hunger and satiety hormones in balance. Drink more water to help flush your system, reduce hunger pangs and boost your energy level.

For more information, contact us today at Iron Fit San Antonio

Preparation for athletic events is just one of the reasons people come to Iron Fit in San Antonio, Texas. Most people want to look and feel better or have issues with their health that exercise and weight loss can address. Improving heart health is one of those concerns. If your blood pressure is sky-high and you get winded climbing just a few steps, it’s time to take heed and take back your life. Here are some tips for a healthier heart. You’ll find you have more energy and can enjoy every minute of life when you have a fit healthy body.

How do you know if you have a healthy heart?

That’s why you need regular check-ups. No matter how young or fit you are, getting an annual check-up is important. It helps identify any problem early and gives the doctor a baseline to watch its progression. If your blood pressure is lower and suddenly starts to climb, something is wrong. Knowing your numbers is also important. You should also know your fasting glucose rate, blood pressure, LDL, HDL and triglyceride levels.

Lower your blood pressure and lose weight with a great exercise program.

If you’re working out regularly at the gym, you probably don’t need an extra set of exercises to help lower your blood pressure. If you’re not, maybe it’s time to start working out. Start slow if you’re out of shape. There are quick four to ten minute workouts to be done throughout the day that can significantly lower your blood pressure. They include working large muscle groups, such as squats or jumping jacks, which boost the production of nitric oxide to dilate blood vessels and lower blood pressure. Our fitness program helps build all muscles and aids in weight loss. That helps reduce insulin resistance, which is the precursor to Type 2 diabetes.

Diet plays a significant role in having a healthy heart.

While scientists are still learning new things daily about the body, one truth hasn’t changed, you truly are what you eat. Eating healthy whole foods, instead of highly processed ones, provides nutrients your body requires to be its healthiest. In fact, there’s a whole school of medicine devoted to “food as medicine.” Eating foods without added sugar is a start, so is avoiding highly processed food like cookies, pastry, white bread, processed meat, imitation cheese and margarine or soft drinks. Fresh fruits and vegetables contain vitamins and minerals, plus phytonutrients you don’t find in a vitamin.

• Frozen fruits and vegetables are as good as fresh. Frozen fruits and vegetables without additives are as good as fresh and since they’re immediately frozen, often contain more nutrition.
• If you’re out of shape, start slowly. A personal trainer can help you with a program that is specifically created for your needs. If you’re working out at home, you can break your workout into several shorter sessions of at least ten minutes or more.
• Move more during the day and get eight hours of sleep at night. Even if you workout, if you have a job that keeps you at a desk, get up and move around every hour or so. It’s important to your health.
• If you have any symptoms like heart palpitations, chest pain or cold sweats, don’t ignore them. Always check with your health care professional first before starting a program of exercise.

For more information, contact us today at Iron Fit San Antonio

At Iron Fit in San Antonio, Texas, we help you get fit faster. Our workouts are designed to build muscle tissue fast and get you in shape. No matter how much muscle tissue you have, excess pounds can hide your progress. If you have to lose weight, the workouts burn tons of calories, but you will get better results if you eat healthy. That doesn’t mean dieting. In fact, dieting can slow your progress. It means eating healthier and focusing on food that will help you stay fuller longer.

You need protein to build muscles and stay fuller.

Not only does increasing the protein in your diet provide the nutrients you need to build muscle tissue, but it also helps you feel full quicker and longer. Studies show that a high fiber diet increases the feeling of fullness and dulls your appetite. One reason may be its effect on your satiety hormones and hunger hormones. Another may be that it takes longer to digest. Studies show that when people increased their protein intake even modestly, they lost weight.

Fiber will fill you up and help you lose weight.

There are two types of fiber and both of them help you feel full, so you eat less. It remains intact in your digestive system and makes you feel fuller. Soluble fiber absorbs water and becomes a gel in your digestive system. It feeds the beneficial bacteria in your gut and slows digestion, so you feel fuller longer. Insoluble fiber isn’t digested in the body. It travels through the digestive system filling you up and adding bulk.

Don’t be afraid of fat.

People usually freak out when they hear that increasing the amount of fat in their diet may actually help them lose weight. It’s especially true if they purchase all the fat free products available. Fat keeps you feeling fuller longer because it takes longer to digest in the small intestines and slows your digestive system. It also is necessary for creating hormones that help burn fat. When manufacturers create fat-free foods, they replace the fat with sugar to make the food more palatable and sugar can make you pack on the pounds.

• Foods that contain high amounts of soluble fiber include beans, broccoli, apples and other fresh fruits and vegetables. Foods that contain insoluble fiber include bran from grains, berries, beans, and green peas.
• Avocados, nuts, olives and olive oil, ground flaxseed and fatty fish like salmon are high in healthy fat. They should be part of your diet. As a bonus, dark chocolate also falls into this category to provide a treat as you lose weight.
• A few foods high in protein include eggs, lean meat and poultry, fish, and nuts. Nuts and fatty fish are also good sources of Omega 3, a very healthy fat.
• Toss some beans into your salad, add an egg, and sprinkle it with nuts. Have a snack of Greek yogurt, nuts, berries, and bananas. You’ll be healthier and stay longer fuller.

For more information, contact us today at Iron Fit San Antonio

If you’re doing all the things you think will help you lose weight and still are packing on the pounds, maybe you should try adding fat. Most people think fat will make you gain weight, but that’s not necessarily true for a number of reasons. Opting for fat free foods may be actually causing you to increase your waistline rather than help you lose weight. Why? Let’s start with one obvious reason. When manufacturers remove fat, it affects the flavor of the product. In order to make their product more palatable, they increase sugar and other easily digested and high calorie carbs.

Some fats are healthier than others are.

There are many types of fat. Some fats are unhealthy, but those are mostly fats altered in manufacturing, trans fats. Trans fats are hydrogenated, which changes the chemical bonding, creating health issues in your body. Those types of fats are often found in fast foods, pastries and other types of junk food. They provide no benefit for the body, except calories and may lead to health issues. There are naturally occurring trans fats in dairy and meat, which may provide health benefits.

Fats are necessary for weight loss.

There are many bodily functions that require fat. Fat helps cell growth, improves brain functioning, helps your nervous system, lubricates the joints, improves your skin and aids in producing hormones, some of which affect your weight. In fact, it’s necessary to achieve a healthy weight, since it aids in stabilizing your blood sugar levels.

Fat slows digestion and keeps you feeling fuller longer.

Those low fat items aren’t nearly as satisfying as the full fat foods and there’s good reason why. Fat slows digestion and takes longer in the small intestines. The longer it takes to digest a food, the longer you’ll feel full. Unlike carbs, which digest quickly and spike your blood sugar, which can increase the potential for insulin resistance that makes weight loss harder, healthy fat can boost metabolism and help you burn fat, without that empty feeling you get after eating carbs.

• Polyunsaturated fatty acids increase the markers that show you’re full or hungry. It boosts the satiety markers and decreases the hunger markers. Eating an avocado, filled with healthy fat, at breakfast has shown to reduce food intake for up to six hours.
• MCT—medium-chain triglycerides— a type of fat in coconut oil, metabolize differently than other types of fat. It’s used immediately for energy, rather than being stored as fat. It boosts your metabolism and causes you to burn calories.
• Opt for foods that are whole foods, closest to their natural state and not prepackaged or fast foods. Salmon, nuts, full fat yogurt and eggs are good options that will keep you feeling full longer.
• Fat is necessary for transporting fat soluble vitamins like vitamins A, D, K and E. Obese people have a shortage of vitamin D, but it’s not yet known whether the obesity caused the shortage or the shortage caused obesity.

For more information, contact us today at Iron Fit San Antonio

Do you feel like your stomach is in knots? Are you often ill, catching every cold or flu that is in the area? Do you often feel anxious or depressed? Those are all symptoms of stress. Stress is the body’s response to danger. It causes the release of hormones that prepares the body to fight or run. That’s good if the danger is a wild animal or an attacker, but not good if it’s a traffic jam or an angry shopper. You can learn to deal with stressors, but sometimes, too many small things build up and you need to release it. That’s when you turn to exercise, since exercise is a great stress reliever.

Exercise burns off the hormones of stress and replaces them with ones that make you feel good.

People who workout at Iron Fit often are amazed at how angry they felt before they started their workout and how that all dissipated during the workout, leaving them feeling far better than they did before the anger and stress started. There’s a reason for that good feeling. Not only does the exercise burn off the hormones of stress, it also triggers hormones called endorphins, that make you feel good. Some call it a runner’s high. These neurotransmitters do function in the brain much like opiate drugs, providing the same pleasurable feeling that helps deal with pain or stress.

Sometimes exercise lets you quiet your mind.

Have you ever been so “into” your workout that everything else seemed to fade away? Maybe your mind was so focused that you only thought about each movement or the sound of your feet on the pavement. During that time, all the problems of the day disappear and your mind is truly in the moment. It’s like having meditation in motion and meditation is a good stress release.

Stress leads to anxiety and depression.

Recent studies show that exercise is a good adjunct therapy for both depression and anxiety. It’s believed that it’s because it helps eliminate the stress hormones that are often part of the problem. The body creates the feel good hormones that also help bring relief from the anxiety or depression. Several studies showed that just participating in moderate exercise three to four times a week can even help eliminate the need for medication.

You’ll help yourself both mentally and physically with exercise. Not only does it help your body by burning off the hormones of stress, it also helps build stronger bones, lower blood pressure, stabilize blood sugar, lower cholesterol and improves your self-esteem.

• Start your workout slowly. If you haven’t exercised before, don’t try to take on lifting too much or working out too long. If you’re lifting weights, allow your body a day or two to rest between sessions.
• Always check with your health care professional first before starting any program of regular exercise. In most cases, your doctor will approve. Always tell your personal trainer of any medical conditions before you begin.
• Have fun. If you make exercising more like a job, it becomes one more stress on your system. Incorporate fun activities into your fitness program, like hiking or basketball. It’s all about staying active and enjoying life.

For more information, contact us today at Ironfit San Antonio