Registered Dietitian Abbey Sharp goes head to head with Extreme Diet Debbie to debunk some of the most well-known belly fat loss myths currently circulating around the web.
Abbey sets the record straight in this video and gives you pure unadulterated truth about the causes of belly fat. She also offers some great suggestions on how to shed that extra weight in a safe, natural way. The fact of the matter is, if you have belly fat it’s probably because you have fat in lots of other places as well. Weight gain in your belly area is typically just a side effect of gaining weight in general. Each person has a different body type, some lean more towards the pear shape, others a bit more rotund, but you need to understand that this is simply genetics at work. There is no magic belly weight loss method that can alter your genetics, sorry to have to be the one to break it to you.
The first belly fat loss tip Abbey debunks is the Paleo diet. You know, the one where you cut all the sugar and carbs out of your diet including fruit. No dietitian, including Abbey, could deny that eating tons of sugary, heavily refined carb foods will put a serious caloric load on your body and can in turn spike your insulin levels resulting in weight gain. However, sugar does not seem to have any unique impact on belly fat beyond that. Regarding fruit, fruit actually contains the sugar fructose which one study did find lead to belly fat. However, the researchers were not actually studying whole fruit. Whole fruit contains fiber, water, glucose, vitamins and even minerals. On top of that to actually see weight gain from whole fruit you would have to eat about 1.5 kg of apples, and let’s be honest, unless your Freelee the banana girl that seems pretty unlikely. The bottom line here is that fruit and carbs in general are not the belly fat culprit. However, in-taking low-fiber carbs through an excess of juice or pop may add extra calories to your diet which can in turn lead to weight gain everywhere on the body, not just on your belly.
The second tip Abbey debunks is the use of coconut oil to lose weight in general, but especially belly fat. The claim behind this is that it is a natural cleansing agent that burns fat regardless of how much you eat. This is simply not true, period. Coconut oil contains medium-chain triglycerides which studies suggest are more satiating than other saturated fats and are not as easily stored as body fat. There are actually some small studies that suggest that medium-chain triglycerides may be useful for weight loss and possibly even belly fat loss, but the results in humans have been mixed at best. Also, it’s important to note that coconut oil isn’t pure MCT so it’s hard to know how much you would have to consume to see the benefits, and it’s hard to know if drinking that many calories would offset any fat burning benefits you might reap as a reward. Instead of drinking coconut oil in a an effort to shave off unwanted belly fat try swapping some of your cooking oils for coconut oil. That kind of change would of course be contingent on you actually enjoying the flavor of coconut oil in your food.
The third tip to trim off those extra pounds around the waist that Abbey goes after is the excessive use of crunches. Any weight trainer in any gym anywhere in the world will tell you point blank that spot reduction weight training does not work. Research has found that performing daily ab exercises results in no change in weight or waist circumference. If you’re going after that ultra shredded washboard abs look you’re going to have to do a lot more than some ab exercises each morning. In order to get a six pack you have to build up that muscle through weight training and proper diet and then make a serious effort to burn off the fat that you’ve accumulated prior to beginning your weight training. If you never burn off that fat you’ll never see the definition of the muscles underneath it. It is of critical importance to have a strong core for general health, but if the rationale for your sit-ups and crunches is to remove extra belly fat save your time and energy because you will be disappointed with the lackluster results.
You probably don’t want to hear this, but if you are serious about losing belly fat you have to really bring your focus on in fat and weight at the same time. Abbey suggests a diet high in fiber and protein to promote satiety, daily exercise, especially high intensity interval training, getting a proper amount of sleep, and managing your stress levels.
For more tips on staying healthy, recipes, dieting, and information fit for consumption by foodies everywhere stop by Abbey’s blog.
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