THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE (OR WHY OLDER GUYS HAVE TOO MUCH BELLY FAT)
Hi. It’s Fitness Coach Will Levin of Older Guys Fitness, 61 years young, here to talk about the basic principles of fat loss. Let’s get personal here. When I was 50 pounds overweight, the vast majority of my body fat was in my belly. If you are a man over 40 that is probably where you carry most of your fat. We older guys understand the battle of the bulge. We all understand it and have experienced it.
Building the fat belly is easy, but getting rid of the fat belly is hard. For me, I lost 50 pounds in 6 months, but at my age (61) the battle of the bulge continues. For men over 40 the battle of the bulge is forever. That’s why correct diet and exercise need to become a lifestyle. There is no other way.
.This cool cat seems to be enjoying his big belly. In spite of his hilarious enthusiasm, as a Fitness Coach, I just need to say he appears to need a fitness coach.
So why do men over 40 have big bellies? If you look around American society it seems to be pretty standard. Older guys have big bellies. One part of that is as we age our metabolism slows down. A slower metabolic rate means we don’t burn as many calories as we did when we were younger. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just a fact. When our metabolism slows if we are not active our body stores fat. Another reason men over 40 have big guts is diet: Older Guys with big bellies don’t eat right.
BELLY FAT AND INCREASED CHANCE OF CARDIOVASULAR DISEASE AND TYPE 2 DIABETES
While having a fat gut is clearly not very attractive, it is also a sure sign of future serious health problems, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke. The human body has two types of fat: subcutaneous and visceral. Subcutaneous fat is surface fat–the fat you can see on your belly or elsewhere on your body. Visceral fat is internal fat that affects your organs. As a general proposition, visceral fat makes up about 10% of all body fat. In simple terms, if you have a fat belly then 10% of that is probably in your liver and other organs. Fatty liver disease is an example of too much belly (visceral) fat. It is the visceral fat that causes risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke. So guys, you need to get rid of the belly fat for yourself and your loved ones. I fight the big belly, you fight the big belly, but you (and I) need to get rid of it and KEEP IT OFF. The good news is that visceral fat will oxidize (burn) first (before subcutaneous) with proper diet and exercise.
A DAILY CALORIC DEFICIT OF 25% WILL RESULT IN FAT BURN (WITH PROPER EXERCISE)
So let’s get to science. We will start with what a calorie actually is. We see calories on food packages and we count our calories and so on. We all know the word “calorie.” But what is a calorie? A calorie is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water one degree Celsius. A calorie is quantum of energy.
The science of fat loss incorporates The First Law of Thermodynamics, which states that you need to consume less energy (less food and drink) than you burn in order to lose fat. This involves our metabolism, which is defined as the chemical processes that occur in a living organism in order to maintain life.
So for fat loss, you need to be on a daily caloric deficit, also known as a negative energy balance. How do you know what would be a caloric deficit for you? The easiest way is to Google “calorie calculator.” You input your weight, age, level of activity, etc. and the calculator will show you how many calories you need to consume to maintain your present weight.
Let’s say the calories you need to maintain your present weight is 2400 per day. So to be in a moderate caloric deficit you would need to consume 1800 calories per day, a reduction of 25%. In order to maintain that 25% reduction in daily calories, you need to eat a high protein diet. Protein makes you feel less hungry which will stop you from eating too much and thus going over your 1800 calorie daily goal. High protein will also contribute to an increase in lean muscle mass.
OLDER GUYS FITNESS 40+ FAT BURN
In addition to your 25% calories reduction, Older Guys Fitness 40+ FAT BURN will have you doing cardio and HIIT workouts as well as resistance training, which will burn calories. Not only are you at a caloric deficit (which in itself will cause fat loss) but you are burning calories with my exercise program, leading to exponential fat loss, creating that nice physique from your youth.
CAVEAT: Beware the weight loss plateau, which I delve deeply into in a separate blog post.
Hey guys, CHECK THIS OUT. I offer FREE HIIT WORKOUTS for you to start your fat loss journey.