Weight Loss and Belly Fat Reduction: Scientific Aerobic Exercise for Healthy Fat Reduction and Relief from Viscer

Tips for Reducing Belly Fat

Contraindications for Taking Weight Loss Drugs

The following individuals should avoid taking weight loss drugs: pregnant, with heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, diabetes, glaucoma, depression, hyperthyroidism, or currently taking other medications such as sleeping pills, sedatives, gout medications, or neurological medications. Furthermore, weight loss drugs should be taken as prescribed by a doctor or pharmacist; do not self-medicate.

Exercise to Reduce Belly Fat: Exercise is undoubtedly the best way to lose weight. However, if you have a large belly, you might say, "I exercise regularly, so why can't I lose weight?" Since you're not losing weight, you might resort to more intense exercise,

spending all day on the treadmill at the gym or engaging in marathon-like runs on the school track. As a result, you'll quickly collapse from overexertion.

This kind of intense exercise is more harmful than beneficial. Especially for people who sit in an office five days a week, their bodies have adapted to this sedentary state. Sudden, concentrated exercise with excessive intensity can be very harmful. Did you know that if you engage in strenuous exercise after working under immense pressure and being physically and mentally exhausted from continuous overwork, it can lead to a tragic outcome?

Yang Mai, president of Ericsson (China) Co., Ltd., went on a business trip to Shanghai and worked under intense pressure for several weeks. Upon returning to Beijing, he went to the gym. His already tired heart couldn't withstand such strenuous exercise, and tragically, he suffered cardiac arrest and died suddenly!

Did you know that the calories burned during regular exercise are very limited? For example, climbing stairs for 17 minutes, leaving you breathless, only burns 420 joules, less than half a bowl of rice. Walking for 30 minutes burns the same amount of calories as half a bowl of rice. Even running for 60 minutes burns only the equivalent of a few pieces of fruit. The fat accumulated in your body remains stubbornly entrenched, no wonder you can't lose weight.

If you want to lose weight effectively, you need to focus on aerobic exercise to burn the calories from body fat. So-called aerobic exercise refers to sustained, high-endurance exercise, such as jogging, cycling, and swimming. Through this type of full-body exercise, as long as the duration exceeds 30 minutes,

it can dilate the body's cardiovascular system, accelerate metabolism, and produce oxygen to burn body fat, thus achieving visible weight loss results.

Exercise is best maintained consistently over a long period. Short bursts of intense exercise cannot provide the body with sufficient oxygen to burn fat and are ineffective for weight loss. After strenuous exercise, due to the large energy expenditure and increased metabolism, the body will feel extremely hungry, making it difficult to suppress appetite and leading to overeating.

Trying to lose weight this way is unlikely.

On the other hand, if you are determined to eat only a small amount of food after strenuous exercise, it will result in excessive fatigue. Therefore, consistent, sustained exercise for a period of time each day (about 30 minutes is sufficient), combined with a balanced diet of low-calorie foods, is the correct way to lose weight.

Bringing Fat to Justice—Removing the Oil from an Apple-Shaped Belly and Transforming it into a "Clean and Tidy" Appearance

One standard for measuring obesity is the shape of the abdomen: pear-shaped or apple-shaped. While both shapes have their characteristics, they can both be categorized as "bulging."

A typical person with an apple-shaped belly, viewed from the side, resembles a basketball player dribbling a ball. The main characteristic is that the limbs and other parts of the body are not necessarily fat. They sweat easily and generally don't have water retention problems, but are prone to developing an excessive waistline due to overeating. Large amounts of accumulated stool or fat become a large belly. This chapter will focus on solving this abdominal fat problem.

First, address the internal issues, then focus on the dangerous visceral fat.

01 Visceral Fat, the "Illegal Structure" in the Body

If the fat is on your thighs, arms, or cheeks, you can breathe a sigh of relief; although it's unsightly, it poses far less of a health risk. What you should really be wary of is the fat on your belly.

Based on the location of fat accumulation, obesity is divided into two types: subcutaneous fat obesity and visceral fat obesity. Subcutaneous fat accumulation is characterized by fat deposits in the lower abdomen, inner thighs, and buttocks. Because it resembles a pear shape, it is also called pear-shaped obesity and is more common in young people. Visceral fat obesity, on the other hand, involves fat accumulation within the abdominal cavity, surrounding and inside organs such as the liver, pancreas, stomach, and intestines. This is often referred to as apple-shaped obesity and is more common in middle-aged people. Because the fat is not attached to the subcutaneous tissue but to the internal organs, although the waist may be large, it cannot be pinched from the surface. People with subcutaneous fat obesity do not need to worry about serious diseases, but those with visceral fat obesity are more prone to hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and arteriosclerosis.

Mr. Zhang had been overweight with a large belly for seven or eight years. In 2008, he suddenly lost weight, which pleased him greatly, attributing it to work fatigue and mental exertion. Later, his eyesight deteriorated; he found it difficult to read newspapers. A hospital checkup revealed diabetes, which was confirmed by tests. Another man, Mr. Li, had a belly comparable to Spider-Man's: a large belly, thin legs, and a voracious appetite. He was easily tempted by sweets and lacked physical activity. After gaining weight, he felt constantly confused. A hospital checkup revealed high blood pressure, but he didn't take medication, believing his health was good and the high blood pressure was related to his emotions. After more than a year, he felt weak all over, lost weight, and became darker-skinned. A further hospital checkup revealed a blood sugar level of 8.7 mmol/L and 4+ glucose in his urine.

The two people with large bellies mentioned earlier had many diseases on top of their obesity: hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes. But for people with abdominal obesity, these are just the tip of the iceberg. It's now recognized that obesity-related diseases such as sleep apnea syndrome, hypertension, coronary heart disease, dyslipidemia, fatty liver, type II diabetes, gallstones, gout, osteoarthritis, male sexual dysfunction, and female menstrual disorders are all related to abdominal obesity.

Furthermore, compared to non-obese individuals, people with abdominal obesity have a 2 times higher incidence of cerebral infarction, a 2 times higher incidence of coronary heart disease, a 2-4 times higher incidence of hypertension, a 4 times higher incidence of diabetes, and a 2-6 times higher incidence of gallstones. No wonder some say obesity is the root of all diseases.

Therefore, people with apple-shaped obesity can no longer ignore their abdominal fat.

The simplest way to diagnose visceral obesity is to check if your lower abdomen is protruding. Clinical experience shows that over 90% of "big bellies" are due to visceral obesity. In addition, a small percentage of relatively thin people may have visceral obesity.

However, the above calculation methods ignore differences in muscle mass and body fat percentage, thus introducing some error. Here are some other ways to self-assess visceral obesity:

1. Measure your waist circumference. Men with a waist circumference exceeding 90 cm and women with a waist circumference exceeding 80 cm are likely to have visceral obesity.

2. If you find that five or more of the following apply to you, it also indicates that you may have visceral obesity:

● Significantly increased weight compared to age 20 (18 for women).

● Protruding lower abdomen.

● Frequently eat out.

● Frequently snack and have late-night meals.

● Frequently travel by car and dislike walking.

● Frequently feel fatigued and have less energy than before.

● Enjoy sweet, spicy, or salty foods.

● Always want to eat when feeling depressed or irritable.

Whether it's a meal or snacks, you don't stop until you're completely full.