Trimming your midsection will not only make you look good, but it will also help you live longer. A large waistline is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer. Losing weight, especially belly fat, can improve blood vessel function and improve sleep quality.
Abdominal fat cannot be exclusively considered when dieting. But losing weight can help shrink your waistline; Most importantly, it helps reduce visceral fat, a type of fat inside the abdomen that you can’t see but increases your health risks, says Kerry Stewart, MD, PhD. , director of clinical and research physiology at Johns Hopkins.
Here’s how to unpack what matters most.
Try limiting carbs instead of fat.
When Johns Hopkins researchers compared the heart effects of a low-carb diet and a low-fat diet over six months, those on the low-carb diet lost an average of 10 pounds. than those on a low-fat diet — 28.9 pounds versus 18.7 pounds. Stewart says an added benefit of a low-carb diet is weight loss. As you lose weight, fat is reduced, but lean tissue (muscle) is often lost, which is undesirable. About 2-3 pounds of good lean tissue was lost along with fat on both diets, meaning fat loss was much higher on the low-carb diet.
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