16 REASONS YOU'RE NOT LOSING BELLY FAT

If you've been trying to lose the belly flab, yet you still can’t seem to lose that unwanted belly fat? This can be so frustrating! Excess fat in the abdominal area especially viscreal fat (the kind that surrounds your organs and puffs your tummy into a beer gut) is a predator for heart diseases, diabetes, some cancers and insulin resistance. Successfully burning belly fat can be a lot of work, and it definitely takes a combination of both exercise and healthy eating. If your diet and excercises are not helping in reducing your stomach bulge, it means there are quite number of things you are doing wrong.  Here are 16 reasons you’re not losing belly fat.

16 Reasons Why You’re Not Losing Belly Fat?

1-You're doing the wrong workout

Besides healthy diet also try to take regular exercise because exercise also help a lot to burn excessive fat. Instead of all those crunches, do exercises that engage multiple muscle groups and work your cardiovascular system. Doing small bursts of exercises, or interval trainings, with small breaks in between can improve endurance and muscle more efficiently than traditional cardio. The combination of cardiovascular (aerobic) exercise with resistance training is more effective than cardiovascular training alone in getting rid of abdominal fat. Getting up and moving throughout the day by going for walks will also help. Kate Patton; a registered dietician at Cleveland Clinic recommends 250 minutes of moderate-intensity workout and 125 minutes of high-intensity workout every week.

2-Poor Sleep

Make sure you’re getting a solid 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night, and make sure it’s good sleep! Get the right amount of sleep helps because losing sleep can also alter your hormone production, affecting your cortisol levels that cause insulin sensitivity, prime reasons for belly fat! One night of poor sleep really does a number on your metabolism. This is because sleep plays an important role in regulating key hormones related to hunger and metabolism. Too little sleep can cause an increase in a hormone that increases your appetite, so you’re eating even if your body doesn’t need it. Getting about 7 hours of sleep a night is one of the best things you can do for your body shaping goals. A 16 year study of about 70,000 women found out that most women who slept for five hours or less a night were 30 percent more likely to gain 30 or more pounds than women who slept 7 hours and above. Poor sleep also induces stress that in turn revs up the stress hormones.

3-Drinking Soda

Drinking sugary soda was associated with significantly more belly fat and wider waistlines. Sodas have empty calories which mean there's zero substance in them. You're drinking calories without any nutritional benefit. All you get is processed sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial flavoring. Sugar basically puts your body in fat storage mode so the more you have the more fat you collect. Regular soda was associated with increased waist size and abdominal fat, but diet soda was associated with increased waist size, BMI, and total percentage of fat. Diet soda is also linked with obesity, type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome. Diet soda is full of artificial sweeteners and ingredients that just throw your metabolism off track, leading to hunger spikes and cravings. And if you’re still drinking the regular stuff, most of that sugar is just getting converted into fat.

4-High Sodium Diet

Although sodium doesn’t necessarily contribute to belly fat, it does cause your body to retain water. This bloating is just going to make your midsection look bigger than it is, and hide all your hard work at the gym. Excess salt causes water to move from your bloodstream into your skin, making you look and feel bloated. The most effective way for forming your belly is to decrease your Sodium intake. While you don’t have to eliminate sodium entirely, be careful not to add any high sodium foods into your belly fat diet. You can flavor your food with other herbs and spices instead.

5-Drinking Alcohol

Alcoholic drinks, such as beer, increases the risk of belly fat because the liver prioritizes burning alcohol before metabolizing fat, according to Columbia Health. This allows more fat to store in your body in a process known as fat sparing. Several studies show that alcohol can increase appetite and food intake, and certain types of alcohol are associated with belly fat specifically. The problem with alcohol is that it’s really high in calories, regardless of what it’s mixed with. When consumed on a regular basis, it’s definitely going to interfere with your belly flattening efforts. Beer has empty calories; it doesn't contain the fiber, vitamins or minerals you need to feel satisfied, which also leads to excess calorie consumption and fat gain.

6-Check your age

As you get older, your body changes how it gains and loses weight. As you grow older your metabolic rate changes which means your body slows down and unfortunately for women that extra fat piles up around the waistline. This means that it requires far fewer calories to function on a daily rate, resulting in them being stored as fat. This is prominent in women dealing with menopause. During menopause, if a woman is gaining weight, it is more like to be in her belly. In menopause, production of the hormones estrogen and progesterone slows down. This encourages even more fat to be stored in the belly and cause the dreaded weight gain.

7-You are stressed out

stress can cause a lot of issues pertaining to your health, including your weight. When you are stressed, you tend to consume high fat, high calorie food. Stress also causes the body to produce excessive amounts of cortisol. This hormone moves stored fat to the abdomen area and creates belly fat. Cortisol also increases the amount of fat in your body and enlarges your fat cells. Try to reduce stress to reduce caloric intake and weight gain.

8-You are apple shaped

If you tend to pack the pounds around your middle rather than your hips and thighs, then you're apple shaped. This genetic predispostion means it will be harder to loose the belly fat but it doesn’t mean it is impossible. You’ll have to stringently follow all of the tips that have been mentioned through this article to succeed.

9-You're sick

This is another one of those cases where the dreaded belly fat might not be your fault. A small proportion of people suffer from something called Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, which causes an increased amount of testosterone to enter the body. The result of this is that it can be very difficult to lose weight. If you're an apple shape and overweight, it is advisable to see your doctor since there may be a chance that you are prediabetic or diabetic.

10-You're eating too many processed foods

Refined foods like white bread, crackers, and chips, as well as refined sugars in sweetened drinks and desserts increase inflammation in our bodies. Because belly fat is associated with inflammation, eating too many processed foods will hinder your ability to lose belly fat. A diet rich in whole grains changes the glucose and insulin response in your body, which hastens the melting of fat, and visceral fat, that deep layer of fat, is easier for your body to burn than the subcutaneous fat under your skin (the fat that you can see and grab).Natural foods like fruits, whole grains, vegetables are full of anti-oxidants which have anti-inflammatory properties and therefore it is good in fighting abdominal fat.

11-You're eating the wrong fats

The body doesn't react to all fats in the same way. Research correlates high intake of saturated fat (the kind in meat and dairy) is associated with increasing the amount of visceral fat in the body; while a moderate supply of monounsaturated fats and specific types of polyunsaturated fats (mainly omega-3s, found in walnuts, sunflower seeds, and fatty fish like salmon) have anti-inflammatory properties and can actually work to reduce your belly fat. But eating too much fat of any kind increases your calorie intake and could lead to weight gain, so enjoy healthy fats in moderation.   These fats include: avocado, sesame seeds, peanut butter, olive oils, etc.

12-You're unmotivated

Do you REALLY want to lose that belly fat? This all relates to motivation and if you are taking a half-hearted approach, it goes without saying that your fat will be sticking there for years to come. Reducing belly fat takes a combination approach of a diet low in calorie,  fat burning foods and fluids, sugar, carbohydrates and very high in fiber along with cardiovascular and weight training. If you are willing to do the work, you can move past genetics and lose your abdominal fat. This might be one of the more obvious reasons, but some people just can’t rid themselves of the belly because they don’t put the hours in.
The key to staying motivated is  similar to fuel in a car—you don't need the motivation tank to be full to drive; you just need to prevent it from running empty, If you notice that your motivation is waning, give yourself a break from your diet or exercise plan for one to three days. One of the best ways to stay motivated throughout your weight loss journey is to reward yourself with non-food rewards that you will look forward to and enjoy. Keeping an eye on your progress will keep you motivated and seeing your long-term progress will boost your motivation.  When motivation to stick to your new eating and exercise habits wanes, and a quick glance in the mirror doesn't do the trick, considering the many health risks of abdominal obesity probably will get you going. By maintaining a healthier weight, you are more likely to live a longer life with fewer medical problems. Wearing a smaller size is just the icing on the cake; a happier, healthier life is the ultimate reward.

13-You Fall Short on Magnesium

Magnesium is an essential mineral to human health and for healthy weight loss and body shaping. Magnesium is necessary for every major biological function (over 300 biochemical functions) in the body, including your heartbeat and regulating blood sugar levels. Magnesium supplementation is useful to treat the muscle cramps that people get when they’re trying to lose weight. It helps muscles and nerves function properly, maintains bone strength, and helps the body create energy and make proteins. It also seems to curb sweet cravings and works with calcium in muscle contraction. It is also required for the formation of ATP, the energy currency of the human body.
Magnesium is required by every cell to function. Many metabolic reactions depend upon this mineral. Magnesium can give you a better metabolism, better digestion, and an in-sync melody of the vitamins and minerals within can help you reach your weight loss goals a bit quicker and safer.

Eat more magnesium-rich foods, such as leafy green vegetables spinach and broccoli, almonds, Brazil nuts, peanuts, hazelnuts, cashews, sunflower seeds and other seeds, halibut, shrimp, whole-wheat bread, milk, Whole grain products, lima beans, black-eyed peas, soybeans, legumes, avocados, bananas, and kiwifruit. Or talk to your doctor about taking a supplement.

14-You consume too Many Calories

If you consume more calories than you need, the excess calories will be stored as fat. To put it simply, you need to burn more calories than you consume in order to lose belly fat. To lose one pound you need a deficit of 3500 calories. It’s safest to lost one to two pounds each week. Hairston’s research shows that people who eat 10 grams of soluble fiber per day -- without any other diet changes -- build up less visceral fat over time than others. Simply cutting out 500- 1,000 calories a day will result in a one to two pound weight loss per week. This is the safest rate to lose weight according to experts. Rapid weight loss is harder to maintain and can lead to health problems such as gallstones.

15-Going long periods without eating

Take meals at consistent times, skip a meal or push a normal mealtime back by several hours the end result is that you eat more, gain weight and pack on belly fat. A variety of hormonal changes occur after eating huge meals. By eating more frequent and smaller meals, the body's metabolic furnace is always running hot. This results in more fat and calories being burned throughout the day. Aim for three meals and two snacks every day.

16-You are Skipping Breakfast

Never skip your breakfast because breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But, when you're dieting, it's especially true. Eating a healthy breakfast within an hour of waking up can help keep insulin levels steady and will speed up your metabolism and make it work harder. Even skipping one day of breakfast can slow your metabolism. Plus, when you eat a good breakfast, you're less likely to overeat at lunch or later in the day, as well as from craving the not-so-healthy foods.