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5 steps to a slimmer waist

Creating a thinner waist for a sexy hour-glass figure requires more than merely reducing your body fat.

There is a lot more going on around the midsections of those who are overweight or obese, most of which is also highly detrimental to your health.

What lies beneath

The real problem is more than skin deep, so to speak, as visceral fat – also known as organ or intra-abdominal fat – encases major organs in the abdominal cavity, including the stomach, liver, intestines and kidneys.

This fat wreaks havoc with your endocrine (hormonal) system and can actually hamper your weight and fat loss efforts.

It is also the leading cause of the many lifestyle diseases that plague modern society such as metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

However, there are many factors that conspire against our ability to easily reduce this excess fat, while modern-day diets and lifestyles predispose us to excess fat storage in this area.

To help you win the waistline war, here are our top five tips to a slimmer waist.

Focus on food

The main way to reduce both the visceral and subcutaneous body fat around your waist is to eat a healthy, calorie-controlled diet.

This diet should eliminate or at least limit sugar and processed carbohydrates, and should include adequate protein, fibre and healthy sources of fat.

The key is to find the right macronutrient balance for your genetics, body type and activity levels. Some form of carb manipulation is another effective way to reduce body fat stores around the waist, be it a low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) diet or another approach like carb cycling.

Manage your hormones

Insulin and cortisol are two important hormones that are closely linked to how much fat we store around our waists. Insulin is released in response to increased glucose in the bloodstream and is a powerful fat-storing hormone.

The more glucose we derive from the carbs and sugar we eat, the more gets stored as fat when our muscle and liver stores are full.

Over time, our cells become less responsive to insulin, which renders it less effective at removing glucose from the bloodstream. This will eventually lead to insulin resistance and, if left unchecked, type-2 diabetes. This is the primary cause of the fat, round midsections so many suffer with today.

The best way to manage this is to reduce your carb intake and become more efficient and metabolising stored fat for energy. This may require a drastic approach initially, like the Banting diet, to get your insulin under control. Once achieved, you’ll have more options, like carb cycling or backloading.

Cortisol is another hormone that, when produced in excess, can add centimetres to your waist.

It’s released in response to stress and floods the body with glucose – often derived from muscle, glycogen stores and fat, if required – as part of our flight-or-fright response. When this energy isn’t used, the body stores it as fat. So, while cortisol is an important hormone required to metabolise fat, it can also promote fat storage, particularly around your waist.

It is therefore essential that you manage cortisol by reducing daily stress levels and avoid the impulse to train excessively without adequate time for rest and recovery.

Exercise correctly

Cardiovascular activities like running, biking or rowing are often touted as the most effective way to reduce visceral fat. This is true if this form of exercise is done in a glycogen-depleted state, as this forces the body to tap into stored fat for energy.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) with weights and cardio is also a great way to burn calories and fat, particularly as it raises your metabolic rate for extended periods of time following intense sessions. It also releases hormones that aid muscle building and fat loss.

Get sufficient sleep

A 2010 study from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine showed that insufficient sleep (five hours or less a night) or too much sleep (eight hours or more) were linked to increases in visceral fat. It therefore pays to implement and maintain healthy sleeping habits.

Supplement your approach

Once you have the right approach to eating and training, the right supplements can help to reduce the fat around your waist at a faster rate.

The ideal approach is to use a body toner, such as conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) throughout the year, in addition to beneficial products like L-carnitine.

Combine this with 6-8 week cycles of a thermogenic fat burner, which will help to boost your metabolism throughout the day, even while at rest, ensuring your burn more fat-derived calories.

Author: Pedro van Gaalen

When he’s not writing about sport or health and fitness, Pedro is probably out training for his next marathon or ultra-marathon. He’s worked as a fitness professional and as a marketing and comms expert. He now combines his passions in his role as managing editor at Fitness magazine.

When he's not writing about sport or health and fitness, Pedro is probably out training for his next marathon or ultra-marathon. He's worked as a fitness professional and as a marketing and comms expert. He now combines his passions in his role as managing editor at Fitness magazine.

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