Do you like to wear elegant and fashionable clothes? For a woman over 40, there is often a problem with them: they are tight and reveal excess fat. Especially belly fat doesn’t look good in tight clothes. Recently, a woman in her 40s told me, “I need to lose belly fat now! Summer is coming, I want to put my old clothes back on!”
Of course, a woman over 40 also wants to look good in winter, but on the beach, at a pool party or simply excluding thick winter clothes from her wardrobe, abdominal fat becomes particularly unsightly. Losing abdominal fat is often difficult for a woman over 40, and it is much more than just a visual problem. Belly fat is a serious health hazard.
Belly fat can accumulate both above and below the abdominal muscles. And that’s the main difference between belly fat that just doesn’t add to your beauty and belly fat that is actually dangerous.
- If the fat deposit is more or less directly under the skin and on top of the abdominal muscles, it is not pretty to look at, but up to a point it is not really dangerous. This type of body fat is mainly caused by eating too many calories, even if they come from healthy foods. You can also overeat healthy foods!
- If the fat accumulates inside your belly, below the abdominal muscles, you are risking your health. This fat surrounds your internal organs and is very active in your metabolism. It releases fatty acids into the blood, which makes the blood thicker. In addition, it releases hormones that trigger many dangerous processes in the body, making it difficult for a woman over 40 to lose weight permanently. This particularly dangerous type of fat often comes from eating too much sugar, fat, and lack of exercise.
If you’ve accumulated a buildup of soft fat on your belly, it’s probably fat on top of your abdominal muscles. If you can feel your belly muscles, then the fat is inside your belly (below the abdominal muscles).
You’ve probably heard of the BMI (body mass index). There is another method to assess the health risk when it comes to body fat: measuring the circumference of the belly. Take the measurement standing up and get your largest circumference. For an initial assessment, check your health risk in the table below:
- Men: 37 inches or taller: Low
- Men: 40 inches or taller: Medium
- Men: 42 inches or taller: Tall
For a woman, the health risk is even greater:
- Women: 32 inches or taller: Low
- Women: 35 inches or taller: Medium
- Women: 37 inches or taller: Tall
Hormonal changes after 40 make it increasingly difficult for a woman over 40 to lose ugly and dangerous belly fat. If you’re a woman over the age of 40, you’ve probably already tried various diets and tried unsuccessfully to lose belly fat for a few years. You might consider a custom program designed specifically for you to lose belly fat permanently.
