How much belly fat is dangerous...and what is Visceral fat?

Some people have pear-shaped bodies. They tend to hold most of their weight in their hips and thighs. People with apple-shaped bodies hold most of their weight in their bellies. They often have excesses of what is known as visceral or intra-abdominal fat as well as excess subcutaneous fat. How much is too much? The standard (Harvard)  is if your waist measures more than 35" for a woman, and 40" for a man.


I happen to be one of the lucky "Apple" shaped people. So, if I gain weight, it heads straight for the belly. Thank you, MeeMaw. My sweet grandmother always said we were shaped like a frog, skinny arms and legs with a gut. Nice mental picture you have now :) I am constantly working (through clean eating and exercise) to make sure I don't give my body the option of carrying the dangerous visceral fat that will build in that area. So what is Visceral Fat and why should you be worried if your extra weight tends to build in that area?
Visceral fat is also referred to as organ fat or intra-abdominal fat and is located inside the abdominal cavity between the torso and internal organs.There is a strong correlation with abdominal fat and cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, and hypertension. It is the most dangerous place that a person can have fat because it suffocates the organs. The liver metabolizes fat and releases it into the bloodstream to form cholesterol. LDL (low density lipoprotein), labeled as the ‘bad fat’, builds up into plaque that then clogs the arteries.

Visceral fat has also been associated with insulin resistance. Abdominal fat is hormonally active and secretes a group of hormones called adipokines. These are cytokines (cell to cell signaling proteins) that may impair glucose intolerance. This predisposes the person for Diabetes Type 2 because increased obesity raises serum resistin levels which then in turn correlate to insulin resistance. It is abdominal fat that appears to be contributing to this increase in resistin levels. Serum levels have been shown to decline when visceral fat is reduced

The more visceral fat you carry around the higher your chances of developing insulin resistance (leading to type two diabetes), heart disease and other metabolic syndromes.
According to researchers from Duke University Medical Center, exercise can significantly reduce the amount of visceral fat you carry around. The more exercise you do, the more of this type of dangerous fat you will lose. Researchers in this study said that extra exercise can reverse the amount you have, while some moderate exercise can stop your visceral fat mounting up.

Eating a clean diet is absolutely IMPERATIVE to rid yourself of this belly fat. It's a common myth that you can "spot train" by doing crunches to get rid of the fat. It will only happen when you have adequate levels of cardio exercise, clean eating and strength training. Limiting alcohol, sugars and processed foods. Our trainers create fat blasting bootcamp workouts that will challenge you and our meal plan will take the guesswork out of what to eat! Contact us today, and get on your way to a healthy life with our women only bootcamps in Mckinney and Frisco Texas

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