Abdominal Fat.

It’s a problem.  Doctors have related it to higher instances of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and even Alzheimer’s.

I have tiny wrists and fingers, strong arms, bony feet and ankles, shapely legs – even a relatively flat rear end.  But I am 5’6″ tall and weigh almost 190 pounds.  The extra weight is abdominal.

So I need to “target my abs,” right?

Wikipedia – and my doctor – tell me that “spot exercises” will not have more effect on abdominal fat that any other kind of exercise that burns the same amount of calories.

That’s not to say that those exercises won’t build and strengthen muscles while they burn calories.  And stronger muscles will make me look better.  And burning more calories will help me lose weight.  But strengthening abs is not the same as losing abdominal weight.

Calories in, calories out.

Calories are just measurements of energy.  The body gets energy from what it eats.  The body spends energy performing every function.  Even lying perfectly still and sleeping, the body is still using calories, because it takes energy to breathe, to keep the heart pumping, to rebuild cells.  Obviously, it uses a lot more calories to carry a load of laundry up and down stairs than it does to sit at a computer and type.

When food energy (taken in) is greater than energy used by the body (maintenance and exercise) the body does this amazing thing.  It converts food energy to a form that the body can store and use later.  It makes and stores fat.

Some bodies distribute their fat storage under the skin all over the body, in hips, thighs, arms and legs, feet, face, neck, hands, and belly.

My body stores its extra fat in my gut.

I’m losing it.  And that’s a good thing.

The solution is to lower the number of calories I eat, and to spend more calories by increasing activity.  The “calorie deficiency” I’m creating by doing that is making it necessary for my body to tap into the energy reserves, the stored fat.

And just like in a drought, where the water level in a reservoir goes down because more water is being used than is flowing in, the amount of fat stored in my body is slowly going down.

I’m getting my calories from food my body needs to maintain health.  I’m using my body daily to work, walk, swim, and do a lot more than just “target my abs.”  (Oh, and I’m doing that, too.)

And my jeans are getting loser.  Smile.

oOo

[Note:  At the time I wrote this post, I was not affiliated with Beachbody or Shakeology except as a satisfied customer, paying full price.]