Whether it’s just stripping off belly fat or overall body fat, you want to look and feel great. Aside from the fact that fat looks bad, your long-term health is directly related to how much excess fat you carry.*
Necessary Fat
Body fat in and of itself isn’t bad. Let’s get this part straight right from the beginning. You need fat on your body for several reasons:
Fat is the secondary source of energy for your body (dietary sugars and starches being the first). You need blood sugar to keep all body processes going. Dietary energy sources give out after 10 minutes or so of heavy work or exercise, and then it switches to taking energy from the tissues around them, usually the fat stored in the tissues. It takes this stored fat and converts it into sugar, which is then used for energy.- Fat is what makes a woman curvier. Despite what cultural and societal “norms” have forced on us through Hollywood and commercials, a woman’s body comes hardwired to have fat stores in certain places. This is particularly so because of her childbearing capabilities. A woman will store fat around her belly and thighs especially during her childbearing years as a built-in safety precaution during pregnancy.
- Another purpose for body fat is that it insulates you from adverse temperatures – both heat and cold. Like a layer of blankets, fat acts to protect your internal organs from temperature extremes.
- Fat is also the main pad on the bottom of your feet as well as the palms of your hands. Imagine walking on your bones for just a minute and then be thankful for fat. It’s also important to note that fat is used to pad organs throughout your body, too, sort of like how we stuff paper into a box before sealing it up to keep the contents from shifting around.
Excess Fat
So now we know we do need somebody fat – the problem is obviously that the majority of us carry too much overall body fat, which shows up as a spare tire around our waistline or as embarrassing saddle bags.
Not only that, but your doctor advises that if you don’t lose the excess fat, you’ll suffer all kinds of other problems – like high blood pressure, increased chances of heart disease, adult-onset diabetes, and increased joint disease (arthritis) to name a few.
So, how can you reduce overall body fat and belly fat in particular? This series is going to look at the subject in more detail. In the next article, we’ll investigate whether you can really spot reduce fat with those flashy infomercial gadgets.
* Fitness Disclaimer
This website offers health, fitness and nutritional information and is designed for educational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional medical advice, diagnosis treatment. This website does not promise any specific results, as each individual responds differently to training. The author of this article is not a medical professional.
We have volunteers in our organization from different aspects of health, nutrition, and fitness. Not just modern medicine doctors and physicians, but yoga teachers, spiritual teachers, martial arts teachers, and energy healers and we use all those resources to be able to provide the best and most proper advice to people around all walks of life. We do not have a defined goal, we only have a mission to help as many people as we can.