Summer is finally here! And like every year as the summer holidays approach, some people launch the operation summer bodysuit : a far too restrictive diet in the hope of shedding a few kilos before going to the beach. Fortunately, the trend body positivewhich advocates self-acceptance, allows you to free yourself from the dictates of thinness.
On the other hand, recalls the World Health Organization (WHO), one in six Europeans is obese. And according to Insermin France, approximately one in two people are overweight. The cause: a sedentary lifestyle and meals rich in ultra-processed foods, sugars and bad fats. A cocktail that promotes the development of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, as our waistline expands. Hence the appearance of the body roundness index (BRI) which, unlike the body mass index (BMI), takes into account the impact of visceral fat, located at the belly level, on our health. A public health issue that JB Rives tackles in his book Belly fat, the solution (ed. Thierry Souccar), to help “eliminate abdominal fat and restart your metabolism”.
Belly fat is particularly stubborn. Why is she so hard to lose?
There are two types of abdominal fat: deep visceral fat, which makes the stomach rather round and hard, and subcutaneous fat, which makes the stomach rather soft, with bulges.
Subcutaneous fat is very resistant. In certain situations, linked to stress and hormones, we will naturally tend to store fat and feed this layer of fat, which becomes more and more difficult to remove with age, as the metabolism slows down.
Why does metabolism slow down and promote weight gain, especially around the stomach?
It’s very progressive, and it’s the result of bad habits whose impact we don’t necessarily measure. When I was young, I could eat anything without gaining an gram, then things changed! I went to study in another city, I went out, drank a little, ate whatever, and when I started to work, the side of comfort and search for energy through food came into play. my daily life, between an overly hearty lunch and sugar cravings to fight against sluggishness or overcome a bout of stress. We start the day with a sweet breakfast, which will generate spikes in blood sugar and repeated sugar cravings during the day, we eat a little cheese or chips while we prepare dinner.
Slowly but surely, the pounds settle in. This is why I use my example in my book: we don’t necessarily feel like we’re hurting, but it’s all these daily habits that can, in the long run, affect our hormones and slow down our metabolism.
Many people at this stage decide to eat less, but weight loss is often not achieved.
When we want to lose weight, we are in a logic of food restriction, to create a calorie deficit. But this simplistic approach is distorted because our body is a machine that needs a certain number of elements and nutrients to function.
In practice, the reflex of many is to eat a small plate of raw vegetables. Not only do we starve ourselves at the risk of giving in to a big craving, but we forget the proteins, minerals and good fats, essential in the regulation of hormones, appetite and metabolism. Result of this spiral of diets: we lose weight, of course, but it is a little fat, but also muscle. And when we gain weight after the diet, which is almost systematic, it is fat that we gain, not muscle. This yoyo effect, repeated with each diet, slows down the metabolism more and more, to the point where we no longer have enough muscle to lose fat.
How to restart your metabolism?
First by stopping counting calories and eating less. What we need to do is eat better. Rather than caloric restriction, it is better to have caloric dilution: we will provide more good foods which will dilute the “bad” ones. We will eat larger, more nourishing meals to balance satiety hormones, avoid breakdowns and support long-term weight loss.
We must avoid the mistakes that have slowed down our metabolism: we avoid ultra-processed foods, too fatty and sugary, but also meals that are too frugal and too low in proteins and good fats. We start the day with a salty breakfast, rich in protein, which will provide better satiety, stabilize blood sugar levels throughout the day and avoid sugar cravings. The foods we start the day with affect our hormones over 24 hours.
At the time when I gained a lot of weight, I had low blood sugar attacks at 11 a.m., it took me years to realize that it was because of my sugary breakfast, which caused me reactive hypoglycemia, in response to what I ate. Most people are not aware that if we snack during the day, it is because we ate too much sugar first thing in the morning. While proteins and good fats allow the production of satiety hormones.
You can also opt for intermittent fasting. The important thing is to break your fast with the right foods, not to start your day with sugar, whether at breakfast or lunch.
What role can intermittent fasting play in losing belly fat?
It can promote the destocking of visceral fat, the fat that surrounds the organs, which is very harmful to health, and which manifests itself by a swollen and hard belly. This is a sign that we are overstocked, that we are receiving too much energy because of a diet too rich in sugar and fat. In this case, intermittent fasting allows the liver to rest and the body to destock this fat. Conversely, when we tend to snack throughout the day, this almost constant food intake means that we are in permanent digestion: we remain in storage mode. Therefore, intermittent fasting allows many to restart the metabolism and lose visceral fat, which is the most harmful to health but which it is fortunately possible to lose.
Is playing sport necessary?
For subcutaneous fat, which is more resistant, eating better, with more protein, and doing physical activity helps to get rid of it. No need to run for hours, just walk after meals and stay active during the day, which helps you lose weight. If you like doing sports, what works is muscle work. HIIT or muscle strengthening allows you to correct the initial problem: regaining the muscles lost in diets.
And there is no age to lose weight, you may feel stuck, lack motivation and energy, but you are never too old or too fat to regain your health by hand.