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If you have joined the ranks of men with a beer belly, the good news is that you are not stuck with it. A personal trainer for men can help get you on track to kicking that keg. If you choose to do nothing about it, you could be putting yourself at risk for some serious health issues.
What Causes a Beer Belly?
Though beer consistently gets the blame, it is not always the primary cause for a man’s big, new belly. Excess calories are the real culprit behind those extra pounds, but more often than not, they start with beer. For example, let’s say you go out with your friends for an evening to watch the game at the bar. You go with the intention of having a couple of pints (415 calories), but while you are there, you end up consuming 2 pints of beer, a plate of 10 chicken wings and 1/3of an order of nachos. Your 400-calorie evening just became a 2,000-calorie evening.
So it’s just the extra calories, not the beer? Not exactly. The consumption of beer distracts your body from burning fat. The liver prefers alcohol over fat as an energy source, so an evening like the one above means that your body is likely to burn off the beer, but store those extra 1,600calories in your belly. The next issue is what kind of fat those calories are stored as–subcutaneous fat or visceral fat—because one type leads to more significant health risks.
The Health Risks of a Beer Belly
Subcutaneous fat lies just underneath the skin. It is easily lost and does not pose significant health problems. Visceral fat is found inside and around your internal organs. This fat cannot be seen from the outside, but it can put you at risk for serious health issues: type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular problems, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, fatty liver disease, and even erectile dysfunction. The good news in this health situation, unlike so many others, is that you can remove yourself from it by banishing that beer belly.
How Do I Banish the Beer Belly?
If you want to eliminate that beer belly and its corresponding health risks, your only option is to lose weight. There are no shortcuts. This means that you will need to begin exercising and monitoring your food and beverage intake. If you need help getting started, hire a personal trainer. They can help you create a nutrition and exercise plan that will get your body burning calories and back into a healthy range in no time.
If you prefer to attempt to lose weight on your own, you will need to start making some shifts in your diet. First and foremost, you need to consider either cutting down your beer consumption, switching to a lower calorie beer or eliminating beer altogether. To make the right choice for you, you will need to examine both your drinking habits and your eating habits while you drink. If you tend to overeat while you drink, you will need to either make different food choices while you drink or remove yourself from those situations altogether.
Your new exercise regime should include both weight lifting and cardio. At the outset, you will find the greatest benefit from combining both of those into a circuit routine, wherein you alternate weight lifting in various muscle groups with bursts of cardiovascular activity. Circuit workouts enable you to boost your metabolism by building muscle all while keeping your heart rate and calorie burn high. Create sufficient time for your muscles to rest and rebuild by alternating circuit days with aerobic exercise days.
The key to making changes to your nutrition and exercise behaviors is to start small and be consistent. For example, create a goal to work out 3 days a week for 30 minutes. Instead of going on a strict diet, just cut your current portion size in half. When you see success with these small goals, challenge yourself to make bigger ones.
Conclusion
Your beer belly is not here to stay. You can get rid of it by losing weight. If you want help, hire a personal trainer to coach you through new exercise and nutrition behaviours. Not only will your pants fit around your waist again, you will also distance yourself from unnecessary health risks.