Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
I get a lot of emails from readers that are deeply concerned about one particular body part. They claim to have tried "everything", or say they are reasonably happy with the rest of their body and overall health, except for one little (or large!) thing. It bothers them to no end, they tell me. I can almost feel the exasperation over the email network.
If the reader is young, they complain it does much injustice to many an outfit and can spoil their PE grades! If in their twenties and thirties, I empathise with their complaints that it can ruin their potential to land a sexy mate, and make it more difficult to play the weekly game of netball or golf. People over 40 say it just won't budge and that can mean a higher risk of heart disease or type II diabetes. Can you guess, perhaps even from the title above, what it might be?
Right. It's their tummy - affectionately, often called their 'spare tyre'.
A fat stomach means all of these less-than-pleasant things for all these people and so much more. Unfortunately.
If a person is carrying excess fat anywhere in their body, it can mean a long list of health problems, and is at the centre of a spiral of a lack of fitness. Consider this - you put on weight; it is harder to exercise; you may get depressed or bored; you eat; you put on more weight; it all becomes a bad habit; you put on more weight; it is even harder to exercise ... and so on. However, stomach fat is particularly stubborn in a lot of people. Both men's and women's fitness magazines cash in on this, and always seem to offer a fast fix or a guarantee workout to change from 'flab' to 'fab'.
Today, I'm going to do something really radical. I'm going to tell you the truth about your spare tyre and together, we will see if we can deflate it, along with some myths.
Myth number one: I can just do sit ups to flatten my stomach.
This drives me crazy and I blame the aerobics craze of the eighties for starting this rumour! You cannot just shift fat from one part of your body, no matter what the magazines tell you! It's a scientific fact.
Just like you cannot just put fat onto one part of your body. And did you ever see someone that you haven't spent time with for a couple of months, and during that time, they have been on a diet and exercise plan? You will notice that their face is thinner; their legs seem longer; and their arms seem toned up. Fat is distributed unevenly all over the body, mainly just under the skin and when it is burnt off, it will vanish from all over the body. If you want to lose fat off your tummy, you need to hit the treadmill, swimming pool or aerobics class. You MUST work so that you are constantly moving, sweating and puffing, but can still talk to the person next to you. On a work scale of one to ten (ten being the most difficult), aim for a seven or eight. No less. No more. No nonsense. And you must do this between three and six days a week, depending on how fit you already are and how badly you want your stomach to change.
Myth number two: I eat a fat-free diet so I should have a fat-free body.
Firstly, I have never yet met anyone who truly eats a fat-free diet. I have mingled with world class athletes, trained with professional body-builders, and nursed all sorts of people at various stages of 'overweight', through weight loss programmes. These people all have one thing in common, and that is they THINK they are eating non-fat foods. However, there are too many hidden fats in the foods we consume, and too many temptations, to honestly consider our energy intake as purely carbohydrate and protein. And you know what? That is OK. Consuming fat is not necessarily the problem here (yes, you read that right).
The problem stems from two things that this mentality underpins. Firstly, if people think they are eating a fat-free diet, they are less likely to do regular appropriate exercise, because why burn off what you don't eat? Ha! Secondly, these eaters tend to consume more sugar, usually to keep their energy levels up. Now read this next bit carefully everyone. Sugar that is not burnt off, gets stored as fat. It goes in as carbohydrate - either unprocessed or as sugar itself - and your body keeps this excess fuel in a fat cell for later use. As we age, unused sugar, for some reason, mainly gets stored around the tummy.
A final word on fats. Fat is an essential part of any diet, at any age. The trick is to consume it in small amounts and avoid cholesterol or low density lipids. GOOD fats are found in fish, nuts, seeds, and fruits like avocado and olives.
Myth number three: My friend/ boyfriend/ coach/ neighbour does the same programme as I do and they have abs you could bounce a coin off, so I will too.
Get a programme especially for YOU and get specific, non-invasive fitness tests done on YOU, for YOU, and have a clear objective and set workout schedule in mind for YOU. Just YOU. Your first step is to find a caring a qualified fitness instructor. The rest is up to (you guessed it...) YOU! Additionally, you must inform your instructor of any ill-health.
Good luck everyone. I would love to hear your 'spare tyre busting' stories, so go for it, and let me know how you are all going.
