Lack of exercise and overeating are probably the biggest causes of carrying excess fat around your belly. However, there are other things that may cause excess belly fat and make it tougher for you to lose it.
If you’re not a couch potato and your idea of a good time isn’t pigging out on an entire plate of brownies there may be another cause for the excess stomach fat or “love handles” that you are trying to get rid of. Here is a quick list of several common things that can cause you to carry fat around your tummy:
Menopause
When menopause occurs, all kinds of wacky changes go on in your body because of the changes in hormone levels. One of the most common complaints of women going through menopause is that their fat begins to store in different places on their bodies - usually around their bellies.
So for instance, if you always carried your weight on your hips and thighs before menopause, you may suddenly find yourself carrying excess weight around your tummy after menopause.
Genetics
As usual, here comes good old “genetics” to ruin your day again. There are 4 main body types that people usually have : apple, pear, hourglass and rectangle. Probably the two most common of these body types are the pear and the apple.
If you have a pear shaped body, you gain and store your fat in the lower parts of your body like your hips and thighs.
If you’re an apple, though, you’ll naturally store your fat around your middle and in your stomach. That means that anytime you start to gain weight it’s going to deposit itself on your tummy, which is exactly where you don’t want it.
To get an idea if you might be an apple body shape, think of any overweight members of your family and try to see where they carry most of their weight. If it’s around their middle, then you’re probably an apple.
Stress
Stress is a big contributing factor to carrying excess belly fat…as well as fat in other parts of your body. When you get stressed out, two things happen. First, your body releases the hormone cortisol, which in turn causes your liver to pump out extra sugar that your body doesn’t really need.
Second, because you’ve got excess sugar pumping around in your blood, you feel hungrier and so you eat more. More calories in = more weight gain. Unfortunatly, much of this excess weight will deposit itself around your stomach.
Slowing Metabolism
As you get older, your metabolism naturally tends to slow down. What this means is that you don’t burn calories as quickly or as easily as when you were younger and had a faster metabolism. That means that even without changing your eating habits you can start to gain weight because your body is not burning calories as effeciently as it once did. Unforunately, a lot of this extra weight can be deposited in your abdominal region, leading to excess stomach fat.
Eating Right Before Bed
Having a “bedtime snack” is probably one of the worst things you can do for your health and figure. When you snack on something right before bed, it can lead to weight gain not only around your belly, but all over your body.
The best option is not to eat at least 3 hours before you go to bed so that all of the food in your stomach has a chance to digest. If you have to eat something, opt for something healthy like a piece of fruit or some protein-packed nuts instead of a bag of Cheetos and some ice cream.
Poor Digestion
Often times, people who think they have excess belly fat actually have gastrointestinal problems that cause them to be gassy and bloated. Stress can cause poor digestion as can other factors.
These are just some of the reasons besides overeating and not exercising that can lead to excess belly fat. If you have a sudden change in how much fat your have around your stomach and you have not changed your lifestyle, you should visit your doctor and rule out a medical cause for the excess fat.
If you’d like to learn more about how to lose your belly fat (not only will it make you feel better, but it will help to protect your health!) check out the resources on how to lose belly fat.