belly fat The UNTOLD truth of unexplained weight gain, stubborn belly fat and metabolic slowdown.

2. First of All, What is weight gain and why the hell is it so hard to reverse its e ects!
Unintentional weight gain occurs when you put on weight without increasing your
consumption of food or liquid and without decreasing your activity. This occurs when
you’re not trying to gain weight. It’s often due to uid retention, abnormal growths,
constipation, or pregnancy. Unintentional weight gain can be periodic, continuous, or
rapid.
DISCOVER HOW TO LOSE 100% BELLY-FAT WITHIN 2 MONTHS
What causes unintentional weight gain?
Hormonal changes
Typically between the ages of 45 and 55, women enter a stage called menopause.
During a woman’s reproductive years, estrogen — one of the hormones responsible for
regulating menstruation and ovulation — begins to decline. Once menopause occurs,
estrogen is too low to induce menstruation.
belly fat The UNTOLD truth of unexplained
weight gain, stubborn belly fat and metabolic
slowdown.

3. A decrease in estrogen can cause women in menopause to experience weight gain
around the abdominal region and the hips. Aside from the hormonal changes of
menopause, women diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) may also
experience weight gain.
Hormonal changes in your middle years can also cause your metabolism to slow down,
leading to weight gain.
Other medical conditions a ecting hormone levels can cause weight gain in both sexes.
These include:
hypothyroidism
increased cortisol (stress hormone) production, such as that in Cushing’s syndrome
increased aldosterone production
Menstruation
Periodic weight gain is often due to the menstrual cycle. Women may experience water
retention and bloating around the time of their period. Changing levels in estrogen and
progesterone may cause gain weight. Usually, this is a weight increase of a few pounds.
This type of weight gain subsides when the menstrual period ends for the month. It
often reappears the next month after the menstrual period starts again, and sometimes
during ovulation.
Fluid retention
Unexplained rapid weight gain may be the result of uid retention. This leads to uid
swelling, also known as edema, which can cause your limbs, hands, feet, face, or
abdomen to look swollen.
People with heart failure, kidney disease, liver disease, or those taking certain
medications may experience this type of weight gain.
You should always report rapid or signi cant weight gain and uid retention to your
doctor, even if no other symptoms are present.

4. Medications
Unintentional weight gain can be due to certain medications, including:
corticosteroids
antidepressants
antipsychotic medications
birth control pills
The Causes of Your Belly Fat
Belly fat is the accumulation of abdominal fat that results in increased waist size. It is
also known as central adiposity or abdominal obesity. Many people have concerns about
too much belly fat, and a variety of factors can cause you to get a bigger midsection.
People often put on more belly fat when they become middle-aged, after pregnancy, or
when they eat or drink more calories than they burn. They don’t call it a beer belly for
nothing. But no matter what the cause, a bulging belly is something many people want
to reduce.
Causes
One of the most common causes of belly fat is simply overeating and moving too little.
Over time, we often tend become more sedentary. We spend less time walking, taking
the stairs, and exercising. When we eat more calories than we use each day, an energy
imbalance causes weight gain. But there are other causes of belly fat, too.
As we age, our metabolism naturally slows down, and total body fat gradually increases.
Women tend to gain a higher fat percentage than men as they get older. Body fat
distribution changes in menopause, which causes more fat to be directed to your
abdomen as well.
Heredity can also be a factor. You might be genetically predisposed to gain weight in
your middle more than other parts of your body. Hormones and hormonal changes, as
well as stress, can also a ect belly fat accumulation.

5. How to Measure Belly Fat
Measuring your waist circumference is a simple way to tell if you are carrying too much
abdominal fat.
Why Is Belly Fat a Problem?
If you carry excess fat around your waist, you are more likely to develop health
problems than if you carry fat mainly in your hips and thighs. Belly fat can signi cantly
increase your chances of developing a number of serious health issues, including:
Heart disease
Breast cancer
Diabetes
Gallbladder problems
High blood pressure
Understanding the importance of belly fat and the risks associated with a bigger
midsection may help you to start a program to get rid of your belly fat.
How to Reduce Your Belly Fat
There are several di erent ways to get rid of belly fat. First and foremost, consider
changes to your exercise routine and diet. Start by talking to your doctor to make sure
that you are healthy enough for increased exercise and make a plan that works for your
body.
DISCOVER HOW TO LOSE 100% BELLY-FAT WITHIN 2 MONTHS
Causes of a Slow Metabolism
Your metabolism is how your body turns calories into energy, so when you say you have
a “slow metabolism,” you really mean your body is hanging onto calories, causing
unwanted weight gain. But what causes this to happen? For some people, it could be too
much cortisol, known as the “stress hormone.” Normal amounts of cortisol can help you
burn fat if it’s working in tandem with other chemicals in your body. But if you have too
much cortisol — like if you’re really stressed out for a long time — your body may think
you’re under duress and could need extra energy. which is why it clings to calories. This
also happens if you have a medical condition called Cushing’s Syndrome, a disorder of
the adrenal glands and they release too much cortisol into the bloodstream. “Increases
in cortisol causes an increased availably of all fuel substrates (carbs, fats, and proteins
by mobilization of glucose, free fatty acids, and amino acids from the body’s reserves,”
explains Roger Adams, PhD, personal trainer, doctor of nutrition, and owner of
eatright tness.com. “While this may lead to a loss in lean tissue (muscle, it also seems
to increase appetite and fat mass, which can be a dangerous combination.” These are
other signs stress is making you sick.

6. Your insulin levels are too high
This is a bit of a chicken-or-egg problem: Being overweight is a cause of insulin
resistance and type 2 diabetes, and having type 2 diabetes is linked with problems
losing weight. According to Dr. Adams, insulin helps the body use glucose for energy. “If
a person is pre-diabetic, or insulin resistant, the cells fail to respond to inulin,” he says.
“This then results in higher than normal amounts of glucose in the blood, which in turn
may signal the pancreas to produce even more insulin.” The result? Elevated insulin and
blood sugar levels, which may progress to type 2 diabetes. A study from Ohio State
University’s Wexner Medical Center found that among women who were asked to eat
the same high-calorie meal, those who had reported being stressed out had higher levels
of insulin. They burned 104 fewer calories — which could add up to 11 pounds a year!
Here are some simple steps to cut down on sugar cravings.
DISCOVER HOW TO LOSE 100% BELLY-FAT WITHIN 2 MONTHS
Your thyroid is out of whack
Your thyroid gland, located at the base of your neck, helps regulate thyroid hormones,
which greatly a ect your body’s metabolism. So if you don’t make enough of the
hormone (a condition known as “underactive thyroid” or “hypothyroidism”your
metabolism will slow down. According to the O ce of Women’s Health, a part of the
United States Department of Health and Human Services, the most common cause of
hypothyroidism in this country is Hashimoto’s disease. “Hashimoto’s disease is an
autoimmune thyroid disease that a ects the thyroid gland,” explains Shane LeBeau,
MD, endocrinologist at University of Pittsburg Medical Center (UPMC. “Patients who
have this disease produce antibodies that attack the thyroid gland — and if their
immune system damages their thyroid glands su ciently, they may become
hypothyroid and require [synthetic] thyroid hormone.” As for how exactly the thyroid
controls metabolism, Dr. LeBeau says that’s less clear. “What we do know is that thyroid
hormone increases the body’s consumption of oxygen, which is used to determine what
one’s ‘basal metabolic rate’ is,” he says, referring to the body’s baseline metabolism.
“Therefore, patients who are hypothyroid consume less oxygen and in turn have a lower
basal metabolic rate. I personally tell patients I see in my clinic that thyroid hormone is
necessary for all of our organ systems to operate smoothly.” These are other silent signs
you could have a thyroid problem.

7. Women entering menopause may start asking, “Why is my metabolism so slow?” “Low
estrogen is one of the manifestations of menopause, which takes place at age 51.4 years
on average in the United States,” says Ghasak Amer Mahmood, MD, an endocrinologist
and metabolism internal medicine expert at PIH Health in Whittier, California. “Lack of
estrogen typically increases fat mass and decreases lean mass.” Studies have shown that
weight gain can be, unfortunately, a result of this lack of estrogen. Estrogen plummets
during menopause, which is one of the reasons why women experience a slower
metabolism during and after this point. These natural menopause remedies can help
you deal with menopause symptoms.
Your testosterone is low
Men aren’t o the hook for hormone changes. “With testosterone de ciency, as men age
their muscle mass declines and fat mass increases,” Dr. Mahmood says, slowing
metabolism. A study of the e ects of a testosterone-reducing drug for prostate cancer
patients showed that low testosterone levels were associated with higher body fat mass.
Testosterone replacement — though controversial — tends to reverse these changes, Dr.
Mahmood says, as a study from Germany shows. Increasing vitamin D levels may also
help to raise testosterone.
DISCOVER HOW TO LOSE 100% BELLY-FAT WITHIN 2 MONTHS
Your estrogen is low

8. If you are overweight or obese, you have more fat than muscle — and in a vicious cycle,
less fat means fewer calories burned while at rest, which in turn means more fat. If you
want to burn more calories while at rest, you need more lean muscle. Which means you
need to exercise. Pick up weight training, which builds lean muscle, and try interval
training, which the American College of Sports Medicine says smokes more calories
than traditional workouts. Also, focus on eating a healthy diet and getting enough sleep.
If you’re tired you’ll have less energy for exercise — and your lack of energy can make
you crave energizing (read: high-calorie) foods. A study from the New York Obesity
Research Center showed that people who were sleep-deprived consumed a whopping
300 calories more a day, likely because the body is searching for fuel. Here are ways to
lose weight while you sleep.
You’re taking medications
You don’t have enough muscle tissue relative to fat

9. Certain drugs can slow your metabolism. Long-term use of anti-in ammatory steroids,
including prednisone, can increase appetite and lead to overconsumption of calories.
They’re also associated with insulin resistance, higher blood glucose, and fat storage.
Some studies have shown antidepressants to be linked with weight gain due to a
decrease in the body’s basal metabolic rate and an increase in appetite. Beta-blockers to
treat high blood pressure slow heart rate and give you less energy for exercise,
according to the American Heart Association, so those could play a role in weight gain.
To o set the e ects of your meds on your metabolism, eat a healthy diet and exercise
regularly (after you get the OK from your doctor).
DISCOVER HOW TO LOSE 100% BELLY-FAT WITHIN 2 MONTHS
You’re not taking in enough calories
It seems to make sense that if you eat fewer calories you’ll lose weight, right? Not
always: You need enough fuel to keep your body going, otherwise it will slow down
your metabolism to conserve energy. “When we continually eat below our basal
metabolic rate (BMR), our body may adapt by adjusting the amount of calories we need
to function,” says Dr. Adams. “If we eat just a bit less than the BMR, we can lose weight
without drastically a ecting our metabolism; however, if we go too far below our BMR
for too long, the body may compensate by going into a lower metabolic state to
conserve mass.” Focusing on getting enough protein, especially early in the day, can
give your metabolism a boost. Here are some ideas for high-protein breakfasts.
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