Belly fat is mostly mysterious for us all. Truth is that we really do not know why the body creates body fat. We only know the how part of it. The two hormones are cortisol and insulin.
An introduction to cortisol and insulin
Cortisol is released in the body in response to stress. Cortisol induces the release of glucose in the blood and that triggers the release of insulin.
Chronic stress means that the blood sugar keeps on going high and that keeps the insulin levels high too.
Even if cortisol is not the trigger, every time we eat, insulin is released in our blood. Insulin is the hormone which helps push glucose inside the cells to be used as energy.
Lastly if our diet is high carbs and sugars, all that stuff gets converted to glucose and it is instantly released in the blood. Blood glucose triggers release of insulin.
Cortisol, insulin and belly fat
So stress and high carb diet are the starting points for belly fat. Here is how it works. Both these situations end up with excess blood sugar in the system. This get disposed off in two ways, either it goes into the cells to be used as energy or it is recalled by the liver to be converted to glycogen. When the liver gets full, it is forced to store fat as belly fat. That is the first option for the liver to store fat.
Target the belly fat
You need to first launch a full scale assault on the carbs and sugars that you are eating. Samosas, pastries, pizza, pasta, maggi and even breakfast cereals which you all thought was healthy and safe. Next to target is the refined oils you are using everywhere in cooking.
Next you move onto stress. Your daily routine should include de-stressing towards the end of the day to get adequate sleep. You need to have a separate action plan to handle stress. Here is what you should start with.
Finally you should go full on with intermittent fasting and prolonged fasting. Not only it helps to overcome the plateau, it also helps to really go into fat burning. Your daily fasting window should be more than 16 hours. If you are able to manage all the three meals within an 8 hour window. It is however the prolonged fasting will is the real deal breaker as far as stress goes. Anything more than 24 hours or preferably 36 hours is the sweet spot. One whole day and night of fasting and the next morning it is guaranteed that you will enter into fat burning mode as well as stress free mode at the same time.