Often termed as belly fat, visceral fat is not visible. It’s found inside the abdominal cavity, near the liver, stomach and intestines. If it reaches the arteries, it might lead to further complications.
Talking about complications, it leads to an increase in insulin resistance, blood pressure and some serious diseases like Alzheimer’s, breast cancer, stroke or even heart attacks.
You can check your body for visceral fat through a CT or MRI scan. While at home, you can measure your waist and know your health risk. For men, if your waistline measures more than 40 inches, you should go for the scan. In the case of women, their waist shouldn’t measure more than 35 inches.
In order to get rid of this dangerous fat, you will have to adopt a few lifestyle changes, regular exercise and a well-balanced diet.
When we are on it, a normal Indian meal can be termed a well-balanced diet. Dal should be the main ingredient in your lunch and dinner. Ensure a diet high in proteins, complex carbohydrates and fibres. To know the hidden benefits, you must refer to The Game Changers.
The other important lifestyle changes you can inculcate are:
- Stay hydrated
- Avoid water 30 minutes before or after meals
- Chew your food slowly, don’t gulp.
- Drink green tea to boost metabolism
- Sleep for 7-8 hours in the night.
To begin with, here are the top 5 sports to lose active fat:
#1. Walking / Running/ Jogging
Running and walking are the two best exercises to shed body fat. Running helps you lose more calories though. Remember to warm up and cool off before your run. The only tip is to walk or jog for 30-60 minutes daily.
Early mornings in a park is much recommended since it also helps you breathe in clean air. Yet another recommended thing is bicycling. It can be either road bicycling or mountain biking. This will not only improve your posture but also decrease stress levels.
#2. Football/ Hockey
This is one of the best sports you can indulge in. You would always find a footballer or hockey player to be slim always. These sports demand running across the field during the most part of the game. So if you want to lose that belly fat, pick any one of these.
#3. Kickboxing
It’s an emerging sport because it is a combination of boxing and martial arts with aerobics. Whether it’s kickboxing or boxing, it is trained in rounds.
And these small intense sessions will help your body burn more fat. An hour’s session will easily burn 750-100 calories. Besides calorie burn, it also tones your muscles and self-defence training.
#4. Basketball
This is quite similar to soccer and hockey because it involves running throughout the court. An hour’s practise session can lead to burning 576 calories. A game of basketball helps you relieve stress and anxiety since it’s a team sport. This sport requires you to change directions quickly, maintain balance, agility, speed and strong arms and shoulders.
#5. Tennis / Squash
A game of squash involves a lot of endurance and stamina which in turn helps you lose that visceral fat. On the other hand, tennis is a forgiving sport that helps you to score points and be optimistic throughout the game.
A tennis match requires you to move back and forth, side to side, these quintessential movements help you get rid of the belly fat.
It’s not about the way you look, it’s about being healthy. Cheers to a fitter you!
