We all have different shaped bodies, but some shapes are a higher risk factor for heart attacks.  The traditional “apple” shape where weight gain is primarily in the stomach area is the number one indicator that you are at risk for a heart attack.  This fat is called Omentum, an organ made to store fat that is located UNDER your abdominal muscles so that it is hard to the touch when enlarged, described as a “beer belly”.  The omentum is the first source of fuel for all the major organs.  However, this is fatty fuel and is not a good source of energy and can clog the liver, heart, lungs etc. If large, it squishes and crowds other organs, disrupts hormone levels in the body, increases fatty energy that goes to all organs in the body (including the heart, clogging the arteries and causing heart attacks), stores and distributes harmful chemicals that are ingested and stored in your fat cells to the rest of the body.

This is Dr. Mehmet Oz on Oprah showing a healthy, draping omentum and a fatty, bunchy one.

Start Banishing the Belly Fat TODAY

1. Cut out all the simple sugars.  Syrups and any foods that end in –ose should be removed from your diet Read the Lable.  As a rule, it is better to buy ingredients and make your own foods at home then to buy pre-packaged or restaurant dishes.  They always sneak in fat, calories and sodium you wouldn’t have guessed were in there.  And by ingredients I mean mostly fresh stuff that can go bad: fresh vegetables, whole grains, lean meats.

2. Don’t drink too much alcohol.  Alcohol increases the creation of triglycerides (you want that number under 100) Plus is a simple carbohydrate.

3. Sleep.  When you don’t sleep, that part of the brain that craves sleep has to make up for it, so it craves simple carbohydrates.   

4. Manage Stress.  Having a waist size more than half your height is an indication of how you are coping with your stress.  If your number is more than half, you run into progressive health problems, and you need to develop healthy exercise and stress relief activities.  Exercise releases endorphins that help you cope with stress, increases your energy levels and helps your body image.  Physical activity is the best way to cope with stress.

5. Walk.  If you walk at a good pace, you won’t get hurt and you’ll build up that core muscle that helps you get rid of belly fat.  It helps regulate sugar distribution in your body which increases metabolism and supresses hunger.

Much of this information was obtained from Dr. Oz’s Book YOU On A Diet.

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