[Flab Over Fifty] My Belly Fat Is Driving Me Crazy. Is Yours?

LEAVE A COMMENT 2015 October 27

For those of you just joining us, this is the second installment of an ongoing “journal” I’m keeping on my program to eat right, stay in shape, and reduce my belly! It will please me if I can inspire even one other women to be a belly buster. Catch up by reading last week’s entry.

signature

I’m three weeks into my belly-busting regimen, and more (or less) over my continual craving for carbs. I say more or less because it’s pretty hard for me to go totally carb-less. So although I haven’t had a bite of bread, a cookie crumb, or a strand of spaghetti (from David’s plate) in 21 days, I’ve had a few teaspoons of jam, straight from the jar (George Costanza would definitely accuse me of “double dipping), and a couple of clementines.

I’m eating roast chicken; fish like salmon and tuna tartare; salads with balsamic vinegar and olive oil; homemade vegetable soups like broccoli and squash (made in a Vitamix without butter, milk or cream), and coffee with heavy cream (won’t ever deny myself heavy cream in my coffee).

(more…)

from →  , , ,

Does Your Belly Fat Make You Crazy?

LEAVE A COMMENT 2013 November 15

Stop obsessing and read this.

Being FOF comes with so many great things—wisdom, levity, experience, humor… And one not-so-great thing: belly fat.

So we paused in the middle of our daily sit-up regimen to speak with Dr. Michael Kaplan, one of the nation’s foremost experts on weight loss. Dr. Kaplan revealed the truth behind belly fat over fifty—why it’s there, what you can do about it, and why you should stop obsessing.

We hear it from FOFs all the time: ‘It’s so much harder for me to lose weight now, and I’m gaining in my belly area. What can I do?’

The unfortunate consequence of aging—for everyone—is that your metabolism slows by about 5-10 percent per decade. When women hit menopause, it slows an additional 5-10 percent. Many women spend their lives at a normal BMI [body mass index] of 23 or 24, and then they hit menopause and find themselves at a BMI of 27 or 28—ever so slightly overweight. And they can’t take off the pounds. Also, the body is programmed during menopause to lay down extra subcutaneous fat in the abdomen. So even if you’ve never had fat in your abdomen, all of a sudden you have a belly.

(more…)