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					Fat around the Middle – How to Lose that Bulge for Good

If you have a tendency to gather fat around your middle, apple rather than
pear shaped, you will know how difficult it is to lose it. Your arms and legs
may be acceptable looking, but the middle bit, from your bust to your groin -
seems to defy all attempts to diet and exercise. Perhaps your clothes feel
uncomfortable, your waistband is too tight, you’ve got a gaping blouse and a
“muffin top” layer of fat pouring over the waistband of your jeans or worst of all
– you’ve been asked when your next baby is due.

heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and certain cancers (especially
breast cancer). Because of where the fat sits on your body, normal dieting
rarely works.

To find out why fat goes on around the middle rather than elsewhere, how you
can change your diet to help get rid of that bulge for good, why stress is
connected and tips on the best supplements to take read more ...

Ballooning waistlines
Research has shown that women in the UK are changing shape. The
traditional pear shape is being replaced by the apple – women have become
generally taller and larger since the 1950s but it is waistlines that have
ballooned enormously. Women are fatter around the middle than they have
ever been.

Research from the Department of Health in 2005, has shown that Britons now
have the fattest stomachs in history. Between 1993 and 2004, women’s
waistlines ballooned by an average of 1.6in (4.1cm) to 34.1in (86.6cm) and
men by an average 1.5in (3.8cm) to 38.4in (97.5cm). Figures published in
2004 showed that between 1951 and 2005, women’s waists have increased
by 6.5in (16.5cm).

But compare the other changes in height, bust and hips:

                    1951                 2004                  Difference
Height              5ft 3in (1.6m)       5ft 4.5in (1.64m)     1.5in (3.8cm)
Bust                37in (94.0cm)        38.5in (97.8cm)       1.5in (3.8cm)
Hips                39in (99.1cm)        40.5in (102.9cm)      1.5in (3.8cm)
Waist               27.5 (69.9cm)        34in (86.4cm)         6.5in (16.5cm)
Source: National Sizing Survey

So we have become generally taller and larger but there is an enormous
difference between the 1.5in gain in height, bust and hips and the 6.5in
gained on the waist. There is no doubt that we have lost the traditional
hourglass figure (synonymous with a pear shape) and women have become
more apple shaped with all its health risks.

So by following the recommendations below, you will not only rid of fat around
health problems in the future. Short term, you get to look better. Long term?
You live longer. It’s as simple as that.

middle of your body.

What’s the cause?
The main reason some people gather more fat around their middle than
others is specifically because of the action of the stress hormone cortisol.

Millions of years ago, our bodies were designed to react quickly to danger.
Like wild animals we were on constant alert so we could run or fight if
threatened. When your brain thinks your life is in danger it stimulates the
release of adrenaline and cortisol

provides instant energy for 5-10 minutes allowing you to react swiftly to
dangerous situations.

These days, many of us live under chronic stress. But our bodies can’t
distinguish between late trains, missed appointments, spiralling debt,
infuriating work colleagues, family disputes and the truly life-threatening stress
it gears up to challenge. So it reacts exactly the same as it’s always done.

The problem with many modern lifestyles is that stress (our ‘perceived threat’)
is almost continuous and comes without the natural release that either fighting
or fleeing might provide. Unless you do something physical (as your body is
expecting you to) all that extra energy, in the form of fat and glucose, has

Food cravings you can’t control
After a stressful event cortisol levels in the blood often remain high for a while,
effectively increasing your appetite because your body thinks you should
refuel after all this fighting or fleeing. This means people under constant
stress quite often feel constantly hungry. Worse, their body urges them to
stock up on the foods it thinks will be most useful after all that ‘activity’ –
carbohydrates (like sugar) and fats.

It’s just the sort high-sugar, high-fat comfort and convenience food many
people crave.
The fat around the middle connection
If you don’t fight or flee when your body expects you to, the fat and glucose
swimming around your system get deposited as fat – around the middle of
your body. And if you eat something sugary or fatty as a consequence of the
post-stress appetite surge, any weight you gain as a result, will be around
your middle too.

can most quickly be converted back into energy if needed. There it provides
the body with protection ready for the next stress attack.

Your body is only trying to help. To continue providing the energy it thinks you
need, it tries to keep a convenient fat store ready for constant use and creates
cravings and increases appetite to ensure good supplies of necessary fuel.

Do you have a problem?
For the purposes of measuring fat around the middle, the best test is the
difference in size between your hips and your waist (your ‘waist to hip’). This
is the true measure of fat around the middle and the best indicator of whether
or not you are going to be vulnerable to all the health risks associated with it.

Just get a tape measure and compare your waist measurement (at the
narrowest point) with your hip measurement (at the widest point). Divide your
hip figure by your waist figure to get what is known as your waist–hip ratio.

For example: 86cm (34in) waist divided by 94cm (37in) hip = 0.9

If your calculation gives a figure greater than 0.8 you are officially apple
shaped and you need to take action. For men the danger zone is above 0.95.

let go of the fat around your middle. This is because fat is a manufacturing
plant for oestrogen which will help protect your bones from osteoporosis. It’s
a very clever system, designed to protect you, but it helps explain why mere
diet and exercise alone will rarely shift that stubborn fat. The combined effect
of female hormonal changes, slower metabolism and stress with high cortisol
levels create a bigger likelihood of fat around the middle.

Why tummy fat is bad for you
Not all fat in the body behaves the same. Fat around the middle of the body
that is the most likely to have a mind of its own. This “toxic fat” is far more
metabolically active than fat elsewhere because it increases the risk of heart
disease, high blood pressure, stroke, cancer and diabetes. One of the
biggest problems it causes is insulin resistance.

So what can you do to get rid of the fat around your middle?
Follow this four pronged approach for three months to see a significant
change in your body shape and as a consequence, it will dramatically improve
your long term health.
1) eat healthily
2) take supplements
3) address stress
4) take exercise

Eating healthily – NOT dieting!
body that it is under stress. If you restrict your diet or cut calories your body
inevitably thinks there is a famine out there and that causes stress. It will slow
down your metabolism to hold on to your precious fat stores. Furthermore, if
your blood sugar levels fluctuate (as they do for most women), your body will
be releasing adrenaline which is the same hormone it releases when you are
under stress. Once more it encourages your body to store fat.

The solution is to find a way of eating that tells your body all is well –and
reassure it that is not under stress.

The 3-month eating plan
Aim to stick to the eating plan 80% of the time and allow yourself a 20% off for
good behaviour (and human fallibilities!) and don’t talk about ‘good’ and ‘bad’
foods (it induces guilt). Instead try to think of foods as junk (unhealthy) and
healthy foods.

Try to stick to these simple rules:

1) Stop dieting
Stop dieting (yes, really!) and don’t count calories, otherwise your body will
think there’s a famine and raises stress levels (which contribute to fat storage)

2) Eat little and often
something every three hours. Just eat breakfast, lunch and dinner plus a
between. Oh, and try not to eat carbohydrates after 6pm.

and calmer inside.

3) Don’t skip breakfast
If you miss breakfast completely your body immediately registers famine and
hangs on tight to your ample stores of fat.

4) Eliminate all sugar and refined carbohydrates
Avoid any foods that make your blood sugar rise quickly because as blood
sugar drops again your body releases adrenaline and cortisol to stabilise it
once more. Swap to whole grain alternatives.
5) Add protein to each meal
Protein slows down the rate the stomach processes food and slows the
carbohydrate, which is a very good thing.

6) Eat essential fats
A lifelong dependency on low fat diets might mean you’re consuming less
saturated fat, but most people today have unwittingly made themselves
deficient in the good fats – essential fatty acids. As the name implies these
essential fatty acids (EFAs) are essential.


* They slow down the rate at which the stomach empties, so making
carbohydrates even more slow-releasing
* They boost your metabolism
* They make you less insulin resistant
* They reduce inflammation

7) Don’t eat on the run

8) Watch what you drink
Cut out all caffeine and sugary drinks and significantly reduce alcohol intake

9) Change the way you think about food
If you’re really serious about changing your body shape you need to think
about food and eating as a way of life so that healthy, enjoyable eating
just like cleaning your teeth.

Because your body has been under this constant stress for so long it will
usually need a bit of extra help to get its functioning back to normal, and to
reassure it that it’s not under constant attack. You can get this extra help in
the form of supplements and herbs.

One of the most important minerals for losing that apple shape is chromium.
This mineral is needed for the metabolism of sugar. It helps insulin take
glucose into the cells. Without chromium, insulin is less effective at controlling
blood sugar levels and glucose levels rise.
Known as ‘nature’s tranquilliser, magnesium calms the adrenal glands and
helps balance blood sugar by contributing to the production and action of
insulin. Diabetics are often deficient in magnesium.

Zinc is an extremely important mineral, as it is needed for the production of
stress hormones, insulin and sex hormones. Research has shown that
supplementing with zinc helps control cortisol.

Vitamin C
We know that vitamin C is involved with glucose metabolism and that
according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in the US, people
with diabetes have significantly lower concentrations of vitamin C, up to 30%
lower. Vitamin C is crucial for adrenal gland function. The more cortisol is
made, the more vitamin C is used.

B vitamins
when working on nourishing and calming the adrenal function. B vitamins
glucose metabolism.

Co-enzyme Q10
This vitamin-like substance is important for energy production and normal
because it releases energy by burning that fat.

Co-enzyme Q10 also has a role in controlling blood sugar levels and helps to
lower glucose and insulin, so improving insulin resistance.

Alpha Lipoic acid
Alpha lipoic acid is a powerful antioxidant that is made by the body and is a
co-factor in vital energy-producing reactions. Its role is to release energy by
burning glucose. The more glucose is burned, the less insulin the body has to
release and so the body stores less fat. Alpha lipoic helps makes tissues
more sensitive to insulin so that insulin can do its job of moving glucose into
the cells and not storing it as fat.

Amino Acids
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein and a number are vital to losing
fat around the middle because they can help to make cells more sensitive to
insulin while others are important to help cushion the body against the effect
of the stress hormones. The most important ones are: N-acetyl cysteine,
carnitine, tyrosine, arginine, glutamine, leucine, isoleucine and valine.

There are a number of herbs which have a long history in helping with adrenal
function and calming the body. The herb of choice for the adrenal glands is
Siberian ginseng. Siberian ginseng is classed as an adaptogen, which means
that it works according to the body’s need – providing energy when required,
and helping to combat stress and fatigue when pressure. It helps to
encourage the normal functioning of the adrenals and acts as a tonic to these

To avoid having to purchase single supplements for all of the above and to
of the most important nutrients for losing that fat around the middle. They are
NHPs Nutri Support and NHPs Amino Support available from Hanover Health
Food Shop..

around the middle of your body caused, in part, by the activity of your stress
hormones, exercise MUST become one of your priorities. By simply making
time for exercise in your life, you can control the potentially damaging effects
of the fight or flight response.

Build muscle
Muscle is metabolically active. This means it requires fuel in the form of
calories just to maintain it even when you are sitting doing nothing. So the
more muscle you have, the more calories you use up, and, if you don’t
overeat, the more fat you will burn.

This is one of the infuriating reasons why men tend to find it easier to lose
weight than women - they generally have more muscle than women.

Weight gain with age
It is sad, but true that we all tend to gain weight as we get older. One of the
main reasons is that we lose muscle. After the age of 40, women can start to
lose about 230g (½lb) of muscle a year. So over ten years between 40 and
50, most of us will have lost 5lbs of muscle. As muscle mass decreases, our
metabolism become increasingly sluggish. Let’s face it; we all also tend to get
less active as we get older so this inactivity will only add to the problem. With
less muscle and less activity weight is likely to pile on as fat.

What kind of exercise is best?
In order to lose that fat around the middle, you need to do a combination of
interval and resistance training. The aim is to use exercise to help burn off fat
AND to build muscle which helps you burn off even more fat faster.

One of the most surprising ways to slim the fat around your middle, is to cut
back on the stress in your life, because that will help reduce cortisol levels,
and – when combined with diet, exercise and supplements – will train your
body to stop storing fat around your middle.
How to reduce stress
  1) prioritise
  2) delegate
  3) put yourself first
  4) learn some relaxation techniques
  5) put things in perspective
  6) take time to eat
  7) take time to go to the toilet (yes! Really)
  8) take regular exercise
  9) spend time with your friends
  10) have a cuddle
  11) laugh
  12) get enough sleep

Go for it!
Changing the way you eat, adding supplements and an exercise regime AND
trying to cut back on the stress in your life isn’t going to seem easy for the first
few weeks. But please persevere. In less than a month you will start to notice
a few changes. The fat at the top of your belly often goes first, then lower
down, then across your back. And before you know it, your clothes will start to
feel lose.

Dr Marilyn Glenville PhD is the UK’s leading nutritionist specialising in
women’s health. She is the former President of the Forum for Food and
Health at the Royal Society of Medicine and a registered nutritionist. Dr
Glenville is the author of a number of internationally best selling books
including ‘Fat around the Middle’, ‘Natural Solutions to the Menopause’
‘Getting Pregnant Faster’ and The Natural Health Bible for Women’. She
works in a gynaecology clinic in London. For more in depth information look
on Marilyn’s website If you are interested in a
consultation in person or by telephone you can contact Dr Glenville’s clinic on
0870 5329244 or by email: