If you carry a few extra pounds around your midsection, then you’ve probably already heard about the dangers of excess abdominal fat. Medical experts have suggested that carrying excess weight around your middle, rather than around your hips, thighs and buttocks, can lead to dangerous conditions, including certain types of cancer and heart disease.
One such medical professional is Dr. Travis Stork, who frequently notices patients carrying excess abdominal fat when he treats them in the emergency department. Stork, a practicing physician and host of “The Doctors,” has written “The Lean Belly Prescription: The Fast and Foolproof Diet & Weight-Loss Plan from America’s Top Urgent-Care Doctor,” a guide to help you lose dangerous belly fat for good without feeling like you are on a diet.
Not only can belly fat quicken the occurrence of certain diseases, it can lower your metabolism – a vicious cycle for anyone who is looking to lose a few pounds. The lower your metabolism, the more belly fat you’ll store and the more belly fat you store, the harder your metabolism will have to work.
“The most frustrating part of my job as a doctor is having to treat people who are a long way down a road they never should have taken in the first place,” Stork told MSNBC.com. “The more belly fat you carry, the greater your risk for any number of health worries.”
Stork suggests a few simple steps to get you headed toward your weight loss goals.
Swap sweetened beverages. Instead of colas and concentrated fruit juice, opt for for unsweetened iced teas or water with lemon.
Move More! Instead of scarfing down a sandwich while you surf the ‘net at lunchtime, don your sneakers and take a twenty minute walk around the block.
Book an active vacation. The best way to lose pounds and keep them off is to develop a more active lifestyle. Planning a hiking or camping trip for the summer will motivate you to look and feel your best months from now.