News, Recipes & Workouts — eating disorders

Why Abdominal Fat Is Dangerous

Belly fat is very different than fat covering the hips and thighs. Fat stored around the middle produces substances that can create serious health risks, one of those being breast cancer. That's why if you have excess belly fat covering your stomach, it can make losing weight practically impossible. Women over 40 years of age, who store fat around their midsection or have been treated for breast cancer, require an entirely different approach when it comes to losing weight. The typical weight loss plan will not work. If you’re reading this, I’m sure you’ve figured that out by now.

It doesn’t matter what your body shape is, excess fat isn’t good for your health. The fat that covers your belly is much worse than saddlebags and thunder thighs. When it comes to body fat, location counts more than you might think. The fat that’s covering your abs is deep, meaning there is more there than you can pinch with your fingers.

Belly fat has a secret life of its own and creates a health and weight loss nightmare called metabolic syndrome. This is the name for a set of risk factors that occur together, increasing the risk of coronary artery disease, stroke, and Type 2 diabetes. This kind of fat is made up of living cells that spit out hormones such as estrogen, which make it even harder to lose belly fat. Metabolic syndrome may also cause intense cravings for foods such as sugars and carbs. The exact foods that we shouldn’t be eating if we are trying to melt off this harmful stuff.

People who develop this syndrome are carrying most of their weight in their stomach and almost always overweight. You rarely see this in a thin person, unless they are daily drinkers (see "It's Wine or Your Waistline" in The Metabolism Solution).

Fat cells have two purposes:

• Storing energy for later use
• Secreting hormones that regulate appetite and blood sugar levels

We all have fat cells, but lean people have smaller fat cells. These so-called small fat cells secrete a helpful hormone called adiponectin, which helps the body use insulin more efficiently. This makes losing weight and melting fat easier. The heavier you are the harder it is to lose weight and the leaner you are, the easier it is.

If you’re overweight, your fat cells are larger and tend to shut off the production of this helpful hormone. That’s why you always feel hungry. It makes it harder for insulin to do its job — called insulin resistance. Anyone can lose weight if they can control the insulin resistance, also known as lowering your blood sugar. This is exactly what makes the LynFit Metabolic Boosting System so efficient — allowing you to lose 1 pound per day.

Your goal should be to lose weight and melt fat as quickly as possible before these hormones get more out of whack. That’s what makes the use of smart supplements so important vs. not using them. The LynFit Metabolic Boosting System combines all of the best nutrients, in exactly the amount needed to lower blood sugar, so you melt off harmful belly fat and stop the vicious weight gain cycle. Essentially, it flips the weight gain switches off and turns on the weight loss switch.

If you store fat around your belly, there is more fat underneath the skin called subcutaneous fat. There is also fat inside the belly and underneath the muscles. These hidden fats stored around your kidneys, liver and intestines are known as visceral fat. This type of fat is much more harmful than the subcutaneous fat because it hampers insulin's effectiveness. These fat cells produce other hormones and proteins that are dangerous because they are located next to vital organs.

These visceral fat cells secrete a protein that contributes to inflammation, which creates clogged arteries (atherosclerosis), setting the stage for a heart attack. They also secrete a protein that constricts blood vessels, causing high blood pressure. Because this fat is so close to the liver, they drain right into that organ through a vein raising LDL cholesterol as well. Visceral fat is also linked with breast cancer, colon cancer, and may also contribute to dementia as well.

Belly fat is no joke. It’s much more important that a hot sexy body. It requires a specific approach to not only lose weight but to get this monster of a fat to melt off. It's no easy feat, and that’s why it takes a serious boost to get rid of it. Add hypothyroidism to the mix and you have a weight gain disaster on your hands.

I'm praying the next time you decide to cheat because you feel like it, or indulge in a glass of wine, you think twice. Your life may depend on it. Living a healthy lifestyle not only helps you lose weight, but it also keeps it off as well. Remember, whatever you do to take the weight off is also how you’ll keep it off. Be consistent in your habits and you’ll never have to worry.

The LynFit Lose 1 Pound Per Day Kit was formulated for exactly this reason, and if you don’t struggle with the issues above you’ll lose weight even faster. Start now — Your family needs you here and healthy!

Snug In Your Skin

Ladies, if you’ve been down on yourself, I have great news for you. Men, ages 18–50, 80 percent say they prefer a woman with curves. Thin is not in — strong and fit is.

Know what else men say? "There is nothing sexier than a woman comfortable in her skin. Nothing beats a happy girl who loves to laugh."

Feeling sorry about your body (and the anxiety that comes with it) is extremely contiguous. So is loving yourself exactly the way you are. Yes, men love when their girls eat healthy food and take care of themselves. It prompts them to do likewise. Men also love a woman who can relax and enjoy eating with them as well.

This might seem counterproductive for weight loss—thinking that enjoying yourself will lead to a poor diet and, inevitably, the scale sliding up. It's quite the contrary. Often, we use dieting as a way to punish ourselves from the overeating and indulging we have done (which always backfires). When we love ourselves the way we are, we naturally want to take better care of ourselves for the right reasons. And we're happy to do so.

As women, the media pushes in our faces, and glorifies, super stick-thin models. All the while making us feel unattractive and unhappy about our “average” or curvy bodies. Guess what? Men don't feel the same way. In fact, men prefer voluptuous women.

Fifteen percent of men prefer average size women while only five percent opt for super skinny. We obsess over every morsel we put in our mouths and over-exercise in the gym at the expense of our families and careers. The worst part — it’s a turn off to the opposite sex.

I can hear you now, "I do it for myself."

I work with women and men all day long. Deep inside, everyone wants to be noticed by their spouse, partner, or the opposite sex. We are human after all. Anyone who knows me knows that I have struggled with my weight and food since I was a toddler. When I finally lost the extra pounds and arrived at my goal weight, I didn’t expect what happened next. I was feeling pretty good about accomplishing my weight loss goal and for the first time in my life had wiggle room in my clothes. One day while training at the gym, the girl who worked the front desk said, “Girl, the guys said you used to have it going on, curves in the all the right places. Now you’re too skinny". I was stunned. To this day, I am grateful to her for being so honest. Truth be told, I think she saved me from a battle with little Miss Anorexia. That’s not all; when I went home to talk with my husband about it, he said, “I like you with a few more pounds on you."

I spent 20 years hating myself, always thinking that I was fat and ugly. I lived in my head with all of my negative thoughts. Little did I know that I was way off. I needed to stop that insanity and start feeling good about myself. That's the secret to being sexy at any age and any size.

Every morning we get a day older, and it does become more difficult to control our weight with age, so I’m not suggesting that you quit on yourself. Instead, I am suggesting that you learn to love yourself, no matter what size you are. Take the limits off of your life.You are more than your weight or the number on the scale. You are enough the way you are right now.

I beg you to talk to your healthy friends (be mindful of women who are clearly too skinny) or your spouse about what you’re feeling inside. It will help you get a clear and realistic perspective on your weight and weight loss goals. It will also help you to enjoy every day to the fullest.

Additionally, as a melanoma survivor, I can tell you that once someone tells you that you’ve got cancer, you realize how much time you’ve wasted worrying about perfection. Perfection doesn’t exist.

I have a question for you. If it was your last day on earth would that weight loss battle matter? Would you hate yourself so much? I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to waste one day hating myself.

If your weight loss struggle is on your bucket list, do it today so you won’t keep wishing you had done it sooner. It is never too late. Your someday is today, and it’s easier than you think. Anyone can lose weight and feel good once they make the decision to do it. The choice is yours. No one can do it for you.

Fun facts that may help you like yourself better today:

• A size 14, which is now considered a "plus size," was approximately sex bomb Marilyn Monroe's dress size
• 20 years ago, most fashion models were a size 8. Today, that's been replaced by an unrealistic size 0
• 75 percent of men said the hobby they find most attractive in the opposite sex is cooking, not being a gym queen
• 78 percent of men said a woman's most attractive feature is her smile
• Men think being strong is sexy. Swap out those all day cardio and Pilates workouts for strength training. You’ll look and feel sexier
• Men say we are too obsessed with our weight. It’s not weight that matters but our fat to muscle ratio that counts most

This article isn’t meant to slam woman who are naturally thin — that is their body type and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that either. Another fun fact: most skinny women want to add weight in the form of muscle. These women struggle with body image issues in the same way that we all want to lose weight. We will never be happy until we choose to love ourselves just the way we are. The best part is You Get To Decide.

I dare you to start today. Please keep these in mind when the old negative voices in your head start talking to you:

• Men prefer woman 10–15 lbs. heavier than what we think our ideal body weight “should” be 
• Toned is sexier than “skinny” 
• Aim to be your healthiest, most fit body. Not anybody else’s
• Don't be afraid of your weight. Muscle weighs more, but it’s sexier
• Forget about what the scale says. Focus on leaner vs. lighter
• Your attitude and confidence are what matters most and what is the most memorable when you enter and exit a room
• You must love and accept the way you look before anyone can

Whitey Houston said it best: ”Learning to Love Yourself is the Greatest Love of All."

If you need help reaching a healthy body weight or learning to love yourself, please reach out. That’s what I am are here for. The Metabolism Solution provides you with every tool you need to lose weight while enjoying what you eat. Most importantly, learn to love yourself by honoring God with your Bod.