Is Belly Fat Your Friend

Is Belly Fat Your Friend

Is belly fat a fashion accessory or a status symbol as some ancient Egyptians supposed?  What do doctors say?  Can common sense prevail?

If you had a two-ounce tumor in your brain, would you be alarmed? How much does your tumor-like belly fat weigh, three pounds or five? Is it just innocuously sitting there, minding its own charitable business as some would imagine?

Medical Research

This type of fat is deep within the stomach, surrounding organs, suffocating you.  It can dramatically increase the risks of various heart troubles, diabetes and strokes. Sure, a tiny amount of visceral fat is good, but not this kind.

Who invites chronic metabolic disease? That’s bad company.

A pound of fat has more volume than a pound of muscle.  For example, 15 pounds of fat occupies a large space in your body. Muscle is leaner, more compact.

Adipose tissue, fat, is active and produces hormones that regulate metabolism.  Brown fat is more benign, but too much white fat builds obesity. What is the medical definition of obesity? When one is more than 30 pounds overweight.  What is morbid obesity?  Don’t ask. You don’t want to know. That would be overkill. Did I say, kill?

Common Sense

You install a movement-sensor light on your front porch.  When visitors come, they trick the switch and flashing lights come on.  You know that you have visitors in the night.

How does the body signal us that we’re heading for trouble? There is no debate about a few pounds or massive tonnage. The switch is either on or off. When the light is flashing, you have visitors, and they are not your friends, not in those numbers.

The Trojan Horse is an example.  What kind of visitors sneak in and wreck havoc? The kind of visitors that masquerade as comfort food, cherished sweets, deserved rewards, big game snacks, special occasion delights.

How alarming is it to watch the pounds multiply over the decades. Rationalizations abound. It’s natural, normal, it happens to everyone.  What’s the problem?

Suddenly, you see many of your closest friends and relatives shedding pounds and inches.  Is there a silent revolution going on?  Have I uncovered open rebellion, mutiny?

How does it feel to suddenly be the largest person in the room, or the only one struggling to squeeze into an airplane seat, a recliner, a couch?

How does it feel to see my medicine bottles accumulate? Could I be heading for real trouble?

Summary

It’s unproductive to shift the blame.  It doesn’t solve anything. When the buck stops here, we turn the tide, we get results. We take little steps and watch the benefits accrue.

Little gains become large victories. Major triumphs snowball.  Suddenly we’re happy again. And life is sweet. Fat is out of your life!