{"id":5640,"date":"2021-04-27T14:12:14","date_gmt":"2021-04-27T21:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/?p=5640"},"modified":"2021-04-27T14:12:14","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T21:12:14","slug":"reduce-belly-fat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/","title":{"rendered":"How Food Becomes Belly Fat"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s unfair, really. Some people can eat whatever they want and never gain an inch &#8212; while for the rest of us, yesterday\u2019s Chipotle seems like the reason our pants don\u2019t fit today.<\/p>\n<p>The problem isn\u2019t just about looks. Abdominal fat has been linked to a host of scary health issues, including <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/17667865\">cardiovascular disease<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/ajcn.nutrition.org\/content\/87\/5\/1118.full\">type 2 diabetes<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.breastcancer.org\/research-news\/20101216-2\">breast cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not solely an aesthetic issue,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/andybellatti\">Andy Bellatti, MS RD<\/a>, says of belly fat. \u201cThere are actual health risks involved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Why do so many of us carry our excesses around our belly?<\/p>\n<p>The answer involves your metabolism, which determines how many calories are too much, your hormones, which steer fat where they feel fit, and your genes. Learning how these factors combine to turn food into belly fat can help you stress less about your weight \u2014 and feel more in control whenever you try to lose fat.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_28 counter-hierarchy counter-decimal ez-toc-grey\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"display: none;\"><label for=\"item\" aria-label=\"Table of Content\"><i class=\"ez-toc-glyphicon ez-toc-icon-toggle\"><\/i><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"item\"><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class=\"ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1\"><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/#Metabolism_and_Weight_Gain_Its_Not_What_You_May_Think\" title=\"Metabolism and Weight Gain: It\u2019s Not What You May Think\">Metabolism and Weight Gain: It\u2019s Not What You May Think<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/#Why_Fat_Goes_to_Your_Belly\" title=\"Why Fat Goes to Your Belly\">Why Fat Goes to Your Belly<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/#How_To_Limit_Fat_Gain\" title=\"How To Limit Fat Gain\">How To Limit Fat Gain<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/#READ_MORE\" title=\"READ MORE\">READ MORE<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Metabolism_and_Weight_Gain_Its_Not_What_You_May_Think\"><\/span>Metabolism and Weight Gain: It\u2019s Not What You May Think<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Weight gain is the result of a simple issue: You\u2019re eating more calories than your body burns throughout the day. Before we go on, it\u2019s important to know this: the number of calories your body burns per day is only mildly impacted by the amount of exercise you perform.<\/p>\n<p>Most of your calorie burn results from your basal metabolic rate (or BMR). This is the energy it takes for your body to function. The calories you burn are used to power your heart, brain, and every cell of your body all day long.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5642\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/2-8.png\" alt=\"calorie burn distribution pie chart\" width=\"1474\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/2-8.png 1474w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/2-8-300x220.png 300w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/2-8-1024x750.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/2-8-768x563.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/2-8-700x513.png 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1474px) 100vw, 1474px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This, of course, includes burning calories when you sleep. Your caloric burn only drops about 5 percent when you\u2019re sleeping, which gives you an idea of how much energy it takes to run the \u201cmachine\u201d that is your body.\u00a0 This accounts for anywhere from 60 to 80 percent of your metabolism.<\/p>\n<p>The amount you move \u2014 including exercise, walking around, and even fidgeting \u2014 is about 10 to 30 percent of your calorie burn. And, finally, the energy it takes to break down and digest food (known as the thermic effect of food (or TEF) is about 10 percent of your metabolism.<\/p>\n<p>When the amount of calories you eat surpasses the sum of those 3 calorie-burning mechanisms, then your body then has two primary options of what to do with those calories: <em>store them as lean mass like muscle or store it as fat.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Of course, if we could consciously control this process, we\u2019d all shout, \u201cPick muscle!\u201d But, your body needs a stimulus to send those calories flowing into your guns (or buns, or the hundreds of other muscles in your body). Examples of that stimulus include \u2014 you guessed it \u2014 exercise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you are pushing yourself with weight-bearing exercise, your muscles will need more calories to grow. And the body knows where to send those calories because the muscle tissue needs repair,\u201d Bellatti says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201dBut, if you\u2019re not challenging your muscles, then there\u2019s no cue for the muscles to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No muscle stimulus? Then your body then chooses option number two: fat storage. Exactly where that fat goes depends in large part on what\u2019s happening with your genes and hormones.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Fat_Goes_to_Your_Belly\"><\/span>Why Fat Goes to Your Belly<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>We don\u2019t get to pick where our fat goes. Whether we carry our weight more in our lower body (the \u201cpear shape\u201d) or around our belly (the \u201capple shape) depends to some extent on our heredity, which is something we can\u2019t influence.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5643\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-3.png\" alt=\"pear vs apple\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-3.png 1920w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-3-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-3-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-3-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-3-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/3-3-700x394.png 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>But, the other major determinant of fat storage \u2014 our hormones \u2014 is something you can influence to a certain degree with your lifestyle choices. Two especially key players in the production of belly fat are insulin and cortisol.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow we live our lives impacts those hormones, and then those hormones impact our ability to store or release fat,\u201d says <a href=\"http:\/\/mikeroussell.com\/\">Mike Roussell<\/a>, a nutritionist who holds a Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInsulin is basically like a bouncer. It kicks blood sugar out of the blood stream to get it back down to a safe level,\u201d Roussell says. \u201cSo when you eat something like carbohydrates or sugar that rises, blood sugar rises, and insulin is going to shovel that sugar out of your bloodstream and it will put it into your fat cells.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now, that does not mean that insulin is the cause of fat gain (it\u2019s been researched, and \u2014 to this point \u2014 that theory has not been supported). After all, insulin also plays a key role in storing calories as muscle.<\/p>\n<p>However, it does mean that if your insulin is consistently elevated, which could be caused by eating sugar all day, every day, then that chronically elevated insulin can become a gateway to fat storage.<\/p>\n<p>The key then isn\u2019t worrying about every food that triggers an insulin response (many do) but making sure that your insulin levels aren\u2019t high at all times.<\/p>\n<p>The other hormone, cortisol, is responsible for your stress response. Its job is to prepare your body for fight or flight by flooding it with enough glucose to power your big muscles.<\/p>\n<p>The problem: Anxiety over work or a lack of sleep can trick your body into thinking it\u2019s in survival mode, triggering a cortisol release. That leads to even bigger problems since cortisol has consistently been linked to belly fat.<\/p>\n<p>Gaining fat can be like compounding interest: you get deeper and deeper into the hole over time, and it becomes harder to get out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs you get more fat into your fat cells and they get bigger, it can actually cause an inflammatory response,\u201d Roussell says. \u201cWhen your fat cell is in that stressed situation and inflamed, it\u2019s not going to want to release the fat.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_To_Limit_Fat_Gain\"><\/span>How To Limit Fat Gain<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Step one in preventing belly fat buildup is to maintain energy balance, where the calories you take in are equal to the calories your body uses during the day. Obviously, this is easier said than done;\u00a0 if it were so simple, then we wouldn\u2019t have more than <a href=\"http:\/\/www.niddk.nih.gov\/health-information\/health-statistics\/Pages\/overweight-obesity-statistics.aspx\">a third of U.S. residents<\/a> qualifying as obese. Here are three ways you can get started.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Choose Quality Calories<\/h3>\n<p>Bellatti says you can make this task a lot less daunting by eating a diet rich in veggies, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins, which will not only be more fulfilling (thanks to the fiber, protein, and minerals in these foods), but also will be less likely to turn into belly padding when your body processes them.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5644\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/4-3.png\" alt=\"healthy foods\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/4-3.png 1920w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/4-3-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/4-3-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/4-3-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/4-3-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/4-3-700x394.png 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s take two people who have a 1,500-calorie-per-day diet,\u201d Bellatti says. \u201cIf one of those two has a diet that\u2019s very high in refined grains and added sugar, low in fiber, and doesn\u2019t really include good quality proteins and fats, that\u2019s going to be a diet that\u2019s going to increase blood sugar more. More insulin will be released, and there will be more of a chance of belly fat being stored.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As an added bonus, you\u2019ll get a lot more bang for your buck when you opt for whole foods over more calorie-dense convenience items. That\u2019s part of the reason why Bellatti insists you shouldn\u2019t buy into those diets where people showed they can lose weight while eating lots of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.neatorama.com\/neatolicious\/2014\/03\/09\/The-McDonalds-Diet-Man-Lost-56-Pounds-Eating-Only-McDonalds-Food\/\">McDonald\u2019s<\/a>, or even <a href=\"http:\/\/www.themarysue.com\/twinkie-diet\/\">Twinkies<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan you lose weight eating 1,500 calories of Haagen Dazs and McDonald\u2019s? Yeah,\u201d Bellatti says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut, one, it\u2019s not healthy and, two, it\u2019s not a lot of food. If you\u2019re only eating 1,500 calories of ice cream, volume-wise that\u2019s not a lot of food. You\u2019d be starving.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>2. Control Your Cortisol<\/h3>\n<p>Assuming you\u2019re not running from wild animals or doing anything else that would elicit a bona fide stress response, there are a few things you do that ramp up your cortisol: drink caffeine, drink alcohol, freak out about work, and abuse sleep.<\/p>\n<p>Caffeine creates a bit of a conundrum on the weight-loss front. While caffeine has been shown to have a minor calorie-burning effect, repeated doses of caffeine throughout a day have been shown to <a href=\"http:\/\/dujs.dartmouth.edu\/fall-2010\/the-physiology-of-stress-cortisol-and-the-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis#.VpeVO5MrLEZ\">elevate cortisol levels<\/a>. The best approach may be to keep your morning joe but pass on the afternoon pick-me-up.<\/p>\n<p>Alcohol can encourage an uptick in cortisol, especially when consumed in a large amount over a short timespan. A glass of wine with dinner is probably okay, but rifling down six beers at happy hour is a bad idea.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5645\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5-3.png\" alt=\"group of men drunk on beer\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5-3.png 1920w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5-3-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5-3-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5-3-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5-3-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5-3-700x394.png 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Of course, stress itself can elicit the stress response. The good news is that the answer may be right under your nose, in fact, it involves it.<\/p>\n<p>Breathing is one of the easiest and most accessible ways to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.health.harvard.edu\/mind-and-mood\/relaxation-techniques-breath-control-helps-quell-errant-stress-response\">stop stress<\/a> and elicit a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stress.org\/take-a-deep-breath\/\">relaxation response<\/a>. Taking a few, deep, controlled breaths can turn your \u201cfight or flight\u201d into \u201crest and digest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So the next time you find your mind racing at work and feel the need to hit the panic button, step away from the computer, find a quiet place, and take a seat. Then spend five minutes doing belly breathing.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Hit the Sack<\/h3>\n<p>Poor or insufficient sleep is another factor that amps up cortisol production, as well as the production of other hormones that can lead to fat storage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLack of sleep totally tips the hormonal balance to fat storage and fat cell inflammation,\u201d Roussell says. \u201cJust a couple of days of poor sleep &#8212; four hours or less &#8212; changes your hormones such that it makes release of fat from fat cells much more difficult and makes fat storage more likely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5646\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/6-2.png\" alt=\"lady passed out in chair wearing work attire\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/6-2.png 1920w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/6-2-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/6-2-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/6-2-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/6-2-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/6-2-700x394.png 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In fact, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/18564298\">one study<\/a> showed that even a single night of sleep deprivation increased people\u2019s levels of ghrelin (aka the \u201chunger hormone\u201d) while decreasing leptin (a hormone that makes it easier to say \u201cI\u2019m okay without that donut, thanks\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>So remember, sleep is a lot more than just lying around. It\u2019s an important front in your slim-belly battle. Give it the time (which for most of adults is between seven and nine hours) and attention it deserves.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"READ_MORE\"><\/span><em>READ MORE<\/em><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/spot-reduction-and-stubborn-fat-loss\/\">Spot Reduction And Stubborn Fat Loss<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/understanding-fasted-cardio-fat-loss\/\">Understanding Fasted Cardio And Fat Loss<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/belly-fat\/\">Challenging The Belly Fat Hypothesis<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why do so many of us carry belly fat? The answer involves your metabolism. In this article, we explain why and give you actionable tips to keep the fat away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569,58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fitness","category-nutrition","bf-level-all-levels"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How Food Becomes Belly Fat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why do so many of us carry belly fat? The answer involves your metabolism. We explain why and give you actionable tips to keep the fat away.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Food Becomes Belly Fat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Why do so many of us carry belly fat? The answer involves your metabolism. We explain why and give you actionable tips to keep the fat away.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Born Fitness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BornFitness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bornfitness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-27T21:12:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/1-7.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adam Bornstein\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@BornFitness\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bornfitness\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Adam Bornstein\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Adam Bornstein\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/06279fc9f7f2162bff15ba67880fb309\"},\"headline\":\"How Food Becomes Belly Fat\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-27T21:12:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/\"},\"wordCount\":1686,\"commentCount\":4,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/1-7.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Fitness\",\"Nutrition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/\",\"name\":\"How Food Becomes Belly Fat\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/1-7.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-27T21:12:14+00:00\",\"description\":\"Why do so many of us carry belly fat? The answer involves your metabolism. We explain why and give you actionable tips to keep the fat away.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/1-7.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/1-7.png\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"person holding belly fat\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/\",\"name\":\"Born Fitness\",\"description\":\"The Rules of Fitness REBORN\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Born Fitness\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Screen-Shot-2015-09-04-at-8.47.14-PM.png?fit=345%2C162&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Screen-Shot-2015-09-04-at-8.47.14-PM.png?fit=345%2C162&ssl=1\",\"width\":345,\"height\":162,\"caption\":\"Born Fitness\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BornFitness\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/bornfitness\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/bornfitness\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/born-fitness\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/bornfitness\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/BornFitness\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/06279fc9f7f2162bff15ba67880fb309\",\"name\":\"Adam Bornstein\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7022d2a7604f7d8a95147365837453ba33954383ba321685df29d447fbc12690?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7022d2a7604f7d8a95147365837453ba33954383ba321685df29d447fbc12690?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Adam Bornstein\"},\"description\":\"Adam Bornstein is a\u00a0New York Times bestselling author and the author of\u00a0You Can't Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold's Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men\u2019s Health, Editorial Director at\u00a0LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for\u00a0SHAPE,\u00a0Men\u2019s Fitness, and\u00a0Muscle &amp; Fitness. He\u2019s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is \u201cone of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.\u201d His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times,\u00a0Fast Company,\u00a0ESPN,\u00a0and\u00a0GQ, and he\u2019s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bornfitness\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bornfitness\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/BornFitness\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/BornFitness\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/author\/ambornstein\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Food Becomes Belly Fat","description":"Why do so many of us carry belly fat? The answer involves your metabolism. We explain why and give you actionable tips to keep the fat away.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Food Becomes Belly Fat","og_description":"Why do so many of us carry belly fat? The answer involves your metabolism. We explain why and give you actionable tips to keep the fat away.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/","og_site_name":"Born Fitness","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BornFitness","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bornfitness","article_published_time":"2021-04-27T21:12:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/1-7.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Adam Bornstein","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@BornFitness","twitter_site":"@bornfitness","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Adam Bornstein","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/"},"author":{"name":"Adam Bornstein","@id":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/06279fc9f7f2162bff15ba67880fb309"},"headline":"How Food Becomes Belly Fat","datePublished":"2021-04-27T21:12:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/"},"wordCount":1686,"commentCount":4,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/1-7.png","articleSection":["Fitness","Nutrition"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/","url":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/","name":"How Food Becomes Belly Fat","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/1-7.png","datePublished":"2021-04-27T21:12:14+00:00","description":"Why do so many of us carry belly fat? The answer involves your metabolism. We explain why and give you actionable tips to keep the fat away.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/reduce-belly-fat\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/1-7.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/1-7.png","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"person holding belly fat"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/","name":"Born Fitness","description":"The Rules of Fitness REBORN","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/#organization","name":"Born Fitness","url":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Screen-Shot-2015-09-04-at-8.47.14-PM.png?fit=345%2C162&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Screen-Shot-2015-09-04-at-8.47.14-PM.png?fit=345%2C162&ssl=1","width":345,"height":162,"caption":"Born Fitness"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BornFitness","https:\/\/x.com\/bornfitness","https:\/\/instagram.com\/bornfitness\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/born-fitness","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/bornfitness\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/BornFitness"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/06279fc9f7f2162bff15ba67880fb309","name":"Adam Bornstein","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7022d2a7604f7d8a95147365837453ba33954383ba321685df29d447fbc12690?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7022d2a7604f7d8a95147365837453ba33954383ba321685df29d447fbc12690?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Adam Bornstein"},"description":"Adam Bornstein is a\u00a0New York Times bestselling author and the author of\u00a0You Can't Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold's Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men\u2019s Health, Editorial Director at\u00a0LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for\u00a0SHAPE,\u00a0Men\u2019s Fitness, and\u00a0Muscle &amp; Fitness. He\u2019s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is \u201cone of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.\u201d His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times,\u00a0Fast Company,\u00a0ESPN,\u00a0and\u00a0GQ, and he\u2019s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bornfitness","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bornfitness\/","https:\/\/x.com\/BornFitness","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/BornFitness"],"url":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/author\/ambornstein\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5640\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bornfitness.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}