In my practice I work with many male clients, and certainly many of the people who want to take control of their weight these days are men. But when I walk around the city, or take a look around at the airport, I notice that most of the overweight men I see aren’t especially big in their arms or legs; instead, they’re carrying most of their extra pounds around their waists. They don’t need weight management, they need waist management.
I want to talk to the guys here today, and I want to start by making a distinction between your medical waist and what we might call your fashion waist. As far as the medical profession is concerned, if your waist circumference is more than 40 inches, you are at risk for heart disease, hypertension, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and perhaps most urgent of all, reduction in sex drive! When I assess men in this situation, I ask myself – why are they not just gaining weight, but taking on this odd shape? Why are they looking like they are going to deliver a baby at any moment? Ironically, many men blame their wives and kids for the fact that they’ve lost control of what they eat, and for keeping junk food in the house.
But the reality is, what I often see in my practice is that men are more likely than women to skip meals. That leads to overeating – especially when men are stressed out at work, don’t eat throughout the day, and rely on their food environment (which far too often consists of vending machines) to provide emergency fuel. This behavior is exacerbated by age, which decreases metabolism; as time goes on, men sit more and more at work, are less and less physically active at home, and get in the habit of releasing stress with a beer and some chips after work.
Sound familiar? Time to stop blaming the wife or family, and start eating like a man. That doesn’t mean starving yourself, or eating like a bird. It means managing your nutrition, and tackling your stress as well. Here’s what men can do to take control of their waists, and their health:
- Eat breakfast. A man needs this meal as much as his wife and kids.It jump-starts the metabolism, and gives you fuel for the morning that prevents unconscious snacking later. And breakfast needs to be substantial - the yogurt your wife is having probably isn’t enough even for her, and it certainly isn’t enough for you. Unless you want to hit the cookie jar at 10 a.m., you need a healthy mix of carbohydrates, fat, and protein for breakfast.
Finally, guys, it’s time to cook. If you want to know what you’re eating, you have to cook it. Maybe start by preparing the evening meal one day per week – that means both shopping and cooking, so you really know what goes into what you eat. Not only will you have to stop blaming your wife for what you eat, you might find new appreciation for her cooking. By Manuel Villacorta. He is a registered dietitian in private practice, MV Nutrition, award winning weight loss center in San Francisco. He is a national media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the founder of Eating Free and author of these amazing books: Eating Free: The Carb Friendly Way to Lose Inches, Embrace Your Hunger, and Keep Weight Off for Good! and Whole Body Reboot: The Peruvian Superfoods Diet to Detoxify, Energize, and Supercharge Fat Loss You may be disappointed to hear that there is not a specific diet to lose belly fat. But some nutritionists say that the best way to lose belly fat is the classic "cave man diet". But what the heck does it mean? Just think like this... If you find fruit from a tree, pick it and eat it (all fruit is good). If you find fruit in the ground, pick it and eat it (all veggies are good). If you find an animal that you can eat, eat it (prefer lean meat). This is what cave men would do. Cave men didn't have grocery stores, didn't have any chance to eat junk foods. Plus they did a lot of exercise running after preys and running from predators. Be certain that cave men didn't have any fat loss worries. Read more here about benefits of "cave man diet". You might like to look at this amazing collection:
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Sources & References 1. The Jama Network : http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=194559 2. American Diabetes Association http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/14/12/1132.short 3. American Journal of Epidermology http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/158/1/85.short 4. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306453003000544