Have you ever heard the phrase “Muffin Top?” Not as it applies to food, but as it applies to our body? After a few kids, yo-yo diets, and a few unhealthy treats here and there we get this “thing”. I really hate to highlight it, but it’s something that happens to many and it’s time we put a stop to it!
The Dreaded Muffin Top
The dreaded muffin top look shuts like a real muffin top. Think of your jeans as the muffin wrapper and unfortunately, the midsection becomes the top of the muffin. Now let me clarify, this is not some strange disease that came from a faraway land. It’s just life, you know, life when we have way too much on our plate and forgot to focus on ourselves.
Typically, this midsection layer comes from way too many carbohydrates that come from sugar. The thing is that sugar is not just sugar, it’s sugar, flour, dairy, and alcohol. All of these breakdown and digest as sugar and basically our body treats them all the same. Here is the thing, we need a certain amount of sugar or glucose to operate our brain. Let’s just say you need 20 grams (please remember these are all theoretical numbers) of sugar to think and go about your day. Instead, you took in 50 grams, since there are an extra 30 grams our body will simply store them as fat because there’s no real use for them.
One more thing, let’s also say that the cookies you were eating have ZERO grams of fat in them. Guess what? The body can still store those cookies as fat even though there’s no fat in the ingredients. Basically, the body has the right to store whatever it feels like as fat if it has no real use to the body.
So What to Do?
Take note of your sugars (sugar, flour, dairy, and alcohol) and only allow yourself zero to one per meal and snack. We naturally gravitate to the sugars because unconsciously it makes us feel good. There’s a chemical reaction in the brain that makes us feel soothed and calm. The other thing to keep in mind is that the calories from these “sugars” will either be burned or stored rather quickly. In other words, you get hungrier faster and actually consume more calories than you need.
The goal is to be sure to include a good quality protein and fat into every meal and snack. Protein and fat take longer to digest, so they keep you fuller longer without feeling like you need another snack, especially during the craziest of days. Ideally, you should take into account your day, the more things that are on the agenda, the easier a processed carbohydrate makes its way into your mouth.
Don’t Forget to Move!
The more we do in a day, the harder it becomes to go to the gym, I totally get it. Keep this simple, add in extra movement in your day with a bit of “pep in your step” and you will burn a few extra calories doing your normal daily activities. Use the stairs, park further away, you get the drift. Make your moves intentional, keep your abdominals held in tight, shoulders back and down and move like a woman on a mission at all times. This will boost your metabolism and burn extra calories throughout your day.
Your food is directly related to your mood, mental clarity, energy, and health. Take the time to plan your days with your meals, snacks, and movements and that muffin top will disappear and you will feel better than you can ever imagine.
In Peace and Health,
Adita
