Belly fat, belly fat, belly fat! Ahhh!! Aren’t you just so sick of hearing about how to get rid of it, only to be disappointed that it really just comes down to healthy eating & exercise?
Well, here we go again with the age-old question: Can you really lose just belly fat?
The quick ‘n dirty answer is Yes...and No.
You see, it truly doesn’t matter how many crunches you do or the number of ways you exercise your abdominal muscles - you’re not going to suddenly be equipped with a 6-pack unless you focus on the bigger body composition picture - and that’s a combination of exercise AND nutrition.
But, the real question should be this: why are you seeing excess fat on your belly in the first place? Perhaps it’s your genetic predisposition to have a belly pouch or it’s due to advancing age, but it could also be due to two other key players: STRESS & HORMONES.
Let’s jump in and address both of these questions and give you some actionable strategies for naturally slimming down that belly pouch without any of the slick marketing gimmicks!
We’ve got a super easy “detox” water recipe for you too - it’s so refreshing that you’ll want to trade out your plain old water for it every day!
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(00:00):
Can you really just you'd lose belly weight? How many of you guys are struggling with the belly weight and your thyroid? Let's dive in cue musical intro. All right. You guys welcome back to the thriving thyroid podcast with myself. Shannon Hansen. We are talking about, can you really just lose belly fat? The quick and dirty answer is yes and no. <Laugh> okay. Let's dive in the no part is that spot reduction or losing fat from just one area on your body has officially been labeled as a, as a myth, right? Fat just can't choose to come from one and only area one and only AR area <laugh>. So it truly doesn't matter how many crunches you do or the way that you exercise your abdominal muscles. You are just going to suddenly be equipped with, you're not going to be suddenly equipped with a six pack, unless you are focusing on the bigger body composition picture and this, and that's a combination of exercise and diet.
(01:26):
Okay. I've got some like really good hints here. So just stick around for a while. But the real question should be, why are you seeing excess belly fat in the first place, perhaps it's your genetics, right? Your genetic predisposition to have that belly pooch, or maybe it's due to aging. It could also be due to, especially for women the oh diastasis recite, where you've had babies and the abdominal wall separates, and you have a gap in those, those core muscles. There are things to be doing with that. So that would lend into the exercise component, but there are two key players in this number one, stress, number two, hormones, shocker, <laugh> you guys, this is a huge shock, right? I think that's what it feels like. Every episode, that's all I talk about. Stress, hormones, stress hormones, maybe some gut health in there, stress hormones <laugh>, especially lately too much of our body's stress hormone hormone cortisol is the one reason that you could be storing excess fat around your abdominal area.
(02:49):
So addressing it can be more of it can do more for your body than crunches and planks and all of those core muscles. Okay. Not only does cortisol tend to drive fat disposition in the stomach area, it's more of that deep visceral fat around your organs. And when you are chronically stressed, you tend to over overeat out as it is. And so it's a double whammy for your health. So thank you stress. So I wanna share with you guys really quickly, something that most of you probably don't know, and in all of my education and all of the years that I have done functional nutrition and holistic nutrition and holistic practitioner and herbal medicine, and all of these certifications that I have done, we have not talked about something that is very real. You guys, it took me a long time as a practitioner to learn this information.
(04:00):
And I'm so thankful that I have, and that is there are. And, and really when I share this information, you're gonna be like, well, duh <laugh> because I was two, right? I, I was two, I knew this information, but I didn't know how to test and apply this information to each individual person. And I've said for years, if you've attended any of my trainings, if you've listened to the podcast at some points, you've heard me say that we are all genetically and metabolically different. And so there is no one size fits all diet plan regimen, exercise regimen. This is why there's Atkins. This is why there's low carb and keto and south beach and keto. And I think I said, keto <laugh> and all of these different eating styles and methods and veganism and vegetarian, like really, we could be here all day listing different types of eating.
(05:09):
And there's a way to test for your metabolic type. There are ways there are multiple ways to test for your metabolic type. And, and this is really important for us to begin to understand and grasp that your thyroid may be out of balance. It may be out of whack. Your, your weight may be climbing and yes, there are some quote unquote general rules rules. I say that very loosely. When it comes to losing weight, we know sugary sodas and drinks. Aren't good for us. We know that only eating cookies and cupcakes isn't the best for us, but, but if you're like me, when I don't, when I eat really healthy and I don't see results, it is very defeating. And I'm like, give me the pizza, give me the Coke, give me a, you know, root beer, float and cookies and cake and chocolate chips and whatever, right on the side, like, let me just have a binge Fest.
(06:19):
And I wanna give you a very speci, specific example. So years ago, I wanna say like six or seven years ago, I was friends with many other people in my community and practi practitioners and all of these different things. And there was, I feel like there was a big trend between vegetarian and veganism. And I was like, you know what? I need to lose some weight. Like can't hurt. Right. It can't hurt. And I had already been incorporating, you know, meatless, Mondays and things like that to make sure that I was getting a lot of fruits and veggies in my diet. And you guys, let me tell you, I did about three days and I literally felt my body starting to shut down. Okay. Literally like from the inside out, I was like, I just feel tired and lethargic and broken down and, and weak.
(07:25):
I like, it's hard to put into words, but like the brain fog. And, and I was so utterly confused as to why all of my friends and all of these other practitioners around me were like, this is the best thing I've ever done in my whole life. I feel amazing. I'm losing weight. And I'm like, I feel a breakdown happening inside me and come to find out later. So actually I wanna share one more teeny piece of this story. So I have another practitioner friend. She is Rav again, she's written cookbooks. She's amazing. And she introduced me to several different things in the health and wellness industry. So I, I have the utmost respect for this practitioner. And she was telling me that she was closing down her business. And I was like, well, Hey, send your clients my way. And she's like, well, you know, you don't practice raw veganism.
(08:32):
And I was like, well, yeah, <laugh> essentially, and she, and I was like, you know, I've tried it, I've tried it multiple times. And it just didn't feel right for my body. And she said something for whatever reason I cannot get outta my head. She's like, well, I have have a lot of suspicions then about whatever your body. And I was like, well, please tell me, like, what are, what are these missing pieces that I need to know about my body that are preventing me from essentially eating this really good, healthy way? And I think I was kind of turned off by that because I was like, you're not gonna help me find answers as to why this is happening for me. You know, there was, there was literally no guidance. And you guys know if you message me on Instagram or Facebook, I will, I cannot coach you.
(09:38):
I can't be like, do a, B, C, D because I don't have enough medical history. And I am, would be out of compliance <laugh> of what I'm supposed to do as a practitioner. But I would tell you, Hey, here's a list of tests to go get from your doctor. If you can't afford to work with me. Here's, you know, you can start with this, maybe consider doing this, like, you know, maybe consider a probiotic or <laugh> like, I would try to give you at least a little tiny piece. Okay. Because I believe in that so much, like to my core, I believe in helping you as much as I can. And that is why I do the podcast. That's why I put out so much, quote, unquote, free information out there to, to help you guys. But please also know that as I'm doing these things, I'm also speaking to the masses, right?
(10:37):
We have hundreds of downloads on each podcast episode. And so there is literally no way for me to give each person specific advice, right? Because again, we are all genetically metabolically different and this can change. Okay. So through testing and when you work with me and my, my, my coaches and my practitioners, we do testing and we are oftentimes able to see, and we're, I'm actually working on a new test to help you, not a new test. That's not the right way, a new evaluation. That's a better word to help, better identify how you break down and process your food so that I can not only tell you, Hey, eat this, this and this and this, but I can also say, eat this, this and this in this quantity. Okay. And this is not the same as counting macros. You guys it's, it's not the same.
(11:45):
And I don't know how to explain this other than like, so there are fast oxidizers and slow oxidizers. Those are, are the two main categories. And it really goes back to your genetics. It goes back to stress levels, and it goes back to how your body is breaking down and processing food. And so me specifically, I am a fast oxidizer. So what that means is I need slow metabolizing foods, which means I essentially need more fat and more protein in my diet, because if I eat a carbohydrate, I burn through it way too quickly. And I'm hungry, like 10 seconds later. <Laugh> right. And my husband on the other side is a slow oxidizer. And so, as the years have gone on and developed and things, I have adopted his way of eating because I, in my mind thought, oh, I'm a good wife. I'm making what he likes to eat, but our genetic breakdown, I don't know what the right word is and how we process through things is very different.
(13:02):
And it's also very exciting because <laugh> in a lot of ways I can eat more than my husband. And that's kind of crazy, right, because of how my body breaks down foods. And so anyways, I want to go back to the belly fat area and how stress and hormones play a role in this, because I'm gonna be sharing information with you guys, but please also know that there are metabolic typing things that also need to be considered. So if you have tried quote, unquote, all of the diets out there and something isn't working for you schedule a call with me. Let's, let's talk about this a little bit more in depth, one on one, and have more of a conversation about how I can help you. All right. So there are really five ways to help your tummy appear slimmer without relying on the mythical spot reduction method.
(14:06):
Okay. So number one, eat a balanced diet, rich and whole foods because abs are not built because abs are built in the kitchen. And I'm sure you're sick of hearing that one because there's plenty of truth in it incorporating the following daily things that I'm gonna share with you guys can help slim down the midsection. So number one is eating high quality protein sources. Now, if you're like me, I would look at my husband's plate and I'm like, okay, I'm going to eat a little bit less chicken. My husband can get buy by eating like two to three, maybe ounces. I'm gonna say like two to three ounces of chicken and be totally fine. Ladies. I need like four to six ounces of chicken. And as I have been doing that I wake up feeling so much more energized. Okay. And it was really hard to kind of wrap my head around because I'm like, well, women should not eat more than men.
(15:16):
<Laugh> okay. So choose your carbohydrates very carefully. Okay. So for me as a fast, oxidizer one of the best grains that I can eat oats quinoa Arant spelled even wheat on there. Commute is on there, but some of the worst things for me to be eating is rice, wild rice, Bosma, rice, brown rice, COOs COO. And not, I have to say this because I know some of you ladies out there <laugh>, that is not for everybody. Okay. I still eat rice. I, this is another question I get asked a lot. Well, can, you know, can I eat something other than brown rice? Absolutely. You guys abso freaking gluten brown rice is actually really high in arsenic and some heavy metals. And so I choose typically if I do make something with rice, for my family, I typically make it with a white rice, like a Jasmine or something like that, so that we can avoid the arsenic and the metals that are associated with that.
(16:30):
And so, again, knowing how your body breaks these things down is going to be really, really important for knowing what your tolerance is. Because like I shared earlier, I thought being a vegetarian and vegan was like the holy grail of health for a long time until I learned this information. Okay. Number three, whole fruits and veggies. Again, there are gonna be certain fruits and vegetables that are better for your body. Okay. So some of the best ones for me are peas, asparagus mushrooms cauliflower, some of the worst ones for me, which makes me sad. <Laugh> are carrots and celery and potatoes. Some of the best fruits for me to eat are avocado coconut apples, pears, things that I should kind of limit are gonna be berries, which is really surprising because everybody tells you that berries, especially on keto is like super good for you.
(17:39):
And you know, those are like the only kind of carbohydrates you should have. <Laugh> not for me. Right. And then to limit even more than that is like, I should, should only be having citrus twice a week. So there are pieces of the puzzle that if you were struggling to figure out there may be more of a reason why you're struggling to figure these things out, because you don't understand what your body's ability to break down these foods are. And you guys like, it's not that I can't eat these foods. Okay. Please understand that. It's not that I can't eat these foods. It's that my body needs a different level of nutrients in a different amount than the next person. It's, it's an empowerment thing. Yes. I can still eat. Citrus. Yes. I can still eat rice. Yes. I can still eat Coose Coose and whatever else we wanna throw in there.
(18:45):
But if I focus on the ones that support my body, the most, that is going to be the best. Okay. Number four, <laugh> a healthy dose of good fats like avocados and olive oils. And again, I need more of that than other people. My husband could go probably low fat and be totally fine. And then number five, which builds on last week is limit alcohol consumption. All right. So number two, besides diet is, did you know that excess sugar consumption may be the primary nutritional driver for excess belly fat in the belly and in the liver? This is particularly true of sugary drinks, like soft drinks, or a lot of our women drink coffee and add a whole bunch of <laugh> sugar to them. And things that also contain high fructose corn syrup or glucose. So ditch the sugar you guys, I know it's extremely to, to give that up and to get away from, you know, the yummy, delicious drinks, but I promise your body is going to thank you.
(20:01):
If you focus on wa on water because these extra drinks can create that belly bloat, which is you know, obviously uncomfortable and gives you that little pooch that makes you look like you're pregnant. And then in addition to that, those sugary drinks leads into insulin resistance, which is a classic contributor to those love handles. All right, number three, digestive support, be sure to support your body. Your body is complex digestive processes and keep bloating and gas to a minimum by doing some or all of these things. So number one, eat a balanced whole food diet. Okay. If you don't know how your body breaks down foods, just focus on fruits, veggies, and meats. Okay. Your body will thank you. Adding grains, you know, and just kind of look at what your tolerance to that is. Number two, stay away from foods. You may be sensitive to.
(21:11):
I am getting ready and I'm so excited and also super nervous <laugh> to do this, but I am doing the food sensitivity testing on myself. When I have done them, it's been over five years since I've done them. When I've done them in the past, my sensitivities have been low, generally speaking, compared to other people. So I'm excited to see if that's still the case or what I can learn from that information. Number three, eat fermented probiotic, rich foods. This is gonna be like your sauerkraut, your kimchi Chi, your kombucha, your water. Keer, those types of things are super good for your body. Number four, and probably my most favorite is eat slow and be mindful. Chew your food. We like to say chew for the poo <laugh> and of course, watch your portion sizes. You guys, like I mentioned earlier, I would look at my husband husband's portion size, and I'm like, okay, I'm gonna take less than that.
(22:17):
When really I needed more protein than that. So watch your portion sizes. This is why you guys, I'm a huge advocate of journaling. Look at your journal, see what happens, see what trends are happening. Do you notice that if you eat a big fat steak and green beans and broccoli, that you feel amazing afterwards, and you're not hungry, or if you eat a salad and you feel heavy and bloated, like all of those things are signs of something bigger happening, and you can make adjustments in your body. If you are not ready to invest in a coach. All right, next tip. Consider taking digestive enzymes, talk to myself or another health practitioner before taking any supplements, your doctor, if you're in the care of your doctor, but digestive enzymes, you guys are incredible. Okay. I have seen amazing things with my clients just simply by them taking the right kind of digestive enzymes.
(23:26):
Even before we get any testing back, Hey, you have this, this, this symptom take this supplement. We'll see how it goes. Right? And they come back within two, three days and they're like, oh my gosh, I feel so much better. My digestive system, isn't bloated. I'm not having constipation. I'm able to go to the bathroom. Normally, all of the things you guys huge fan over here, if you can't tell, all right, number four, show your liver some love. This is also supporting of the digestive system as a whole. And it can be as simple as following some of the above instructions or the previously mentioned instructions when it comes to fruits and veggies, chewing your food. You know, those, those types of things also consider like a, some herbal teas that supports your detoxification pathways like dandy lion. Those can be really, really important.
(24:29):
The next one is decreasing alcohol consumption. Yes, it's, it's a bear, right? And we've talked about it last week in depth. But it does play a role in it. The other thing that I would consider doing and again, if you are not in my care, please consult a doctor or physician before doing this. But Castro oil packs are another way to love your liver. You guys, I currently have a client in one of our programs and sh don't tell anybody, but she is actually a thyroid coach and she's getting coached by us. So it's kind of funny, but she has been doing all of the right things. You guys, all of the right things, but her digestive system was not working optimally. She was struggling with constipation and we kind of went back and forth. And I was like, are you doing Castro oil packs?
(25:24):
And she's like, no Castro packs. And so anyways, I sh sent her some information on them. She started doing them. You guys, we were able to reduce and take her off some of the supplements that she was doing to help her have a bowel movement simply by doing these Castro packs, it has impacted her massively. She is choosing them to do, she is choosing to do them every night for my clients inside the handsome method or, and recapture your thyroid. We are doing them. I recommend two to three times a week pick what you can commit to and be consistent with. That is the most important thing. If you can do 'em every night. Great. It's not gonna hurt you. So, okay. Last tip. <Laugh> overall body fat with body training. Okay.
(26:21):
So this means include strength training in your workouts. Many years ago, my mom, that generation fifties, sixties, seventies, a big thing was cardio. Do cardio you'll lose weight. You guys, I'm here to tell you that having muscle is more important than cardio. So if you CA, if you can't, cuz this is very real for many of our clients get to the gym and exercise because it takes too much out of you cuz your body is under too much stress, just start walking. But if you can handle more incorporating weight training, lifting, not anything crazy. I'm not saying like CrossFit or be a competitive trainer, but you know, dumbbells, some squats with dumbbells, you know bicep, curls, basic movement for those is going to be important for overall body composition. All right? However, it is thought that certain areas have more metabolically, active fat cells than others as they respond better to exercise and eating healthy.
(27:36):
Okay. So there are certain areas that will respond more quickly. Those things are your chest, your arms and your stomach. So that is a huge win. If you are looking to lose that belly fat incorporating in the exercise, the body training hit training, that's going to help. Okay. But there are those that are especially that are not especially active and do not respond to diet and exercise. So those are gonna be things like your butt, your hips and your thighs, wah <laugh> right. <Laugh> ding it. Which I know for us, thyroid women, that's typically where we carry the weight is the belly hips, thighs booty. So here are some other ways to tackle your stress. That's gonna be get more sleep. You guys short sleep or poor quality sleep is going to lead into weight gain period. The end you can argue with me all day long.
(28:45):
I got a phone call from a family member just this last week. And they said, Shannon, I just keep eating uncontrollably. And I don't know why, and I know what's going on in their life. And I said, how's your sleep? And they're like, well, not good, but what does that have to do with my eating? I said, your body is trying to fuel itself and have the energy that you need to sustain yourself all day long. And so, because you're not sleeping at night, guess what? Your body is craving more food because it needs more fuel. If you would just give your body the sleep, your food cravings will slow down. Okay. All right. Next one, exercise and move your body all day long. I am currently in the process of like batch recording, several podcast interviews while my baby is sleeping and I am setting time limits on each one.
(29:48):
I am recording one to two podcasts depending on the length of it. And then I'm getting up and I'm moving my body. I'm going to get a drink. I'm sit, I'm going upstairs and changing laundry. I'm going to the bathroom. I'm walking outside to check the mail. I am moving my body intentionally and also using a standing desk <laugh> because that is going to help the body overall. It's gonna help reduce stress levels and is a good stress reliever. And it also makes you more productive during the day. You get more accomplished when you simply move your body, instead of trying to sit in the desk and get all the things done. Okay. And then last but not least carve out more time for self care. Things like meditation or yoga, a hot bath breathing, eating, or reading. <Laugh> listening to music, going on a walk, spending time with a trusted and supportive friend.
(30:48):
The list could really go on. I have a massage table in my home and those massage stones yesterday. I heated them up and I just nicely asked my husband. I was like, can you just place these on my back for me? Cuz it's really hard to do it yourself. And I was like, I just need 10, 15 minutes. And he was like, okay. And I laid there with the worm stones on my back and I just took several deep breaths and I got myself grounded grounded in terms of like balancing, <laugh> not grounded as in like your trouble.
(31:27):
And that is one thing that can help. And I mean, other things like I have a massage table at my home, I bought one because I have a massage therapist that was like, if you have your own massage table, I will come to your house instead of you coming to, you know, to my location. And I was like done, <laugh> sold. That is the best thing ever, because then I don't have to find a babysitter. I don't have to do all of the extra steps. Like she liter leave just comes to my house. And so I use that massage table freaking all the time. You guys, Amazon, I think it was like maybe it was under 200 bucks. I think it was between like 150 and $200. And I literally use it all the time for my kids. When they're not feeling good, I will, you know, rub their back and it's easy for me to, to, you know, rub their little hands and their feet while they're sick.
(32:26):
We use, I bought for my massage table, one of those big, it's a big heating pad that goes over the whole table. And I heated up in my kids when they're not feeling good will lay on that on their belly or on their back. So we literally use it all the time and I thought, oh, we'll set it up and take it down. No, it just stays set up. <Laugh> because we use it so much, but it's a great way for me to have some self-care. Even if somebody isn't there to put stones on my back or whatever, I love laying on a full body heating pad. It is amazing. It's so amazing. And Ooh, here's an extra tip that I wasn't planning on sharing. Another way to speed up your metabolism is like heating pads. After you eat, you guys can put a heating pad on your abdominal area and that can help speed up that metabolism.
(33:25):
And so when I was pregnant, I was really struggling with a lot of like nausea and just super uncomfortable. And my acupuncturist actually told me that and recommended that I do that. And it helped me a ton when I was experiencing like nausea after I ate and wanted to throw up and all of those fun things that we deal with when we're pregnant. So right. You guys, that is a wrap. I will see you on the next. And I just bumped my microphone. I will see you guys on the next, if you are looking to get help and support, I am back full force. My kids are going to school and we are ready to take on more clients. And we have the capability of doing all of the testing and all of the wonderful things. So head over to the show notes, book, a free call with myself or one of our thyroid advisors. And we will help you determine if this is a good fit for you and working with us or if you are not ready to do that, you can check out some of our free resources in this show notes. We have thyroid panel guides. We have the best foods for thyroid. We have so many amazing resources over there, so go check them out and I'll see you guys on the next.
(34:49):
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