Do not pretend: I know that you are looking at it and thinking about that area above the belt. And you will be saying "Oh dear, I just finished my holidays and now I will be told off for having eaten too much on vacation and bla bla bla."

But it won’t be like that. They will all just tell you that now is time to start being good and disciplined and to throw the forty-two kilos of Sardinian cheese that you put in your suitcase out of the window. I, however, will tell you that, if you have a bit of a belly despite all your workouts, in most cases you don’t need to eat less.

On the contrary: you probably must eat more. Better, but more. And not only that. So, let's look at what are, in short, the main causes of your extra pounds which you think are so sexy and that instead, in addition to being an important cardiovascular risk factor, diminish your charm (it was time someone told you).

The main causes of extra pound

Glycemic peaks and insulin resistance

If at breakfast you only drink a coffee with a bit of sugar, and then eat a croissant or a pack of crackers in the middle of the morning with another coffee, have a “light” lunch with a plate of pasta and at four head to the food distributor of the office because you are so hungry, well, this is why those fifty crunches per day don’t produce the desired effect (but, between us: do you really do all fifty of them?).

Cortisol

If you are constantly under stress and exercise only once a week, this hormone, produced by the cortical glands to help you support long-term stress, brings as much sugar as possible into the bloodstream, taking it, if needed, from the muscles (that's why your legs are so thin). The blood sugar is then captured by the visceral adipose tissue and stored as fat with high inflammatory potential.

Liver overload

It isn’t necessary to be a regular consumer of alcohol to have liver problems. The repeated consumption of processed and preserved foods, the regular abuse of fructose (read "fruit juices") and the lack of physical exercise can greatly fatigue our main excretory organ which, coincidentally, is also the producer of many digestive enzymes. If your liver can’t work well, your digestion will also suffer, causing bloating.

Inflamed intestine

Even without suffering from a particular pathology (e.g. irritable bowel syndrome), the intestine can give signs of being under stress by bloating and grumbling. At the base of this problem lies, inter alia, insufficient chewing and repeated consumption of the same food categories. If you eat biscuits for breakfast, pasta for lunch and bread in the evening five days a week, you will probably recognize yourself in this profile.

So, do you see? I have not talked about calories, or bingeing during your holiday or post-holiday, but I gave you some points to reflect on and to take the first step towards a new and above all thinner life. Happy? And the fact that you must eat more? Well, you don’t really expect to get everything in one article, right?

Have a great day!

Your nutritional consultant
Tatiana Gaudimonte
info@loveyourbody.ch