Whittle Your Middle
February isn’t exactly bathing suit season. Even so, we all probably wish our stomachs were a little flatter right now, don’t we?
What we eat, how much of a sedentary lifestyle we lead, and how much daily stress we experience all contribute to the big-belly dilemma. And that’s a problem because excess belly fat can increase the risk of high blood pressure.
Men are more at risk if their waist measurements are more than 40 inches, while women are at greater risk for hypertension if their waists are greater than 35 inches. In fact, the American Heart Association reports that women with a 35-inch waist or larger may be at 20% greater risk of heart attack than women with a high overall body mass index (BMI).
What’s a healthy BMI? Check out our chart!
Cutting calories is a good place to start if you have belly fat to lose. But getting more exercise may be the best way to drop a few pounds and improve your heart health. A 2022 study found that people who commit to vigorous exercise weekly (75 to 150 minutes per week) can lower their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 31%.
Concerned about belly fat and your blood pressure? You can whittle your middle by burning fat through cardiovascular exercises like hiking, cycling, running or high-intensity interval training.
Rather than a goal of losing 10, 20 or even 50 pounds, aim to lose at least one pound per week. If you can reduce 500 calories a day from your diet—or burn them off with activities like walking, biking, swimming, jumping rope or even hula hooping—you should be able to lose about one pound per week. That would amount to about 15 pounds gone by Memorial Day— just in time for the start of bathing suit season!