Around 10 years ago, a friend said to me that she had to stop eating chocolate because she noticed she was getting “thick” in the middle. Years later, another friend said to me that she had to stop eating white starches because she was losing her waistline. Last night, my husband (who is a physician) told me that central obesity is a strong contributing factor to heart disease. I asked him to define “central obesity” and he said, “The thickness at your stomach causing people to lose their waistline.”
It is amazing to me that women have the ability to intuitively know these things. We are amazing!
A quick elementary synopsis is that chocolate and white starches like corn, white rice, pasta, potatoes, chips get stored when in excess as belly fat. Especially in the older ages, many of us do not have the energy level to balance out what we eat with what we actively work off. As a result, we gain weight in our midline which leads to an increase risk of heart disease.
Personally, I thought I was getting away with a lot when the style dropped my pants waistline to the hips. Your hip bones do not gain weight so your pant size can remain the same for a long time even if the weight increases at the belly. I have heard that be referred to as “a muffin top.” That says it all but having no stomach accountability to my pants makes me feel thinner. After hearing this for the third time and growing older myself in the last ten years, I realized that I need to consider my heart health regardless of my pant size remaining the same.
There is a reason why our bodies tend to get more heartburn as we grow older. Our bodies are trying to talk to us and tell us that we should not be eating “that much of those kinds” of fats and oils which cause heart burn. Too bad my mouth doesn’t want to hear it. –Tonilee Adamson
Tonilee Adamson 