lazy stomach?

Question
Hi
My biggest problem is I am a short guy with a big belly.
I try to eat healthy and keep my calories low,and I exercise and keep active.
A friend says I have a 'lazy stomach'.
He says its because I lay on the couch all night after supper.
Sure I do but I work hard as well as do workout at home before I go to work so I think I deserve it!
What if I were to work out after supper?


Answer
Hi Barry,
Thank you for your question.  The term "lazy stomach" is most of ten used in terms of digestion.  The stomach is the place where food begins the digestive process.  If it were "lazy" as your friend says, then it would not be digesting food adequately, and causing gastric or other problems.  So, no, I do not think that because you lay on the couch after dinner, that you would qualify as having a lazy stomach.  But lets talk about the pros and cons for working out after dinner.

Some of the benefits to working out after dinner is that you are less likely to end up storing any of your dinner as body fat.  For most people, dinner is the largest meal of the day.  This means that they are more likely to store food as body fat at dinner than any other time of the day.  By working out after dinner you will increase the metabolic demand and virtually eliminate the possibility of storing body fat.  If you decide to do an evening workout in addition to your morning workout then you will experience a 2-fold increase in your metabolic rate for up to 12 hours afterward.  This is why you will hear of the major sports teams doing two-a-day workouts during spring training and other training camps.  The second workout does not need to be long.  30 minutes is enough to stimulate the metabolic increase.

Now for the drawbacks.  The evening workout can interfere with some people's ability to fall asleep.  The other drawback is that it is requiring more from your body and there is an increase in the possibility of overtraining.  You may not want to do a second workout every day.  Give yourself a break when you sense you might not be getting fully recovered between workouts.

I would suggest you try adding the second workout.  But before you do, find a tape measure and measure your belly at the belly button.  use this as your starting measurement.  Then measure again after 2 weeks to see if the addition of the PM workout has had any influence on the belly.  Who know, if you give it a good effort you may be surprised at the change!  

I hope this helps, and please let me know if I can clarify or elaborate on anything,

Dr. Bret
doctoremery.com

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