Tuesday, June 24, 2014

The Ultimate Six-Pack Formula

How many times did you go crazy because you couldn’t lose weight around your belly in spite of training hard and eating healthy? Well, the reason belly fat can be so stubborn is that it is as much a hormonal phenomenon as it is a caloric one. Therefore, if you want to shred those extra pounds around your waistline, it is important to address some hormonal issues.
 
Types of Belly Fat
 
There are three different types of belly fat in the body. Deep fat, called visceral belly fat, lies around the organs under the abdominal muscles. Superficial subcutaneous belly fat hangs over the waistline. Deep subcutaneous belly fat is the hybrid of the previous two types. Visceral belly fat has greater blood supply and it is less sensitive to insulin, which means it is harder to store and easier to burn (Ibrahim 2010). On the other hand, subcutaneous belly fat is less responsive to fat burning and has less blood supply.
 
In order for fat to be burned, it needs to be released from a fat cell. This process is called lipolysis. Fat then has to travel through the blood to a cell that will burn it. The process of fat being burned by the destination cell is called lipid oxidation.
 
The Influence of Hormones on Belly Fat
 
Insulin
The primary functions of insulin in muscle cells are to aid muscle growth and get fuel into muscle cells. If muscles become resistant to insulin, it leads to muscle loss, fatigue and poor performance. However, the effect of insulin on fat cells is quite the opposite, meaning that a fat cell resistant to insulin is a good thing. A fat cell that is more insulin resistant will be more likely to release fat and less likely to store it.
 
Cortisol
Cortisol, sometimes called the stress hormone, can impact belly fat in different ways. For instance, high amounts of cortisol present for long periods of time make people especially prone to accumulating belly fat. This is because cortisol impacts hormones that regulate appetite and is therefore associated with cravings for the wrong foods, making it far more likely to achieve a calorie surplus and gain fat. In addition, cortisol makes smaller fat cells become larger, mature fat cells, which is definitely not a good thing if you are trying to lose belly fat.
 
Sex hormones
Sex hormones, which include estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, also have a big impact on fat metabolism. Estrogen and progesterone both have anti-insulin and anti-cortisol effects on the belly (Yematani et al. 2013; Pallottini et al. 2008), which makes this hormone combination very effective at controlling belly fat. This is part of the reason why young women can maintain a slim figure more easily than their older counterparts. Testosterone is interesting, because in women higher levels of this hormone are associated with more belly fat, whereas in men lower level are a risk factor for more belly fat.
 
The Ultimate Six Pack Formula
 
First of all, it is important to know that standard dieting does not work for belly fat! Burning this type of fat requires both a calorie deficit and balanced hormones. If you eat less and exercise more, you will achieve the calorie deficit, but it will create a hormonal imbalance, making it impossible to lose belly fat.
 
Since insulin and cortisol have the greatest negative impact on belly fat, they must be controlled.  For the purpose of this formula, let’s call insulin the “starch and sugar” hormone and cortisol the “sleep and stress” hormone.
 
The natural inclination when dealing with belly fat is simply to focus on eating fewer carbohydrates instead of lowering calories overall. Reducing carbs is a better strategy for belly fat reduction than traditional low-fat dieting (Volek et al. 2004). However, low blood sugar stresses the body and raises cortisol levels (Ebbeling et al. 2012); therefore, you do not want to eat a diet that is too low in carbohydrates, either. The idea is to modify starch/sugar intake to provide energy and stabilize blood sugar, while at the same time lowering insulin slowly over time and keeping cortisol stable. Choosing carbohydrates that are lower in glycemic load can do this, and this approach has been shown to reduce the chance of weight regain (Gross et al. 2013).
 
Increasing protein intake also decreases the potential for weight regain. Higher protein, along with a lower-carbohydrate diet, has a favorable impact on belly fat as well (Volek et al. 2004; Ebbeling et al. 2012; Soenen et al. 2013).
 
For instance, protein and vegetables create a hunger suppressing combo with minimal insulin production. The result is fewer calories consumed and a good hormone balance. Regular sleep and stress management also help lower cortisol levels
 
The six-pack formula focuses on managing stress and consuming protein and fiber over starch and sugar. All types of belly fat will positively respond to this approach.
 
Two Different Plans
 
The 3:2:1 Plan
The “eat less, exercise less” approach can be thought of as a 3:2:1 plan. The “3” stands for three meals per day. The “2” means two of those meals should be mostly protein and fiber with less starch. Healthy starch sources include brown rice, quinoa, beans/legumes, sweet potatoes with the skin on, and oats. The “1” means one meal per day should have heavier starch. This meal is best consumed after workout. Another way to look at the 3:2:1 designation is to visualize a plate. Three parts should be vegetables, two parts protein and one part starch. This approach works well for people who are not heavy exercisers. Daily walking and a few weight training sessions are recommended with this plan.
 
The 3:2:2 Plan
The “eat more, exercise more” approach is for people who exercise regularly. It can be summed up with a 3:2:2 designation. The “3” stands for three meals per day. The first “2” means two snacks per day. The second “2” means you should double the starch intake once per day, after workout as well. You can visualize a plate for this approach as well. The meals and snacks should be half vegetables and then equal parts protein and starch.
 
Exercises That Help Burn Belly Fat
 
Short, intense exercise and slow, long duration and relaxing exercise may be the best for burning belly fat. Short, intense exercise elevates testosterone and growth hormone levels, which is favorable for belly fat reduction. On the other hand, slow, long duration and relaxing exercise lowers cortisol levels, which also helps burn belly fat.
 
 
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