May 10, 2019

Why belly fat is stubborn - and how to get rid of it

Warum Bauchfett hartnäckig ist – und wie Du es los wirst

Did you know that certain fat cells in your body are extremely resistant to mobilizing and burning the fat they contain? And did you know that these fat cells tend to accumulate in the dreaded stubborn areas such as the belly, hips and thighs?

And did you know that you can use science-based diet and exercise strategies to burn off that stubborn fat once and for all? Imagine what it would be like if you could have the slim waist and washboard abs you've always wanted all year round. And imagine never having to go on weird diets or grueling workout programs again, the results of which will only disappoint you in the end.

Well, you no longer have to imagine these things, because I'm going to show you the way to all these goals in this article. In 15 minutes, you'll know what makes your belly fat so stubborn and what you can do to get rid of it once and for all.

Let's start with what makes belly fat different from other fat deposits in your body.

What makes belly fat so stubborn?

If you're having trouble losing belly fat, don't worry:

You're not genetically cursed
You don't need to do any special exercises
Your hormone levels are probably perfectly fine
You're not eating the wrong foods (no, sugar is not the problem)
You don't have to give up carbohydrates

The reality is that you could follow every rule for a lean belly that mainstream gurus on the internet promote, you could do every exercise for a flat stomach, you could avoid every possible food that supposedly messes with your hormone levels, you could say goodbye to all forms of sugar, you could subject yourself to the renunciations of a low-carb lifestyle...and still carry around mountains of unsightly belly fat for the rest of your life.

However, it doesn't have to end that way. Regardless of your genetic predispositions or your hormones, you can achieve the slim and defined tummy you've always dreamed of. And it could be easier than you thought possible...if you know exactly what you're doing and why you're doing it.

And that knowledge starts with a physiological understanding of how fat burning works. When we talk about burning fat, we're really talking about a two-part process consisting of lipolysis and oxidation.

Lipolysis is the process by which fat cells release molecules of stored energy(fatty acids) into the bloodstream, while oxidation is the process by which cells use, or burn, these fatty acids.

The body's primary method of stimulating lipolysis is the production of the catecholamines adrenaline and noradrenaline. These chemicals enter the bloodstream, are transported via the blood to the fat cells and dock onto certain receptors there.

Once these catecholamines have docked onto the receptors of the fat cells, they stimulate the release of fatty acids that are stored in the fat cells. Other cells are then able to use these fatty acids for the purpose of energy production.

None of this will be news to many readers, but most don't realize that not all fat cells are the same. Some respond well to catecholamines, but others do not. If you have been dieting for any length of time, you will have experienced this first hand. Certain areas of your body such as your chest, arms and face become firmer, while others such as your stomach, hips and thighs don't really seem to change.

The primary reason for this is the simple fact that fat cells have two different types of catecholamine receptors that have completely opposite functions (1). These receptors are known as alpha and beta receptors, and although their physiology is quite complex, it all boils down to this: alpha receptors inhibit lipolysis, while beta receptors stimulate lipolysis (2).

This means that fatty acids from fat cells with a large number of beta receptors are relatively easy to mobilize, while fatty acids from fat cells with a large number of alpha receptors are difficult to mobilize.

This is the reason that when you begin a fat loss program, you will see immediate results in certain areas of your body such as the chest, arms and face, while other areas such as the abdomen, hips and thighs seem to have little response to your fat loss efforts.

One of the primary reasons that certain fat deposits like belly fat are so "stubborn" is that the fat cells themselves are quite resistant to mobilization of stored fatty acids, as they have more alpha receptors than beta receptors.

Now that you know why belly fat tends to remain your lifelong friend even when you diet, let's next look at some strategies to outsmart these fat loss defense mechanisms.

The 5 biggest myths about abdominal fat loss

If you search Google for belly fat loss tips, you'll see a lot of utter nonsense. Let's start by debunking these myths:

Here's a quick rundown

1. you can't prioritize targeting belly fat loss

No amount of crunches or planks or anything else will directly burn belly fat (4).

2. there are no specific foods that can help or hinder the process of losing stubborn fat

Belly fat will not build up from high-glycemic carbs or processed foods or dairy, and no amount of healthy fats will help you shed that fat.

3.your meal frequency is not the problem

Eating lots of small meals won't rev up your metabolism (5) any more than eating fewer large meals will put your body into starvation mode (6).

4 Eating late at night is not the problem

Whether you eat the majority of your daily calories earlier or later in the day has no effect on any fat loss parameters or your body composition.

5 Stress is not the culprit

While stress can promote behavioral patterns that can lead to weight gain, it cannot directly cause fat loss through hormonal imbalance or any other mechanism.

Fortunately, losing belly fat is a lot easier than many people would have you believe. There are only one or two things you need to know to get rid of unsightly belly fat once and for all:

1. you need to reduce your overall body fat percentage

This is what really matters. Reduce your body fat percentage to 10% as a man or 20% as a woman and most of your belly fat will be gone. And any further reduction in body fat percentage will mean even less belly fat.

2. you can use certain diet, exercise and supplement strategies that will help you mobilize your belly fat better

Anything you do that speeds up your fat loss in general will also speed up the loss of your stubborn fat. However, there are a few specific things you can do to help your body shed stubborn fat and belly fat in particular. Combine these two strategies - faster fat loss and better fat mobilization - and you have an extremely effective fat loss program.

Let's look at how you can achieve this below.

Proven ways to get rid of belly fat faster

So, as we now know, there are two basic ways to get rid of belly fat faster:

Accelerating the rate at which you lose fat in general and
Helping your body to better mobilize fat from the fat cells with the most alpha receptors.

There are a number of ways to achieve this, which I will look at below:

1. use a moderately aggressive calorie deficit

If you're dieting for fat loss, then your goal should be to lose fat as quickly as possible while maintaining your existing muscle mass and health. How well this works is mainly determined by the size of your calorie deficit. In other words, a small deficit of 5 to 10% will produce smaller and slower results than a 20% deficit.

The question, however, is how high your deficit can get before it causes problems with hunger, cravings and muscle loss. Well, there is some scientific research that can shed some light on this.

In a study conducted by scientists at the University of Jyväskylä, lean elite track and field athletes with a body fat percentage of less than 10% reduced their calorie intake for four weeks to achieve fat loss (8).

All subjects followed their regular training program and a high-protein diet. One group of subjects maintained a calorie deficit of about 12% and consumed only 300 kcal less than they expended, while another group maintained a calorie deficit of 24% or 750 kcal per day.

After 4 weeks, the group with the 12% calorie deficit had lost very little fat and muscle, while the group with the 24% deficit had lost an average of 4 pounds of fat and very little muscle. I have seen the same results in my own body as well as in countless clients I have worked with.

If you eat enough protein, use weight training to fuel your fat loss and keep cardio to a minimum, you can maintain a 20-25% calorie deficit to maximize your fat loss and minimize your muscle loss.

I would even go so far as to say that a higher calorie deficit will be necessary if you want to continue to lose fat as you get leaner and struggle more and more with stubborn fat. So don't be afraid of a moderate calorie deficit. It's an effective tool to help you get lean.

2. exercise while fasting

If you've ever looked for advice on how to lose fat faster - especially stubborn fat around your hips, stomach or thighs - then you've probably read something about exercising on an empty stomach. According to many experts, exercising on an empty stomach is a simple but effective way to increase the amount of fat your body burns during exercise.

There is some truth in this advice, but there is also a problem: it's not quite that simple. Exactly how empty should your stomach be? What types of workouts work best? Are there any disadvantages?

Well, the first thing you need to understand is that it's not enough to simply feel like your stomach is empty. This alone does not guarantee anything in terms of fat loss. However, what can help you lose fat faster is training in a fasted state, which has to do with the levels of different hormones that affect fat loss - not how empty or full your stomach is.

When you eat food, your body's insulin levels rise and it begins to break down, absorb and use the nutrients you've just consumed. This is also known as a "postprandial" state, which can last for two to six or more hours depending on what foods and how much of those foods you ate at that meal (9).

At some point, your body is done processing the food and your insulin levels drop to a low, stable baseline where they remain until you eat again. This is also known as the 'post-absorptive' phase.

Your body switches back and forth between these different phases every day. If you exercise after your body has processed your last meal and your insulin levels have dropped back to their baseline, this is training in a fasted state. Of course, there is nothing wrong with exercising while your insulin levels are elevated and your body is still processing your last meal. Any workout will burn energy, which will support your weight loss efforts. What many people don't realize, however, is that exercising in a fasted state has some unique fat loss benefits.

1. scientific research shows that training in a fasted state increases both lipolysis and the rate of fat oxidation (10, 11)

This means that when you train with low insulin levels, your body is able to mobilize and burn more fat during your training sessions than it does when insulin levels are elevated.

2. scientific research shows that blood flow in the abdominal region is increased when you are in a fasted state, which helps to burn stubborn fat in this area (12).

As you know, one of the problems with stubborn fat - and in particular fat in the abdominal area - is reduced blood flow to these areas and training in a fasted state can help overcome this problem.

However, training in a fasted state also has a major disadvantage: it increases the rate of muscle breakdown (13). This is undesirable because if you break down too much muscle during exercise, your body will not be able to keep up with the repair, causing you to lose muscle over time.

Another disadvantage of training in a fasted state is poor training sessions. Many people have less training energy and a reduced training focus when fasting, which means they are unable to maintain the level of physical and mental intensity they are used to.

As you can see, training in a fasted state can be a double-edged sword. It's good for faster fat loss, but it's not so good when it comes to maintaining existing muscle mass and having fun with your workouts.

3. perform high-intensity interval training

High-intensity interval training - HIIT for short - is a training method in which you alternate between phases of maximum intensity and low intensity. The basic idea is simple: during the high-intensity phases you push yourself as hard as possible and during the lower-intensity phases you try to catch your breath and prepare for the next sprint.

The bottom line is that HIIT is significantly more effective for fat loss than traditional cardio training at a constant low intensity. For example, a study conducted at the University of Western Ontario found that subjects burned more fat doing 4 to 6 30-second sprints (with 4-minute rest periods between sprints) than walking on a treadmill at an incline for 60 minutes (14).

If you do the math, this is quite impressive. 17 to 27 minutes of high-intensity interval training resulted in greater fat loss than 60 minutes of traditional cardio - and these results have been replicated by other studies (15).

The science is pretty clear: if your goal is to burn as much fat as possible in the shortest possible time, HIIT is the way to go. Although the exact mechanisms underlying this benefit are not yet fully understood, scientific studies have isolated some factors (15) and show that HIIT:

Increases your metabolic rate for up to 24 hours.
Improves muscle insulin sensitivity, which helps your body to better absorb and utilize the food you eat (instead of storing it as fat).
Increases your muscles' ability to burn fat for energy.
Increases your growth hormone levels, which aids fat loss.
Increases catecholamine levels, which mobilizes more fat.
Reduces appetite after exercise.

HIIT workouts don't need to be longer than 20 to 25 minutes to be effective, and shorter cardio workouts help maintain muscle and strength better (16).

4. train with heavy weights

I'm a big advocate of heavy weight training with basic exercises and this type of training offers two great fat loss benefits:

1. it helps you maintain your strength and muscle mass in the context of a calorie deficit.
2. it dramatically increases your basal metabolic rate for several days after the workout (17), and scientific research shows that this type of training can burn hundreds more calories than lighter weight workouts (18).

References:

Source: https://legionathletics.com/how-to-lose-belly-fat/

By Michael Matthews

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