| How Lose Weight Programs Might Be Making You Fat |
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If you've been struggling with belly fat - that flabby "pooch" around the waistline, there's a good chance that your weight loss program may be to blame.
If you've been struggling with belly fat - that flabby "pooch" around the waistline, there's a good chance that your weight loss program may be to blame. Let me explain a little bit about human physiology so you can understand why belly fat is such a common problem and why the harder you try to eliminate it, the worse it gets. From a hormonal perspective, the belly fat problem is largely due to overworked adrenal glands. The adrenal glands are small but improtant organs that sit on top of each kidney. The adrenals produce a variety of very important hormones, but when it comes to weight loss, the two adrenal hormones that are of most importance are adrenaline and cortisol. The levels of these two hormones are reactive to the body's exposure to stress, both mental and physical. Cortisol stimulates fat storage, particularly around the lower abdomen, while adenaline stimulates fat burning. In short-duration stress, the fat storage effects of cortisol are balanced by the fat burning porduced by adrenaline. But as stress becomes more chronic, the production of adrenaline begins to decrease while the cortisol levels remain high for much longer. The longer one remains under stress, the more likely it becomes that the fat storage effects of cortisol will overwhelm the fat burning effects of adrenaline. So, this means that chronic stress leads to weight gain and belly fat accumulation due to the effects of cortisol. If you have belly fat accumulation as your primary pattern of weight gain, chances are it is at least largely related to your body's reaction to stress. Remember that stress can be both mental and physical. You're probably aware of the mental sources of stress you are under, such as you job, caring for your family, the economy, etc.. But you may not have considered the self-imposed physical stress your weight loss program may be causing. A sensible, healthy diet and a moderate exercise program are not too stressful and will not significantly increase cortisol levels. The problem is, if you get too restrictive on your diet and/or get too intense with your exercise program, the resulting stress on the body can not only prevent you from burning that annoying belly fat, it could actually cause you to develop more! Lets look at diet first. If you cut back your calorie intake too severely, the body senses that as starvation - a highly stressful state. Basically, the way to know if you've restricted your calories too much is if you feel hungry all the time or develop hypoglycemic symptoms (dizziness, feeling faint, headaches, moodiness, etc). Don't confuse this with cravings for specific types of food, I'm talking about actual hunger and/or low blood sugar reactions. If you are getting hungry all the time, you need to eat more and/or more frequently. This may seem counter-intuitive to someone trying to lose weight, but as long as you stick to healthy food choices, eating enough to prevent constant hunger pangs will make it easier to lose weight than starving yourself will. As with not eating enough, exercising too much and/or too intensely will stimulate cortisol release and tend to cause fat storage in the lower abdomen. In people with belly fat, high intensity workouts will only lead to feeling tired and getting frustrated with the failure to lose any weight. For people trying to lose belly fat (as the main location of their weight gain), low intensity, and longer duration exercise is best. Aerobic activities like walking, bicycling, and other low-impact and low muscular effort exercises are best. The recommended duration and intensity is to exercise for about 30 to 60 minutes continuously at a pace at which you have enough breath to carry on a conversation without gasping. A freqency of 3 to 4 days per week will provide the best results. Individuals who carry their extra weight in areas other than the abdomen may benefit from a more intense exercise program, but the less intense exercise approach will reduce cortisol release and help those with belly fat burn it off. With reducing the stressfulness of your weight loss regimen, you will actually find it easier to get rid of that annoying belly fat and you'll likely have more energy while doing it. Some people are scared they'll gain even more weight on this "less is more" approach. I say at least give it a try for a few weeks and see what the results are. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with how much easier your weight loss is and how much better you feel. DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice. To receive a free report on how lose fat techniques vary from one person to the next, please visit Dr. Best's lose weight help website to learn how to get your hormones to work for you rather than against you in your weight loss efforts. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service |