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.
To understand why belly fat is such a common problem and why the harder you try to eliminate it, the worse it gets, it is necessary to have a little background in physiology. From a hormonal perspective, the belly fat problem is an issue of overworked adrenal glands. The adrenal glands are small organs that sit on top of each kidney that produce a variety of hormones. With regards to weight control, 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.
Adrenaline stimulates fat burning and cortisol stimulates fat storage, particularly around the lower abdomen. During short periods of stress, there is a balance between the fat burning effects of adrenaline and the fat storage effects of cortisol. With chronic, long-lasting stress though, the production of adrenaline begins to drop, but the cortisol production remains high much longer. With long periods of stress, the fat storage effects of cortisol will overtake 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!
If we consider diet first, when you cut back your calorie intake too severely, the body senses that as starvation. The body considers starvation to be a highly stressful state and it reacts strongly to it. So, how do you know if you've restricted your calories too much? The simplest way to tell is if you feel hungry all the time or develop hypoglycemic symptoms (dizziness, feeling faint, headaches, moodiness, etc). Now hunger is different from cravings for specific types of food. What I'm talking about actual hunger pangs and/or low blood sugar reactions. If you are getting hungry all the time, it is a signal from your body that you need to eat more and/or more frequently - such as having snacks. This may seem counter-intuitive but as long as you stick to healthy foods, eating enough to prevent feelings of hunger will make it easier to lose weight than depriving yourself of adequate food will.
The big problem with belly fat when it comes to exercise is that exercise that is done too much too much and/or too intensely is stressful to the body and causes cortisol release. In people with belly fat, high intensity workouts will only lead to feeling tired and getting frustrated with your lack of weight loss. For people trying to rid themselves of the "stomach pooch", low intensity, and relatively long duration exercise is best. Activities like walking, bicycling, and other low-impact, and low muscular effort aerobic activities are best. It is best 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 frequency of workouts of 3 to 4 days per week works well. Those who are trying to lose excess weight in areas other than the belly will typically benefit from a more intense exrcise routine, but those with just belly fat need to take is slow and easy to keep from stimulating excess cortisol release.
By minimizing the stressfulness of your weight loss program, you will actually find it easier to get rid of that annoying stomach "pooch" and you'll feel better and have more energy while doing it. To those who are scared they'll gain even more weight on this "less is more" approach if they've been unable to lose the belly with their intense diet and exercise programs, I say at least give it a try for a few weeks and see how it goes. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the results.
To understand why belly fat is such a common problem and why the harder you try to eliminate it, the worse it gets, it is necessary to have a little background in physiology. From a hormonal perspective, the belly fat problem is an issue of overworked adrenal glands. The adrenal glands are small organs that sit on top of each kidney that produce a variety of hormones. With regards to weight control, 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.
Adrenaline stimulates fat burning and cortisol stimulates fat storage, particularly around the lower abdomen. During short periods of stress, there is a balance between the fat burning effects of adrenaline and the fat storage effects of cortisol. With chronic, long-lasting stress though, the production of adrenaline begins to drop, but the cortisol production remains high much longer. With long periods of stress, the fat storage effects of cortisol will overtake 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!
If we consider diet first, when you cut back your calorie intake too severely, the body senses that as starvation. The body considers starvation to be a highly stressful state and it reacts strongly to it. So, how do you know if you've restricted your calories too much? The simplest way to tell is if you feel hungry all the time or develop hypoglycemic symptoms (dizziness, feeling faint, headaches, moodiness, etc). Now hunger is different from cravings for specific types of food. What I'm talking about actual hunger pangs and/or low blood sugar reactions. If you are getting hungry all the time, it is a signal from your body that you need to eat more and/or more frequently - such as having snacks. This may seem counter-intuitive but as long as you stick to healthy foods, eating enough to prevent feelings of hunger will make it easier to lose weight than depriving yourself of adequate food will.
The big problem with belly fat when it comes to exercise is that exercise that is done too much too much and/or too intensely is stressful to the body and causes cortisol release. In people with belly fat, high intensity workouts will only lead to feeling tired and getting frustrated with your lack of weight loss. For people trying to rid themselves of the "stomach pooch", low intensity, and relatively long duration exercise is best. Activities like walking, bicycling, and other low-impact, and low muscular effort aerobic activities are best. It is best 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 frequency of workouts of 3 to 4 days per week works well. Those who are trying to lose excess weight in areas other than the belly will typically benefit from a more intense exrcise routine, but those with just belly fat need to take is slow and easy to keep from stimulating excess cortisol release.
By minimizing the stressfulness of your weight loss program, you will actually find it easier to get rid of that annoying stomach "pooch" and you'll feel better and have more energy while doing it. To those who are scared they'll gain even more weight on this "less is more" approach if they've been unable to lose the belly with their intense diet and exercise programs, I say at least give it a try for a few weeks and see how it goes. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the results.
About the Author:
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. Don't reprint this exact article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.
No comments:
Post a Comment