So you have heard many trainers or gym enthusiasts say that spot reduction is a myth and that you cannot target specific areas of the body to burn fat. Well, they’re half right that you can’t do exercises to achieve spot reduction, but there is a way. It is achieved by manipulating hormones. The way it works is that if certain hormones are too low or too high, it causes your body to retain fat in certain areas of the body which then become problem areas for the individual and they work in the ground to remove it. .
Below is a list of hormones and where that specific hormonal imbalance can store body fat:
– Cortisol (High) – Umbilical. Excessive increase in fat in the belly region.
– Estrogen (High) – Umbilical. Excessive increase in fat in the belly region.
– Estrogen (High) – Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Glutes. Excessive fat gain in thighs and buttocks
– Insulin (High) – Suprailiac, subscapularis. Excessive fat gain in ‘love handles’ and upper back
– Testosterone (Low) – Chest, Triceps. Excessive fat stored in the chest and back of the arms
– Thyroid (Low) – Middle axillary. Fat stored about 8 inches below the armpit
– Growth hormone (low) – Knee, calf. This reflects sleep patterns and overall fat loss.
So the way to use this article to help you jumpstart your fat loss is to find out where you store most of your body fat. Once you have found your problem area and figured out which hormone is causing this problem, then you need to look further down the article and learn how to correct this hormonal imbalance.
Cortisol – If high cortisol is the problem, then:
* Reduce stress! Just try to spend time relaxing and not stressing out about life. Control the things that worry you, be around people who make you feel good, tidy up your house, bring a pet home, get regular massages, etc.
*Following the Elimination Diet. The foods that the elimination diet eliminates are difficult for the body to digest and work with, thus causing a release of cortisol. The elimination diet can be found via my website at the bottom of this page.
* Cortisol is released in large amounts during exercise. That doesn’t mean you don’t exercise, but it does mean that you try to avoid cardio as it releases a lot of cortisol. Try to do short, strong bursts of resistance exercise to keep cortisol levels low and boost your metabolism in the long run.
* Take an omega 3 supplement. Omega 3 fatty acids will help reduce cortisol levels. Everyone should supplement with omega 3s. Get a high quality source, because with fish oil you get what you pay for.
* Take Rhodiola Rosea. It is a cortisol modulator, which means that if your cortisol level is too low, it will help you raise it, and if it is too high, it will help you lower it.
* Make sure your sleep patterns are in order. You should be asleep at 10:30 and wake up around 6:30. Also, make sure your room is completely dark with few electrical items around. The few hours before you go to sleep try to dim the light, do not exercise, do not watch television, do not use the computer. Relaxing and avoiding artificial light before bed will help you sleep and keep cortisol levels low.
* Stop drinking alcohol. Alcohol will do all sorts of bad things to your body, but as far as we’re talking here, it will raise your cortisol levels.
Follow these tips and you’ll not only lower your cortisol levels, but you’ll also reap great benefits to your overall health and fitness.
Estrogen: High amounts of estrogen in the body can be reduced by:
* Eat plenty of cruciferous vegetables. These are like broccoli, cabbage, sprouts, etc.
* Do not use or store water in plastic bottles. If you have to use plastic bottles, try not to leave them exposed to direct sunlight. The quality of a bottle can be seen by looking at the bottom of the bottle. You will see a triangle of three arrows with a number inside. The lower the number, the poorer quality the plastic is. Most of the bottles are 1 but if you search well you can find some around 3. Try to drink mineral water from glass bottles.
* The DIM supplement can help lower estrogen levels. DIM is a powerful anti-estrogen that specifically targets bad estrogens caused by phytoestrogens in our environment.
* Also broccoli extract and green tea are used to combat estrogen “16” (the bad estrogen)
* Yohimbine may also help reduce estrogen levels. It is extracted from the bark of yohimbe trees. Yohimbine cream is definitely a better option because oral administration of yohimbine could result in systemically high blood levels that could have dangerous side effects on the heart and CNS (central nervous system).
Testosterone: If you have low testosterone levels and want to increase them:
* Get a good amount of sleep. Like the cortisol-lowering tactic, you should be asleep by 10:30 and up by 6:30. A completely dark room with few electrical items near you will also help you get a good night’s sleep.
* Eating foods like steak and nuts will really help boost your testosterone.
* Train with weights using great weight lifting exercises. Exercises like squats, deadlifts, lunges, bench presses, bent over rows will increase testosterone much more than isolating smaller muscles like biceps and triceps. Also lift heavy weights that only allow you to do 5-10 reps, rest 1-2 minutes, and complete 3-5 sets.
* Make sure you are resting as hard as you train. For this you need to sleep 8 hours, not overtrain, feed your body with good nutrition.
* Stop drinking alcohol. Alcohol of any kind will significantly lower testosterone levels.
* Zinc is low in most active people, so zinc supplementation will help increase testosterone levels.
Insulin: Following these few points will help reduce and keep your insulin levels under control:
* Taking a good quality fish oil supplement is not only the most important supplement you can take, it will help keep your insulin levels low.
* Consuming fat and protein at each meal to be eaten with carbohydrates will slow the release of carbohydrates into the blood, helping to keep insulin levels stable.
* Eating fewer carbs is the main thing that will help with insulin levels. Also make sure the carbs you are eating are whole, nutritious, slower-releasing carbs like brown rice,
potatoes, legumes and try to avoid cereals in general, especially wheat.
* The best time to eat carbohydrates is after training.
* The more insulin you produce, the faster you will age!
Growth Hormone – To increase your growth hormone, try the following.
* Eat more protein in your diet. All foods raise growth hormone temporarily, but especially proteins raise it to a greater degree.
* Do more exercise. Exercise releases more growth hormone than eating and also elevates it for longer. This effect will be much greater when your exercise program contains a large amount of resistance exercises.
* Getting the right amount of sleep each night will allow your body to release more growth hormone to help you grow.
Thyroid: Thyroid problems can store body fat 8 inches below the armpit. To combat this:
* Avoid soy products completely, as they give you hypothyroidism.
* Some supplements you can take to help this imbalance are guggulsterones (a compound in the Guggul herb), fucus, a natural source of iodine, zinc and selenium, all responsible for the production of thyroid hormones. Finally, Ashwaganda and Coleus root (a member of the mint family) are frequently used to stimulate the thyroid gland.
With this tip, you should be able to not only improve your health by rebalancing your hormones, but also change your body composition for the better. If you’re having trouble fitting into a category, the best thing to do is follow the elimination diet and follow the other tips that can be found on my website below.
