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As
you know from reading parts one and two of this series,
your hormones can be a liability when it comes to
getting rid of stubborn body fat. For example, the
hormone estrogen has a unique relationship with the fat
cell. Fat cells can release signals that enable your
body to synthesize estrogen and to regulate the
reproductive cycle. In turn, estrogen has an effect
upon fat cells. An influx of extra estrogen into the
body from food sources can cause fat cells to grow and
become stubborn.
Unfortunately, severe and prolonged dieting shuts down the metabolism, sending the body into starvation mode. The fat cells begin sending out even more fat storing enzymes and a significantly smaller amount of fat releasing enzymes. Because the fat cells are afraid of being starved to death and depleted of their stores, they will hold on to the fat they have to the best of their ability, causing the body to start burning lean muscle mass to get the amount of fuel it needs. Lean muscle mass, located in the skeletal muscles and the organ systems, is the metabolically active part of the body. This means that after the diet is over and your body is out of starvation mode, your metabolism will still not be functioning as well as before the diet, because you have lost some of your muscle mass, which was the engine driving your metabolism. In addition, the effects of restrictive dieting on your fat storing and releasing enzymes can be permanent. Though the levels will return to closer to a normal level after the diet, the fat releasing enzymes will almost always be at a little lower level than before the diet and the fat storing enzymes will almost always be at a slightly higher level. Even worse: The effects are cumulative. This means that after each successive bout of dieting, it will be harder and harder for you to lose fat and control your weight for the long term. It may sound hopeless, but it’s not, so don’t panic just yet! This doesn’t mean that you’re stuck with unwanted fat and excess weight for the rest of your life. It only means that you don’t have to diet anymore. Even if you “tortured yourself” with deprivation diets that left you hungry, anxious, and unhappy in the past, what we know about hormones, enzymes and fat cells can actually be great news. You can lose your unwanted fat through good old-fashioned nutrition, calorie-burning and metabolism-stimulating exercise and anti-estrogenic foods. What I am suggesting to you is not a magic bullet solution, and if you’ve been a long term chronic dieter, it might take a lot longer to lose the amount of fat you want to lose. But by putting an end to the quick-results, crash-diet approach and taking the weight loss gradually, you will not only avoid the feelings of deprivation that sabotage many diets, but also, the weight you lose will be three times more likely to stay off. To improve your results in losing stubborn fat and to reduce estrogenic effects on your body, there are a few steps you must take to ensure your success. Your success will be dependent on your understanding of how to detox your liver, eat foods that aid reducing estrogen and exercise. On this stubborn fat reduction plan, you are going to consume as many anti-estrogenic foods as possible and eliminate as many estrogenic foods as possible. In addition to stimulating greater fat loss, this type of eating will also aid in the detoxification of your liver. Without cleaning out the liver and reducing the chemical build up, your liver becomes overburdened and your fat loss can hit the wall. There are a few stages in stubborn fat removal, so here we go First and foremost you must eat unprocessed foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds and occasional wild salmon. This starts the detoxification of the liver as you eliminate all processed foods, grains, farm fed livestock and chemically altered foods. Try to eat as much organic food as possible. The base of your anti-stubborn fat plan is to consume an enormous amount of cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussel sprouts, as these vegetables are very anti-estrogenic. Include citrus fruits such as grapefruit, orange and pineapple as they have enzymes and cofactors that help your body against the radical damage and help your liver detox. Supplement your diet with omega-3 fatty acids from wild caught salmon and flaxseed. You can also take an omega-3 fatty acid supplements such as Carlson's oil available at mercola.com. Eating raw nuts and seeds, avocados, and olive oil also improves your body’s function. In addition, eating green leafy vegetables, whole oats and barley, legumes (no soy), and spices such as turmeric (cancer fighter), milk thistle (liver detoxer), dandelion root (natural diuretic) and ginger increases loss of stubborn fat by decreasing estrogen in your body There are many estrogen inhibitors that can help you decrease body fat quickly. According to Ori Hofmekler, author of The Warrior Diet, consuming these foods will greatly improve your ability to remove stubborn fat and decrease estrogenic effects. Hofkmekler says there are additional estrogenic inhibitors such as chrysin (passion flower), Apigene (chamomile), Quercetin (onions, garlic) and all of these cofactors can work together to detoxify your liver and get the stubborn fat off. To simplify, systemize and organize this information, Hofmekler has developed an anti-estrogen, anti-stubborn fat program into three stages: Stage 1 Defense (Eat Anti-Estrogenic Foods) Eat Anti-Estrogenic Foods Estrogen inhibitors Cruciferous vegetables Passion flower Citrus fruits Chamomile flower Omega 3 oils Wild catch salmon Organic Dairy Stage 2 Defense (additional foods that promote anti-estrogenic hormones). Raw nuts and seeds Avocado Olives and Olive oil Rice Germ Oil Wheat Germ Oil Stage 3 Defense (Foods and cofactors and promote liver detoxification) Green Vegetables Spices (turmeric, oregano, thyme, rosemary and sage) Fruits (citrus, berries, apples, pineapple Whole oats and barley Legumes (NO SOY)
Herbs (dandelion root,
ginger, alma berries, milk thistle) Three week plan: Outlined below is a very simple plan that will produce good initial results in just three weeks. After this initial three week phase, you can then to rotate the stages to get continued and even better results. You can also alternate the stages by the day. After the first 3 weeks. To gain more information on to set up a plan on a day to day bases just e mail me a . As this part is out of the scope of this article.
Stage 1 for a week Stage 2 for a week High Fat for fuel change over Stage 3 for a week Food reintroduction In addition to eating the proper anti-estrogenic foods to remove stubborn fat, it goes without saying that a very important part of any program is exercise. Diet alone is not enough. Regular exercise is not only beneficial for fat loss, but also for your overall health. Exercise lowers body fat, blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol. You need to set some goals and plan to exercise on a continuous basis. If you attempt to lose weight without exercise, you should expect only temporary success and expect to succumb to the rebound effect. This simply means that sooner or later, you will eventually gain back the fat and the harder it will be to remove the next time around. Instead of using the diet-only approach, emphasize the diet and exercise combination and focus on increasing your daily activity level overall (refer to my article titled, “movement sufficiency, not calorie deficiency” for more information on exercising more rather than just eating less, and here are a few quick and practical suggestions: Walk to the store instead of driving, go for a bike ride, walk upstairs in office buildings rather than using the elevator, and park your car at the end of the parking lot instead of looking for the front row spot. Take short walk during daily breaks or after you get home. Mow your lawn with a push mower, vacuum your carpets every other day, tidy up you backyard, basement or garage, iron your clothes, wash your windows, and play with your kids. These activities are usually not looked at as “exercise” or “workouts,” but all the activity adds up at the end of the day and it can work wonders as it accumulates over the long haul. Naturally, of course, you should also have a more structured and formal exercise program to achieve maximum reductions in body fat. Even mowing your lawn has health benefits and burns some calories, but for really making inroads into those stubborn fat stores, more intense and focused exercise is a must. A great type of routine for stubborn fat loss goals is a circuit training program. This style of training not only raises your metabolism, improves your cardiovascular ability, and increases strength, it is also time efficient. Put together a routine that uses large body parts such as legs, chest, back and shoulders into groups and perform all of the exercises nonstop. You can also mix cardio interval training into your circuit workouts or in addition to your circuit workouts to increase the fat burning effect. Here is an example of an effective and time efficient circuit program that can easily be performed at home with nothing but dumbbells and a swiss ball. A1 - Swiss ball Squats (ball up against the wall) A2 - Dumbbell Cleans A3 - Dumbbell Flys on a Swiss Ball A4 - Lunge A5 - Dumbbell 3 Matrix (side laterals, bent laterals, front laterals) A6 - Dumbbell Row Do each exercise with perfect form for 6-8 reps and then get on your cardio equipment and go hard for 1-2 minutes. Rest briefly before repeating the circuit 2-3 more times, as your schedule and fitness level dictate. You can easily take one or two ideas out of this series, put them to work and immediately begin to see improvements in stubborn fat reduction. However, the real “secret,” if there is one, is putting all the pieces together into a comprehensive healthy lifestyle overall. The lifestyle below suggestions may seem basic and general, but when combined with what you’ve learned in this article series, they will have a profound impact on your outcome.
David has been a high school wrestling and baseball coach and is currently an independent trainer and strength coach. He has been sought after by some of the top athletes in professional sports including world champion boxer Greg Haugen and professional golfer Michael Putnam. David’s ebook, Firm And Flatten Your Abs is an online best seller which teaches you how to lose body fat, develop “six pack abs’ while improving strength, function and athletic power at the same time. You can contact David or learn more about his programs at www.FlattenYourAbs.net |
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