So you’ve heard many trainers or gym enthusiasts say that spot reduction is a myth and that you can’t target specific areas of the body to burn fat. Well, they’re half right in 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 work on the ground to get rid of it. .
Below is a list of hormones and where that specific hormonal imbalance can store body fat:
– Cortisol (High) – Umbilical. Excessive fat gain in the belly region.
– Estrogen (High) – Umbilical. Excessive fat gain in the belly region.
– Estrogen (High) – Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Glutes. Excessive fat gain in thighs and buttocks
– Insulin (High) – Suprailiac, subscapular. Excessive fat gain in the ‘love handles’ and upper back
– Testosterone (Low) – Chest, Triceps. Excessive fat stored in the chest and back of the arms
– Thyroid (Low) – Middle axillary. Stored fat 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 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:
*Reduces stress! Just try to spend time relaxing and not stressing about life. Control the things that worry you, be around people who make you feel good, tidy your house, bring a pet home, get regular massages, etc.
*Following the Elimination Diet. The foods eliminated by the elimination diet are difficult for the body to digest and work with, so they cause a release of cortisol. The Elimination Diet can be found through my website at the bottom of this page.
* Cortisol is released in large amounts during exercise. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t exercise, but it does mean that you should try to avoid cardio exercises, as they release a lot of cortisol. Try to do short, hard 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 lower cortisol levels. Everyone should be supplementing with omega 3. 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 increase it, and if it is too high it will help reduce 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 turn down the lights, 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 down.
* Stop drinking alcohol. Alcohol will do all sorts of bad things to your body, but what we’re talking about here, it will raise your cortisol levels.
Follow these points and you will not only reduce your cortisol levels, but also reap great benefits in 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. Most of the bottles are 1 but if you look closely you can find some around 3. Try to drink mineral water from glass bottles.
* The DIM supplement may help lower estrogen levels. DIM is a powerful anti-estrogen that specifically targets the 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 lower 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. Similar to 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 weightlifting exercises. Exercises like squats, deadlifts, lunges, bench press, incline row 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 over train, 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 lower and keep your insulin levels in check:
* 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 so that they are eaten with carbohydrates will slow the release of carbohydrates into the blood, which will help keep insulin levels stable.
* Eating less carbohydrates is the main thing that will help with insulin levels. Also make sure the carbohydrates you are eating are whole, nutritious, slower-release carbohydrates like brown rice,
potato, 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 temporarily elevate growth hormone, but protein especially elevates 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 number 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 make you hypothyroid.
* Some supplements you can take to help this imbalance are guggulsterones (a compound from the herb Guggul), bladderwrack, 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 often 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 are 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.