Part 3: The Solution
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 affects fat cells. An influx of extra estrogen
into the body from food sources can cause fat cells to grow
and become stubborn.
A similar situation occurs during pregnancy and in mothers
who are breast-feeding, as this causes the fat cells in the
body to swell so that they are able to absorb and store
more fuel. The estrogen is telling them that they need to
stock up on extra fat, so the fat cells prepare to do so.
This is why a lot of women gain weight when starting birth
control pills or when entering menopause when levels of
progesterone fall and estrogen becomes the dominant hormone.
Most of the time, women have a more difficult time losing
body fat than men. However, men are quickly catching up in
this day and age due to the estrogenic foods being consumed
in our modern Western society, rife with environmental
pollution and refined foods. Ironically, one reason women
have a harder time with fat loss than men is because, at
any given time, women are more likely to be on a severely
restricted diet to attain the coveted thinness that's been
established as a standard of beauty and attractiveness in
our culture.
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
function 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 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 sounds hopeless, but it's not, so don't panic! 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 the weight you lose will be three
times more likely to stay off.
Part 4 & 5 coming shortly
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David Grisaffi is a Sports Conditining Coach and holds
multiple certifications including three from the
prestigious CHEK Institute. Plus he is also the author of
the popluar selling e book, "Firm and Flatten Your Abs,"
which teaches you how to develop a ripped abdominal region.
Lean how to shead bodyfat and eliminate low back pain and
recieve his free newsletter by visiting:
http://www.flattenyourabs.net
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