Natural Hormonal Trick Makes Losing Belly Fat Easy!
It has been scientifically proven that individuals who are chronically under stress are more likely to have excess stomach fat and can never lose belly fat. Is this because stressed out people tend to stress eat?
Well this may be the case for a percentage of these individuals. After all, stress eaters typically binge on sugar-laden junk foods during periods of stress, which of course would cause unwanted fat gain.
This would make clear the link between being persistently stressed and having extra body fat in a broad sense. The conversation would end here but we know that even stressed out individuals who are basically lean still have a tendency to carry an unbalanced amount of abdominal fat compared to other areas on their body.
So, if you are stressed out, why does the bulk of the fat you gain find its new home right on your stomach? Recent studies have found an answer to this question.
Researchers have found a strong correlation between high cortisol levels and increased stomach fat. For those of you who don’t know, cortisol is a stress hormone that is produced by the adrenals and is released in the body in response to stress.
So how does cortisol have this negative effect?
Well, due to its negative effect on insulin and blood sugar metabolism, it promotes massive sugar cravings.
But perhaps even more damaging than that, cortisol can significantly decrease the natural increase in your metabolic rate that normally occurs after eating a meal. This leads to burning fewer total calories per day thus making you predisposed to gain more body fat.
But it gets even worse.
Cortisol also burns up lean muscle tissue. Since lean muscle tissue is responsible for the speed of your metabolic rate, breaking muscle down makes losing belly fat nearly impossible.
This explains why a person with high levels of cortisol would hold more fat in general. But what is the specific connection with cortisol and BELLY fat?
Well, abdominal fat has just about five times more cortisol receptors than body fat from anywhere else in the body. Therefore, the higher your cortisol levels are, the more your body will need more receptors, thus prompting it to store more abdominal fat.
It is also speculated that once cortisol has bound itself to the receptors found on abdominal fat, it prevents that fat from releasing fatty acids to be burned as fuel, even during a fat burning workout.
In other words, the fat that lands on your stomach is “stubborn”, and doesn’t want to leave. It has a vested interest in keeping your stomach nice and plump!
Alright, I hope that you are now convinced that keeping your cortisol levels in check is a big part of any successful fat loss program. But how do we do that?
Well, most supplement companies sell cortisol blockers. The primary ingredient in these formulas is phosphatidylserine. The bad news (and don’t hold your breath waiting for these companies to admit it) is that these formulas do NOT work. They are a total waste of your money so stay away from them.
The good news is that there are some simple things you can do to keep your cortisol at a level that won’t cause any problems. Here are some very valuable strategies:
1) Reduce stress (or at least don’t sweat the small stuff) – I know that this is easier said than done. But any attempt to deal with life’s situations in a calm manner will make a difference.
2) Reduce alcohol use- Drinking booze will increase cortisol levels at a fast rate. Can anyone say, “beer belly”?
3) Limit caffeine use- I know, I know…First no booze, and now no coffee!?!? Look, I’m sorry to be the fun police, but you will need to ditch that latte if you are serious about losing belly fat.
4) Eat small meals throughout the day- Eating one or two big meals per day puts unnecessary stress on the body. This too leads to increases in cortisol.
5) Lighten up! – Most people don’t realize that laughter is one of the best remedies to lower your cortisol levels profoundly. So laugh a little!
6) Don’t overtrain- Yes, the very training you are doing to burn belly fat can actually be encouraging your body to store it. Too much of a good thing is NOT a good thing!
So there you have it. In addition to a a properly designed nutritional and training protocol, integrate these techniques and make losing belly fat easier than you ever thought was possible!
John Alvino is a world renowned fat loss specialist, author of How To Get Ripped Abs, and a member of the Training and Nutritional Advisory Board for Men’s Fitness magazine.For over 16 years John has been hailed as one of the most successful and innovative professional fitness experts in the world. To learn more and to sign up for his free report on how to lose belly fat, please visit http://www.howtogetrippedabs.com
Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/weight-loss-articles/natural-hormonal-trick-makes-losing-belly-fat-easy-1125297.html
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