antidepressants- and it’s great for your heart. Recent research shows that it even helps you grow new brain cells. And people who exercise on a regular basis have lower risk for cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
Does that seem contrary to everything you have heard? Of course it does, but do not shoot the messenger.
Here is the truth: the exercise or weight-loss equation is way more complicated than we have been led to believe.
Let’s start with calories. Most people overestimate calories burned during exercise, by a long shot, just as they typically underestimate daily calorie consumption. According to the Mayo Clinic, even high-impact aerobics only uses up about 511 calories an hour; walking at a pace of 3.5 mph barely uses 300. You can wipe that out with one medium meal at McDonalds–heck, you can wipe it out with a one big low-fat muffin from Starbucks!
Then there is the appetite factor. Exercise makes people hungry and people often compensate for exercise by eating more. I have seen people at the gym scarf down “energy” drinks that contain the calorie equivalent of two days worth of workouts. Plus, there is good old garden-variety self-deception.
Interestingly, the research is very clear that it is next to impossible to keep weight off, unless you exercise regularly. But using exercise alone as a weight loss strategy is- forgive the bad pun- an exercise in futility.
That is why the best trainers have a saying: ” You can’t out-train a bad diet”. So does that mean you should give up exercising? Absolutely not. But it does mean you should give up the pipe dream of losing belly fat just because you started walking.
Belly fat happens for two reasons, both related to hormones. The first is that you eat too many carbohydrates which cause your insulin levels to go sky high. Insulin, also known as “the fat storing hormone”, is secreted by the pancreas whenever your blood sugar rises. And what makes it rise the most—and stay up there the longest—is sugar and processed carbohydrates. Cut the carbs, lower your insulin, and you have removed one of the main causes of belly fat accumulation.
The second reason is stress. When you are under stress, your body pumps out another hormone called cortisol, which sends a message to the body to accumulate fat around the middle. Excess coristol is a signal for the storage of belly fat. Since belly fat is the most metabolically active fat, it is also the most dangerous. “Apple” shapes are at far more risk for heart disease and metabolic problems like diabetes.
What To Do?
First of all, cut out sugar. We are talking about foods that convert to sugar in a heartbeat, and have the exact same effect on insulin as the white stuff does: cereals, breads, pasta, rice, cookies, crackers and soda. Especially soda. Lowering carbs and boosting protein and fat is the surest and quickest way to get insulin levels under control, and that is the first- and probably most important step- to losing belly fat.Remember, insulin does not just store fat. It also metabolically “locks” the doors to the fat cells, making losing fat fiendishly difficult. If you want to lose weight, you have got to control your insulin levels. It is that simple. And the fastest and most effective way to do that is to cut way back on carbs, as that is the major macro nutrient that drives insulin up in the first place.
The second thing you can do is figure out how to manage your stress. Managing stress needs to be on your radar if you want to have a body you can be proud of. And if that is not enough of a motivation, consider that stress is one of the four main” horsemen on aging”. And in some cases, it can outright kill you.
Now if you can do those two things—lower your carbs and your insulin, and lower or at least manage your stress. You will finally be on your way to losing that belly fat.
Add Exercise To The Mix:
You can do exercises without the dietary change, and you will still be jogging on that treadmill a year from now, wondering why nothing is happening.Perhaps the most important of all:
- Keep an open mind to new ideas
- Always do your homework
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