Spot Reduction a Myth or So You Thought?
Spot reduction is a myth right? You can’t possibly shift that troublesome spot of cellulite off your thigh or kick the bingo-wings into touch – can you? Well, yes you can and the answer lies, according to Olympic Strength Coach and founder of the ‘Biosignature‘ System, Charles Poliquin in your hormones.
Your body fat doesn’t just lay down fat in a random fashion to seemingly spite you. There is a pattern that has been unearthed by functional medicine experts and endocrinologists that determines where you possess your body fat is a reflection of your hormonal activity.
The science behind this has been around for years. Take for instance our belly. When we are stressed we release a hormone called cortisol. This is our fight or flight response hormone or a low-grade adrenaline that used to help us get the hell away from lions and other man-eating predators.
The only thing now is that we don’t have any of those around, unless you include the gaggle of women spilling out of our night clubs.
Our bodies are in essence still primal. Our genetic coding has changed 0.01% in 40,000 years. Not much in the grand scheme of things. But yet we still continue to produce cortisol at a rate which we find it hard to live with.
Do we still run away from lions? No.
What has happened, and this has been unearthed by scientists, is that the higher your cortisol levels, the higher your belly fat readings making you more prone to the nasties such as Syndrome X and dislipidemia.
Men can also take note that incidences of male breast cancer and Gynecomastia (‘moobs’) is on the rise.
High levels chest and arm fat can be correlated to your levels of aromatisation or how male or female you are.
Men are not designed to have breasts. Common symptoms include crying at Little House on the Prairie and shopping for bras.
This is not normal and what is increasingly more worrying is that functional medicine experts are in agreement that for males this elevates your risk of prostate cancer
What about your love handles? Your love handles and fat that you carry on your back are reflective of your insulin management.
Genetically a carbohydrate or sugar tolerant individual will carry little fat on their back. However, your love handles may carry a sufficient amount of fat. This is a classic case.
Skipping meals and or consuming too much carbohydrate will elevate your circulating insulin levels making you insulin resistant rather than insulin sensitive. So, as you consume sugar instead of being shuttled to the muscles for energy, you push it into your fat cells.
Bad news. This coupled with a high level of back fat and abdominal fat will significantly increase your risk of dislipidemia and other nasty scourges on society such as cancer.
Fat around the legs is also indicative of your estrogens (the female hormones) and growth hormone activity. High levels on the calf and knee point to recurring sleep issues. Why are men carrying fat on their legs? The answer lies in too much circulating estrogens.
Did you know, for instance, that red wine and dark chocolate are excellent for clearing excess estrogens? 1-2 glasses a day of red wine and 3oz of 70% Coco Organic Chocolate, once or twice a week are excellent for this. The reason being is the high levels of Resveratrol – a nutrient that inhibits the action of estrogens at the cell receptor sites and inhibits aromatising enzymes.
Bad news is – more is not better.
The bottom line is this – it is not your fault. A combination of lifestyle, exercise and supplementation protocols can be used to combat each site resulting in a leaner and more importantly healthier individual.
So each bit of fat on your body tells us a story. It makes sense. Why do individuals carry fat all on their legs and not up the top? What about the individual who just cant shift the fat off the hips.
Spot reduction a myth? Not anymore. Here is a glass of red to a healthier and leaner new you.
John Lark M.A. is a Fat Loss Specialist and Personal Trainer in Dublin Learn more about his methods at www.spherefitnessstudio.com and download your ‘5 Top Tips for Fat Loss’.
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