Wednesday 30 January 2013

How To Burn Belly Fat




Fat loss - the topic has more books, magazines and internet articles written about it, and has sparked more client questions than any other.

With so many independent and interrelated factors impacting you at a biochemical, structural and physiological level it’s easy to get lost and confused in the fog.

However, given my success at getting people in shape quickly and then watching them sustain it I guess I’ve done more than enough to voice an opinion.

In recent weeks after the success of my online clean eating and exercise plans I’ve been asked again and again about targeted fat loss - the ability to spot reduce - or lose fat from a specific area of your body. 

Given my clientele this is often from the stomach, back of the arms or thighs and bottom.

Like many things in fitness this is area an area of contention. And whilst I’m not completely sussed myself I feel it’ll be worth shedding a little light and allowing you to make your own mind up...

You’re probably aware there are many factors which contribute to a person getting fat and I’ve made it no secret that the key to fat loss is in controlling key hormones. 

Hormones are incredibly powerful and play a role in maintaining homeostasis (balance) in the body and delivering messages about changes in metabolism. 

Communicating via specific receptors on target cells, hormones by their patterns of secretion and concentrations can in theory effect how you store fat. Therefore, hormone imbalances can cause sensitive systems of the body to become dysfunctional and allow for disease and conditions to occur.

There are many physical, emotional and psychological signs and symptoms that can be indicative of endocrine (hormone) imbalances and functional medicine practitioners will use blood, saliva and urine assessments to identify dysfunctional systems. 

But, does body fat distribution hold the key to identifying endocrine dysfunction and the elusive flat (not fat) stomach? Canadian strength coach, Charles Poliquin thinks so and much of his work is validated by scientific journals.




Genetics Loads The Gun, Environment Pulls The Trigger

According to Bjorntorp (1997), hormones exert an incredible influence on body fat in humans, so before you dismiss body fat sites as inert triglyceride stores of energy, consider this might be your body signaling a homeostatic imbalance. A homeostatic imbalance which should be controlled by the endocrine system. 

Unfortunately for the lazy this doesn’t mean you have an excuse. Many of these hormone imbalances are due to prolonged environmental insults (think poor diet, poor sleep, excessive stress, inadequate water, not enough/ too much exercise, etc) acting on susceptible genetic profiles (this isn’t your fault...)


Cut To The Chase...

I have found getting your body fat tested to be invasive and for most people a cursory look can be more the adequate. I don’t believe this is academic ignorance on my part - whilst I could measure your body fat from twelve different sites and cross reference it against your triceps skinfold and give you a report on where, how and why you store fat and what to do about it, this is expensive and most people know where they store fat and/ or lack the power and motivation to do something about it. And invariably the protocols are the same - stop eating shit, buy these supplements, get to bed on time, manage your stress and do the appropriate intensity exercise...

But alas let’s cut to the chase...


A completely unnecessary picture of a hot girl. You're welcome.


Stripping Belly Fat...

Of most importance when stripping fat getting control of insulin is key. Produced in the pancreas, insulin is one of the hormones involved in carbohydrate metabolism. 

Indicated by an accumulation of body fat skinfold measurements around the back of the shoulder blades (subscapula) on the side of the abdomen just above the hip bone (suprailiac) in simple terms this is one of the reasons you might have a fat belly.

A few reasons why people might store fat excessively around the middle is due to gut dysbiosis (poor digestion), low dietary protein (not enough meat, fish or poultry), low essential fatty acids (fish oils) or most commonly excessive carbohydrate consumption.

Also connected with stress, the effects of the stress hormone cortisol go hand-in-hand with insulin insensitivity. 

To combat belly fat you will firstly need to identify the causes of stress impacting cortisol levels. The causes of stress can be plentiful and varied. Most commonly identified stress include mental/ emotional (your husband/ wife is a wanker), food stress (sensitivities or intolerances to something you are eating or drinking) and electro magnetic (too much time sat in front of a computer, t.v., on the phone, etc).

Other key points include to eat regularly to avoid peaks and troughs in blood sugar, decrease carbohydrates (stick to the fibrous low starch vegetables), increase protein and essential fatty acids.

To supplement (and I feel this gets a bit repetitive...) use fish oils. These are supplement I feel everyone should take. These improve insulin sensitivity, switch on the lipolytic genes, lipogenic genes and boost serotonin. HCL - to improve digestion. Zinc - zinc deficiency can lead to insulin resistance. Magnesium - increase the number and sensitivity of insulin receptors.

Note: Don’t supplement if you don’t adhere to a clean diet. These are supplements and are supplementary to a healthy diet and needless to say are pointless if you fill you mouth with crap.




The Cortisol Connection...

Having touched on it already I feel it’ll be worth an extra shout. The stress hormone, cortisol is produced in the adrenal glands. Different from adrenaline which is the bodies immediate response to stress, cortisol is released as a response to long term stress. 

Whilst stress is beneficial prolonged elevated cortisol levels may cause weakening of the immune system, damage to the hippocampus (resulting in impaired learning) and increased blood pressure. Furthermore, because one of the primary functions of cortisol is to trigger a glucocorticoid effect which elevates blood sugar any excess blood sugar may be used for lipogenesis (fat production). Therefore cortisol is a key player in fat storage.

The effects are higher levels of cortisol include a tendency to snack on sugary foods, insomnia and fat storage around the middle.

To combat stress as we eluded to earlier you must identify key stressors and reduce. However, nutritional protocols should include increasing antioxidants to combat oxidative stress, increased consumption of green vegetables and dark fruits because the green pigment chlorophyll has purifying properties. Decrease trans fat (from processed foods) to reduce stress on the liver. Increase hydration - especially in the first half of the day and avoid coffee because your overworked adrenals need a break.

To supplement you could consider rhodiola rosea, holy basil or ashwagandha.


How Far Do I Take It???

If you’ve got this far - CONGRATULATIONS - you must really want a flat stomach!! 

I could continue with protocols for growth hormones (important for the growth, repair and regeneration), estrogens (implicated in fat storage around the thighs and bottom) and testosterone (a precursor to key sex hormones androgens and estrogens). But without fear of undermining myself or my super-intelligent peers this all becomes rather intense and irrelevant. 

BUT, the key points come down to the same thing again, and again, and again. 

Step One: Detoxify Your Liver. Do this by eating good quality fresh whole unprocessed food and drinking adequate amounts of water. (I won’t mention environmental toxins...)

Step Two: Reduce Carbohydrates, Increase Proteins and Essential Fatty Acids. Your body only works one way.

Step Three: Improve your physiology. Get To Bed on Time, Manage Mindset & Stress and Improve Your Digestion.

Step Four: Lift Heavy Weights and Use High Intensity Cardio Appropriately.

Step Five: Supplement (if you’ve done the above). 


Is this helpful? Do you want more info on this? Let me know what you think on Facebook or Twitter @SteveKeywoodPT

My Surprising Opinion On Weight Watchers


A couple of nights ago a the channel 4 show Dispatches aired a rather damming show on Weight Watchers and how they make their millions.

Whilst on the face of it I agree with everything the show ‘uncovered’ my opinion might surprise many.

Anyone with a commodity of understanding of nutrition will be able to highlight the shortfalls of the Weight Watchers plan, but by airing such a one-sided negative show who are Dispatches really serving? Yes, many people unaware of the shortfalls are now much wiser, but after watching the show will they be able to make any smarter choices. I think not. 



Amongst the opinions levied at the WW was at the effect of counting pro-points. What WW have attempted to do with propoints is condense the nutritional value of all foods into one single number. I’m not a fan of counting calories, points, green day or red days or any other point scoring system for this matter, because I feel it leads to obsessive behaviors and is akin to knowing the cost of everything and the value of nothing. What I mean by this is whilst thinking about propoints you will overlook the benefits of nutritional density in higher calorie foods to stay within a guideline or worse still overlook how the foods make you feel after consumption. I’m pretty sure many of the low scoring propoint foods make the person feel tired, lethargic and unsatisfied after eating. But, and correct me if I’m wrong, I’m pretty certain WW do not discriminate against whole natural nourishing foods. 

You can eat vegetables, fruits, meats, chicken, fish on WW and stay within your guideline, right? Therefore it would be your choice what you eat...



Other criticisms were at the price of the products. This was pretty damming. Some of the products were twice the price and gram for gram had more propoints. But, to qualify this I will use a simple analogy. A couple of months ago my friend Maisey brought a house. He took a few weeks off work and spent 16hrs a day renovating. During this time he fitted a new kitchen and bathroom, knocked through walls and decorated. After a couple of months he had it revalued and it was priced at £60k more. During this time I sat on my arse and my kitchen is still the same old kitchen, my living room is in need of a face lift and the list of jobs EJ has for me has grown. My point being if you invest in yourself, educate yourself and take action you will be rewarded. Maisey has taken the time to learn how to renovate his house, worked out the numbers and done it. I have not. Therefore Maisey has better rate on his mortgage and a nicer house to live in. 

You can take the time to learn about better alternatives to the hideous overpriced WW’s food. They even have apps on your smart phones to help! It’s just about taking the time to learn...



The effectiveness of their diet plan... This is my major gripe. I know several people who have lost weight at weight watchers and kept it off. Heck, a few of them come to my fitness camp. Whilst I don’t really like the approach they have taken to lose weight these guys are happy, fit and healthy and therefore whilst I coach them around fitness I will not be coaching them on nutrition unless they ask. And then given their success I will mostly be telling them how they could modify the WW plan work better for them. I also know quite a few people who have not lost weight or have lost weight and gained it back quickly. These are the guys who need help. Many of these people are repeat offenders. Despite it being ineffective they continue to go back. Is this not the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result... 

The truth is if it doesn’t work don’t do it. However, if it does, do.



I’m not a strong advocate of the WW plan - I know many better ways - BUT it does work for some and a shameless sensational one-sided program highlighting the millions made adds no value to the debate. In fact, the only thing it is likely to do is lead to a person who is concerned about their weight to sit on their sofa and not go. This serves nobody.

The health and wellness industry is saturated with information - most of it is BS - many people I come in contact with are confused. If you do go to Weight Watchers and want to make the best of the plan...

1. Try eating more wholesome nourishing natural foods rather than packaged processed food - this is the ONLY way a diet plan can be both healthy and work longterm.

2. Take the time to read about nutrition and learn what you need to be healthy - the mindful educated consumer always has the best success.

3. In order to make it work be focused and clear on your goal - this will keep you on track and go along way to curbing cravings and making the best of any diet plan.