f you want to melt away body fat, you should first understand how it works. We lay out how fat storage and burning works, then give 4 principles to fight it, with a list of things you can do and track to make your fat melting effective!
When we eat, the glucose and other sugars harnessed from carbohydrates are the first fuel sources. The liver stores the glucose in the form of glycogen and releases it into the bloodstream as necessary to keep our body trucking along. Once that glucose runs out, fat takes over. Harnessing energy by burning fat is referred to as ketosis.
Hormones regulating our blood sugar levels activate an enzyme in the blood vessels of fat tissue called lipase.
Lipase ignites fat cells to release macromolecules called triglycerides, which are what make fat cells fat. Triglycerides are made of glycerol and three fatty acid chains. When they receive the signal from lipase to exit the fat cells, the triglycerides break up into their respective components and enter the bloodstream for use.
The liver snatches up the glycerol to break it down for energy, and some of the fatty acids move to the muscles that can farm them for energy as well.
This action of breaking down triglycerides into usable energy is called lipolysis. Once inside the mitochondria, or power source, or muscle or liver cells, the components of the glycerol and fatty acids are shuffled and reshuffled to harness their energy potential, producing heat, water, carbon dioxide and adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
ATP hauls potential energy in its molecular bonds for use when we exercise like cellular carb loading. The water exits our bodies as sweat and urine, and we exhale the carbon dioxide.
- Fats and carbs (glucose in the form of glycogen) enter your body via your diet.
- Some stored in the liver, others sent through the blood stream for quick energy (simple sugars, glycogen, or quick access energy). The rest, excess fats and sugars are stored inside fat cells and converted into triglycerides.
- Once the quick ready glycogen is used up, the hormone Lipase is released and the body enters Ketosis.
- In Ketosis, the body releases Ketones that are used as temporary energy and help stimulate the Lipase hormone to trigger Fat Cells to release the stored triglycerides (glycerol and three fatty acid chains).
- Triglycerides are released, break up, and enter the blood stream. The fat cells that release their triglycerides shrivel as they deplete their storage.
- The liver takes some of the glycerol to break down for energy. Other fatty acids go to various muscle groups to be broken down for energy as well. This process is called Lipolysis.
- Once muscle cells and liver cells intake the glycerol and fatty acids, the mitochondria convert them into energy (Lipolysis).
- The conversion of glycerol and fatty acids results in heat, water, carbon dioxide and or ATP.
- ATP is burned as energy output, the water exits our bodies as sweat and urine, and we exhale the carbon dioxide.
That is how Fat and Carbs, in your body, become water, heat, ATP, and carbon dioxide as they exit your body; leaving your fat cells depleted and eventually die off.
With all of that said; Ketosis is a good thing because it precedes and supports Lipolysis, the very thing we went to do.
But, considering STEP 1, if we reduce the amounts of EXCESS carbs, than the simple glucose are quickly burned up and nothing is left over to be stored. AND the amount of quick storage space in the liver and muscles is not filled to max capacity. From here we can determine an important principle:
1. MAINTAIN A CALORIE DEFICIT AND RESTRICT SUGAR INTAKE
This will lead our body to release the Lipase hormone sooner. All the glycogen will be quickly burned up and no additional triglycerides are stored. With no quick access energy, the body will enter Ketosis and release Ketones and Lipase. From there we can determine another important principle:
2. ENTER KETOSIS AND MAINTAIN IT.
From here your fat cells will be spitting out their stored triglycerides left and right. The fat cells will shrink and your liver and muscles will be burning of the triglycerides for energy. You will notice a drop in weight and body fat. BUT, as the triglycerides convert into their various forms, one of them is water. You will sweat and dehydrate. As you drink water and REhydrate, your fat cells will store water and rehydrate as well. You may see an increase and weight and a loss in definition. Keep in mind, at this point, your fat cells are DEPLETED of triglycerides and only swollen from water. As you continual workout, they will dehydrate, rehydrate, dehydrate, and eventually die off because they are haven been rendered useless due to lack of triglycerides storage. The cells will be broken down, processed in the body, and out processed by the body. From there we see another valuable principle:
3. KEEP FAT CELLS USELESS.
Don’t give them a reason to live. Keep them depleted of triglycerides. Starve them. By maintaining principles 1 and 2, they will be continually starved. There will not be any extra or access glycogen to store. The liver and muscles will take it all and burn it and leave nothing for the fat cells to store. Then, even if there is some to store, Ketones and the Lipase hormone will cause them to release it almost right away. Eventually, they will die off from their uselessness, basically.
4. WORK MORE MUSCLE GROUPS.
When a muscle group is worked, it costs and needs energy. So, the more muscle groups you work, the more energy is required. The more energy that is required the more hormones are released to get those triglycerides dumped in the system for use. Multi-Joint workouts are king for this. HIIT, High Intensity Interval Training has been show to be the most effective workout system for fat burning.
There are things you can do to assist your body in this process.
A. Ketone Supplements. This will help in triggering the fat cells to think they need to be releasing their triglycerides.
B. Minimize simple sugar intake. Instead switch to MCT, Multi Chain triglycerides. These are like simple sugars but they are less likely to be stored by the body and more likely to be used as energy. There are various forms, but Coconut Oil is most common.
C. Intake things that force your body to work harder to digest or create more heat. Protein actually takes more energy to digest than carbs or fats. You actually burn more calories digesting high protein foods than any other food. Also, including a Black Pepper or even Cayenne Pepper supplements boost the thermobolics and force the body to burn more calories in digestion as well.
D. Drink Apple Cider Vinegar, Coffee, and Green Tea. Vinegar intake has shown to boost fat burning and prevention of carbohydrate absorption. Coffee has been shown to act as a central nervous system stimulant, increases metabolism and boosts the breakdown of fatty acids. Green Tea has been shown to boost metabolism and help burn more fat.
E. Iron Supplements. a deficiency in iron may impact the health of your thyroid gland. This small gland in your neck secretes hormones that regulate your metabolism, and low levels of iron in the body may be associated with impaired thyroid function and a disruption in the production of thyroid hormones.
What To Track
Calorie Deficit: You want start counting calories and calories burned daily. This is how you will know if you are burning more calories than you are in taking. A fitbit, more just about any fitness smart watch make this easy. You want to maintain an negative calorie intake, but not over 500 calories consistently. You don’t want to starve your body either.
Carb Macros: You want to see how much of your total diet are carbs. Tracking your macros can also be done on any smart watch and smart phone. A Keto Diet tries to get you to stay at a 5% carb intake, but that’s tough. Honestly, a 15-25% carb macro is just as good, if you are maintaining a calorie deficit. (also check out How to get started on The King of Diets.)
Ketosis Meter: You may want to invest in a simple Ketosis meter to see if you are in Ketosis or not. They are typically a breathalyzer type of machine that tests for Ketones in your system.
Smart Scale: You will want a scale that can track not just your body weight but your body fat as well. They are not 100% accurate but that doesn’t matter. You want to track THE CHANGES in your body fat. If it starts going down, things are working.
Regular Workout Routine: You want to have a regular, 3 to 5 days a week, workout routine that targets multiple muscle groups and or HIIT workouts. Remember, heat, sweat, and exhaling carbon dioxide IS YOUR FAT CONVERTED AND LEAVING YOUR BODY!
Supplements. They are NOT your enemy. They are nothing more than what you already eat, just in an isolated form. Get some Ketone supplements, Keto high-protein meals ideas, MCTs, and start drinking more Apple Cider Vinegar, Coffee, and Green Tea. (also check out Block those excess carbs and sugars!)
Nuke that belly fat hiding your abs!
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