10 ways to halt holiday fat storing effortlessly

Jade Teta ND, CSCS

With the holidays upon us, we have been getting many questions about what can be done to control the fat storing effects of this time of year. Obviously, the best way is to stay on a fat burning diet and continue to exercise, but there are other more effortless ways to at least lessen the impact of holiday meals.  Here they are:

1) Drink 2 large glasses of water before every meal- Research has shown this technique can help in 2 ways, increase caloric burn and help us stay full.  In a study in 2007 out of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Volume 92 number 8, 500ml of water induced a 24% increase in thermogenesis compared to an equal amount of saline. Another study published in November 2008 in the Journal Obesity (Vol. 16 # 11) showed dieting women lose greater amounts of weight as they increase the amount of water they drink. Finally, in the November 1993 issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Vol. 47 # 11) 2 glasses of water taken with meals increased and sped up feelings of being full from a meal.

2) Choose Sourdough or Rye as your choice of bread- Rye bread decreases the amount of insulin released compared to regular wheat bread.  Research in the September 2009 Nutrition Journal reported not only does Rye bread decrease insulin response, but it increases satiety (feelings of fullness) compared to other bread. The researchers do not yet know what is causing this effect, but believe it is related to some yet to be identified bioactive compound. In addition, a June 2008 article in Acta Diabetologica (vol. 45 # 2) showed eating sourdough bread compared to other breads improves blood sugar and insulin responses in people with insulin resistance.

3) Eat vinegar before each meal- There is a way to lower the detrimental effects of a starchy meal, vinegar. Vinegar is able to decrease blood sugar responses and insulin levels that normally accompany a high starch meal. It can also make you feel full faster and longer.  The more vinegar, the better the response.  There are two ways to do this, like the Italians (take a shot of a high end balsamic vinaigrette before each meal) or put extra vinegar on your salad. (European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2005 Sep;59(9):983-988.)

4) Eat veggies first, protein second, and starch last- By eating your vegetables and protein before you eat the starch you will feel satisfaction from your food more quickly, you will eat less, and the negative hormonal responses of your meal will be decreased.

5) Spice up your food- Breakout the pepper, cayenne, peppers and hot sauce.  Spicy foods can slow down the rate at which sugar enters your blood stream.  It can also increase the amount of calories you burn in response to a meal. (American Journal of Clinical Digestion 2006 July;84(1):63-69.)

6) Choose desserts with berries cinnamon or chocolate- While no dessert is optimal, if you are going to do it try to choose the ones that have some healthy aspects to them.  Berries, cinnamon and chocolate have compounds in them that can aid metabolic processes.  While they cant completely overcome the huge amount of fat and sugar they are accompanied by in a dessert, they may lessen the effects. The benefit of cocoa is not for metabolism stimulating effects, but rather for its ability to help improve mood.  Small amounts of cocoa can help improve mood, reduce cravings, and reduce subsequent food intake.  In my clinical practice I frequently recommend people drink pure cocoa powder in water with a non-calorie sweetener to improve mood and reduce cravings.  In animal models cocoa raises serotonin one of the major brain chemicals reduced in cravings and uncontrollable eating. (Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry 2009 Dec;20(12):948-55). Cinnamon helps optimize blood sugar and insulin metabolism (J Med Food. 2009 Jun;12(3):467-72.). Berries believe it or not have some fat burning potential and delay weight gain from a high fat diet.  Read more at one of my past blogs here @ berries to burn fat?

7) Drink green tea with high fat meals- Green tea and tea in general is what is known as a week lipase inhibitor.  Basically it decreases the absorption of fat (J Nutr Biochem. 2007 Mar;18(3):179-83.).  It also has been shown to increase fat loss by stimulating fat burning genes (Ann Nutr Metab. 2009;54(2):151-7.). Drink green tea and drink it often.

Drink red wine instead of beer or booze- No alcohol is good for fat burning, but if you are going to drink alcohol it might as well come with some resveratrol.  Resveratrol is a plant chemical found in wine that has positive impact on insulin metabolism (J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2009 Jan;113(1-2):17-24.).

9) Exercise 1 hour before all heavy meals and/or exercise after- Ok, so this one is not effortless, but exercising prior to a big meal is a good idea as some of the calories can go to building muscle rather than storing fat. Exercising after a meal is also not a bad idea.  It is both the worst and best time to eat.  It is the worst time because you are unlikely to get the same fat burning punch from your workouts, but it is also one of the best times as it can undo some of the damage of a high fat/high starch meal.

10) Fast until the big meal- Another way to make the big meals of the holidays less damaging, is to do modified fasting until the meal. By drinking lots of water, drinking tea, making unsweetened cocoa, eating foods heavy in water and fiber (celery, cucumbers, fiber supplements, green/red peppers, etc) you can keep yourself from getting hungry and craving until you eat.

 

Fasting AND Fat Loss

Jade Teta ND, CSCS

Many of our clients ask us about fasting and how that may impact weight loss vs fat loss.  I have blogged previously on how years ago I would “fast” (go all day without any food) once or twice a week as an aid to burning fat. This technique has recently gained support among many seeking body change and restored health. This is being promoted as a technique called “alternate day fasting”. The question is can this approach work to burn fat and optimize muscle for long term body change?

It is important to remember that fat  loss and weight loss are not the same thing.  Weight loss is usually about indiscriminately decreasing calories while fat loss is about manipulating hormones so that you eat less naturally. In general, long-term fasting is not a useful technique to use if you want to burn fat. This is not because it does not work, it is because it is not sustainable for most people. However, under the right circumstances you may be able to use fasting to your advantage. The problem is that many people will simply use this technique in the same way they use other crash diets.  They will ignore exercise and food quality and decide to fast to reduce calories.  This approach is playing the weight loss game and will likely end up causing you to lose muscle, creating the all too frequent YO-YO effect. In order to use this technique to lose fat and spare muscle, it would be wise to pay attention to food quality, exercise, and supplementation. If you are the type that just wants the skinny on what to do rather than all the details, skip down to the bottom.  Otherwise read on to hear metabolic effects take on fasting.

Brief history of fasting

One important thing to understand is that the idea that humans should eat three meals a day, or 6 small meals per day (as many in the fitness industry, including ME, advocate), is a completely made up construct.  In other words, it is not actually how we humans evolved.  Studies of modern day hunter gatherers suggest humans in natural conditions only ate 1 time per day after gathering or hunting for food all day (1-4). There was no breakfast, no lunch and rare snacking. I point this out because it is an often neglected insight in understanding the natural eating habits our metabolisms evolved with.  Another important point is that food was not always available and there were likely days where much less food was consumed. So the idea that food was eaten everyday, is also wrong. Our physiology evolved under feast and famine circumstances and even when food was available we had to work to get it.

Even with these considerations, we must not forget we live in an entirely different time.  Food in modern times is easily accessible all day everyday. It is likely true that if early humans were confronted with an environment where food was abundant and easily available without physical effort they would have had eating patterns more in line with what were used to today. The reason I believe, and often recommend, eating 6 small meals a day is because not many people in today’s culture can voluntarily abstain from food. Especially when it is cheap, abundant, tasty and just a walk to the pantry or a trip up the street away.  We are programmed through our ancient physiology to eat whenever food is available, and since food is always available, we eat almost constantly.  Eating 6 small meals per day of high fiber and protein foods can help us reduce hunger and cravings creating the key elements for fat loss 1) reduced calories and 2) Proper hormone balance. However, there is a way to imitate the fat-loss secrets of our ancestors while avoiding the binging scenarios that often ensue after haphazard fasting. It is called alternate day fasting, intermittent fasting, or night time fasting.

Understanding fasting and how to do it right

The vast majority of people who decide to abstain from food for the day will likely make it to early afternoon or maybe evening before they scarf down a whole pizza or inhale a fast food burger and fries while guzzling down a liter of soda. Once we get hungry and we know food is around all bets are off. The idea of fasting in this way will fail for most of those who try it.  There is a better way, but before I talk about that it is important to understand the physiology of fasting.  Afterall, body change is about fat loss, not weight loss.  Understanding exactly how the body partitions its fuel during fasting is key to doing it right.

During the first six to twenty-four hours of avoiding food, your body will use stored sugar called glycogen (gleye-co-gin). This fuel does not last forever, and once it is gone the body will spend the next two  to ten days using amino acids from your muscle tissue to make more sugar for the body. This is not a lucky thing since a loss of muscle means a less efficient metabolism overtime. This may be surprising to some who think fat is the primary fuel during times of fasting.  While some fat is being burned, it does not become the primary fuel until after a fast has lasted greater than ten days.  Only then will you begin to really ramp up fat loss.  This is an ancient survival mechanism of our ancestors that served them well.  However, for us it is a liability since long before 10 days have gone by, you will have likely already broken the fast by inhaling large amounts of sweets and/or fatty foods (this is what the body craves after it is deprived).

So, rather than fasts that lasts days or weeks, it is far better to engage in short fasts. Remember within one day of a fast you can begin stripping muscle off of your body which is something you will regret overtime as your body begins to sag. A soft skinny body “skinny fat” is a sure sign of chronic low calorie diets and/or fasting without exercise. I recommend fasting for no longer than 24 hours and doing this no more than three times per week. This technique has been shown to produce the same health effects of low calorie dieting while also giving you the energy and fuel to exercise and maintain muscle mass. However, even one day of fasting is something most people will fail at. That is where 3 techniques come into play:

1) Modified alternate day fasting- In this technique you dont completely abstain from food on your fasting day, but instead only eat 1 meal or maybe a meal and a snack.  In other words, the amount of food is still very minimal. This technique works better for most people who dont have an iron will to keep themselves from eating all day, but still want to reap some of the benefits.

2) Using supplements to control hunger and cravings- Another technique is to fast for the whole day but use non-calorie functional foods and supplements to control your hunger, cravings and energy.  A fiber supplement taken 3 times a day along with branched chain amino acids (BCAA) and unsweetened cocoa powder in water work great in this way. These items provide zero calories but balance hunger hormones and brain chemistry and work very well to shut off the hunger and craving mechanism that can sabotage any body change program.

3) Night time fasting- Perhaps my favorite variation of alternate day fasting is to give equal time every 24 hour period with and without food. I feel this is an even better option since during the day you eat normally and at night you abstain from eating.  The key is to break the day into two 12 hour periods.  12 hours for eating (during the day) and 12 hours for fasting (at night). In this regime, the last meal for most people will come between 6pm and 8pm, while the first meal will come between 6am and 8am. Research has shown this approach works and can provide the same benefit as alternate day fasting. IN my clinic I often adjust the timing of this “overnight” fast to the individual. Usually I prescribe 10 to 14 hours of a “night time” fast.

Why fast in the first place?

You may ask why fast in the first place. The benefits of short term fasting is its ability to reduce your glycogen stores forcing the body to tap into it fat stores more readily when you engage in exercise. The other point about fasting is it is a powerful detoxification mechanism. During times without food, the body can mobilize its resources away from the digestion of food towards repair and regeneration. Finally, short term fasting that lasts less than a day will actually raise HGH levels and re-sensitize the body to its metabolic hormones. When eating resumes the metabolism is far more efficient then it was.

For the fitness enthusiasts who is looking to maximize fat loss and is wants to be optimally healthy, this is a technique to consider.  A final warning however is that if done incorrectly (fasting for too long, fasting without weight training, fasting along with excessive aerobic exercise, fasting without adequate protein intake on eating days) the metabolism will suffer. This is not a technique that should entered into lightly.

1. Osgood, C. Ingalik Social Culture. Yale University Press, New Haven, 1958, p 166.
2. Clastres, P. The Guayaki. In: Hunters and Gatherers Today, Bicchieri, M.G. (ed), Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., New York, 1972, p.151.
3. Lee, RB. The !Kung Bushmen of Botswana. In: Hunters and Gatherers Today, Bicchieri, M.G. (ed), Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., New York, 1972, p.151.
4. Lewis ND. The Pacific Islands. In: The Cambridge World History of Food, Volume Two, Kiple, KF. 9ed), Cambridge University Press, New York, 2000, p. 1358.

 

Pesticides vs. Calories. Another hit to the calorie model.

Jade Teta ND, CSCS

If you are a personal trainer, nutritionist, physician, or fitness enthusiast and you still think being overweight is all about calories in vs. calories out, here is some new research that may finally change your mind.  A new study published in the April 13th, 2009 issue of the journal PLoS ONE  has shown environmental toxins are a significant factor in obesity (4). This is an issue I deal with in my clinic everyday.  Since I work as both a personal trainer and physician I have seen first hand how metabolic fat-burning can be drastically impacted by food quality (i.e., bad fats, white carbohydrates., etc) food toxicity (i.e., gluten sensitivity/allergy) and chemical toxicity (mercury, pesticides, plasticizers, etc). It is a huge oversight among many in the weight loss industry and something that is becoming a much bigger issue than many professionals understand.

Pollutants do make us fat

Persistent organic pollutants (POPS) is the term researchers use to describe chemical toxins found in ground water and soil that have been shown to concentrate in plants and animals, move up the food chain, and can be consumed by humans. Past research by Lee Et. Al. in 2006 (1) has already shown a positive association between elevated blood levels of POPS and severe metabolic dysfunction. One particularly prevalent toxin is the herbicide atrazine.  Atrazine is sprayed on crops, especially corn, and is found in high concentrations across the US with the highest concentrations in the Midwest and Southeast. This is also the area of our country with the highest prevalence of obesity. Interestingly, several review studies have been published that show that the introduction and use of atrocine starting in the early 1960’s closely matches the rise of obesity in many areas of our country (2,3). I posted the diagrams in the article showing this trend (the concentrations of atrocine are shown on the top, while the obesity concentrations are shown on the bottom).

It is important not to draw exaggerated conclusions from this data.  There are many other factors that have even closer correlation to obesity in our country.  However, it is interesting to me that many people blame calories and especially high fat diets as the major reason there is a problem.  Research studies do not bare this out.  As a matter of fact calorie consumption has not changed much and fat intake has actually decreased during the time obesity has risen in our country. Evidence shows fat intake has actually dropped in the US  between 1971 and 2000 while at the same time obesity rates skyrocketed from 14.5% to 30.9% over the same time.  However, dietary carbohydrate intake increased significantly along with reductions in activity (5,6). Based on this information toxicity, carbohydrate intake, and decreased physical activity may be more to blame for the obesity epidemic than fat and calories.

How atrazine and other pollutants interrupt metabolism

In this recent study is was shown that atrozine acts as a “hormone disruptor”. Trace amounts of this chemical resulted in negative and persistent alterations in insulin and leptin levels, two hormones that impact fat storage and appetite respectively.  Rats fed trace amounts of this chemical developed metabolic derangement and fat loss resistance while rats not exposed showed no effect. For those who like to understand some of the in-depth science, atrozine was shown to interrupt the key energy producing materials in cells (mitochondria).  This could lead not only to difficulty burning fat, but also fatigue. This same chemical along with others has been implicated in cancer as well.

Obesity and weight loss are not simply a matter of calories, and it is the dogmatic adherence to this belief by many top professional in all areas of our health care system that is impeding the ability to make meaningful headway against the obesity epidemic. This study should give pause to anyone in the weight loss industry as well as those who are weight loss resistant. The dogmatic adherence to the calorie model may work some of the time, but it is inadequate for a rising majority of obese client

 

1. Lim S, et. al. Chronic exposure to the herbicide, atrazine, causes mitochondrial dysfunction and insulin resistance. PLoS One. 2009;4(4):e5186
2. Lee, et. al. A strong dose-response relation between serum concentrations of persistent organic pollutants and diabetes: results from the National Health and Examination Survey 1999–2002. Diabetes Care 2006;29: 1638–44
3. Flegal, et. al. Prevalence and Trends in Obesity Among US Adults, 1999–2000. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association 2002;288: 1723–7.
4. Kuczmarski, et. al. Increasing prevalence of overweight among US adults. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 1960 to 1991. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association 1994;272: 205–11.
5. Wang, et. al. Will all Americans become overweight or obese? estimating the progression and cost of
   the US obesity epidemic. Obesity. 2008;16:2323-2330.
6. Wright, et. al.  Trends in intake of energy and macronutrients- United States, 1971-2000.
   Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report 2004;53:80-82.

 

Why One-Size-Fits-All Diets Do Not Work

By Jill Coleman

I am embarrassed to say that when I first started personal training several years ago, I would frequently make my clients puke.  It wasn’t on purpose and it wasn’t on principle, it was simply because I had no intuition when it came to training.  I couldn’t pick up subtle cues that clients needed more rest or were too de-conditioned for the exercises I was giving them and I certainly didn’t understand “Rest-based Training”, a concept that is used by us at Metabolic Effect.  Instead, I just came at them with “I know you have a few more in you!!” or “Don’t give up!!” or “Don’t stop, you got this!!”  In retrospect, I feel that this sort of obliviousness was unacceptable, and it is no wonder I lost clients early on.  I have learned a lot since the beginning, to say the least!  Every client is as different on the inside as they are on the outside.  So, it goes without saying that training all clients the exact same way is nonsensical, and of course everyone needs a little bit different protocol.  You would never give an older adult the same workout as an elite athlete, right?

So why are trainers, coaches and “diet experts” still giving clients a one-size-fits-all diet plan?  As a figure competition coach, this is a huge pet peeve of mine.  In the bodybuilding world, there seems to be set “rules” that must be followed or else you will not be ready for competition.  Here is an example: “Fruit is off-limits if you are training for a show,” and another: “Sweet potatoes, oatmeal and brown rice are the only acceptable carbs.” And yet another: “You must eat whey protein immediately after your workout.”

Unfortunately, in today’s disease-ridden day, more and more food allergies are popping up, of varying severities.  More people are insulin-resistant, have thyroid disorders and are simply weight-loss resistant.  I think in the bodybuilding world, we tend to think that if someone is not losing weight, they must be “cheating” on their diet, or not disclosing all that they are eating, or maybe their portions are too big…or maybe they are just lazy…or maybe they are just not exercising enough.  All valid suspicions, and while many times one of these is the culprit, for a minority of people, the bodybuilding way of eating simply does not work, period.  Remember, all people are as different on the inside as they are on the outside, right?  For these people, their hormonal environment has been disrupted beyond repair and their fat loss machinery was turned off years ago.  They could be eating a 1200 calorie/day diet of oatmeal, chicken and broccoli, going to the gym every day, and their weight will not budge.  There is so much more to the equation than calories in versus calories out; these people’s metabolisms need to be repaired and it’s time for the diet expert to go back to the drawing board and individualize a plan based on unique metabolic circumstances.

Here’s an example of what I am talking about.  I had a client who seemed to be eating perfectly: a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, vegetables, whey protein powder and some whole grains like the newly-popularized quinoa and old-fashioned oatmeal.  This person was training for a figure competition and though she was losing weight, it was painfully slow for the kind of effort she was exerting, and all the while she had this “puffy look”, maintained by subcutaneous water retention.  Though she was following all the “rules,” the results were not nearly as drastic as they needed to be for competition.  What the heck?  I racked my brain about what to do.  After a little research and help from Jade, we drastically changed her diet away from this typical BB protocol and put her on a hypoallergenic Paleolithic diet and decreased her protein while increasing green leafy veggies.  The results could not have been more drastic.  In the first week on the new plan, the client lost 7 lbs (mostly of water) and striations on the shoulders and abs became visible.  A huge difference.  It turns out that she had mild allergies to grains and dairy and was getting too much of an insulin response from the high protein.  Yes, that’s right.  Too much protein was creating an insulin response in this person!  I know it sounds strange, but this phenomenon often happens with whey protein powder, for example.  Though it is usually very low-carb, whey is derived from dairy (milk) and though dairy is considered a low glycemic index food, it creates an elevated insulin response.  And while for many people, insulin, along with whey protein is the perfect recipe for muscle building, for some, they will instead respond by stubbornly hanging onto fat, as well as subcutaneous water.   Increasing green leafy vegetables helped shed water from her legs like crazy due to their natural diuretic effect.  These small differences in metabolisms and hormonal make-up have got to be taken into account when prescribing diets for fat-loss.

In a perfect world, everyone could be eating quinoa and oatmeal and losing weight.  Unfortunately, there can be a lot more to the equation and it is important for competitors, competition coaches and diet experts to realize that “the way” may, in fact, be several different ways.  The take home message is this: understand your body, get to know your food sensitivities, track your cravings, mood and energy levels, and get with a diet coach who can individualize a program based on these variables.  Diet individualization is one of the strengths of “The New ME Diet” book by Jade and Keoni Teta, being released in March 2010 by Harper Collins.  Check it out in March and start losing fat based in your specific metabolic tendencies

Would love to hear from you!  jill@metaboliceffect.com

 

EPOC EXPOSED……why it cant completely explain the Metabolic After-burn.

Jade Teta ND, CSCS

This post is a little more technical than usual and is geared mainly towards the science junkies and personal trainers who want to understand mechanisms to apply to their own training and that of their clients.  Lately we have been getting questions about the post-exercise elevation in calorie usage called EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption). People are fascinated by this subject and want to know how it works. Others are skeptical of EPOC and feel its impact is marginal. This post reveals the inside scoop on EPOC, why it is important and why it falls short in detailing the full power of higher intensity exercise for fat loss.

First a brief review of EPOC. EPOC used to be called oxygen debt, which is a much better term to describe what it is. When you exercise at higher intensities, usually defined as greater than 55% Vo2 max for untrained individuals and 75% Vo2 max for trained persons (72% MHR and 85% MHR respectively. Based on equation= %MHR=.64X%Vo2+37), you will quickly begin to dip into your anaerobic energy systems. When this happens there is no longer a direct relationship between oxygen consumed and energy used.  In other words, using respiratory exchange ratios (CO2 vs O2) to determine fat vs. carbohydrate use becomes difficult.  To make up for this discrepancy, researchers use EPOC.  Once the body begins recovery after intense exertion, it will compensate by increasing oxygen consumption to make up for the “deficit” created during exercise. We all know what this feels like.  If you walk up a flight of steps, you experience and acute example of EPOC.  In this scenerio you will breathe harder after reaching the top of the stairs than you did while you are walking up.  This is a micro-example of the EPOC effect. By waiting until recovered from intense exercise to again to capture CO2 and O2 (carbon dioxide and oxygen) researchers can extrapolate the energy expenditure during the period of time during exercise that was lost. However, this is being shown to be only partially true.

This is where confusion about EPOC comes in.  The metabolic effect of exercise, also called the after-burn, is more than just EPOC.  EPOC is an important part, but it is not the whole story. We will get to that in a minute, but first lets define how big of an impact EPOC can have.  Some experts say that EPOC is normally 15% of total calories burned in a workout.  So if you burned 100 calories in your workout, the EPOC effect would be 15 calories for a grand total of 115 calories.  This leads many people to say that EPOC is insignificant and provides no real advantage.  However, it is impossible to make such a statement about EPOC because it is impacted by so many variables.  EPOC depends on the type of exercise done (cardio, intervals, weights), the weight and body composition of the person doing the exercise (the heavier the person the greater the EPOC), the gender (men have a greater EPOC then women), glycogen reserves (more glycogen reserves = less EPOC), the order of exercise (cardio before weights = increased EPOC), workout timing (2 short bouts of exercise in the same day have greater EPOC than 1 long one) exercise intensity (higher intensity = greater EPOC), exercise duration (longer workouts = greater EPOC), and training status (trained individuals have less EPOC compared to untrained). There are other factors as well, but you get the point. There are many ways to raise EPOC. If you look at low intensity aerobic exercise you will see EPOC magnitudes that are low and dont last long.  Ironically, this is where most of the insignificant claims about EPOC come from. However, if you look at interval training and resistance training exercise you will see EPOC values that are larger and last much longer.

How Long does it last and how significant is it?

There are several studies that challenge the notion that EPOC is insignificant.  One of the most important was published in  2002 in the European Journal of Applied Physiology. In this study Schuenke et. al. showed a circuit resistance training program utilizing heavy weights, short rest periods and lasting only thirty-one minutes was able to generate an EPOC that persisted for 48 hours (1). The results showed that metabolism 24 hours and 48 hours after the exercise session was increased by 21% and 19% respectively. The researchers point out that for a typical 180-pound individual “This equates to 773 calories expended post exercise”. This is far from insignificant and greatly exceeds the 15% number many researchers quote for EPOC.  Similar findings have been shown in women using a similar resistance training protocol. In women the elevation in metabolic rate lasted 16 hours (2). Women likely have a lower response due to lower muscle mass and decreased levels of testosterone.Similar findings have been seen with interval training as well with significant EPOC values lasting up to 24 hours (3-4).

Metabolic Effect’s after-burn is more than just EPOC

While the EPOC effect can be significant as demonstrated above, it does not explain the complete impact of a metabolic workout because standard methods for calculating energy use are ineffective. This is an important point and requires some explanation. When exercise researchers calculate energy use from a workout, they cannot measure it directly so they use respiration to indirectly measure the amount of energy burned as well as the type of fuel (sugar or fat).  The ratio of carbon dioxide to oxygen, called the respiratory exchange ratio or RER in research studies, is used by researchers to make these calculations.  This works very nicely at low intensity exercise done at steady state. However, once the exercise intensity goes above the anaerobic threshold, the Co2 and O2 measurements can no longer predict calorie use or substrate metabolism.

Dr. Christopher Scott of the University of Southern Maine is an expert in the full contribution of energy from both anaerobic metabolism, aerobic exercise and EPOC. Where as many people use EPOC to extrapolate the anaerobic energy use during exercise, Dr. Scott has shown this approach leaves 30-70% of the actual calories burned uncounted (5-9).  Dr. Scott emphasizes that to fully account for calories burned during intense exercise three components must be measured: calories burned aerobically during exercise, calories burned aerobically after exercise (EPOC), and anaerobic calories burned from exercise (5-9). The latter point is not insignificant and requires a measures of blood lactic acid to quantify. It is this anaerobic measurement through lactic acid that is left out in calorie calculations of intense exercise. EPOC and the anaerobic lactic acid measurements for exercise are considered separate by Dr Scott. While I understand this discussion is getting very technical, it is important to understand these issues to fully understand Metabolic Effect.

The major take home message in regards to the metabolic after-burn of intense exercise is this, EPOC is not only more significant than we may think, but it cannot fully explain the metabolic advantage of metabolic conditioning.  A full 30% or more of calories burned during intense exercise will be neglected if only EPOC is used to measure the after-burn of exercise. If EPOC  is also left out of the calculation, as some researchers are still doing, over 90% of calories burned during a higher intensity metabolic conditioning workout will be neglected and uncounted. This explains why so many practitioners of metabolic exercise see such a drastic change in their body’s compared to standard exercise programs.

How can you generate the greatest metabolic effect?

Using this new understanding of exercise and following what the research says, there are 4 reliable ways to stimulate the maximum caloric burn both during and after the exercise session. We call these the “Bs” and the “Hs”, breathless, burning, heavy and heat. Each workout should work to genrate all four of these components.

1. Get Breathless- you have to be panting for breath in order to reap the full benefits of a metabolic workout.  If you can talk, you are not doing metabolic conditioning. This aspect correlates with the degree of EPOC and anaerobic calorie burn. It is important to minimize pacing yourself which is why we have developed a system of exercise we call rest-based training that allows each exerciser to generate the correct intensity required for their unique metabolism to reap the rewards…hence the ME acronym.

2. You need to get Burning- You have to get to the point of “metabolic failure”.  Metabolic failure is a term I use to describe the need to stop exercise because of an intense burn in the muscles, not necessarily because the weight is too heavy to lift.  This is directly related to the lactate generation in a workout and how much growth hormone and testosterone you will generate from the workout (more a HGH determining factor than a testosterone one).  What many people are unaware of is that lactic acid acts like a hormone and may actually cause/contribute to the release of HGH and testosterone (10-14). In other words the degree of burn in your muscles is directly correlated to the proper hormone response for increased muscle building and fat burning.

3. You need to lift heavy- if you are not incorporating heavy weighted movements into your workout you are missing a key component of the after-burn.  In the 2002 research by Schuenke the weights used were very heavy (a 10 rep max) and the exercises were full body movements.  Heavy barbell squats, explosive power cleans, and maximal dead lifts or similar full body exercises are key to the metabolic effect.  If you don’t have access to heavy weights, then you need to use body-weight exercises and explosive movements that come close to mimicking the same effect (single leg squats, pull-ups, push-ups, explosive jumps, and other plyometrics).  This one is all about the type IIb muscle fibers.  Heavy weights trigger HGH and testosterone (more testosterone than HGH).  This is what I call “mechanical failure”.  As opposed to metabolic failure, this is when the weight just gets to heavy to overcome gravity and go no longer be lifted.

4. You need to generate heat- the final parameter is heat. One of the biggest contributors to EPOC and anaerobic energy use is heat. If you are not sweating, your body is not getting hot enough.  As a matter of fact, I use the ability to sweat as a biofeedback tool into how sensitive the body is to its catecholamine response.  If your not sweating in a workout, you are missing out on this heat effect and the after-burn will suffer.

References:

1. Schuenke, et. al. Effect of an acute period of resistance exercise on excess post-exercise oxygen consumption: Implicationsfor body mass management European Journal of Applied Physiology. 2002;86:411-417.
2. Osterberg, et. al. Effect of acute resistance exercise on postexercise oxygen consumption and resting metabolic rate in young women. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. 2000;10(1):71-81.
3. Tremblay, et. al. Impact of exercise intensity on body fatness and skeletal muscle metabolism. Metabolism. 1994;43:814-818
4. Treuth, et. al. Effects of exercise intensity on 24-h energy expenditure and substrate oxidation. Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise. 1996;28:1138-1143
5. Scott, et. al. Misconceptions about aerobic and anaerobic energy expenditure. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2005;2:32-37.
6. Scott et. al. Estimating total energy expenditure for brief bouts of exercise with acute recovery.  Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism. 2006;31:144-149.
7. Scott, et. al. Contribution of blood lactate to the interpretation of total energy expenditure for weight lifting. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2006;20:21-28.
8. Scott et. al. Contributions of Anaerobic Energy Expenditure to Whole-body Thermogenesis. Nutrition and Metabolism. 2005;2:14.
9. Scott, et. al. Direct and indirect calorimetry of lactate oxidation: implications for whole-body energy expenditure. Journal of Sports Science. 2005;23:15-19.
10. Turner ET AL. (1995). Effect of graded epinephrine infusion on blood lactate response to exercise. J Appl Physiol,79(4):1206-11.
11. Takahashi ET AL.(1995). Relationship among blood lactate and plasma catecholamine levels during exercise in acute hypoxia. Applied Human Sci,14(1):49-53.
12. Kaiser ET AL. (1983). Effects of acute beta-adrenergic blockade on blood and muscle lactate concentration during submaximal exercise. International Journal Sports Med, 4(4):275-7.
13. Godfrey Et. Al. The role of lactate in the exercise-induced human growth hormone response: evidence from McArdle disease. British Journal of Sports Medicine. July 2009;43(7):521-525.
14. Lin Et. Al. Stimulatory effect of lactate on testosterone production by rat leydig cells. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry. June 2001;83(1):147-154.

 

Food is information for fat burning

Jade Teta ND, CSCS

Foods Hormonal Effects:

Many see food as simply energy.  They remain unaware of the direct and indirect information both macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fat) and micronutrients have on physiology. Similar to the effect high intensity exercise has on the body, food can either elevate fat burning or induce a powerful fat storing effect. Food is able to regulate powerful hormones that predict hunger, energy, mood, and fat burning from one meal to the next. When the proper dietary influences on your hormones are reached the process of sustained fat loss becomes much easier. It is known that protein and fiber together blunt the hunger response and decrease cravings. This is because they each generate a unique hormone response. Fiber drastically decreases the hunger hormone ghrelin and also lowers the fat storing hormone insulin. Protein on the other hand raises the fat burning hormone glucagon and increases the motivating and craving reducing neurotransmitter dopamine. Taken together, protein and fiber intake leads to decreased appetite, lower cravings, and improved fat usage between meals. The most interesting thing about these outcomes is they lead to effortless restriction of calories without the use of willpower. The body automatically regulates calories because it no longer has the constant urge and desire for food. Unlike the starvation effect induced by the calorie model, the hormonal approach to food sends signals that tell the body there is plenty of food and it does not have to worry about conserving fat.

Dietary studies comparing caloric vs. hormonal approaches

In the 2003, May 22^nd issue of the New England Journal of Medicine two different approaches to diet were analyzed. One approach was a traditional low fat and low calorie diet (LC) and the other was a diet where carbohydrate was replaced with higher amounts of protein (HP). In the high protein group dieters were allowed to eat as much food as they liked as long as they kept their carbohydrate intake low. The low calorie group limited their food intake to between 1200 and 1500 calories for women and between 1500 and 1800 calories for men. These two approaches directly compare the old method of calorie reduction versus the new method of hormonal approaches to weight loss. It turns out that the high protein group lost weight more quickly, voluntarily consumed fewer calories, and had improved blood chemistry tests over the calorie restricted group.

Another study published the same year in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (Vol. 88 # 4) found the same results. A high protein diet without calorie restriction yielded better results than the standard calorie reduction approach weight loss experts usually prescribe. This research like the study described above is noteworthy because it shows that the body has the ability to naturally regulate energy consumption. The studies above did not bother to find the underlying mechanism behind this response, but understanding hormonal influences on metabolism would enable you to predict this response. One final study printed in the Journal Nutrition and Metabolism in 2004 looked at 28 overweight men and women. One group was given a low fat, high carbohydrate diet and the other a high protein and low carbohydrate diet. As we have pointed out these two diets will have very different hormonal effects. In this particular study the higher carbohydrate group took in 300 calories less on average than the high protein group (1855 Kcal/day for the high protein group and 1562 Kcal/day for the high carbohydrate group). Even with the consumption of more food daily, the high protein group lost more weight and fat with a greater proportion coming from the midsection.

Taken together these studies demonstrate the power of food as a source of information for the body rather than just simple energy. You can no longer view food as just a source of calories. The ratio of protein, carbohydrate, and fat has dramatic impact on metabolic function. Just as important the micronutrient and phytonutrient (plant nutrients) composition of every meal can be seen as a unique chemical fingerprint that when loaded in the body runs a hormonal software program that can have far ranging effects on physiology including fat burning.

 

Vitamin Key To Fat Loss, Cancer Protection, and Heart Disease?

Jade Teta ND, CSCS

 

At The Endocrine Society’s 91st Annual Meeting, held June 10th-13th 2009 in Washington, D.C., Shalamar Sibley, MD, MPH reported findings on the fat loss impact of vitamin D. Vitamin D is actually more of a hormone than a vitamin and has global actions on the body. The research presented showed men and women with higher vitamin D were able to achieve significantly enhanced weight loss while dieting compared to those with lower levels.

Thirty eight obese subjects followed a very low calorie diet for 11 weeks. Body composition as well as body fat deposition (where on the body fat is stored) were measured before and after the 11 week period. The researchers showed a direct correlation between vitamin D levels and weight loss. One half pound of weight was lost per nanogram increase in plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (the standard lab measure of vitamin D). In additon, the higher  the vitamin D, the greater the abdominal fat loss.

The researchers noted “Plasma vitamin D predicts subsequent weight loss, suggesting a potential role for vitamin D in promotion of weight loss, perhaps through effects on adipose metabolism…………Vitamin D deficiency is associated with obesity…………Our results suggest the possibility that the addition of vitamin D to a reduced-calorie diet will lead to better weight loss.”

In my clinic, I routinely see vitamin D levels below 20. I am starting to recognize this as a key determinant of the ability of a cleint to lose fat. The study highlighted shows again that it is not always about calories in verse calories out, but about hormonal influence on metabolism including those provided by vitamin D.

Low vitamin D often times manifests along with hypothyroid, low adrenal function, and other physical complaints and mental symptoms. It is a major risk factor in cancer protection as well as heart disease and blood sugar regulation.  If you suffer from any of these symptoms or just cant seem to lose weight no matter what you do, you need to consider getting a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D test from your doctor. Research shows that the optimal vitamin D levels would be 80 ng/dl.

 

Should women lift heavy or light weights?

By Jill Coleman

Women love to lift light pink weights to prevent bulking up.  As a trainer, I personally savor the moment when a new client comes to me and says that they don’t like to lift heavy weights because they don’t want to get “big” or because their “legs get big really quickly with weights” or some similar precaution.  These comments from clients excite me because it means that I get the chance to change their perspective and show them amazing results with challenging, heavy weight—results they never dreamed of: inches lost, improved energy, better sleep quality, increased sexual drive, stress dissipation, improved self esteem and sense of empowerment.  I usually begin by saying that I guarantee that without challengingly heavy weight, they will not see a single change in their physique, period.  They can literally do hundreds and hundreds of reps with light weight and end up with no curves, no definition, no cuts, and no inches lost to show for it.

The problem with light weights

In general, 90% of female gym-goers unknowingly train for endurance by doing things like jogging on the treadmill, zoning out on the elliptical or taking a 60-minute Power Pump “toning” class.  Essentially, in my opinion, lifting light weights for reps on end is the same thing as jogging, i.e. applying a light stimulus for a longer duration (endurance training).  Interestingly, 90% of female gym-goers are wanting fat loss, and yet they are training for endurance; in other words, they doing long, slow workouts with light-to-moderate resistance in order to be able to maintain a steady exertion for the duration of the workout.  If it is fat loss we want, why are we not training ourselves for it???

Hour-long toning classes require the participant complete hundreds of reps, with the goal of increasing weight lifted, all the while performing the same exercises.  Though incremental increases in weight are a great way to increase intensity, how much weight can you really add when you are expected to complete 100 reps with it?  Moreover, you are always doing the same exercises, class after class, to which we know that our bodies adapt more and respond less (i.e. burn less calories, build less muscle, release fewer amounts of fat-burning hormones) over time.

Furthermore, besides being a ridiculously-inefficient use of time, lifting with a weight light enough to complete sets of 30, 40 or even 50 reps elicits a very different hormonal response than that of heavier, more intense training.  At the physiological level, completing hundreds of reps using pink dumbbells essentially does the same thing as jogging in terms of the hormonal response.  It increases the stress hormones cortisol and epinephrine, but without the complementary release of fat-burning hormones like growth hormone, testosterone and even lactic acid, which acts as a chemical messenger in the fat-burning process.   The low-intensity resultant hormonal soup promotes muscle break-down and potentially even fat storing in the middle (cortisol is known as the “belly fat” hormone).  Doing these kinds of workouts day after day promotes stripping of muscle, not building.  The stimulus used is never enough to promote growth and development.  The only way to increase fat burning while building muscle is to lift heavy weights, preferably quickly and get more done in less time.

Why lift heavy

Contrary to what many trainers may say, bulking up does happen.  However, it occurs when muscle is built underneath layers of fat, without any attention paid to fat-burning.  Thus, the client appears larger.  By now we know that we must lift heavy weights to elicit any physique change, but we also need to burn fat simultaneously to lose inches and gain more definition.  Most educated personal trainers know that in order to increase fat-burning during and after the workout, a client must breach their anaerobic threshold.  In other words, when lifting, they must get breathless, they must get burning in their muscles (signals lactic acid accumulation) and they must lift heavy enough weight to reach the point of mechanical muscle failure.  There should be no fear of bulking up when fat-burning is being maximized.

Lifting heavy weights to the point of muscle failure, in general, enhances the release of testosterone, which when increased naturally through weight training will increase fat-burning in women (one of the reasons men are leaner than women).  Lifting heavy enough to generate a strong burning in the muscles enhances the release of human growth hormone, which also aids in fat burning and has anti-aging benefits.

Finally, adding lean muscle mass will enhance your fat burning potential while you are not working out.  A pound of muscle burns 15-30 calories per day at rest, while a pound of fat burns 2-5 calories; it’s a no-brainer of which composition is more desirable.  More muscle makes us more metabolically active. Furthermore, a pound of fat takes up more physical space than a pound of muscle.  So, burning fat and increasing lean muscle will NOT create bulk, but instead strip inches creating a lean, tight, defined physique, not to mention your clothes hanging off you.

How to build muscle, burn fat and lose inches

So how do you do this?  First, stop doing “toning” workouts. If you can complete 50 reps without stopping, you are not “toning,” you are wasting both muscle and time.  Train with heavy weights, choosing a weight that elicits failure by the last rep.  For example, if you are going to do 10 reps, choose a weight with which you can barely complete 10 reps, and definitely not 11.  Next, utilize short-duration workouts by training quickly, sticking to less than 60 seconds between sets.  Workout sessions should be no longer than 40 minutes in duration for best results.  Long rest periods between sets is power lifting and does not burn fat.  Try circuit training.  Choose 2-4 exercises and move from exercise to exercise quickly with little-to-no rest.  Doing this will keep the heart rate up and generate a greater lactic acid burn in the muscles because there will be less time for the burn to dissipate between sets.    Finally, choose the right kinds of exercises and switch them up regularly.  Compound movements like pull-ups, squats, lunges, push-presses, rows and bench presses use multiple muscle groups across several joints.  The more muscle tissue recruited by an exercise, the larger the metabolic effect of the workout.  Change up your movements every couple weeks to keep the muscles responsive and prevent muscle adaptation (i.e. plateau).

Go heavy and leave the pink to the babies!

 

Sleep and Fat Loss

Jade Teta ND, CSCS

Sleeping for the metabolic effect

There are certain choices you can make that will enhance your sleep quantity and sleep quality and will balance the hormones responsible for optimal health and fitness. If you have been practicing poor sleeping choices fat loss will be much more difficult. This is because sleep has the ability to “reset” metabolism impacting hunger hormones, stress hormones, and muscle building/fat burning hormones. Sleep is a prime determinant of whether you can maintain sustained fat loss.

8 hours is minimum; 9 is optimal

Eight hours of sleep should be seen as the minimum required for hormonal balance. This may shock some of you, but sleep quantity is one of the most important considerations in balancing hormones. Every night your body goes through its rhythm of hormonal computing to repair, regenerate, and revitalize the tissues of the body. This process is complicated and takes time.

It is just like downloading a new piece of software on your computer. Things happen in sequence and are done a very specific way so that the software will function correctly next time the computer is turned on. Notice how every time you download new software on a computer you have to restart. If the process is interrupted in some way, you will have to reboot and start again. If something really goes wrong the computer may lock up and not function again until the situation is remedied.

You must give yourself time for your body’s hormonal software to download and complete its functions. As the hours pass when you are asleep, all the fat storing hormonal machinery is turned down. Leptin, cortisol, insulin, and adrenaline are lowered. This allows the body to be able to hear the signals of these hormones once again reversing hormone resistance. Hormone resistance is a negative state in the body that occurs when the wrong hormones are around at very high levels for very long times. Just like walking into a room with a strong smell, eventually the body can no longer “hear” and react to the signals being sent. While he negative hormonal; signals are turned down, glucagon, HGH, testosterone, and other growth promoting, fat burning and antioxidant hormones like melatonin are elevated.

The combination of this hormonal environment puts you in a fat burning, anti-aging, and growth state. However, this process takes time while the body slowly switches from fat storing to fat burning. The longer you sleep the more likely you are to make that switch and enjoy several hours of fat burning. People sleeping less than 8 hours a night may never reach fat burning mode at all. For the most effective sleep 9 hours is closer to ideal.

By 10 is best

The natural rhythm of the sleep cycle is also related to time. Light is what stimulates your hormonal stress network to allow you to wake and have energy in the morning. If light is around at night you will not be able to easily switch these hormones off to help you sleep. Some people are more susceptible to this than others.

Your ancient physiology is programmed to go to bed shortly after the sun retreats for the evening. However, artificial lighting, as well as TV and computer screens circumvent this response by lengthening the time your hormonal wake software is active. What this means is the longer you are exposed to light after the sun has gone down the more you push back your hormonal sleeping software.

Remember, part of your sleeping software includes fat burning and anti-aging hormones like HGH, glucagon, and testosterone. As soon as light comes up again the next morning that software is shut off. That means if you sleep eight hours, but go to bed at midnight, only five or so hours of that sleep is in the dark. That is not enough time to reset your hormonal software. It has been shown that people going to bed closer to midnight have higher cortisol levels in the morning than those going to bed around ten. This holds true even when both groups of people sleep for the exact same time period. In order to insure your hormonal profile is working for you, the time you go to bed is just as important as how long you sleep.

Turn the lights out

The discussion about light should make you think. What about alarm clocks and night lights? Do they have an effect? Depending on your genetic, metabolic, and psycho-spiritual sensitivities, they may. In my clinical practice as a holistic  physician, sometimes just moving an alarm clock away from the bed is enough to help someone suffering from insomnia.

To minimize the effect light has on you after the sun goes down there are things you can do. Dimmers are one great invention as they allow enough light so that you can see, but do not create the artificial brightness of full strength 100 watt light bulbs. Candles create a similar effect. By using dimmers and candles you can help your physiology interpret moon light instead of sun light.

As far as TV and computers are concerned, see if they too are equipped with dimmers. If not, and you have difficulty getting proper sleep, their use at night should be limited or avoided. Although this may seem extreme, you have to make the choice between having optimal health and fitness, or watching your favorite TV show. With new technology that allows you to easily record your favorite TV shows, the need to stay up late is decreased.  Like it or not exposure to bright light at night is a problem your physiology does not understand. By reducing your exposure to bright lights after the sun has declined, you will reduce sugar cravings, improve sleep, and help lower your cortisol levels. This allows you to burn fat and regenerates your body at night the way you were designed to.

Don’t eat before bed

So what if you can not go to bed early enough to take full advantage of sleeps effects? After all, we live in a world that makes after dark activity necessary at times, even if just for a fun night out. As long as these situations are kept to a minimum, you will be fine. For those of you who are unwilling to go to bed earlier, there is a less effective alternative.

One of the reasons sleep is effective at rebuilding the body, burning fat, and slowing the aging process is it is one of the only times the body has nothing else to do. Think about this, when you eat it can take hours for the food to be digested and assimilated. If you are like many in our culture you rarely go more than a few hours without food. While proper nutrition is necessary and beneficial your body also needs time without food. Remember the yin and yang of the natural world? Sleep provides the opposite to the digestion of food and frees resources for regeneration.

If you find it difficult to sleep properly, than you will need to simulate sleeps affect by avoiding food at night. Sleep is incompatible with eating which is why it is so beneficial. Adequate sleep quality and quantity allows the perfect situation for lasting weight loss: lower calories and hormonal balance. One of the most effective strategies I have seen for weight loss in my clinical practice is the avoidance of food for at least 10-12 hours at night. For most people that will mean the last meal of the day comes around 7 or 8pm. The avoidance of food after the sun goes down will help reverse the hormone resistance of cortisol, insulin, and leptin.

 

Female Hormones and Fat Loss

Jade Teta ND, CSCS

Estrogen, progesterone, menses and fat burning

A discussion of hormones would not be complete without examining how the female sex hormones determine fat loss or fat storage.  It is easy to see how these hormones strongly impact not only how much fat the body burns, but also where on the body fat may be stored.  The hallmark of a female body is the curves of the breasts, hips and waist. The female form is known for a small waist and bigger hips and thighs.  This female form is the result of estrogen and progesterone.  Estrogen primarily impacts the body’s ability to store fat in the lower body.  This is why women will tend to be heavier in the legs then men.  Progesterone makes its mark by keeping the waist thin. Both hormones impact the size of the breast tissue. Cortisol and progesterone have a relationship of direct opposition to one another with each one blocking the action of the other. When progesterone levels are adequate and in a balanced state with estrogen and cortisol, the waist will stay small relative to the hips and thighs. Progesterone is one of the primary hormonal influencers of a small waist in women.  This is obviously different than a man who relies more strongly on testosterone for this job.

Estrogen and progesterone are tightly regulated during the female menstrual cycle and it would make sense from an evolutionary perspective that these hormones would impact reproduction and fat storage.  Obviously the ability to conceive and bare a child is directly related to the nutritional status of the mother and the amount of extra energy she can supply to a baby.  To understand fully how these two hormones impact fat burning physiology it is useful to briefly discuss the female menstrual cycle.  Shortly after the end of menstruation, estrogen levels rise relative to progesterone levels. This is a time where the uterine lining is growing and thickening.  It is also a time where the body burns more fat during exercise, but has less capacity for enhanced fat burning at rest.  This makes sense since the body wants to make valuable sugar available for the growing tissues while also slowing fat release in case the body becomes pregnant. Somewhere around two weeks from the start of the menstrual cycle ovulation occurs and the egg is released. At this time, the uterine lining undergoes changes that will help a fertilized egg implant.  This is a time where progesterone and estrogen rise together, but with progesterone being more dominant. At this time, the body’s ability to use fat at rest is enhanced.  Again this makes sense since a growing fetus will need the valuable energetic resources fat can supply. If the egg goes unfertilized menses occurs and both estrogen and progesterone fall with the cycle starting over again.  As you can see, the relative ratio of these hormones has much to do with fat burning and metabolism in general.

By paying close attention to the signs and symptoms during the menstrual cycle, a woman can get a good idea about her balance of estrogen and progesterone.  The time of ovulation is a key indicator. Many women will develop symptoms during this time due to a relative deficiency of progesterone compared to estrogen. What many will notice is a change in mood with irritability and emotional instability being pronounced.  They may also experience breast tenderness, fatigue, foggy thinking, and hot flashes.  Some of these symptoms share commonality with what occurs in menopause and the point just before menopause.  While many doctors have described this as an issue of estrogen reduction, it is more clearly related to an imbalance in the estrogen progesterone ratio.  This delicate female hormone system is a key indicator of the metabolic fat burning potential of a woman.

There are many environmental factors that enhance estrogen activity while suppressing progesterone.  This is obviously a state women will want to avoid since fat storage will be enhanced not too mention risk of reproductive related cancers. Stress is a major factor here.  After menopause the ovaries no longer are able to supply the female with the sex steroids. This is when the adrenal glands and fat cells take over.  The adrenal glands are able to make small amounts of estrogen and progesterone and the fat cells, through an enzyme called aromatase, can continue to make estrogen.  But here is where the problem comes in.  Stress is an ever constant in the modern world and when the body encounters stress it increases the production of cortisol.  This is not a good thing for a women past menopause because in order to make cortisol, the body will use progesterone.  This effectively increases the estrogen dominance of a woman.  In addition, cortisol levels are now unopposed by adequate progesterone allowing fat gain around the middle to continue unabated and strongly impacting insulin related fat storage.  This is why many menopausal women complain of sudden weight gain around the middle.  Add to this the fact that plastics, pesticides, and many common foods also have weak estrogen activity and it is easy to see why menopause is so closely related to a change in fat burning metabolism.

However, there is a way out of this mess and it involves making choices that balance out the estrogen and progesterone ratio.  Contrary to popular belief, this can be done without hormone replacement therapy and in a way that addresses all the concerns of aging women like losing bone and reproductive cancers.  Resistance training is the key vital behavior that is able to reverse the fat accumulation around the middle that plagues so many women as they age.  It has this effect because it is able to release testosterone and HGH, which both will block the action of cortisol at the belly and enhance fat burning all over the body.  Long distance running cannot accomplish this because it raises cortisol further without the benefit of testosterone and HGH.  This is why many women become increasingly frustrated by standard exercise prescriptions as they age.  In addition to resistance training, eating a diet that is rich in vegetables (especially cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage) and fruit will act to lower estrogen production through special molecules present in them that help the liver breakdown strong estrogen into weaker ones.  These foods also have large amounts of fiber to help remove hormones from the body and a vast array of phytochemicals many of which have been shown to be inhibitors of the aromatase enzyme that makes estrogen in fat cells.  Adding good quality lean protein to the mix will lower insulin and control cortisol levels.  Only taking an approach that addresses the underlying hormonal mechanism is able to deal with fat loss effectively.  Low calories dietary advice and aerobic exercise prescriptions will only leave most women frustrated with little body change.

For more info on this topic see my past post on The Female Fat Loss Formula: http://metaboliceffect.wordpress.com/2009/04/14/the-female-fat-formula/