The truth about burning stomach fat...

floridabootcamp

I have found that one of the most common fitness myths involves spot reduction. This where a person tries to burn fat from a specific area by doing exercises on that body part. There are thousands of abdominal products and infomercials that hire fitness models to endorse their products. Many of the models haven't even used the product. When the body either stores or burns fat it is will decide on its own where the fat is stored/burned. There is nothing that we can do to change that process. The burning feeling that comes from some exercises is not fat being melted away. Instead, this burning sensation is largely cause by lactic acid. Lactic acid is a waste product that is created when the body is using and forming more fuel to keep moving.

In order to trim fat away from your stomach or any other area we have to force our bodies to do what they don't naturally want to do. For thousands (if not millions) of years our bodies have evolved so that storing and holding onto body fat can be used to guard against times of famine. In the times that we live in many of us never will experience this but our bodies still have this high level of protection. It is so sensitive that even going a little more than 3 hours without eating will start the fat storing process. Our bodies are designed to burn carbohydrates and not fat. The brain will only run on carbs. Because of these things it is not a natural thing for our bodies to begin to burn off fat. This is why dropping weight is such a large task for so many people. You have to win the battle against your own genetic code.
Some of the basics that can and will help are:

controlling portion sizes
eating every 2-3 hours
drinking plenty of water
avoiding foods/drinks that will spike your blood sugar
getting 7-8 hours of sleep
adding regular exercise (cardio and strength training)

There is much more that factors into weight loss (age, gender, hormones etc.) but these are some of the basics.

Enjoy!

Lindyteach

Thank you! Very helpful!

floridabootcamp

my pleasure!

lastchance2010

very helpful.

thanx much.

VialOfDreams

This post should be stickied somehow, so everyone can read it. Thanks for posting!

floridabootcamp

Thanks everyone!

bellinachuchina

Awesome tips!

Since "Our bodies are designed to burn carbohydrates and not fat. The brain will only run on carbs. Because of these things it is not a natural thing for our bodies to begin to burn off fat.", would having a low-carb diet aid in the loss of fat?

TrainingWithTonya

Awesome tips!

Since "Our bodies are designed to burn carbohydrates and not fat. The brain will only run on carbs. Because of these things it is not a natural thing for our bodies to begin to burn off fat.", would having a low-carb diet aid in the loss of fat?

No. The process in the body that burns stored body fat is the Krebs Cycle. In order to start the Krebs Cycle, the body has to have Pyruvate. Pyruvate is a by-product of glucose (carbohydrate) metabolism. Basically, when you burn a molecule of glucose or glycogen, you can either have that by-product as pyruvate or if you aren't going to go into the Krebs Cycle with it, it will become lactic acid and be shuttled to the liver to be converted back to glucose. If you don't have carbohydrates in the diet, then you will quickly run out of glycogen stored in the liver and muscles. Then the body has to break down protein (muscles if there isn't enough protein available from the meal prior to your workout) to make glucose to fuel the workout. So, a low carb diet is a great way to lose muscle mass, but won't lead to more body fat burned. Also, the breakdown of protein is very hard on the body. The Ketones that the media hypes as "great for fat burning" are actually screwing up the pH of the body and can cause a lot of other issues. Not to mention the extra work for the liver and kidneys to get the nitrogen from the protein out of the body.

To the OP, great post.

floridabootcamp

I like moderate carb instead of low carb. I wouldn't suggest getting less than 40% of your daily calories from quality carb sources. Just like TrainingWithTony said, you need carbs to burn fat and to train effectively. Some of the popular diets out there have been taken out of context and made people afraid of eating carbs.

pinksocks73

Thanks for your insightful "article". While I am not one to concentrate on one thing, or one area, I am one to get really down on [and] about myself for my physical appearance. Your article opened my eyes to the fact that I can only do so much and so long as I consistently do that much, I will feel better about myself and be happy with the results of my efforts even tho I will never look like Jillian Michaels.

Sooo...thanks much for posting that.

Kkmama

Thank you so much for all the information. Unfortunately I have tried too many of the low carb diets... and now am afraid of eating... but I will strive to eat more often.
Thanks again for the info.

floridabootcamp

No problem Kkmama! Our eating and workout habits are always evolving. The goal is to get a little better each week....keep working at it and you will be fine...

slieber

This is great! Thanks for putting it on here.

floridabootcamp

yup!

bellinachuchina

I like moderate carb instead of low carb. I wouldn't suggest getting less than 40% of your daily calories from quality carb sources. Just like TrainingWithTony said, you need carbs to burn fat and to train effectively. Some of the popular diets out there have been taken out of context and made people afraid of eating carbs.

That sounds good! I just find that excess starchy carbs effect me negatively...seeing as I don't work out on a regular basis.

What I'm confused about...

When fat is actually burned? & I thought fat was stored for energy when in time of need?

The woman who replied to my post said carbs or protein are burned...common sense would tell me, if one has a lower carb intake, & ups protein consumption, wouldn't the body burn stored fat? Thanks in advance

ljbouse

Thanks for the info.

Black_Swan

Im following all the recommendations here and it is really working! Only thing i need to add more is some workouts and jogging, but Im taking it slowly:)

TrainingWithTonya

I like moderate carb instead of low carb. I wouldn't suggest getting less than 40% of your daily calories from quality carb sources. Just like TrainingWithTony said, you need carbs to burn fat and to train effectively. Some of the popular diets out there have been taken out of context and made people afraid of eating carbs.

That sounds good! I just find that excess carbs effect me negatively...seeing as I don't work out on a regular basis.

What I'm confused about...

When fat is actually burned? & I thought fat was stored for energy when in time of need?

The woman who replied to my post said carbs or protein are burned...common sense would tell me, if one has a lower carb intake, & ups protein consumption, the body would burn stored fat. Thanks in advance

Unfortunately, the body doesn't work on common sense. I wish it were that simple, because then I'd have a lot less chemistry to learn for my degree!

The process to burn body fat is a chemical reaction. Just like making water requires both hydrogen and oxygen and can only be done if there are two parts hydrogen for every one part oxygen (H2O), you have to have the right "chemicals" if you will in the body to start the reaction that is fat burning and you have to have them in the right proportion. One of the main things you need in order to burn fat is a by product of the chemical reaction that burns glycogen (carbohydrate). So, the more glycogen you burn, the more pyruvate you have to be able to burn more fat. But just like any other chemical reaction, there is what is known as a rate limiting chemical. It's basically the chemical required for the process that is in the least supply so even if you have plenty of the other parts of the chemical equation, you can only do as much as the component in least supply allows.

You then also have to look at the fact that fat burning takes more oxygen then pyruvate, so the supply of oxygen to the working muscles will effect fat burning more so then even the carbohydrate availability. When you are at rest, you fuel your normal metabolism through mostly fat burning, with a little bit coming from carbs and protein. The reason only a little bit is coming from carbs is because A) you aren't working at a rate that needs quick energy from carbs and the carbs supplied at rest generally come from the liver and not the muscles. The muscles don't share their glycogen. So, if you store a lot of glycogen in your biceps, your quads can't use it and vice versa. When you get the liver glycogen below normal, then the muscle breakdown I mentioned in the earlier post happens to provide the components to make glucose/glycogen for the little bit of carb burn needed to fuel the body and provide the pyruvate for fat burning. The problem with that is that at rest, you don't really burn a whole lot of calories, so even though 80% of it is from fat, it's 80% of not much. As you increase your intensity, the body pulls more from carbohydrates because it is a quicker chemical process then fat burning and the body realizes that you can provide that ATP faster with glycolysis then with fat burning. Also, while you may be breathing more heavily during intense exercise, the oxygen you are consuming is primarily being used for the chemical processes to fuel the muscle cells of the heart and not necessarily the skeletal muscles, so there isn't as much oxygen available to the skeletal muscles to be able to burn fat. Thats why interval training works so well, because you work high intensity to produce the pyruvate from glycolysis and then slow down to provide the oxygen and use the pyruvate for fat burning.

As for increasing protein and decreasing carb intakes, that can work up to a point. The body prefers to use protein for it's amino acids to build muscle and carry different things through the body. It's rough on the body to break down protein to convert it to carbohydrate so that it can be used as fuel. It can effect the pH of the body and cause damage to various organs. If you take in very few carbs and workout intensely, then the majority of that protein will have to be broken down and converted to carbohydrate to provide that energy need. When that happens, you have less protein for muscle building, repair of tissues, and to carry things in the body. So, as opposed to being rough on the body and limiting the amount of repair and rebuilding that can be done, it is better to provide the carbohydrates the body needs to fuel activity and start the fat burning process so that all the protein consumed can be used for muscle growth and repair. I don't think everyone needs a super high amount of carbohydrates like I consume. Everyone is slightly different in their tolerance of carbs, protein, and fat so you need to play around with the percentages of carbs to see what works for you. But I also recommend to my clients to maintain a minimum of 130 grams of carbohydrates per day as that is what has been determined to be the average amount needed by the majority of the population to maintain provide adequate fuel for brain function and red blood cell development. If you are working out intensely, then you need more. How much more depends on your body and your workouts.

bellinachuchina

I like moderate carb instead of low carb. I wouldn't suggest getting less than 40% of your daily calories from quality carb sources. Just like TrainingWithTony said, you need carbs to burn fat and to train effectively. Some of the popular diets out there have been taken out of context and made people afraid of eating carbs.

That sounds good! I just find that excess carbs effect me negatively...seeing as I don't work out on a regular basis.

What I'm confused about...

When fat is actually burned? & I thought fat was stored for energy when in time of need?

The woman who replied to my post said carbs or protein are burned...common sense would tell me, if one has a lower carb intake, & ups protein consumption, the body would burn stored fat. Thanks in advance

Unfortunately, the body doesn't work on common sense. I wish it were that simple, because then I'd have a lot less chemistry to learn for my degree!

The process to burn body fat is a chemical reaction. Just like making water requires both hydrogen and oxygen and can only be done if there are two parts hydrogen for every one part oxygen (H2O), you have to have the right "chemicals" if you will in the body to start the reaction that is fat burning and you have to have them in the right proportion. One of the main things you need in order to burn fat is a by product of the chemical reaction that burns glycogen (carbohydrate). So, the more glycogen you burn, the more pyruvate you have to be able to burn more fat. But just like any other chemical reaction, there is what is known as a rate limiting chemical. It's basically the chemical required for the process that is in the least supply so even if you have plenty of the other parts of the chemical equation, you can only do as much as the component in least supply allows.

You then also have to look at the fact that fat burning takes more oxygen then pyruvate, so the supply of oxygen to the working muscles will effect fat burning more so then even the carbohydrate availability. When you are at rest, you fuel your normal metabolism through mostly fat burning, with a little bit coming from carbs and protein. The reason only a little bit is coming from carbs is because A) you aren't working at a rate that needs quick energy from carbs and the carbs supplied at rest generally come from the liver and not the muscles. The muscles don't share their glycogen. So, if you store a lot of glycogen in your biceps, your quads can't use it and vice versa. When you get the liver glycogen below normal, then the muscle breakdown I mentioned in the earlier post happens to provide the components to make glucose/glycogen for the little bit of carb burn needed to fuel the body and provide the pyruvate for fat burning. The problem with that is that at rest, you don't really burn a whole lot of calories, so even though 80% of it is from fat, it's 80% of not much. As you increase your intensity, the body pulls more from carbohydrates because it is a quicker chemical process then fat burning and the body realizes that you can provide that ATP faster with glycolysis then with fat burning. Also, while you may be breathing more heavily during intense exercise, the oxygen you are consuming is primarily being used for the chemical processes to fuel the muscle cells of the heart and not necessarily the skeletal muscles, so there isn't as much oxygen available to the skeletal muscles to be able to burn fat. Thats why interval training works so well, because you work high intensity to produce the pyruvate from glycolysis and then slow down to provide the oxygen and use the pyruvate for fat burning.

As for increasing protein and decreasing carb intakes, that can work up to a point. The body prefers to use protein for it's amino acids to build muscle and carry different things through the body. It's rough on the body to break down protein to convert it to carbohydrate so that it can be used as fuel. It can effect the pH of the body and cause damage to various organs. If you take in very few carbs and workout intensely, then the majority of that protein will have to be broken down and converted to carbohydrate to provide that energy need. When that happens, you have less protein for muscle building, repair of tissues, and to carry things in the body. So, as opposed to being rough on the body and limiting the amount of repair and rebuilding that can be done, it is better to provide the carbohydrates the body needs to fuel activity and start the fat burning process so that all the protein consumed can be used for muscle growth and repair. I don't think everyone needs a super high amount of carbohydrates like I consume. Everyone is slightly different in their tolerance of carbs, protein, and fat so you need to play around with the percentages of carbs to see what works for you. But I also recommend to my clients to maintain a minimum of 130 grams of carbohydrates per day as that is what has been determined to be the average amount needed by the majority of the population to maintain provide adequate fuel for brain function and red blood cell development. If you are working out intensely, then you need more. How much more depends on your body and your workouts.

I was interested in the "carb" issue, thanks for your input, & kudos to your chemistry knowledge, not my strong point of study lol! I don't work out regularly, so that's probably why keeping my carbs on the lower end benefits me. I have my goals set to 40% carbs, 30% protein, & 30% fat, and that has lead me to my huge loss so far. I was considering going another 5lbs., but I'm in constant deliberation on that *shrugs*

floridabootcamp

The easiest way to look at it is to view your body fat as a reserve fuel tank....when you create a calorie deficit through exercise and diet your body is forced to tap into its fat reserve to make up for the missing calories....when you burn 3,500 calories more than your eat your body will burn off 1 pound of body fat (in most cases....lol)