Losing Belly Fat - The New Science

[joel]

Starting a new thread here. There seems to be a lot of interest on belly fat and how to lose it, and there also seem to be a lot of new miracle remedies, so in this forum we are going to look at the new science, debunk a lot of old myths, and debunk a lot of miracle remedies. So heeerree we go..

There is a lot of new science out now on belly fat. Here is what you need to know. First the myths.

1. Spot reduction is not possible - WRONG. Several new studies show spot reduction can and does occur. We will talk about that here.

2. Belly Fat is an eating problem - MOSTLY WRONG. Belly fat is a problem of circulation and damaged fat cells.

Now the new science

1. A primary culprit of belly fat is the actual FAT CELLS in the belly region are DAMAGED. The problem is two fold. First, the cells in this region seem to suffer from lack of circulation. Second, the cells in this region do not metabolize glucose (blood sugar adequately)

2. Belly fat can be targeted, but what you eat will not be enough to combat the problem. We will talk about this as this thread develops.

Lets hear your thoughts, questions, feedback.

[mikala]

So how can i get rid of belly fat then?

[Gemasleeps]

O.K. I will bite. You are very controversial. How is spot reduction possible, especially in the belly. I have always heard spot reduction of belly fat was a myth.

[tnino45]

now i was always under the impression you cannot spot reduce, you always lose fat where you have it the least (face/arms) and then finally you start to lose it where have it the most (belly). i read the article and i found it enlightening. now i'll be the first to tell you i hate cardio, so as no surprise i only do sprints (interval training), 2 to 5 times a week less than 7 minutes each time and the only place i am losing size is my waist. now i don't know if that is considered classic spot reduction, but it works for me.

[joel]

I'll start with the new research, then segway to the anecdotal stuff we can all relate to.

First, the new research behind why we spot gain.

1. The University of Liverpool has released a new series of studies showing that fat in the belly region suffers from a lack of proper circulation because that fat sits out farther from the muscles and supporting vascular network. As a result, hypoxia, or lack of oxygen in these fat cells results in impaired insuling signalling in these cells.

These cells become 'damaged', unable to normally process blood sugar, and thus become prone to even more fat creation and storage. Again, the underlying mechanism is adequate circulation.

While this idea is shocking and new to most people, it's NOT NEW here at LookCut. We have been presenting this for over 2 years. This is one of the things that differentiates this site from the drivel thats out there. What you get here is the very bleeding edge of weight loss and nutrition

Now the research behind spot reduction

1. The University of Connecticut recently did a series of studies linking resistance training to spot fat reduction. The results showed a decrease in skin fold fat measurement. While the studies were not clear if the decrease was due to localized fat reduction or other factors, other studies have popped up.

2. Cal State Northridge recently released a study clearly linking spot reduction to exercise via improved insulin signalling in fat cells with impaired circulation

3. Louisiana State recently released a group of studies demonstrating a new breed of aminophylline solutions were able to produce spot fat loss. The theory was the solution lowered the lipolytic threshold of the local fat cells where applied.

Let's sum all this up.

1. There is solid research now linking problem fat areas to impaired circulation and hypoxia of fat cells locally.

2. There is also solid new research showing this can be reversed locally, meaning spot fat reduction, via exercise which improves circulation.

3. The underlying issue is CIRCULATION. The old school idea that spot fat loss is not possible does not take into account the cellular mechanisms that result in different rates of fat storage and burning, the most important of which is circualation.

Now let's just think common experience. Any bodybuilder will tell you they are leanest in the areas the routinely train, and fattest in the areas that are not routinely trained. The areas trained get better circulation due to being pumped with blood.

The point is this, local fat burning and circulation are related. and this CAN be controlled to achieve to prevent localized fat loss and achieve localized reductions

[ABritswife]

OK, so all the university's say we can target this area...how bout sharing with a regular not scientist person...speak English, how do we get rid of the belly fat!

[Vlada]

[bubble]

Okay then. I used to have a flat tummy, but now, after having two children I am left with a mummy tummy..how then can I get rid of that? It has not been caused by bad diet/eating but by pregnancy and weight gain during pregnancy.

[joel]

Bubble - The first question is did you retain the weight after pregnancy or did you go on a weight reduction program where you lost most of the weight?

The reaason for the question is that post pregnancy weight gain is very difficult to deal with if you don't actively lose weight after pregnancy. Research shows the weight gets "hard wired" on to your body.

Let me know and we can go from there.

[Patti]

I'm not so sure about the science here. I have heard that paying attention to the glycemic index helps with belly fat, and when I tried that it seemed to work. Just hard to stick with it. Cutting our (or reducing) processed food and the "white" stuff seems to help through.

[joel]

This is 2008 science, so it's not well disseminated yet. The point of the thread is that there is mounting evidence that fat cells (adipocytes) in the midsection region are often damaged in terms of energy metabolism and that there is a circulatory/mitochondrial connection to this. A number of new studies support this.

With respect to watching glycemic index and the relation to belly fat, that would all fit within this understanding. Damaged adipocytes in the midsection do not properly metabolize glucose, so yes, staying away from high glycemic loads will help.

Glycemic index is not a very good way to look at sugar loads, though. Glycemic load is much better. You have to factor in both how fast a carb is broken into glucose and how much glucose is delvered. Glycemic index only factors in how fast which means you have to memorize a stupid list. The easy way is simply to think understand that eating medium to big amounts of fast acting carbs equals a high glycemic load.

[bubble]

[Tigger]

I've heard that some people are just bigger. They can be very healthy, but they're always going to be a bigger person around the waist. Is this true?

[blueb]

I've always suffered from looking a bit like a toffee apple. I've spindly little legs and hips - then there's a big bulbous lump in the middle where my waist used to be - when I was about 16!

Tell us what we should be doing - it sounds like you've got something up your sleeve Joel!

[ghubz]

Thanks joel, so probably more muscle in the affected area will prove the best way to bring in more circulation, can this be a solution