Losing Body Fat For Women

Posted by PredatorAdmin at 15:50 12/01/12

Losing Body Fat: women and the stubborn fat problem

Introduction

The article below exposes the key principles of body recomposition from the research work of Lyle Mc Donald described in The Ultimate Diet 2.0 (Mc Donald 2003) and The Stubborn Fat Solution (Mc Donald 2008). One very interesting aspect of his work is the women?s body fat issues are addressed and adequate training, diet and supplementation methods are presented. As a fitness enthusiast, PhD researcher and Figure competitor, putting into practice these principles led me to swear only by the scientific approach when it comes to losing body fat and keeping lean muscle.

Defining the problem

From: The stubborn fat solution, (Mc Donald 2008)

Facts on Fat

There are different types of fat present in the human body, such as essential fat (surrounding our organs, but essential to life), visceral fat (also surrounding our organs but having bad effects on health), and subcutaneous fat (located just under the skin). Subcutaneous fat can be "stubborn", when it resists long term training and dieting.

Getting rid of subcutaneous fat and achieving muscle tone and definition is our main goal, and visceral fat always gets burnt before subcutaneous fat (as explained later), so there is no need to specifically worry about it.

What does "burning" fat actually means? Three essential stages need to be completed for effective fat loss:

1.     Fat mobilisation: this is the stage where fat is drawn out of the cell. It depends on the amount of adrenoreceptors present in the tissue, specifically alpha-2 and beta-2 receptors, and their activation by    adrenaline and noradrenaline. In a nutshell: for optimal fat mobilisation, we want to activate beta-2 receptors and inhibit alpha-2 receptors. It is easier to activate adrenoreceptors than to inhibit them.
2.     Fatty acids circulation: The mobilised fat travels around the body in the form of free fatty acids bounded to albumin. If they are not used for energy they can be re-stored in the fat cells.
3.     Fatty acids oxidation: To be utilized for fuel, these free fatty acids need to be transported into the mitochondria.

When implementing a fat loss strategy, there are specific ways of ensuring each of these three stages are completed to achieve a significantly leaner physique.

Initial weight loss phase

When we follow a diet and exercise program, the body primarily attacks visceral fat. The loss comes relatively fast as visceral fat is easily mobilised (as the high adrenoreceptors number makes the tissue responsive to lipolytic stimuli), the blood flow is these areas is consequent (so free fatty acids can circulate well), and the energy storage in fat cells is less efficient (because this type of fat tissue has a low insulin sensitivity).

By the time levels of visceral fat are significantly low, we usually "feel leaner" and the waist area has visibly shrunk, even though muscular definition has not yet improved. This is due to the fact visceral fat is surrounding our core organs and by burning it, the volume previously occupied by stored visceral fat has well diminished.

At this stage, things become interesting as the body visibly starts to attacks subcutaneous fat. This phase is harder than the previous ones: indeed, subcutaneous fat is not as responsive to lipolysis as visceral fat, fat storage in the tissue is more efficient, and blood flow is only moderate. However, with patience and a clever muscle-sparing / fat burning plan it is usually possible.

Women and the Stubborn Fat issue

Now, the very interesting challenge starts: we have been dieting for several weeks, our muscle tone and overall condition has significantly improved, but there are still these spots where fat just does not go away. Let?s recall that for women, subcutaneous fat is stored primarily in the hips and thighs.

Fat in the hips and thighs area is stubborn because of the high ratio of alpha-2 to beta-2 receptors in the tissues, very poor blow flow, and a very efficient ability to store excess calories (high insulin sensitivity).
And this is where women have a lot more trouble getting lean than men do: men simply do not store much fat in the hips and thighs in the first place. Moreover, their abdominal and lower back fat, if stubborn, is still physiologically more responsive to lipolysis than hips and thighs fat.

Attacking stubborn fat

Fortunately, it is possible to break the fat loss plateau and get rid of stubborn fat by implementing training, diet and supplementation strategies that will trigger lipolysis and fat utilization even for the stubborn fat cells.

The diet

From: The ultimate diet 2.0 (Mc Donald 2003); the stubborn fat solution (Mc Donald 2008)

A good strategy to inhibit alpha-2 receptors, in high proportion in the hips and thighs, is to reduce the daily amount of carbohydrates to 20% of the total amount of calories eaten. This has to be done over four days or more to obtain the desired effects on alpha-2 receptors. Let?s note that alpha-2 receptor inhibition also tends to increase blood flow.

Moreover, low carbohydrate diets in general increase the levels of catecholamines (adrenaline and noradrenaline), which generally increase fatty acid mobilisation.

During such low carb days, it is essential to consume a high amount of protein and some essential fats (Omega-3, fish oils) or Medium chains triglycerides (coconut oil, palm oil, or specific pure MCT oils). They will prevent muscle loss, as typically low carb diets are hypocaloric. Let?s note that saturated fats should be kept to a minimum, as they cannot be used for fuel and are likely to be stored directly.

The problem of long diets, necessary to reach above-average leanness, is the metabolism crashes and fat loss inevitably slows down. Moreover, low carb diets typically induce mood swings and feelings of being low, which has a negative impact on one?s motivation. For these reasons, the low carbohydrate phase must be interrupted regularly by "refeeds" lasting from 5h to 24h (these should be high in carbs for efficient glycogen replenishment: around 70% of calories consumed should come from carbohydrates) ; and the whole diet must be interrupted by "diet breaks" lasting 10-14 days, bringing the diet back to maintenance. Typically, a dieter should refeed after a minimum of 4 days of low carb dieting, and the refeed should be followed by one or two days of maintenance calories before going back to a low carb phase. This will allow the body to restore its metabolism and keep the diet working.

The training

From: The ultimate diet 2.0(Mc Donald 2003)

On low carb days, the aim is to deplete muscle glycogen which will increase fat utilisation by muscles, and will also prepare the body for glycogen surcompensation: therefore when carbs are going to be available again during a "refeed", the energy will be stored as useful glycogen in the muscle rather than useless fat to get rid of.

The most efficient way to train here is high reps, low rest. Typically, 10-12 sets per bodypart of 15-20 reps, with a very short rest of 30-45 seconds between sets.

Fasting cardio on low carb days (45min to 1h, in the morning or at least 3h after a meal) is also very efficient as fatty acids are freely circulating in the bloodstream and ready to be burnt. It is possible to perform the cardio training as a moderate intensity aerobic activity (also referred to as steady cardio). It is also very efficient to incorporate interval training workouts, once or twice a week, such as the Stubborn Fat Protocols described in The Stubborn Fat Solution. These are attacking fat by taking into account the 3 stages of the fat burning process introduced in the first paragraph: 10 min of intervals (for fat mobilisation), 5 min rest (for circulation), and 20-40min steady state cardio (for oxidation). I am referring the reader to the original publication for details and variations on these cardio workouts.

Just prior to a "refeed", it is recommended to train the whole body (glycogen gets stored in the muscle trained) using a medium reps, medium rest approach. Typically, 1-8 sets per body part (since all muscles are trained) of 6-12 reps and a 1.5-2 min rest period between sets.

The refeed or high carb day should be a non-training day (for the carbs to be stored as glycogen and not used for energy during training). Maintaining or slightly increasing muscle mass is necessary to keep a high metabolism and ultimately achieve a toned, lean physique. For this reason, the day after the reefed it is useful to have a heavy training session, typically 3-6 sets of 3-6 reps per bodypart, with about 3 minutes rest between sets. Here again a full body workout will get all the muscles involved.

Supplementation

From: The ultimate diet 2.0 (Mc Donald 2003); the stubborn fat solution (Mc Donald 2008)

Stimulants such as caffeine will help activate beta-2 receptors and mobilise bodyfat. It is helpful to take them before any sort of physical activity (cardio training or weight training) to increase fat mobilisation.

Aside of the low carb diet, an efficient way of inhibiting alpha-2 receptors and increase fat mobilisation is to use Yohimbine HCL. However, the dieter should keep in mind that this supplement has to be taken away from meals to be effective, as its effects are eliminated by insulin (systematically released after a meal). A good way of using this supplement is in the morning on an empty stomach, prior to cardio training. Yohimbine HCL is known to cause anxiety attacks in some cases, so susceptible individuals should not use this supplement at any dose. Chronic use of Yohimbine HCL can also cause water retention. An excellent alternative to Yohimbine HCL, inhibiting alpha-2 receptors without negative side effects, is Rauwolscine (present in Alpha Burn). It is a yohimbine-like compound also exhibiting affinity for those receptors (Volk 2010).

It is also recommended to take 6g of fish oils per day (alternatively flax oil) during the low carb days. It has been shown to have positive effects on mood (relieve depression), lower concentrations of triglycerides in the blood and reduce the risk of cardiac arrest (Poliquin 2005).

Topical fat loss can also be helped by the active ingredient found in liquorice: glycyrrhetinic acid. It has been shown to be relevant in local fat cell metabolism. Consuming a lot of liquorice orally will not be effective though, because (let aside the sugar content of liquorice candy!), it has negative impacts on hormonal levels. However, applying locally creams containing this compound can help.

Conclusions

Women who seek to get leaner and attack stubborn fat on the hips and thighs should follow a training program incorporating a certain amount of cardio training. There is no need to do a lot of cardio, however it should be done at the right time (on an empty stomach, and on low carb days) and at the right intensity, for a duration of 45min to 1h per session.

All major types of weight training should be incorporated, from high reps/low rest fast workouts targeting glycogen depletion and fat burning to low reps/long rest heavy workouts necessary to improve lean mass density (and ultimately sculpt a toned physique). Training and diet go hand in hand, so the lighter workouts are specific to low carb days and heavy workout follow a controlled "refeed" period high in carbs. It is crucial to stay on the low carb phase of the diet for at least 4 days in a row, to specifically inhibit those numerous alpha receptors present in the stubborn areas. It is also very important to "break" the diet regularly, making all physiological adaptations to restriction impossible. Finally, the right supplements can help perfecting the diet and training strategies exposed in this article.

SUMMARY:

This article presents the key principles of body recomposition from the research work of Lyle Mc Donald described in The Ultimate Diet 2.0 (Mc Donald 2003) and The Stubborn Fat Solution (Mc Donald 2008). Stubborn fat issues, particularly women?s hip and thigh fat, are specifically addressed from the point of view of training, diet and supplementation.

References

Mc Donald, L. 2003, The Ultimate Diet 2.0 Body Recomposition.
Mc Donald, L. 2008, The stubborn fat solution Body Recomposition.
Poliquin, C. Cardio Protective benefits of stable fish oil. http://www.ppcchicago.com/articles/fishoil.php . 1-1-2005.
Ref Type: Electronic Citation
Volk, E. Fat Loss, alpha2-Adrenoceptors and Yohimbine, Part II. http://www.mesomorphosis.com/ . 1-1-2010.
Ref Type: Electronic Citation


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