Metabolic Health
Attain a Trimmed, Compact, and Defined Belly in Three Steps
Our desire for a flatter belly is primarily to look good, but the real reason is to improve our metabolic health, leading to longevity and healthspan.
A Tree-Pronged Approach to Achieve an Alluring Belly
Unlike the claims of some fitness gurus, there is no secret to fat loss or muscle gain. The body of knowledge covers the mechanism publicly available.
Nevertheless, the information is fragmented and confusing even for well-educated people.
My responsibility is to defragment information, integrate, and present it to my readers in a coherent and digestible way.
This article provides the framework to achieve a trimmed, compact, and defined abdominal composure by focusing on critical knowledge.
The details are up to individuals as there are numerous factors to customize the protocol.
Belly fat is exceptionally stubborn due to the link to our primitive brain protecting us from starvation and famine times.
We still keep our ancient genes running the show in the modern world.
The abdominal area comprises fat, muscles, skin, and fluids. Each ingredient needs to be treated differently to have the desired belly.
We need to reduce excess fat, develop muscle fibers, firm the skin, and prevent fluid retention. This article focuses on fat, muscles, and skin.
I will cover fluid retention in another article as it is a broad topic and requires different protocols than these three ingredients.
While numerous bodybuilders have no problem improving muscles using various protocols, they struggle with melting visceral fat from the abdominal area.
Muscle building is anaerobic, but fat loss is a catabolic process.
These two processes might conflict, requiring a delicate balance to obtain desired results.
This article aims to articulate such a balance using practical approaches. Too much anabolism or catabolism might break the delicate balance leading to an undesirable situation.
The body has a built-in mechanism to regulate fat percentage. There are many factors, including genetics. Unfortunately, we cannot target specific spots to lose fat. Some people focus too much on belly fat stringently, but they struggle to reduce it.
The main reason is metabolic hormones control belly fat determinedly. When we cut calories and increase exercise, we may lose fat from various body parts.
However, we can hardly lose any fat from the abdominal area. One of these hormones preventing the loss of stored belly fat is cortisol, which I mentioned in the first item.
I introduced the importance of hormonal intelligence in a story titled Hormonal Intelligence: Sharpen It to Achieve Optimal Health.
I’d like to emphasize that while reducing excess fat is beneficial for both health and aesthetic reasons, too little fat, such as under 3%, might also be bad for the body. For example, anorexia is a well-known health condition.
In addition, we need stored fat for metabolic health, especially to maintain homeostasis in metabolic pathways.
In other words, belly fat might be a problem when it passes the threshold when the body becomes insulin and leptin-resistant, leading to metabolic diseases such as type II diabetes, heart diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and some cancers.
Like many people, I have desired to have a defined belly for decades. Unfortunately, by following the conventional methods, I failed as misinformation delayed the manifestation of my goal.
When I approached my health holistically, gaining a defined belly was a bonus.
I kept my desired abdominal composure effortlessly as I learned how my metabolism worked. Even though principles apply to all of us methodically, we are all different and thus require tailored solutions to tap into our fat stores and increase our lean muscles.
In my case, misinformation was the leading cause of the delay. I encountered too much noise during the fitness journey, which confused me and delayed my progress.
A myriad of fad diets and supplements confuse consumers. I understand that fat loss and muscle gain are not too complicated.
However, circumstances and misinformation overcomplicate them. The critical success factors are understanding fundamental principles, having a solid plan, and executing it with commitment and support from others.
From my experience and observations, having a defined belly boils down to three points. First, we must reduce visceral fat, build lean muscles, and gradually eliminate excess skin.
I elaborate on each item by summarizing the key points without much detail. Then, as I have touched on these points in previous articles, I link them for those who want to learn more about them.
1 — Eliminate Excessive Visceral Fat
This step is the most comprehensive of the three stages I cover in this article. First, I want to point out that weight loss and fat loss are two different concepts.
Our goal is not to lose weight but to reduce unnecessary visceral fat. Weight includes fat, muscles, bones, and fluids.
They are all essential. For example, we don’t want to lose muscles and bone density. They are critical for our health.
The body also needs a specific amount of fluids. Dehydration is a crucial health risk. Based on my experience and observations, I tackle reducing excessive visceral fat under five categories.
Here are the five tips to reduce visceral fat sustainably and bring our fat stores to an optimal state.
a — Optimize Cortisol Hormone
This item made the most significant difference in trimming my belly out of five. Even though I covered and exceeded the other four elements, not addressing my cortisol issue delayed my progress for many years.
Chronic and emotional stress is the main reason for elevated cortisol levels. Cortisol is tricky because we may feel great when the body releases it.
However, too much cortisol staying too long in the body might dent our metabolism, leading to severe health disorders like insulin and leptin resistance.
Cortisol is a critical hormone for our survival. The body regulates it stringently.
First, it releases this hormone to protect us from the harmful effects of stress. The crucial point is the amount of stress: the more pressure we face, the more cortisol the body releases to cope with it.
The second key point is that when the body has elevated cortisol levels, it shuts down using the stored fat, especially from the abdominal area.
As elevated cortisol was a severe health issue for me, I spent a long time understanding it and finding viable solutions to optimize it. The biggest culprits were sleep deprivation, excessive cardio, and consuming too many refined carbs.
However, I managed to optimize cortisol when I addressed these three issues.
In addition, slowing down with regular breaks, scheduling fun activities, and cutting off caffeine contributed to reducing elevated cortisol levels.
I detailed these vital points in an article titled Three Tips to Optimize Cortisol to Melt Belly Fat and Keep Lean Muscles.
b — Control Blood Sugar and Insulin
Interestingly, blood sugar and insulin also contributed to elevated cortisol levels. Like cortisol, the body needs sugar and insulin for survival. Both are essential in a specific amount.
Blood sugar and insulin are tightly coupled as when the first one increases, the second one also rises.
To control insulin, first, we need to control blood sugar. Our bloodstream will always need sugar to provide the cells and organs with the required energy in glucose form.
Nevertheless, the body regulates glucose as too much of it in the bloodstream is toxic to the body. Thus, the body releases insulin hormone to distribute glucose rapidly to cells.
Cells need glucose for energy. However, our cells cannot handle too much energy, so they shut down when energy levels pass the threshold. In desperation, the body creates more insulin to get rid of toxic glucose from the bloodstream.
However, the cells do not get the signals of insulin. As a result, the only viable option is to distribute glucose to the fat cells by converting them to fat molecules.
Fat cells are more tolerant and receptive to glucose to a specific threshold, so they keep growing fed by excess sugar.
However, after a while, the body becomes insulin resistant. I keep highlighting the adverse effects of insulin resistance as it is the root cause of numerous metabolic disorders.
In our context, the critical point is when the body becomes insulin resistant, it cannot burn fat. On the contrary, it stores more fat. Worst of all, when the situation passes the threshold, we experience metabolic diseases such as type II diabetes, fatty-liver disease, heart diseases, some cancers, and even neurodegenerative diseases like dementia.
Therefore, I provided Three Tips to Eliminate Insulin Resistance and Shrink Waistline.
I shared my perspective on the sugar paradox in an article.
c — Use Exercise Cleverly
Exercise is essential for numerous health reasons, but its primary goal is not to burn calories to reduce fat, even though it indirectly contributes to fat loss.
For example, some people (as I did in my younger years) perform too much cardio to create a caloric deficit.
We need to reduce calories to tap into fat stores, but let’s keep in mind that excessive exercise increases stress. As I explained in the first item, too much pressure equals too much cortisol hormone.
Exercise contributes to fat loss by playing two significant roles. The first one is to make the body more insulin sensitive. As exercise activates muscles, the need for glucose can increase.
When muscles consume more glucose, the body secretes less insulin, preventing insulin resistance risk.
Therefore, strategic planning of our exercises to times when the body produces more glucose and insulin can be beneficial. Food digestion usually takes two to four hours, depending on macronutrients.
For example, the body digests carbohydrates faster than proteins and fats. Therefore, walking a few hours after main meals contributes to insulin sensitivity.
Both cardio and resistance workouts burn calories. While the effects of cardio are short-term, resistance training provides a long-term and beneficial impact, providing a better hormonal profile.
While cardio increases cortisol creating the risk of muscle loss, resistance training or high-intensity workouts increase growth hormone and other anabolic hormones such as testosterone to prevent muscle loss.
However, a little cardio on an empty stomach for the beginners initially might be beneficial to diminish glycogen stores and increase the chance of using the stored body, as Eliza’s coach used as a fat-loss protocol.
d — Customize a Fat-Burning Diet with a Time-Restricted Eating Protocol
When I use the term diet, I don’t refer to fad diets.
I mean a healthy eating regime as a lifestyle.
Dieting for a few days and consuming excessive and empty calories is why people rapidly gain more fat than before. The body hates starvation.
Diet is an individual matter. Some of us thrive on plant-based, and some do on animal-based diets. Some people are more tolerant of carbs, while others need to consume fewer carbs as their bodies cannot metabolize them as required.
I was one of them. Thus, I choose an eating regime restricting carbs and replacing them with healthy fats for needed energy.
Even though exercise contributes to a caloric deficit relatively, the main contributor is what we eat and how often we consume food. Too much food from any macronutrient can significantly increase calories.
While a gram of carbohydrate creates half of the calories in a gram of fat, carbs significantly increase blood glucose and insulin secretion. In addition, healthy fats produce a better leptin response.
Therefore, not all calories are equal. We need to consider the hormonal effect, which is as important as the effects of calories. I explained this in a story titled Why Fat Loss Has Nothing to Do with Calories.
Since the diet has the highest impact on calories and hormones, we need to find ways to customize them with the help of healthcare professionals such as dietitians and nutritionists.
I explained the importance of a customized diet in this article titled Five Game-Changing Tips to Design a Customized Diet to Thrive.
If a fitness guru tries to sell me a diet without knowing my medical history, genetics, and lifestyle, I will stay away as no single diet meets everyone’s requirements.
In addition to the quality of macronutrients, micronutrients, and the amount of food we consume, another critical point is how often we eat, which matters most. The key point is keeping the body insulin and leptin sensitive.
Eating too frequently can cause more insulin spikes, causing fat gain and preventing fat loss. Therefore, time-restricted eating is a proven technique to manage insulin profile, burn stored fats, prevent muscle loss, and contribute to overall health.
I explained the benefits of time-restricted eating in this article titled What if We Can Package Fasting as a Therapeutic Tool.
e — Make the Body Fat-Adapted
I leave this last as this covers previous points. The items mentioned above together contribute to the body becoming fat-adapted.
This metabolically favorable position is critical because the body can tap into fat stores sustainably when it becomes fat-adapted. It is a state where the body can readily use stored fat in the absence of glucose.
Human beings evolved living in a fat-adapted state when food was unavailable during the famine. I mentioned the bloodstream certainly needs glucose to give energy to cells.
However, the body has a mechanism called gluconeogenesis to convert stored fat and amino acids to glucose when needed. It is an automatic and well-controlled mechanism of the body.
When the body becomes fat-adapted, we can survive even if we don’t eat food for many days. Therefore, some people can do prolonged fasting from a day up to forty days. Some people even survived a year without food, depending on the amount of stored fat.
However, prolonged fasting requires medical supervision as it can put the body under too much stress, causing complications. Nevertheless, after being fat-adapted, I had no difficulty fasting and without consuming any carbs.
I documented my experience with this in an article titled Become Fat-Adapted and Trim Waistline in Three Steps.
2 — Build Lean Muscles and Maintain Them
Muscle is one of the most critical organs to survive and thrive, but too much muscle can also be a problem. Thus, the preferred muscle type is called lean muscles.
Building muscles and maintaining them revolve around three protocols.
The first is exercising muscles, the second is feeding the muscles with macronutrients and micro-nutrients, and the other is hormonal balance.
To build and maintain muscles, we need to activate mTOR, a catalytic enzyme that regulates cell growth and protein synthesis. We can activate mTOR in two significant ways.
The first is eating adequate protein, and the second is stimulating muscles with resistance training. We must ensure that the protein we consume is bioavailable and includes all essential amino acids. We also need healthy fats for hormonal balance.
Metabolic hormones play a critical role in muscle maintenance. For example, our muscles need glucose. Therefore, the body needs to produce a specific amount of insulin to carry glucose to the muscles.
Growth hormones and sex hormones like testosterone also contribute to muscle growth. In addition, we need to be careful with catabolic hormones like cortisol to prevent muscle loss.
I explained maintaining muscles in this article titled Burn Visceral Fat While Maintaining Lean Muscles in Five Steps.
3 — Reduce Loose Skin
Compared to the previous two points, this one is less important for health and longevity; however, it is necessary to have a defined and compact belly composure. Loose skin is the only problem for those who lose too much fat in too short a time.
The body regulates the skin tightly. Even if we have excess skin, the body does not eliminate it quickly. It might take years to reduce it. Therefore, fast fat losers struggle with this issue a lot. I was one of them in my younger years.
Paradoxically, losing fat and gaining muscles for me was relatively more straightforward than eliminating loose skin due to biological reasons.
Even though some people believe eliminating saggy skin is impossible, it is possible from my experience and observation of others. However, it takes significant time and effort.
From my experience, in a nutshell, eliminating loose skins revolves around three key points.
The first one is activating the body’s self-eating system, known as autophagy.
The second is cold exposure, which increases thermogenesis, causing fat burn and turning white fat into brown fat.
The third one, like the previous points, is hormonal balance.
I documented my experience in an article titled Three Tips to Eliminate Loose Skin. Reducing wabbly skin had been much more challenging than receiving my doctorate, but I eventually succeeded over a decade ago.
Conclusions and Takeaways
Fat loss, muscle retention, and loose skin elimination revolve around five concepts: lipolysis, mTOR, hormonal balance, autophagy, and cold exposure.
I discussed these points in multiple stories but would like to give a quick summary to remind my readers.
Lipolysis is essential for fat mobilization.
This process compels a caloric deficit, exercise, and manifestation of a thermic effect by exposing the body to cold. mTOR is vital to building and maintaining muscles. It involves sufficient protein, resistance exercise, and anabolic hormones.
Hormonal balance is necessary for fat loss, muscle maintenance, and loose skin elimination.
And cold exposure is mainly beneficial for producing metabolically active brown fat, burning calories, and initiating autophagy,
Here are the five takeaway points from this article.
1 — Mobilize and burn fat by activating lipolysis.
2 — Build and maintain lean muscles by activating mTOR.
3 — Eliminate saggy skin by activating autophagy and thermogenesis.
4 — Balance metabolic hormones by nutrition, exercise, sleep, rest, and fun.
5 — Approach fat loss, muscle gain, and skin health holistically.
Item five covers all aspects, as only with a holistic approach can we achieve a defined belly with optimal fat, muscles, and skin. The critical point is to put the body in a metabolically favorable position.
A metabolically active body is insulin sensitive, leptin sensitive, fat-adapted, and detoxified, with balanced hormones.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
I share a few of my relevant stories that might add different perspectives.
Here is a glance at my fat loss journey.
Here are my perspectives on hormones that I have studied for many years to improve my metabolic and mental health.
Here’s How Georgia Defeated Clinical Depression in 10 Steps
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
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