Health and Fitness
Fat Loss Has Nothing to Do with Calories.
Calories matter to a certain extent, but our hormones have the final say in fat burning.
Our hormones have the final say in fat burning.
My optimal solution was to fix my hormonal issues and use fat as fuel for sustainable weight management.
As a person struggling with weight management issues for decades, I want to share the most critical unlearning and relearning activity in my fitness and health improvement journey.
Despite many excessive workouts, mainly in cardio form and substantial calorie-cutting, I suffered intensely and miserably failed.
Didn’t they work?
Yes, they did. With calorie deficit and excessive cardio, I lost weight in this stressful process, but it was not what I needed and wanted. I ended up losing something which was not supposed to be lost.
Let me highlight one critical factor. We need to know the difference between weight loss and fat loss. They are two different things. Rather than weight loss, my focus is on fat loss.
Caloric deficit by cutting the amount of food and increasing exercise will undoubtedly result in weight loss but not fat loss. What does that mean? Well, we may end up losing our valuable muscles in an extensive caloric deficit.
Losing muscle is not a desirable situation. When we lose our muscles, we lose our strength and endurance. As I got older, this became even more critical. Without strong and healthy muscles, my fitness would suffer.
Considering this crucial fact, the best solution for me was burning fat as fuel. This approach helped me eliminate unwanted weight and gave me super energy, leading to a joyful life.
The concept of fat adaptation is valuable knowledge. To achieve being fat-adapted, I had to focus on a vital hormone called insulin. It is the master hormone for metabolism. Insulin is essential for health. It regulates blood glucose for our survival.
Too much glucose in our bloodstream is toxic, so insulin removes it naturally. Insulin does its work well. But too much of this hormone triggered too frequently and over a long period is the main culprit for not losing fat.
When I was younger, I struggled with weight gain even though, traditionally, I was doing everything right. I was running and swimming almost every day.
Based on professionals’ advice, I ate frequently and consumed low-calorie food to keep my calories less than what I spent. It was touted as the secret formula at the time.
This sounded logical to me. If I take 1000 calories and burn 1500 of them, I would have a 500 caloric deficit and lose weight. My thinking was to burn the calories through excessive cardio and eating low-calorie food.
I was running after lunch and dinner every day. Running gave me instant pleasure at the time, but my joints and ligaments started feeling the pain with severe inflammation.
I religiously counted calories taken and spent, which I recorded in spreadsheets. I learned the calories for each food type and used exercise monitors to count the calories I consumed. I was burning calories with my extensive cardio, but that was not my issue.
The issue was excessive glucose in my bloodstream caused by constant feeding and no fasting. My digestive system did not have a chance to rest and heal.
Constant and excessive glucose in the bloodstream was triggering insulin spikes. High and frequent insulin releases into my bloodstream created the main issue. When insulin is high, our bodies do not burn fat. Insulin was taking the sugar from my bloodstream and converting it to fat molecules.
Insulin is an essential hormone for doing its job. However, too much insulin can cause metabolic issues such as diabetes two. As for carb-intolerant people, my parents and relatives ended up being diabetic. I wanted to prevent it and achieve it successfully.
When I struggled with weight management, my problem was high-level glucose in my body, converting to fat with constantly spiking insulin releases. With excessive insulin, my bloodstream was causing fat accumulation, mainly in the abdominal area.
I was young with a good metabolism and doing a lot of cardio, but my belly was growing. The issue with insulin was preventing my body from burning fat as fuel.
For many years, calories confused me a lot. I was calculating my calorie intake and outtake diligently. But not losing fat with caloric deficiency did not make sense to me. According to my calculation, I was supposed to be lean and not fat. But my fat ratio was increasing day by day.
The lower the caloric food I eat, the more hunger I feel. The more I ate, the more glucose was in my bloodstream. The more glucose in the bloodstream, the more insulin is created. The more frequent insulin releases, the more fat I was accumulating.
When insulin removed the glucose from the bloodstream, I was starving and craving more food. My willpower was challenged. This was creating unnecessary stress for me. It was evident in my elevated cortisol. The higher my cortisol, the lower my testosterone was.
From my experience, two hormones played the most significant role in losing fat. They are insulin and cortisol. By learning the importance of these hormones and their weight management functions and fat loss, I made some lifestyle changes.
I revisited my habits.
In my old habits, every three to four hours, I used to replenish my fuel tank with low-calorie snacks, causing insulin spikes and keeping insulin active. These low-calorie snacks were adding garbage to my body. My body did not need excessive sugar. It needed more protein and healthy fat.
The hunger and stress forced me to eat more carbs and sugary food. The more stress I had, the more cortisol was released. When too much cortisol is in the body, the stubborn belly fat will not start burning.
Finally, I decided to cut the snacks and frequent meals.
New Habits
Eating more protein and healthy fat in my meals relieved hunger and reduced food cravings. Whenever I feel like eating a snack, I ask: do I need more glucose in my bloodstream?
Pausing for a moment and asking powerful questions became a habit.
My next discovery was intermittent fasting and the ketogenic diet. Fasting 16 hours and eating in the 8-hour windows have significantly affected my fat loss for me. Fasting with the ketogenic diet was extra beneficial.
My body became fat-adapted. I learned to burn fat naturally. I never felt hungry again in this regime. All my food cravings disappeared naturally. The calories I got from healthy fat and protein made me quickly satisfied and sustained for hours. However, while eating a high-carb diet, I never felt satisfied and quickly felt hungry again.
So, my point is not all calories are equal. For example, calories from nutritious, dense food and healthy fats are more satisfactory than refined carbs.
While healthy fat consumption has minimal impact on insulin rise, sugary foods skyrocket it. In addition, leptin and ghrelin play a massive role in feeling hunger and satiety. I discussed leptin resistance in this article titled How I Turned Off My Hunger Switch: Satisfying my leptin with healthy fats made the most significant difference.
When I broke my fast at dinner time, the food was delicious. I used food for fuel, not for emotional numbing. I stopped counting calories. I reduced cardio and increased resistance and weight training.
Shortly afterward, I lost around ten pounds of fat, to the surprise of my family. Losing solid fat, especially from the belly, was a remarkable achievement. I felt healthier, happier, and more satisfied with my life. My friend Eliza’s story is also interesting. She lost 30 pounds in six months and never gained it again using a similar diet.
As a by-product of my excellent health and fitness, after 50 years of age, for the first time in my life, I witnessed definitions in my belly. Here is How I Gained Six-Packs After 50 Years Old.
By learning the importance of insulin in weight management, I selected a new lifestyle that supported my goals. I have been on one meal daily for a long time. I love it because it suits my lifestyle. Interestingly, breakfast was not necessarily the most important meal, as my parents and society taught me.
I keep my optimal weight and emotionally feel joyful. Saying goodbye to frequent eating, calorie counting, and excessive cardio healed me. Unlearning and removing these bad habits optimized my hormones, insulin, cortisol, and testosterone.
In a follow-up story, I explained why fat loss has nothing to do with calories.
Why Fat Loss Has Nothing to Do With Calories
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a happy and healthy life.
Here is a glimpse of my fat loss journey.
Here are my perspectives on hormones that I have been studying for many years.
I documented critical transformational activities in my fat loss journey, reflected in the attached stories.
Here’s What Happened on One-Meal-a-Day After 15 Years.
When I Skipped Breakfasts for Two Decades, I Gained Copious Benefits.
Eating 200g Fats Daily for Decades Helps Me Thrive
Fat Loss & Healthy Weight Management Articles
If you enjoyed this story, you might also check the relevant articles listed below.
Three Tips to Eliminate Insulin Resistance and Shrink Waistline
Rewire the Brain to Melt Unwanted Belly Fat Preventing Obesity
Losing Fat by Understanding the Intricacies of Six Major Hormones
How Alberto Melted His Potbelly & Doubled Testosterone in a Year
The More Nutritious Fat Consumed the More Belly Fat Got Burned
Three Hormonal Factors Preventing Fat Loss & Practical Tips to Solve Them
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If you find this article useful, you may check other relevant health improvement stories from my experience.
How Can We Get Rid of Loose Skin?: Effective ways supported by science and experience.
Emotional Stress As Larger Part Of The Iceberg In Energy Deficiency: Emotional stress and drained energy can prevent us from living a satisfying life.
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References from Simple & Powerful Life-Transforming Bio-Hacks
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
As a new reader, please check my holistic health and well-being stories reflecting my reviews, observations, and decades of experiments optimizing my hormones and neurotransmitters. I write about health as it matters. I believe health is all about homeostasis.
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