Factors that influence fat burning processes
Understanding the process of lipolysis, that is, how the body burns fat, will help you further along in your goal of fat loss.
Lipolysis is often out of the spotlights at the expense of thermogenesis, but actually very few people come to think that in order to reach fat burning, they should prepare for this with the help of lipolysis. This physiological process is the breakdown of the triglycerides in our body to fatty acids and glycerol. Free fatty acids are released into the bloodstream and circulate throughout the body.
Lipolysis which is of key importance for achieving shredded body is triggered by epinephrine (adrenalin), norepinephrine (noradrenalin), growth hormone, testosterone, ghrelin and cortisol. However, if increasing of the levels of the last two hormones can have side effects on your appetite and muscle tissue, the first four hormone helpers can be of excellent use for building and maintaining your muscles.
So, your job to get the fat loss process going can be seen in a series of steps.
First, you must consume fewer calories than needed to maintain your body weight.
Regardless of the types of macronutrients you eat and the percentage they make up in your diet, if you are eating more than you are burning, you are not going to be losing fat.
Second, cardio workout is considered to be the fastest way to fat burning.
It overloads the heart and the cardiovascular system and increases their capacity, improves the blood stream, optimizes overall condition and functions of our body, increases its resistance to stress, stabilizes its vital functions and improves its health.
Effective cardio can be achieved with veloergometer and cross trainer, running, race walking, swimming, cycling and aerobics, different types of exercises, rope jumping and even climbing and descending stairs.
Third, you have to learn how to control your insulin, so that it works for you, not against you.
Another key element in the process of lipolysis is that of insulin. Insulin’s main role in the body is to act in an anabolic manner, producing complex molecules. Keep in mind, however, that anabolic in this situation does not always necessarily mean muscle-building anabolic. While definitely insulin is a key contributor of muscle tissue growth and development, when insulin is present in a situation where there are more calories consumed than needed at any given moment, it will also be anabolic in terms of fat tissue.
Fourth, you have to make sure that your growth hormone levels are within reasonable limits.
Human growth hormone can turn back time for your body and you can quickly put on muscles, burn fat, increase your libido and have inexhaustible source of energy. But when we speak about growth hormone (hGH) there are more questions than answers. Many athletes as well as amateurs decide to use it without considering if it is worth it.
Our body naturally produces growth hormone (HGH or GH) by its hypophisis and this hormone is responsible for cell growth and regeneration. Muscle gaining and increase of bone density are impossible without GH. Moreover, it has a key role for building healthy tissue all over our body, including the brain and the tissue around most important organs. When hypophisis releases GH, it remains active in the blood stream for only a few minutes, but they are enough for the liver to transform it in protein hormones among which the most important is IGF – 1 that has a lot of anabolic functions.
Fifth, to monitor the function of your thyroid gland
Thyroid gland is a potent endocrine gland which has a key influence on the results of our workouts and healthy diet. If your thyroid gland has hypo function which means it is less active, this will have a negative impact on your efforts, your ability to burn fat and gain muscle. One of the main functions of the thyroid gland is to control protein, to use the energy and to control the level of sensitivity to other hormones in our body.
The thyroid hormones which we are interested in are T3 and T4. Our body produces them from the amino – acid tyrosine and iodine. The reason why they are so important is because they participate in the work of our metabolism and many other systems in it.
And last but not least it is extremely important to be well acquainted with sex hormones’ role in fat burning processes.
Imbalances between the sex hormones can lead to weight gain via a variety of mechanisms. Without getting into too much of the background biochemistry, here are a couple of the most common ways sex hormones can affect weight:
Too much estrogen relative to progesterone (estrogen dominance) often leads to weight gain. This is because estrogen dominance can lead to insulin resistance, which causes the body to store fat. Estrogen dominance also increases cravings, which causes inappropriate eating behaviors; and slows down the thyroid gland, which decreases metabolism, leading to weight gain.
Testosterone has a key role in muscle gain, fat burning processes as well as for healthy libido and active sexual life. It has a strong influence on many of the metabolic processes in our body as it participates in blood sugar control, the ability to pun on muscle and to burn fat. Low levels of testosterone can lead to increase of body fat, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.
Of course, the good news is that with a well – structured workout plan and diet, proper supplements, all factors which influence fat burning processes can be optimized and supported.
This article has an informational character and its aim is to acquaint you with the fact that the process of losing weight is not that simple and only reducing calorie intake is not always enough to achieve what you want. Because instead of fats you can lose muscles which are so difficult to build. Moreover, crash diets can lead to hormone disorder and losing weight can become more and more difficult. My advice is that you should consult experts who are familiar with the processes in your body, will take into consideration your condition and prepare an individual plan for you. With it, you will burn excessive fat quickly without a negative impact on your health.
