Iv dieted and trained for the last 8 weeks! Iv eaten nothing but chicken and salad, and I trained 3 times a week, but I’m still holding fat in my stomach (male), my hips and bum (female) what am I doing wrong?
Have you found yourself asking this question at any stage of your weight loss quest? Then this post will help you! Basically, if you’re a man, you tend to store body fat around your midsection. This is due to men having a lot more fat receptors in this area. (Android) I guess you could say that it looks like an apple, which is ironic as chances are if you suffer from this, there aren’t many apples going into that belly but anyway! It’s also made up primarily of visceral fat and is much more dangerous than subcutaneous body fat as it’s around your organs!
Females, on the other hand, tend to store body fat around the bum and thighs, as they have more fat receptors in those areas! (Gynoid) or apple-shaped fat distribution is made up primarily of subcutaneous body fat, and is less harmful to health compared to the male belly fat!
With men who have an apple shaped belly, more often than not, would mean they suffer from a little insulin resistance. Basically, this means, that your body does not process insulin well. Insulin is an anabolic hormone and drives nutrients like glucose, into the muscles to make them stronger and fuller, but if insulin resistant, this does not happen and so as carbs raise insulin levels in the body, carbs need to be lowered in the diet!
So, why are you not losing weight in those areas as fast as you’d like? Well, as those areas are very stubborn to fat loss, it takes time! For both men and women, a balance of testosterone and oestrogen is needed for both muscle gain and fat loss. If you are on a very low calorie intake, and by this, I mean, much lower than you have been on before you began your diet, and you have been eating like that for a while, chances are your body won’t be working as well as it should. A couple of side effects are Your metabolic rate will slow down, you won’t recover from workouts, and you will lose muscle. You will also not lose fat in the stubborn areas I just spoke about. Why? Because you have not dieted the right way. Weight loss takes time and if you crash diet, you will not lose weight where you want to, but instead, cause metabolic damage.
Solution; gradually decrease the amount of calories you eat week to week, without starving yourself. Do not binge eat. Stick to a plan that matches your lifestyle and that you can realistically follow, and be patient. Lasting weight loss in the right areas takes time! Don’t rush it! You will only make things worse in the long run!