In the last post we talked about some of the problems of using exercise to target specific areas for fat loss. In this post we will quickly cover how to target one area that people typically want to lose the bulge.
Do you want to trim down your “love handle” area at the side of the stomach? This area will often get an increase in body fat from people who are having issues with the hormone insulin. If you’re having an increase in fat in this specific area that means you’re probably doing something in your nutrition that is causing a steep increase in your insulin levels. When you think about insulin you probably think about diabetes. But just because you don’t have diabetes doesn’t mean you’re in the clear when it comes to insulin and fat loss.
To simplify it insulin’s job is to decrease the amount of sugar that is in our blood stream and store the sugar for use later or take it to be used as energy. First it is important to understand that all carbohydrates spike insulin levels. Certain types of carbohydrates like processed sugar and grains spike insulin levels more, while others like fruit will spike them slightly less. And finally most vegetables create very small insulin spike.
What does this have to do with targeting your love handle area? Well, insulin signals your body it’s time to store fat, the more insulin that gets released the more fat is stored. Many people think that by eating a low fat diet they can avoid this, but unfortunately your body has a process that converts any excess carbohydrates into fat. And a lot of this fat storage will store in your love handle area specifically.
So what can you do to help decrease fat storage in this area? Try to have your insulin levels more steady throughout the day. Here are a few easy steps to help you accomplish this.
1. Eliminate processed sugar. This can “sneak” into people’s diets, especially if you drink coffee multiple times every day and have sugar in your coffee.
2. Time grain and starchy foods within 1-3 hours after you workout. If you have done intense exercise your body will have used a lot of its carbohydrate stores, so this will spare you the excess sugar that will get converted to fat.
3. Never go more than 4 hours without eating. This will help to level out your insulin levels and give you less food cravings and better energy on top of helping you target that love handle area.
4. Eat more non-starchy vegetables than any other food group. Vegetables are a great carbohydrate source that are dense in vitamins and minerals and won’t give you large insulin spikes.
So now you can go out and start to target a specific area to lose fat. And remember you don’t have to switch all four habits at once. You can start to work bit by bit to make small improvements that will last. For example, if you’re consuming a teaspoon of sugar with your coffee. Start by decreasing to half a teaspoon first, and continue to consistent small improvements. If you’re eating 2 times every day, increase to 3 times first. It’s better to make continuous small changes that will last than to make a bunch of really big changes that you can only maintain for a couple months.
Check out our next blog to learn how you can target your stomach.
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