So, you have heard many trainers or gym enthusiasts say that spot reduction is a myth and that you cannot target specific areas of the body to burn fat. Well, they are half correct in the way that you cannot do exercises to achieve point reduction, but there is a way. It is achieved through the manipulation of hormones. The way it works is that if certain hormones are too low or too high, it causes your body to retain fat in certain areas of the body which then become problem areas for the individual and are worked into the ground to eliminate it. .

Below is a list of hormones and where that specific hormonal imbalance can store body fat:

– Cortisol (high) – Umbilical. Excessive fat gain in the belly region.
– Estrogen (high) – Umbilical. Excessive fat gain in the belly region.
– Estrogen (high) – Quads, Hamstrings, Butt. Excessive fat gain in the thighs and butt
– Insulin (high) – Suprailiac, subscapular. Excessive fat gain in the love handles and upper back
– Testosterone (low) – Pectorals, Triceps. Excessive fat stored in the chest and back of the arms.
– Thyroid (low) – Mid axillary. Fat stored about 8 inches below the armpit
– Growth hormone (low) – Knee, calf. This reflects sleep patterns and overall fat loss.

So the way to use this article to help you speed up your fat loss is to find out where you store most of your body fat. Once you have found your problem area and determined which hormone is causing this problem, you should look later in the article and learn how to correct this hormonal imbalance.

Cortisol: If high cortisol is the problem, then:

* Reduce stress! Just try to spend time relaxing and not stressing about life. Catch up on the things that concern you, reach out to people who make you feel good, clear your house, bring a pet home, get regular massages, etc.

* Follow the Elimination Diet. The foods that are eliminated by the elimination diet are difficult to digest and the body works with, thus causing a release of cortisol. The Elimination Diet can be found on my website at the bottom of this page.

* Cortisol is released in large amounts during exercise. That doesn’t mean not exercising, but it does mean trying to avoid cardio, as this releases a lot of cortisol. Try doing short, jerky bursts of resistance exercise to keep cortisol levels low and boost your metabolism in the long run.

* Take an omega 3 supplement. Omega 3 fatty acids will help reduce cortisol levels. Everyone should supplement with omega 3. Get a high-quality source, because with fish oil you get what you pay for.

* Take Rhodiola Rosea. It is a cortisol modulator, which means that if your cortisol is too low it will help you raise it and if it is too high it will help you lower it.

* Make sure your sleeping patterns are in order. You should be asleep at 10.30 and wake up around 6.30. Also, make sure your room is completely dark and with few electrical items around. The few hours before going to sleep try to dim the light, do not exercise, do not watch television, do not use the computer. Relaxing and avoiding artificial light before bed will help you sleep and keep cortisol levels low.

* Stop drinking alcohol. Alcohol will do all kinds of bad things to your body, but what we’re talking about here will raise your cortisol levels.

Follow these points and you will not only lower your cortisol levels, but also reap huge benefits to your overall health and fitness.

Estrogen – High amounts of estrogen in the body can be lowered as follows:

* Eat lots of cruciferous vegetables. These are the ones like broccoli, cabbage, sprouts, etc.

* Do not use or store water in plastic bottles. If you have to use plastic bottles, try not to leave them in direct sunlight. The quality of a bottle can be seen by looking at its bottom. You will see a triangle of three arrows with a number inside. The lower the number, the worse the quality of the plastic. Most of the bottles are 1, but if you look closely, you can find some around 3. Try drinking mineral water in glass bottles.

* The DIM supplement can help reduce estrogen levels. DIM is a powerful anti-estrogen that specifically targets bad estrogens caused by phyto-estrogens in our environment.

* Broccoli extract and green tea are also used to fight estrogen “16” (the bad estrogen)

* Yohimbine can also help reduce estrogen levels. It is extracted from the bark of yohimbe trees. Yohimbine cream is definitely a better option because oral administration of yohimbine could result in consistently high blood levels that could have dangerous side effects on the heart and CNS (central nervous system).

Testosterone – If you have low testosterone levels and want to increase them:

* Get enough sleep. Like the tactic for lowering cortisol, you should be asleep at 10.30am and get up at 6.30am. A completely dark room with few electrical appliances near you will also help you get a good night’s sleep.

* Eating foods like steak and nuts will really help boost your testosterone.

* Train with weights using great weight lifting exercises. Exercises like squats, deadlifts, lunges, bench press, incline row will increase testosterone much more than isolating smaller muscles like biceps and triceps. Also lift heavy weights that only allow you to perform 5 to 10 reps, rest for 1 to 2 minutes, and complete 3 to 5 sets.

* Make sure you are resting as hard as you train. For this you need to sleep 8 hours, not train too much, feed your body with good nutrition.

* Stop drinking alcohol. Alcohol of any kind will significantly lower your testosterone levels.

* Zinc is low in most active people, so supplementing with zinc will help increase testosterone levels.

Insulin: Following these few points will help you lower and keep your insulin levels under control:

* Taking a good quality fish oil supplement is not only the most important supplement you can take, it will help keep your insulin levels low.

* Consuming fat and protein at each meal to be consumed with carbohydrates will slow the release of carbohydrates into your blood, helping to keep your insulin levels stable.

* Eating less carbohydrates is the main thing that will help with insulin levels. Also make sure the carbohydrates you are eating are nutritious, slow release carbohydrates such as brown rice, sweet
potatoes, legumes and try to avoid grains at all, especially wheat.

* The best time to eat carbohydrates is after training.

* The more insulin you produce, the faster you will age!

Growth Hormone: To increase your growth hormone, try the following.

* Consume more protein in your diet. All foods increase growth hormone temporarily, but proteins especially increase growth hormone to a greater degree.

* Do more exercise. Exercise releases more growth hormone than diet, and increases it for longer as well. This effect will be much greater when your exercise program contains a large number of resistance exercises.

* Getting the right amount of sleep each night will allow your body to release more growth hormone to help you grow.

Thyroid: Thyroid problems can store body fat 8 inches below the armpit. To combat this:

* Avoid soy products entirely as they cause hypothyroidism.

* Some supplements that you can take to help this imbalance are guggulsterones (a compound in the herb Guggul), bladerwrack, a natural source of iodine, zinc, and selenium, all responsible for thyroid hormone production. Lastly, Ashwaganda root and Coleus (a member of the mint family) are frequently used to stimulate the thyroid gland.

With this tip, you can not only improve your health by rebalancing your hormones, but also improve your body composition. If you’re having trouble fitting into a category, the best thing to do is stick to the elimination diet and follow the other tips that can be found on my website below.