I’ve read by guys like you that Lactic acid forms in the absence of oxygen. And that Lactic acid is a WASTE product and does NOTHING to build muscle weight. You guys are contradicing yourselves out there. What gives?
John
The below article is being reprinted with permission of John Romaniello and FinalPhaseFatLoss.com
Beings that John is such a good friend of mine, he’ll be stopping in throughout the day today to answer questions you might have about the article and the awesome content he’s been providing at FinalPhaseFatLoss.com for the last week or so.
Three Hormones You MUST Address for Fast Fat Loss
By John Romaniello
It seems like most fat loss programs focus on one main thing: to burn fat, you have to expend more energy than you take in.
Such a focus makes sense, of course, because if there is a universal truth to fat loss, that’s it.
This is what we call “energy balance.” In order to lose fat, you have to create what we call “energy debt” or “energy deficit” -that is, eliminate the balance and instead be on the negative side of the balance scales.
That works very well for “beginning” fat, of course. However, success doesn’t last forever.
As anyone who’s ever been on a diet and exercise program of any kind can tell you, at first it’s pretty smooth sailing. Eat less, do more, lose fat.
And then it stops-and usually, stops suddenly, as those same people can also tell you.
Of course, the first instinct people have is a very natural one: to simply do more of what was bringing them success in the first place.
So they eat even less and do even more.
And…have no results.
You see, what these people fail to realize (and what most fat loss programs fail to address) is that:
After a certain point, simple energy deficit no longer covers the tab.
It becomes more about what type of deficit. Speaking generally, you actually have to eat closer to maintenance calorie levels (instead of far below) and expend more Calories through exercise.
Even then, things don’t always happen as quickly as you want.
You see, once you’ve hit a fat loss plateau-or when you’re trying to lose the last few pounds, like I was when I was dieting for the beach house-fat loss becomes a bit less about energy balance a lot more about hormones.
Some hormones, such as leptin, actually control the majority of your general fat loss efforts and all the factors thereof: appetite, satiety, “starvation mode.” However, assuming you’re eating enough and trying to create an energy deficit through training, leptin isn’t the issue.
In Final Phase Fat Loss, you’re never on a severe diet, so you don’t have to worry about leptin.
There are other hormones which are a bit more insidious in their effects on your physique. They don’t just determine IF you gain fat-they determine where you gain it, and whether you’re able to lose it from those areas.
Those “problem” areas on your body are there for a reason.
“Problem areas” are created by your hormonal environment, and it’s your hormones that force your body to have particular fat storage patterns.
In this article, we’re going to talk about the three most common types of regional fat storage, and the hormones that cause them.
Back Got Back: Low Body Fat Storage
One of the most common types of fat storage that we see in women is the “pear shape” -fairly thin on top but heavy on the bottom (and IN the bottom, if you know what I mean).
This is so common that we often refer to a “pear shape” as a body type. This is true to an extent, but this type of fat storage is also heavily dependent on the female sex hormone estrogen. This is one reason why you see this type of fat storage primarily in women.
High levels of estrogen are awesome for enjoying Grey’s Anatomy and makin’ babies, but terrible for fat loss, which makes it obvious that women usually have more trouble losing fat than men.
However, anyone-male or female-with high estrogen levels will have trouble losing fat, especially from the lower body. In essence, the higher your estrogen levels, the greater the likelihood you’ll store fat in your lower body; mainly in the hips and thighs.
And yes, it IS possible for men to have high estrogen levels. Unfortunately, outside of having to deal with a declined rate of fat loss and lower body fat, these guys ALSO have to deal with the ignominy of man-boobs.
On the whole, estrogen related fat storage is a pain in the ass (get it!?) but it is not completely unmanageable. You see, you can offset this phenomenon with certain types of training.
In addition to helping you lose fat stored in the lower body, these specifically designed workouts will also be great for fat loss in general. Essentially, they’re great for burning calories and for shedding lower body fat through estrogen management-combine the two and the result is rapid fat loss, with a heavy concentration on lower body fat stores.
No worries, ladies (and gents!), I’m here to help.
Muffin Tops: No Love for the Love Handles
Probably my least favorite incarnation of regional fat storage is love handle and lower back fat. This is, of course, because I personally suffer from such.
Even when I am in lean condition-I’m talking shredded pretty much everywhere else-
I store some fat in my love handles and lower back. It used to take me an extra 3 weeks to get rid of it.
The reason I tend to store fat this way is because of how my body reacts to certain hormones, and because of the effect those hormones have on fat storage.
When I was a fat kid and ate lots and lots of goodies, I screwed by my endocrine system a wee bit. Nothing too serious, but a decade of eating rapidly digesting carbs followed by…well, followed by more rapidly digesting carbs made my insulin spike and crash and spike and crash all over the place.
On top of making me fat in that immediacy, it also completely had a pretty negative effect on the way my body processes and handles insulin period.
The degree to which you are able to process and respond to glucose (sugar) in your body is called insulin sensitivity. The higher this is, the easier and more efficiently your body utilizes carbohydrates for energy, and the less like you are to store carbs as fat.
On the other hand, insulin resistance is the opposite: you don’t deal well with carbs, and anything other than a low carb diet pretty much means you’re gonna hang on to some fat.
And, to make matters worse, as I mentioned previously, there are regional effects. It’s been shown that people who store fat in the love handles are generally very insulin resistant-and therefore it can be reasoned that insulin resistance leads to love handle and lower back fat storage.
Which means, of course, that insulin resistance makes it very hard to lose fat from that area as well.
I’m sure many of you out there who have been heavy before are experiencing much the same problems that I used to have.
The good news is that insulin resistance (and the resulting regional fatness) can be mitigated with certain types of training. For example, with careful planning and selection of exercises, you can start to whittle away at love handle and lower back fat while you increase insulin sensitivity.
The better news is that I’ve figured out a specific series of training sessions that will do just that.
The One, The Only: Belly Fat
Without question, the most common type of regional fat storage is belly fat. If this isn’t you, it’s someone you know.
Abdominal fat storage obviously has a lot to do with your diet and overall body fat level; that should be obvious but it never hurts to touch on it.
Outside of that, it’s hormones baby, hormones.
The one we’re talking about here is cortisol. This hormone has been in the media a lot the past few years, and I’ve talked about it a bit, so by now you know that cortisol is sometimes called a “stress” hormone.
That moniker is more appropriate than you know.
Basically, that means your body will produce cortisol (and encourage belly fat storage) under conditions of nearly any type of stress-both emotional and physical. So to combat cortisol, it’s not enough to just get more sleep or stop drunk dialing your ex-girlfriend. (Although that helps, I’ve heard.)
Instead, it is of far greater effect to combat cortisol through resistance training.
Now, if you’re observant, you may have noticed what seems to be a contradiction.
As I said, cortisol is also produced through physical stress. In fact, training is actually one of the primary means through which your body will produce this sneaky little hormone. Additionally, because cortisol has been linked to overtraining and has a catabolic (muscle wasting) effect, producing too much of it through training is certainly counterproductive.
It’s important to note, however, that long duration cardio and extended lifting sessions are what produce the most cortisol, and I always recommend against those.
Instead, short, intense training sessions using a particular type of training modality will help to counteract the effects of cortisol; both the muscle-wasting effect, and the cortisol related belly fat storage.
I’ll share that with you tomorrow.
In fact, tomorrow I’ll be sharing another entire article with you. In that article, I’ll teach you how to fight hormones with hormones. I’ll show you how to use specific types of training to combat the nefarious three hormonal nemeses by producing hormones that offset the effects of estrogen, insulin and cortisol.
Be on the look-out for “How to Conquer Your Hormonal Nemeses” tomorrow.
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I will be posting the second part of this article tomorrow, but for now, leave a comment or post your questions for John and I to answer below!
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68 comments - add yours
How do you maintain your weight and move on to the next level?
You will never hear me complain about my job! I have spent about 6 months in Italy over the last 19 months. I am a pro. And I love to cook. Let me tell you from experience that there is no better cheat day than to take a cooking class in Italy…..I’m open for travel advice any time. @John Romaniello –
Hey John & Joel,
This articule could not have come at a better time. I am 35 years old, 161cm tall and weigh 141 pounds. In the past 5mths I have gained an extra 8.8 pounds and am starting to get quite fed up. I have been working out with weights and doing cardio ( 2 x per week i do a slow jog for 45 mins ) and ( 2 x per week i do interval training ) and ( 3-4 per week weight training full body ) and everything is getting leaner and firmer. BUT MY STOMACH which used to be pancake flat and toned IS NOW looking like a muffin top. I can’t fit into any of my jeans anymore due to the fact i can’t do up the buttons. This is quite distressing because normally when i gain weight it is on my hips and thighs and butt but now…those areas are totally fine but my gut is not. it seems like the muscle are still there but 8.8 pounds of the weight i have gained has been on my stomach. Is this due to cortisol hormone? My diet is clean and i drink lots of water. Am i over training? im just fed up now cause my body shape is changing from pear to an apple. I would rather be a pear or balanced then an apple shape. please can you help?
Originally Posted By JohnI’ve read by guys like you that Lactic acid forms in the absence of oxygen. And that Lactic acid is a WASTE product and does NOTHING to build muscle weight. You guys are contradicing yourselves out there. What gives?
John
Great point, John.
To clear up any confusion, Lactic acid by itself does not build muscle; however, the production of lactic acid increases production of growth hormones. And growth hormone is effective for both fat loss and muscle gain.
I appreciate that John–not enough people willing to call people out.
@Julie – Julie – could be cortisol for sure.
Did you recently have children? Any by that i mean within the past 3 years? What you’ll often see is a hormonal shift after childbirth., In estrogen, that is.
So about 2 years or so after you’ve given birth and stopped breast feeding, estrogen levels drop (or at least level off a bit) and that’ll have an effect on fat storage stuff.
And if you DO have young children, that could explain the high cortisol–high stress, lack of sleep, etc.
If that’s the case, the more growth hormone you produce, that better! Try to get more sleep and do some more lactic acid training.
Hey John, two questions:
1 – Can you point me to some studies or articles that better explain the relationship between cortisol and growth hormone? I had always thought that it was the increase in testosterone from sleeping that decreased cortisol because they are both derived from pregnenolone and the more pregnenolone converted to testosterone, the less left for cortisol.
2 – How good is Final Phase Fat Loss at preserving muscle and maintaining strength? I used to be a weak scrawny 145 lber and it took almost a year to get up to 215 lb and get my squat up to 405, now I’m terrified of losing any of the muscle or strength that I’ve built. Would FPFL be a good program for an ectomorph who is much better at losing fat than building/preserving muscle, or is it geared more for people with endomorphic tendencies?
I appreciate the help.
Hey John,
Thanks for the awesome article. I love reading them at work instead of planning lesson plans! (I’m a teacher). Anyway I have the lower back fat storage problem and have been starting to do more resistance training 3 times/week. I make sure to really push myself. I’m already seeing some sweet definition in my arms but that dang lower back fat is still there. I also added sprint intervals and I started taking protein powder after each workout. Should I just keep on doing what I’m doing or should I be doing different workouts to really target that stupid lower back and my inner and outer thighs? I’m a girl and I think that whole estrogen thing is screwing me too. Also I started taking the pill (I just got married in June) and I think that’s messing with my hormones too. But that’s pretty much a must because I don’t want to get preggers. ahhhh being a woman.
@John Romaniello –
Thanks for the reply and no it wasn’t winded at all. You addressed all my concerns and YES I’d love to give it a try for you and ABSOLUTELY you can use my testimonial!!
Kris
John,
I have added about 7 pounds in the last 3 years. I know it doesn’t sound like a lot but I’ve lost a lot of muscle tone. As a result, and I know it’s an excuse, I’ve lost some of my motivation. I want the body and don’t mind working out, but lately can’t seem to lose the darn weight. It’s like I might as well be eating bon-bons! Don’t worry, I’m not but it sure makes a person want to. I think I have a little of all 3 issues, but I don’t really know what kind of body type I have.
One of my big problems is that I suffer from chronic insomnia. I finally got a doctor to diagnose that just two months ago. I’ve never been a great sleeper, but it’s gotten worse the last few years. I’m lucky if I get 4 hours. Usually, I’ll fall asleep quickly only to wake multiple times in the night. Then I am exhausted all day and fighting sleep a good part of that. Needless to say, this doesn’t go over well at work.The only answer the doctor had is a potentially addictive sleep pill. While I have a prescription for it, I don’t use it but very rarely. I hate drugs and don’t want to become addictive. Besides, I am lucky if it helps me get 6 hours.
SO, one of your big things is to get sleep. What do you suggest for someone like me?
Looking forward to learning more about FPFL. I apologize for the rambling, but appreciate your assistance.
Hello, John and Joel
I’ve been reading all your blogs for some time now and I very seldom read anything about seventy-two year olds and their fat problems. Currently, I’m thirty pounds overweight and having a great struggle to take the weight off. I’d appreciate any suggestions you can offer.
@Zach – Hey Zach! For studies, just type in “cortisol and growth hormone” in google! I just found 20.
You’re also correct in your statement regarding test and cortisol however! You also produce more GH during sleep, though.
So I guess it would be best to say that the relationship between cortisol and testosterone is that you’ll produce one over the other. The relationship between cortisol is the GH will have a mild effect on cortisol production, but also mitigate the effect that cortisol will have on your body.
However, there is a REALLY interesting bit of interaction between the two. For example, one study shows that high cortisol can inhibit GH production. Another shows that cortisol can actually INCREASE GH receptor expression in certain cells.
There is just a crap-ton of research out there! Definitely check some out.
Secondly – there is a great mass retention day built into the program! I haven’t spoken about it yet, but it’s a dedicated day based specifically on the fact that I think losing mass on a fat loss program is TOTALLY unacceptable. I refuse.
So I’ve made sure you won’t!
If you’re VERY ectomorphic you can bump cals up just a tiny bit, from a higher protein in take
@rebeccky – I think tomorrows article will address a lot of your specific questions, and actually add to them.
In addition, my answer will be based on the information there. I’ll let you read that, and then answer =)
Originally Posted By LesOkay so now I know I’m definitely insulin resistant. While I train 5-6 days a week (each day I do a different workout) and I change this program every 4 weeks, I’m still at a plateau. I’m not afraid to train so if you, John, are insulin resistant and have found a training formula to address this issue, I’d love to hear more about it; however, puking is not my thing … no offense. ;)
And I second Liz’s comment above. John, your quote above: “In Final Phase Fat Loss, youâ��re never on a severe diet, so you donâ��t have to worry about leptin.” I really don’t want to have to resort to eating low carbs every day except for my cheat day to obtain fat loss results. Do you have any suggestions?
Joel, I’m on your CWYT program and am still on the Core Phase. I started with the Standard Set Up and since I hit a plateau, I tried the 3-2-1 approach but I don’t seem to respond well to 3 days of low carbs; hence the double triple approach didn’t go well either. While I haven’t tried the camel hump approach, I’m concerned I won’t be able to sustain it for the time needed to obtain results. Any suggestions?
I should mention something about that statement–that’s just ONE method of dieting with Final Phase Fat Loss.
While we still seek to expend energy primarily through exercise, diet can be a key component.
You can completely combine CYWT with FPFL. You’d be cheating your way to the final phase =)
You’d just have to be willing to drop calories a bit lower and then do the cheat day on a training day.
It’s completely fine and VERY effective!
I outline just such a strategy in the book.
So there are a lot of different ways to do iit
Originally Posted By JoanneHello, John and Joel
I’ve been reading all your blogs for some time now and I very seldom read anything about seventy-two year olds and their fat problems. Currently, I’m thirty pounds overweight and having a great struggle to take the weight off. I’d appreciate any suggestions you can offer.
Hey Joanne — I just want to say you rock. More and more I’m being introduced to people in their 70s trying to stay healthy and live a fitness lifestyle. I’m really just inspired.
To answer your question, the only thing that changes as you get older is what you’re capable of doing and what you feel you’re capable of doing.
As long as you’re challenging your body with the right types of exercises and employing them in a way the burns calories and doing the right thing in terms of nutrition, you’re all set.
Thanks John. Nope no children – although i just found out that I have fibroids. Apparently this is related to estrogen hormones so yes I will take your advice and start doing lactic acid training and getting more sleep. I think I can blame the estrogen for the 6kg love handles that have secretly come on. Thank you so much for all your support and knowledge :)
Hello just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The words in your post seem to be running off the screen in Chrome. I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with internet browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to let you know. The design look great though! Hope you get the problem solved soon. Thanks
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Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...