No question about it, burning fat is a 24/7 endeavor. To keep the fires hot, you need to eat every 2–3 hours throughout the day. Not only that, but you must choose the right foods in the right amounts to keep your metabolism revved up so your six pack will be ready for its close-up.
The way we see it, there are 12 fundamentals — laws, if you will — that are all you need to shed that unwanted blubber from your midsection and elsewhere. Most of them are nutrition-driven, but training comes into play as well. Your mass-gaining phase is over for the time being; now it’s time to get lean. These 12 laws of fat-burning will help get you there.
The fact is, that if your fat burning hormones aren’t being triggered, then you will not burn fat. So, what are the reasons that your fat burning hormones are not being released? Below are just a few:
1. Stress — Stress is the #1 contributing factor to every single illness, and it also makes us fat. When you are stressed, your adrenal glands release cortisol. Cortisol is also known as “the belly fat hormone.”
2. Caffeine — Sorry to say, but caffeine makes us fat. It causes cortisol to be released, and it is super acidic. The body functions best when your pH is alkaline — not acidic.
3. Refined sugar — Soda, candy, donuts, snack bars, processed food… all full of refined sugar. Yes, refined sugar makes us fat — still…
4. Over-eating and Under-eating — when we over/under eat, we confuse the body. If the body thinks you’re starving, then it will store fat.
5. Skipping meals — starving makes your body store fat.
6. Refined carbs — white bread, white pasta, white flour tortillas, cereal, bagels, donuts… All of the complex carbohydrates that slow the uptake of sugar into your bloodstream are removed, in the process of making flour white. Eat whole grains — not processed, refined grains.
7. Alcohol — they don’t call it a beer belly for no reason. Alcohol breaks down into sugar very quickly, and also causes cortisol to be released in the body.
8. No exercise — or the wrong type of exercise — If your muscles aren’t sore, you’re probably not releasing fat burning hormones when you exercise.
