If you ask 100 different people what the best way to ‘lose fat’ is, you’ll get 100 different answers.
Most of them though will take you down the “eat less, move more” route.
That’s definitely part of the equation, but that’s also where the conventional approaches are missing out the MOST important factor.
What kind of fat is it?
As in, why is it there, and how did it get there?
And what’s keeping it from going away?
Before I dive into that, it’s first important to understand what DOES cause your fat to become ‘unlocked’.
WARNING: Geekery Alert!
How does fat loss happen in the body?
When your brain and body feel ‘safe’, and feels like it makes sense to do so, they’ll send these things called catecholomines (via the blood) to the fat cell to essentially ‘unlock’ fatty acids from within to be mobilized and utilized.
This is called fat mobilization.
It’s kinda cool actually. When the Catecholamines reach the receptors on the fat cell, they bind to it and shuttle the fat out of the cell to be burned off.
That’s how fat loss happens on the inside.
(Here’s a short video I made about this specifically)
Unfortunately though if your internal and external environment are not conducive to the above circumstances, your fat isn’t going anywhere.
So what’s going on in your body and your brain that’s keeping YOU from releasing that fat of yours?
I’ve found that fat falls into one of the following 5 categories.
So which one(s) do you have?
1. Stuck Fat
Did you know that fat can bind to your fascia, that duct-tape-like connective tissue that encases every bone, muscle, and organ?
To be honest, it pretty much encases everything. It’s everywhere.
But fascia also plays a BIG part in your movement. You have fascial lines on your body designed to move WITH you, That’s why you have them running every direction and 3 dimensionally — so they can move WITH you.
Fascia also protects you. If your brain and body aren’t familiar with (or don’t have a ‘map’ for) specific movement patterns, your brain will lay down fascia to assist you, protect you, and support the movement, joints, and muscles that aren’t doing their jobs.
But (gulp) fascia can also bind fat.
Afterall, if you have excess body fat laying around, you still have to carry it around with you, right?
Fascia can also encase your fat.
So this makes this a bit of double whammy.
If you have a layer of fascially-bound ‘riding’ along with you throughout all of your movement patterns, not only does it create a barrier to the blood and oxygen you need to get those inactive muscles and movements ‘firing’ again, but they also act as a barrier to those precious catecholimines that YOU need for fat mobilization to occur.
Like I said, double whammy!
But it’s not cheesecake and french fries fat. It’s fascially bound fat. It’s stuck.
No amount of dieting or exercise will move it if it can’t get what it needs to be mobilized.
2. Starved Fat
Another thing your brain and body need for fat mobilization is this little thing called homeostasis.
Basically your brain and body are ALWAYS monitoring and detecting whether or not the ‘vessel’ is stable, safe, and constant.
In other words it’s constantly monitoring whether or not you have everything you require to function optimally and survive. Then once it knows that, it can think about things like fat loss and thriving.
But your brain and body need to detect homeostasis first!
What’s one of the main components it looks for?
Nutrients!
I’m not telling you to go out and eat a hamburger, french fries, and a milkshake for dinner every single night (although please, give yourself the freedom to enjoy the pleasures of food!)
But I am saying this:
If you are going to be eating that for dinner, your body will be a lot happier if it’s also getting the nutrients it needs alongside it.
You see, what you are eating (and how much of it) is one part of the equation, but it’s what you’re NOT eating that your brain is concerned about.
Nowadays most women are walking around overfed, but undernourished.
This is another major blockade to your fat loss.
No homeostasis = no fat mobilization 🙁
3. Stressed Fat
When you feel annoyed, mad, stressed, or uneasy about anything, your body elicits a stress response, and it lays down a cocktail of those infamous “fat-storage hormones” that we hear about all the time in the weight loss industry, specifically cortisol and epinephrine.
But in reality, they are simply STRESS hormones.
Not only is stress itself fattening, but did you know that it effects your metabolism too?
When you’re stressed, your ‘in’ the sympathetic part of your nervous system.
But the two things you need on your side for fat loss happen in the parasympathetic branch (nicknamed the ‘rest and digest’ brain).
Digestion and absorption of nutrients can only happen when you’re parasympathetic.
Tissue repair, regeneration, and (yes) fat mobilization can also only take place when you’re parasympathetic.
Again this isn’t a calories in, calories out thing.
When you’re stressed out, none of that even matters.
4. Sad Fat
Sadness or any type of emotion that doesn’t make you feel very good is also seen as a stress to your brain. And just like actual reptilian fight-or-flight stress these emotions trigger that same hormonal response.
But think about what you’re doing when you feel like this?
Whether you’re crying on the outside or crying on the inside, this is when most women tend to look for comfort, distractions, mindless activities, and pleasure.
Truth is, the mammal part of your (specifically the Anterior Cingulate Cortex) is always looking for acceptance, comfort, and connection, and it WILL get it from somewhere.
I know that for me, eating my favorite comfort foods while curled up on the couch binge-watching Netflix feels comforting for a little while…and then it just becomes the opposite.
5. Suffocated Fat
Okay ladies. Stop reading this for just a second and take a deep breathe in.
Are you back yet? Okay great!
Let me ask you: Did you suck your stomach in when you took that big inhale?
Chances are you answered yes.
If you did, your fat is most likely suffocating slowly.
Most people aren’t even aware that their breathing patterns are the direct OPPOSITE of how their body was designed to breathe.
It’s a shame too, because your breathe is the EASIEST and FASTEST way to change the ‘state’ of your body.
As in, if you can get yourself breathing better, you will immediately improve your digestive/metabolic environment, your hormonal environment, your musculoskeletal environment, your brain or neuro environment.
Essentially it changes your entire ‘fat environment’.
My point is this:
There’s more to your fat than mainstream information has taught us.
It’s not just a food or workout ‘thing’.
What you’re eating and your exercise method of choice are very downstream in relation to what’s happening ‘upstream’ in that brain of yours. And trust me when I say, your brain is the one calling the shots.
Let’s finally stop focusing on the effects of weight gain and body fat, and let’s swim upstream and get to the cause and the root of the situation.
Instead of talking about exercise or burning calories, let’s talk about the steps you are already taking. How can you make them count more? How can you make each rep, step, and breathe work SMARTER for you…and then add more if you choose to?
Instead of talking about calories…or whether it’s in the form of protein, fat, carbohydrate, how can you get your brain and body digesting better and extracting more? Then no matter how much you’re putting in your body, it’s actually getting used and optimized.
Instead of talking about mindset, motivation, and goal-setting, let’s talk about your brainset and the stressors and pain in your head and heart that are keeping you from doing it at all– that are keeping you disappointed in yourself, burnt out, and believing yourself less and less time each time you say “I’ll start over on Monday”.
Let your body work for you. Make your body smarter.
It’s an awareness. It’s a mindset. It’s a new way of THINKING.
But it’s one that will not only transform your body…but it will set you free!
So I encourage you to find out: which kind of fat do you have?
And then go double check that your plan of action is addressing the cause, not the effect.
Do this…and you and your fat can finally be free.
