Get rid of skinny-fat

The time you have your shirt on you are skinny. The moment you removed your shirt you are fat. In brief, that’s what a skinny fat has in his life. At least skinny people can say that they have abs until they don’t wear a shirt. A fat guy can say that he is a big guy and you better don’t mess with him. But being skinny fat is like a donkey looking at two heaps of grass while thinking which one to eat.

Are you a skinny fat?

Skinny fat people have a feminine fat distribution like fat around lower waist and man boobs. If your BMI (weight in Kg/ (height in meters)^2) is around 19-23 but still you can see your belly swinging like a pendulum, you are a skinny fat.

Here is(was) a famous example

Tom Hardy (Respect for his incredible transformation)

Being skinny fat is more of a hormonal imbalance than just being lazy. I have seen people coming to gym 6 days a week but still with no improvement in their hanging bellies and matchstick arm. If you are a smart person( which you are ) you first goal should be to get rid of this hormonal imbalance and then to worry how much calories you are eating or how much time you are spending in the gym.

Testosterone – the root cause of your present condition

Here is the exact description of testosterone from Wikipedia :

Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone and an anabolic steroid. In men, testosterone plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as the testis and prostate, as well as promoting secondary sexual characteristics such as increased muscle and bone mass, and the growth of body hair.

So the amount of muscle you put on your body is determined by how much testosterone your body produces. In case of skinny-fat body type, low testosterone levels cause muscles to shrink and make your bones and overall body frame weak. High levels of estrogen, a female reproductive hormone, contributes in making it even worse by decreasing effect of testosterone in your body. It makes you store fat in a feminine way (guess you’ve heard of man boobs).

Here are the factors which contribute most in reducing testosterone levels(or make it ineffective) in your body:

• lack of Zn and vitamin D3 in your diet.
• Too much cortisol (caused by stress)
• Too much estrogen

If you are a skinny fat, this is the best place where you should start your fitness journey. Even if you are not a fitness freak then also you can use these techniques to increase your testosterone level which will help you get rid of that flabby tummy.

Solution

Well, I believe that diet is the easiest and fastest way to transform any average physique into an incredible one. Having a good level of testosterone in your body is like clearing a high school with good grades so that you get admission into the college of your choice.

Here’s what you need to pass:

• Reduce your estrogen levels.
  • By eating Cruciferous Vegetables: Cruciferous Vegetables helps a man’s body flush out excess estrogen and increase the amount of testosterone available to cells. A compound called Indole-3-carbinol, found in cruciferous vegetables, increases the excretion of estrogen in men by up to 50 percent, thus increasing the amount of testosterone available. Here are some easily available Cruciferous vegetables :
    • Cabbage(my personal favorite)
    • Cauliflower
    • Turnip (Shaljam)
    • Radishes
    • Broccoli
  • By avoiding soy product altogether: Soy contains compounds called isoflavones which act as plant estrogen in the human body. They’re structurally similar to the estrogen and are believed to have similar feminine effects in the body like man boobs and fat around your lower body(Read more about this). So if you have a weak memory, tattoo this on your forehead that you will never touch a soy product ever in your entire life.
• Eat food that increases testosterone levels:
  • Saturated fats:  When it comes to skinny fat body types, a high-fat diet is much more effective than a high protein diet. Saturated fat has a bad reputation because of the myth that it contributes to obesity which later truth turned out to be exactly opposite. It does not contribute to obesity but prevents it. In studies, it was found that eating saturated fats has shown significant improvement in testosterone levels of subjects, which in turn helped them maintain more muscle mass and less fat. (Read more about this)I would strongly suggest you consume 30-40% of your calories in form of fats. Once again you do not have to be scared of eating saturated fats. Saturated fats do not cause heart attacks (tattoo this too). Here are some easily available saturated fat sources:
    • Butter
    • Coconut oil
    • Egg yolks
    • Olive oil
    • Ghee
  • Eat foods rich in zinc: Here are some easily available foods that are rich in zinc :
    • Garlic
    • Chickpeas
    • Spinach
    • Seeds (pumpkin(amazon link), watermelon(amazon link), sesame(amazon link))
    • Nuts
    • Dark Chocolate
  • Get some sun(Vitamin D3): You can go for some super-fancy vitamin D supplementation but the cheapest and the best source is to get your ass out of your room to get some sun.
• Reduce your stress levels (diet specific methods): Everyone has their own ways to decrease stress (mine is to ride). When you think of starving yourself for reducing fat, that is the moment your condition worse. When you are hungry your stress levels spike up diminishing your testosterone levels which is already at the bottom of well. It might work for a fat person in a short term but for a skinny fat, it’s a terrible idea. If you are concerned about losing fat as fast as possible then you can simply switch to high GI food instead of not eating at all. According to research adding whey proteins to your diet can have a significant decrease in your cortisol level which leads to higher testosterone levels. (It has a direct effect on your muscle growth as everyone knows but that is out of context for now)

I encourage you to make a diet plan considering all these factors according to your convenience. (See here for a sample diet plan(2200 calories) specifically for skinny fats)

Have you ever felt like its almost impossible for you to brush your teeth today? Guess not. The reason is that that is your habit.

This is my belief that the slower you start the farther you go. Give your body some time to make a healthy lifestyle a habit.

Well this is Tom Hardy after the transformation

Check out some useful articles that might help you decide on a diet plan which is compatible with your lifestyle:

• Diet plan for working people
• Beginners weight loss diet plan
• Vegetarian weight loss plan
• Diet plan for skinny fat
• Diet plan for skinny people

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