Could Your Exercise Program Be Keeping You Fat?

Although exercise is a necessary part of any effecte natural weight loss plan, too much exercise or the wrong kind of exercise can interfere with the abilty of some people to effectively burn fat. Individuals who carry most of their excess weight as lower abdominal fat often suffer from fatigue of the adrenal glands. Adrenal fatigue typically occurs as an effect of chronic stress and excessive exercise will make the problem worse and actually promote fat deposition in the lower belly.

The adrenal glands are positioned on top of each kidney. They are small but extremely important glands that produce many hormones for many functions in the body. The most well-known of the adrenal hormones is adrenaline, which is produced in stressful or exciting situations and causes effects such as increased heart rate and respiration, increased blood pressure, and increased circulation to the muscles to make the body ready for bursts of activity. Adrenaline also burns fat to use for energy, and promotes weight loss when it is present in the blood stream.

In addition to adrenaline, the adrenal glands produce another hormone that is involved in weight control, called cortisol. Cortisol stimulates the storage of fat in the lower abdomen, creating a stomach "pooch" of fat deposited below the waistline. Cortisol can be produced in significant quantities over a long period of time, unlike adrenaline which can only be produced in short bursts. Because of this, in cases of long-term stress, the fat burning of adrenaline will fade out long before the fat-depositing effects of cortisol.

Cortisol does serve positive purposes in some situations as it allows for conservation of energy when the body is subjected to harsh living conditions over a long period of time. The problem is that chronic emotional stress causes elevations in cortisol and for individuals who are under a lot of stress in their daily lives, the high cortisol release from the adrenals stimulates the deposition of fat in the lower abdominal area.

This brings us to exercise. In individuals who are under a lot of stress, the adrenals will be overworked but they will continue to produce large amounts of cortisol. Highly exertive physical exercise further taxes the adrenals and leads to even greater cortisol production. The more cortisol that is present in the blood stream, the more the body is stimulated to deposit fat in the lower abdominal area.

Frustrated by the persistence of the belly fat, some people will attempt to get resuls by working out more often and more vigorously. This may produce some weight loss but rarely does it help reduce the fat deposits in the lower abdomen. This will drive some to try to exercise even harder, but as they do, they become tired, sore, and may even lose strength and endurance in the muscles of the arms and legs.

Why would somone lose strength in the muscles in the arms and legs? Isn't exercise supposed to build muscle? Well, cortisol not only stores fat in the lower abdomen, it also stimulates the breakdown of muscle and other tissue to use for immediate energy needs. So the more determined a person is to exercise away the belly fat, the more cortisol is produced, and as we said a moment ago, if you burn more calories than you take in, you will lose weight, only in this case the weight being lost is muscle and not fat!

As the cortisol levels stay high, the end result is a combination of chronic fatigue, muscle wasting, and possibly arthritic changes because of tissue breakdown. After all of this, the belly fat still remains as cortisol tries to store fat.

So what should a person with this problem do to lose that lower stomach "pooch"? Well, first of all it is important to figure out if you actually fall into this category, because with the exception of someone who has high cortisol production and overworked adrenals, vigorous exercise is still one of the most effective weight loss measures one can take.

High cortisol and adrenal fatigue will produce certain indicative symptoms. The excess weight is primarily centered in the lower belly area, just below the waist. Muscle wasting or weakness in the arms and legs may develop. Other symptoms might include a need for caffeine to stay awake enough to function during the day, a desire for salt and salty foods, getting lightheaded when standing up too fast, chronic fatigue, and waking up for no reason in the middle of the night on a frequent basis.

If you do fall into this category of adrenal fatigue / high cortisol, exercise is still important, but you want the kind of exercise that helps you to handle stress, not exercise that creates additional stress. For someone with overworked adrenals, the best type of exercise is relatively low-intensity aerobic exercise for 30 to 60 minutes about 3 times per week. This is exercise you can do without getting out of breath and without feeling fatigued afterwards. Among the options for this type of exercise are walking, bicycling, swimming, yoga, tai chi, and low-intensity aerobics. Exercising outdoors seems to be particularly beneficial for stress reduction, and subsequently cortisol reduction, at least when there are no extremes of temperature to deal with.

Besides the exercise approach just mentioned, it is good to eat a reasonable amount of protein in order to maintain muscle mass. About 3 to 4 ounces of animal protein (meat, fish, eggs, poultry, or dairy) 3 times per day is usually good. If you happen to be a vegan, then be sure to consume plenty of seeds, nuts, beans, and other vegetarian proteins.

If you've been working out like crazy to try to get rid of that belly fat, but all you've managed to accomplish was feeling tired, weak, and sore, by reducing the intensity of your workouts and controlling stress better, you'll likely find that the belly fat gradually shrinks away and you'll look and feel great!