The Run-up to Summer – Fat Tissue Reduction

You often ask how to exercise most effectively to get rid of excess weight and body fat. What to do to slim the waistline or thighs, or how to get rid of love handles. Some still believe that the body begins to use fat after a longer period of exercise. Today I would like to dispel any doubts on this subject. 

 

The fuel for working muscles

If we want to talk about fat tissue reduction during exercise, we should first consider what the fuel for our working muscles is. Zacznijmy od początku, aby mówić o redukcji tkanki tłuszczowej w czasie wysiłku, zastanówmy się, co jest paliwem dla pracujących mięśni? In normal conditions muscle tissue uses:

• muscle glycogen,
• blood glucose
• intramuscular triglycerides,
• fatty acids from the blood.

Of all these, only fatty acids may or may not come from adipose tissue. They can be present in the blood as a result of a recent meal.

So, as you can see, muscles use carbohydrates and fats as their energy source.

This is something to cheer you up! I think you will enjoy it! The body oxidizes all the time – it uses fat as fuel for work. However, depending on the conditions, it uses more or less of it. Therefore, you should not believe the information that fat is only burned after some time of physical activity. 

 

Exercise intensity and fat burning

Research shows that during low-intensity exercise, the body uses more fats as fuel for work. On the other hand, with the increase in exercise intensity, the share of carbohydrates as fuel for work increases. Why is this happening? More intense workouts require greater and faster energy access. Here, carbohydrates are a better supplier, of course until the reserves are exhausted or the supply of carbohydrates is limited. Then the intensity of exercise automatically decreases and the share of fatty acids and triglycerides as a source of energy for the muscles increases.

Summing up, intensive training means more burned calories (oxidation), but mainly carbohydrates are used here, while low-intensity training means fewer calories burned at the same time, but fats have a greater share. In both cases, energy is obtained from fats and carbohydrates, but in different proportions.

When choosing the type and time of activity, take into account your preferences, health condition, and abilities. Regardless of the chosen type of training, adipose tissue will not disappear without maintaining a negative energy balance!

 

 

Can training reduce body fat locally?

It is still a topic that arouses a lot of emotion. Fortunately, research in this regard continues. What do we already know? Abdominal muscle training, unfortunately, does not reduce body fat in this area.  Recent studies seem promising as it has been shown that lipolysis, i.e. the release of fatty acids, increases in the area of the trained muscle part. However, in order to get rid of the spare tissue, the process of beta-xidation, i.e. fatty acid oxidation, must still take place.

Lipolysis, as I mentioned above, is intensified by, for example, high-intensity training, e.g. strength exercises, but then relatively little energy is spent, the main source of which are carbohydrates. We also know that during aerobic training – that is, one of medium intensity, the use of fatty acids is greater. 

There are studies that have used this model of thinking, the results seem promising, but there are still too few of them to be able to say that it is possible. Various models of combining strength training with aerobic training (e.g. cardio) and a diet with a negative energy balance are still being tested in order to answer the question.

 

Fat burning and sleep

You know how much importance I attach to regeneration and adequate sleep. You can read about it for example HERE. I have another argument for you in favor of its beneficial effects. Did you know that it is during sleep that you have a good opportunity to get rid of excess body fat?

The energy expenditure of a person weighing 60 kg is about 500 kcal during 8 hours of sleep. It’s quite a lot, isn’t it? The main sources of energy are then liver glycogen and adipose tissue. However, there is a small catch! You should maintain a break from your last meal until you go to bed. Dinner just before bedtime, unfortunately, will make the body draw energy at night from the available fuel directly from the blood, because it is a faster and easier method than energy obtained from adipose tissue.

This cannot be questioned. To achieve the goal and reduce body fat, you need to follow a diet with a negative energy deficit, i.e. you need to provide your body with fewer calories from your diet than your daily energy requirement. You can read more about effective dietary methods for weight loss HERE.

If you are healthy, limiting your energy supply or incorporating additional physical activity that will increase your energy needs will allow you to achieve your goal of shedding those extra pounds. If this doesn’t work, it is a good idea to do some basic tests and consult your physician.

 

Bibliography:

1. Alizadeh Z, Younespour S, Mansournia MA. Long term effects of a continuous and intermittent aerobic exercise on weight changes and body fat percentage in overweight and obese women. Tehran Univ Med J. 2013;70(10):630-639. 
2. di Palu Mbo AS, Guerra E, Orlandi C, Bazzucchi I, Sacchetti M. Effect of combined resistance and endurance exercise training on regional fat loss. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness. 2017;57(6):794-801. 
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4. Kordi R, Dehghani S, Noormohammadpour P, Rostami M, Mansournia MA. Effect of abdominal resistance exercise on abdominal subcutaneous fat of obese women: A randomized controlled trial using ultrasound imaging assessments. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 2015;38(3):203-209.
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