Body fat always seems so stubborn and difficult to get rid of. Especially during times of COVID-19, it feels like the extra pounds have just appeared and have no intentions of going away.
Especially as you age, you may begin to notice that you cannot lose weight as easily and that there is more fat in problem areas like the stomach. Luckily, even though the fat may be stubborn, there are several ways to help make it melt away.
Several hormone replacement therapies can help like HGH and testosterone, lipotropic injections, MIC injections, and good old-fashioned adjustments to your diet and exercise routines.
A combination of a couple of things can help you to see the best results when it comes to weight loss.
HGH Therapy
As you age your levels of human growth hormone start to get lower naturally. This hormone is responsible for your growth and maintaining your body composition. When you start to lose the levels of this hormone you can start to see lower levels of body muscle and higher levels of body fat in areas such as the abdomen.
If you get testing done to reveal an HGH deficiency, human growth hormone replacement therapy may be able to help you in more ways than one. It could support you in your weight loss journey, as well as boost muscle growth, support healthy cognitive functioning, support bone health, and improve stamina with your exercise regime.
MIC Injections
MIC injections, also known as methionine, inositol, choline injections, are a form of lipotropic injection that can help to support weight loss.
Methionine, inositol, and choline are all amino acids, which are the building blocks that your body uses to produce different proteins. These three together can be very powerful in supporting your body’s metabolism to burn fats and remove them from the body. Specifically, it supports the liver and gallbladder in doing so.
Each part of MIC plays a little bit different role in breaking down the fats from the body, which helps you have a more holistic approach to breaking down the fats. These injections work best when combined with an effective diet and exercise program.
Lipotropic Injections
MIC is only one example of a lipotropic injection, which is a formula designed to help break down fats in the body.
Oftentimes, there are additives to MIC injections such as L-carnitine, vitamin B12, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, and vitamin B3. Each of these additives also has properties that help to break down fats in the body.
Lipotropic injections can also help to improve mood, support joints, support liver health, support nail and skin health, balance mood, and more.
Testosterone Hormone Therapy
Similar to human growth hormone deficiency you may also begin to have a testosterone deficiency as you age. The lower levels of testosterone, as you get older, may lead to similar problems such as increased body fat and loss of muscle mass.
So, if a blood test reveals a deficiency, testosterone hormone replacement therapy may be helpful in your efforts to lose body fat. Sometimes a simple hormone imbalance could be a huge part of your struggle to lose weight. It can be difficult when you are fighting against what your body naturally wants to do, but when you give it the tools to help you look and feel your best, it can make the journey a lot easier and more enjoyable.
Exercise
We cannot talk about fat loss without bringing up exercise. Exercise helps your body to burn calories in the form of carbohydrates and fats. Your body is using the fat as an energy source so that it can complete the exercise. There are various types of exercise including aerobic, meaning with oxygen, and anaerobic, meaning without oxygen.
Anaerobic exercises are like strength training with weights. Aerobic exercise is more like yoga, walking, running, and other cardio workouts. Aerobic exercise is an excellent way to burn belly fat and can be very helpful since many are low-impact, and you don’t even need a trainer to get them done! You can also incorporate high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to ease yourself into more rigorous exercises.
The recommendation from the CDC for adult exercise is 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. You can also incorporate a mixture of anaerobic and aerobic exercises to build muscle and lose fat at the same time.
Eating a Healthy Diet
When thinking about burning fat the first thing that comes to mind may be exercise, but your diet is just as, if not more important. They actually say it is 80 percent diet and 20 percent exercise when it comes to weight loss. Instead of choosing a get-thin quick diet, you should focus on making sustainable diet changes and eating all foods in moderation instead of trying to cut something like soda out completely.
A healthy, sustainable diet isn’t about reducing your calorie intake or staying in some type of calorie deficit. You want to fuel your body to power your workouts, feel energized, and encourage the creation of lean muscle mass. You should look at the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients in your food to make sure you’re giving your body what it needs to power through a round of high-intensity interval training and feel good even on your days off from the gym.
You should include good fat (like omega-3 fatty acids), whole grains, fruits and vegetables, protein, and dairy. You can alter each of these sections to foods you like and enjoy eating. Probiotics and prebiotics are also great nutritional options, as they support healthy gut bacteria that can help your body absorb nutrients better and get rid of waste more efficiently.
Also, don’t forget about beverages! Juice or green tea can help you get the antioxidants you need to help fight free radical damage in the body, and water is truly the key to supporting your health and wellness.
By focusing on making good food choices, you have a better chance of keeping the weight off and making lifelong habits that will become easy for you in the long run.
Drink Water
Water seems like the cure-all for everything since it has so many great health benefits. Drinking water is such a simple activity, yet it is often forgotten.
Drinking water can actually be very helpful in your fat loss journey, and can impact weight loss in a couple of different ways.
Have you ever noticed that after you drink a big glass of water, you feel really full? This is the concept that can help you to lose fat. Oftentimes you keep eating because you do not feel full ye — water can help you to feel fuller sooner so that you do not have the urge to overeat and consume an excess of calories.
Water can also help to boost your metabolism and break down the calories you do eat more efficiently.
Reduce Processed Foods
One of the biggest challenges of eating healthy in today’s society is not eating as many processed foods. Since everyone is so go-go-go, processed foods can make it easy and convenient for you to get something to eat while you are busy. But these foods are full of unhealthy fats and sugar that will be a sure thing to build fat in your body over time.
To curb this habit, you can quit cold turkey, or you can slowly build these out of your daily routine and find alternatives. Instead of having a peanut butter cup, you can try peanut butter and celery. Plus, as society moves toward healthier lifestyles, compact, on-the-go healthy options are becoming more and more available if you take the time to go to the fresh produce and healthy food sections of your grocery store!
It is small choices like this that will make the biggest difference in the long run.
Get Adequate Sleep
Getting enough sleep is one of the easiest things you can do and it has a couple of ways that it can help you with weight loss.
Getting the recommended hours of sleep for your age group can help you from eating extra food when you stay up late and eat a midnight snack. Sleep also helps to rest your body and give you more energy to exercise the next day. Not to mention, your metabolism performs better when you get enough sleep.
With the extra rest for your slumber, you can work out extra hard the next day to burn some extra calories.
Eat Fiber
Fiber is the bulking part of fruits and vegetables such as in apples and celery. It is the part of the food that your body cannot break down but does contribute to you feeling full and can even help to clean out your intestines by pushing waste along.
Fiber is also in other foods such as oatmeal, beans, nuts, rice, and fruits and vegetables. Including fiber in your diet is an excellent way to help you lose fat because it will help you to feel full and not have to eat more foods that have high unhealthy fats and carbohydrates.
The fiber actually attracts water into the intestines and bulks it up, which stretches your intestines and is one part of making you feel full. Focus on eating high-fiber foods so that you do not overeat, and can focus on eating powerful foods that will fill and fuel your body.
Conclusion
Losing fat will not happen overnight so try to be patient with yourself on this weight loss journey. Also, it is important to note that using a combination of these techniques will help you to get better and more long-lasting results than using them on their own.
What’s most important to remember is that your waist circumference, body mass index (BMI), or the number on the scale are not the end-all, be-all of health.
In fact, how much body fat you haven’t isn’t always a good indicator of health at all. While one type of fat, visceral fat in the belly, can be dangerous for your health, other types of fat like essential fats are literally necessary for your survival. Incorporate these healthy habits into your daily routine to be the healthiest you can be—anything else is just an added bonus.
Always consult with your health care provider to ensure that these methods will be helpful and safe for you as each person is an individual and what works for one may not work for all.
Resources:
Human growth hormone (HGH): Does it slow aging?
Fiber | The Nutrition Source | Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health
How much physical activity do adults need? | Physical Activity