Do you ever wonder why some fat simply melts off, but it seems like you can never lose the fat in other areas?
Some fat is just more stubborn. Today, we’re going to take a look at what might be going on.
And the role that a little known enzyme called HSL plays in the fat burning process.
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OK, so…a lot of us are trying to lose weight. To burn off that excess fat.
And I’m sure that you’ve heard that old saw, exercise more and eat less. x
Or perhaps this one: it’s all about calories…you have to burn more calories than you consume.
But like everything else, there’s a science behind burning fat.
And understanding a little of that science can give you a leg up on losing some of that fat.
Especially that stubborn, hard-to-lose fat.
OK, so there are 3 types of fat in the human body. First, there’s intramuscular fat.
This is the fat that’s stored within the muscles.
Then there’s visceral fat.
This is the fat that’s stored around the internal organs, and this type of fat is the most dangerous.
Visceral fat drives up the risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Even dementia.
Then there’s subcutaneous fat.
This is the fat that’s stored just beneath the skin and can sometimes be difficult to shed.
So let’s talk of a minute about the fat burning process. Fat burning is about 3 things:
it’s about calories, it’s about hormones, and it’s about blood flow.
So, let’s tackle calories first, ‘cuz it’s the simplest.
If you want to burn fat, you need to be burning more calories than you’re consuming. It’s just that simple.
But that’s not the only factor that impacts fat burning.
There’s also hormones. There are hormones that stimulate the storage of fat, like insulin and estrogen.
And there are hormones that trigger the release of fat into the bloodstream, like testosterone and catecholamines,
such as adrenaline and noradrenaline, also known as epinephrine and norepinephrine.
And different types of fat react differently to the influence of hormones.
And finally, there’s blood flow.
The more blood flow, the easier it is to burn fat.
If we look at the fat burning process, in the first step, fat needs to be released from fat cells.x
This process of fat breakdown and release is called lipid hydrolysis, or lipolysis for short.
Once the fat is released, it needs to be carried through the bloodstream to the cell that is going to burn it.
Then the fat needs to enter that cell and unleash the energy it holds in a process called lipid oxidation.
This is where the fat is burned.
But just because the fat is broken down and released into the bloodstream, doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to get burned.
It could wind up being restored in a fat cell, which tends to happen when people are highly insulin resistant.
Now, this process of fat either entering a fat cell, or leaving it, is the result of the action of 2 enzymes: LPL and HSL.
Lipoprotein lipase, or LPL, prompts the storage of fat, and hormone sensitive lipase, or HSL, triggers the release of fat.
And HSL levels are inversely proportional to insulin levels.
The higher the insulin level, the lower the HSL level…and vice versa.
Signaling by a compound called cyclic-AMP impacts the breakdown and release of fat by hormone sensitive lipase.
As it’s name implies, this process is impacted by the activity of hormone receptors in the fat tissue.
These receptors are called adrenergic receptors, and there are two types.
There are alpha receptors, which slow down the release of fats,
and there are beta receptors, which accelerate the release of fat from fat cells.
These adrenergic receptors, or ARs, can also impact blood flow.
Alpha receptors restrict blood flow, while beta receptors allow for increased blood flow.
Now, like I said, alpha and beta receptors are both hormone receptors in fat tissue.
Hormones that store fat tend to increase the activity of alpha receptors and LPL,
while hormones that release fat activate beta receptors and HSL.
For example, insulin is a fat-storing hormone because it activates LPL while suppressing HSL and impairing the normal functioning of beta receptors.
On the other hand, catecholamines can be fat-releasing hormones when they bind to beta receptors and they activate HSL.
But when they bind to alpha receptors, they can actually slow the release of fats.
And this is where stubborn fat comes in. So, what is stubborn fat?
It’s simply fat tissue that releases fat from the fat cell more slowly than normal fat tissue.
And the most stubborn of all fats is subcutaneous fat…that fat that’s stored just beneath the skin.
But not all subcutaneous fat is stubborn fat. First off, stubborn fat is different in women than it is in men.
Female stubborn fat is more stubborn than male stubborn fat.
Female subcutaneous fat has about 9-10 times more alpha receptors than male subcutaneous fat.
And it’s located in different parts of the body.
Female stubborn fat tends to be stored on the thighs, hips and butt,
while male stubborn fat tends to reside in the lower abdomen.
But all stubborn fat has a few things in common.
Stubborn fat has more alpha receptors and fewer beta receptors. It’s more reactive to insulin.
It has a lot less blood flow. Subcutaneous fat in general is far more stubborn than visceral fat.
Now, I suspect that most of you are not nearly as interested in the science of fat burning as you are in “How the hell do I get rid of it!”
Well, that’s what we’re going to cover in next week’s video.
Be sure to tune in next week when I'll give you several strategies for tackling stubborn fat.
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