As you know from reading parts one and two of this series, your
hormones can be a liability when it comes to getting rid of
stubborn body fat.  For example, the hormone estrogen has a
unique relationship with the fat cell.  Fat cells can release
signals that enable your body to synthesize estrogen and to
regulate the reproductive cycle.  In turn, estrogen has an
effect upon fat cells.  An influx of extra estrogen into the
body from food sources can cause fat cells to grow and become
stubborn. 

A similar situation occurs during pregnancy and in mothers who
are breast-feeding, as this causes the fat cells in the body to
swell so that they are able to absorb and store more fuel.  The
estrogen is telling them that they need to stock up on extra
fat, so the fat cells prepare to do so.  This is why a lot of
women gain weight when starting birth control pills or when
entering menopause when levels of progesterone fall and
estrogen becomes the dominant hormone.

Most of the time, women have a more difficult time losing body
fat than men. However, men are quickly catching up in this day
and age due to the estrogenic foods being consumed in our
modern Western society, rife with environmental pollution and
refined foods. Ironically, one reason women have a harder time
with fat loss than men, is because at any given time, women are
more likely to be on a severely restricted diet in order to
attain the coveted thinness that’s been established as a standard
of beauty and attractiveness in our culture.

Unfortunately, severe and prolonged dieting shuts down the
metabolism, sending the body into starvation mode.  The fat cells
begin sending out even more fat storing enzymes and a significantly
smaller amount of fat releasing enzymes.  Because the fat cells are
afraid of being starved to death and depleted of their stores, they
will hold on to the fat they have to the best of their ability,
causing the body to start burning lean muscle mass to get the
amount of fuel it needs.

Lean muscle mass, located in the skeletal muscles and the organ
systems, is the metabolically active part of the body.  This means
that after the diet is over and your body is out of starvation mode,
your metabolism will still not be functioning as well as before the
diet, because you have lost some of your muscle mass, which was the
engine driving your metabolism.

In addition, the effects of restrictive dieting on your fat storing
and releasing enzymes can be permanent.  Though the levels will
return to closer to a normal level after the diet, the fat releasing
enzymes will almost always be at a little lower level than before
the diet and the fat storing enzymes will almost always be at a
slightly higher level.  Even worse:  The effects are cumulative.
This means that after each successive bout of dieting, it will
be harder and harder for you to lose fat and control your weight
for the long term.

It sounds hopeless, but it’s not, so don’t panic just yet!  This
doesn’t mean that you’re stuck with unwanted fat and excess weight
for the rest of your life.  It only means that you don’t have to
diet anymore.  Even if you "tortured yourself" with deprivation
diets that left you hungry, anxious, and unhappy in the past, what
we know about hormones, enzymes and fat cells can actually be
great news.  You can lose your unwanted fat through good
old-fashioned nutrition, calorie-burning and metabolism-stimulating
exercise and anti-estrogenic foods.

What I am suggesting to you is not a magic bullet solution, and if
you’ve been a long term chronic dieter, it might take a lot longer
to lose the amount of fat you want to lose. But by putting an end
to the quick-results, crash-diet approach and taking the weight
loss gradually, you will not only avoid the feelings of deprivation
that sabotage many diets, but also, the weight you lose will be
three times more likely to stay off.

To improve your results in losing stubborn fat and to reduce
estrogenic effects on your body, there are a few steps you must take
to ensure your success.  Your success will be dependent on your
understanding of how to detox your liver, eat foods that aid reducing
estrogen and exercise.

On this stubborn fat reduction plan, you are going to consume as many
anti-estrogenic foods as possible and eliminate as many estrogenic
foods as possible. In addition to stimulating greater fat loss, this
type of eating will also aid in the detoxification of your liver.
Without cleaning out the liver and reducing the chemical build up,
your liver becomes overburdened and your fat loss can hit the wall.

There are a few stages in stubborn fat removal, so here we go:

First and foremost you must eat unprocessed foods such as fruits,
vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds and occasional wild salmon. This
starts the detoxification of the liver as you eliminate all processed
foods, grains, farm fed livestock and chemically altered foods. Try
to eat as much organic food as possible.

The base of your anti-stubborn fat plan is to consume an enormous amount
of cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and
Brussel sprouts, as these vegetables are very anti-estrogenic. Include
citrus fruits such as grapefruit, orange and pineapple as they have
enzymes in cofactors that help your body against the radical damage
and help your liver detox.

Supplement your diet with omega-3 fatty acids from wild caught salmon
and flaxseed. You can also take an omega-3 fatty acid supplements such
as Carlson's oil available at mercola.com.

Eating raw nuts and seeds, avocados, and olive oil also improves your
body’s function. In addition, eating green leafy vegetables, whole oats
and barley, legumes (no soy), and spices such as turmeric
(cancer fighter), milk thistle (liver detoxer), dandelion root
(natural diuretic) and ginger increases loss of stubborn fat by
decreasing estrogen in your body.  

There are many estrogen inhibitors that can help you decrease body fat
quickly. According to Ori Hofmekler, author of The Warrior Diet, consuming
these foods will greatly improve your ability to remove stubborn fat and
decrease estrogenic effects. Hofmekler says there are additional estrogenic
inhibitors such as chrysin (passion flower), Apigene (chamomile),
Quercetin (onions, garlic) and all of these cofactors can work together
to detoxify your liver and get the stubborn fat off.

To simplify, systemize and organize this information, Hofmekler has
developed an anti-estrogen, anti-stubborn fat program into three stages:

Stage 1 Defense (Eat Anti-Estrogenic Foods) 

Eat Anti-Estrogenic Foods               Estrogen inhibitors

Cruciferous vegetables                    Passion flower

Citrus fruits                                  Chamomile flower                       

Omega 3 oils                                                      

Wild catch salmon

Organic Dairy

Stage 2 Defense (additional foods that promote anti-estrogenic hormones).

Raw nuts and seeds

Avocado

Olives and Olive oil

Rice Germ Oil

Wheat Germ Oil

Stage 3 Defense (Foods that as cofactors and promote liver detoxification)

Green Vegetables          

Spices (turmeric, oregano, thyme, rosemary and sage)

Fruits (citrus, berries, apples, pineapple

Whole oats and barley

Legumes (NO SOY)

Herbs (dandelion root, ginger, alma berries, milk thistle)

Three week plan:

Outlined below is a very simple three week plan that will produce good initial
results in just three weeks. After this initial three week phase, you can then
to rotate the stages to get continued and even better. You can also alternate
the stages by the day. After the first 3 weeks. To gain more information on to
set up a plan on a day to day bases just e mail me at

As this part is out of the scope of this article.

Stage 1 for a week

Detox liver

Stage 2 for a week

High Fat for fuel change over

Stage 3 for a week

Food reintroduction

In addition to eating the proper anti-estrogenic foods to remove stubborn fat,
it goes without saying that a very important part of any program is exercise.
Diet alone is not enough. Regular exercise is not only beneficial for fat loss,
but also for your overall health. Exercise lowers body fat, blood sugar, blood
pressure and cholesterol. You need to set some goals and plan to exercise on a
continuous basis.

If you attempt to lose weight without exercise, you should expect only temporary
success and expect to succumb to the rebound effect.  This simply means that
sooner or later, you will eventually gain back the fat and the harder it will be
to remove the next time around.

Instead of using the diet-only approach, emphasize the diet and exercise
combination and focus on increasing your daily activity level overall (refer to
my article titled, "movement sufficiency, not calorie deficiency" for more
information on exercising more rather than just eating less, and here are a few
quick and practical suggestions:

Walk to the store instead of driving, go for a bike ride, walk upstairs in
office buildings rather than using the elevator, and park your car at the end
of the parking lot instead of looking for the front row spot.  Take short walk
during daily breaks or after you get home. Mow your lawn with a push mower,
vacuum your carpets every other day, tidy up you backyard, basement or garage,
iron your clothes, wash your windows, and play with your kids.  These activities
are usually not looked at as "exercise" or "workouts," but all the activity adds
up at the end of the day and it can work wonders as it accumulates over the long
haul.

Naturally, of course, you should also have a more structured and formal exercise
program to achieve maximum reductions in body fat. Even mowing your lawn has
health benefits and burns some calories, but for really making inroads into those
stubborn fat stores, more intense and focused exercise is a must.

A great type of routine for stubborn fat loss goals is a circuit training
program. This style of training not only raises your metabolism, improves your
cardiovascular ability, and increases strength, it is also time efficient. Put
together a routine that uses large body parts such as legs, chest, back and
shoulders into groups and perform all of the exercises nonstop. You can also
mix cardio interval training into your circuit workouts or in addition to your
circuit workouts to increase the fat burning effect.

Here is an example of an effective and time efficient circuit program
that can easily be performed at home with nothing but dumbbells and a
swiss ball.

A1 - Swiss ball Squats (ball up against the wall)

A2 - Dumbbell Cleans

A3 - Dumbbell Flys on a Swiss Ball

A4 - Lunge

A5 - Dumbbell 3 Matrix (side laterals, bent laterals, front laterals)

A6 - Dumbbell Row

Do each exercise with perfect form for 6-8 reps and then get on your cardio
equipment and go hard for 1-2 minutes. Rest about 90 seconds between before
repeating the circuit 2-3 more times, as your schedule and fitness level
dictate.

You can easily take one or two ideas out of this series, put them to work and
immediately begin to see improvements in stubborn fat reduction. However, the
real "secret," if there is one, is putting all the pieces together into a
comprehensive healthy lifestyle overall.

The lifestyle below suggestions may seem basic and general, but when combined
with what you’ve learned in this article series, they will have a profound impact
on your outcome.

1. Don’t diet – Eat reasonably but do not starve or deprive yourself;
avoid yo-yo dieting

2. Avoid empty calories and processed refined foods like sodas and sweets

3. Eat many smaller meals – eat light at every meal to keep blood sugar steady
and metabolism stoked

4. Eat healthy fat-  Eat omega 3 fatty acids such as those found in salmon to
promote proper hormone function and balance

5. Eat a LOT of vegetables, focusing on the cruciferous variety,

6. Drink lots of water - What can you say other than, "without it, you will die!"
Drink a 1⁄2 and ounce for very pound you weigh

7. Get sufficient quality and quantity of sleep

8. Keep stress to minimum

9. Avoid excessive and chronic use of stimulants

10. Exercise – Just a little increase in daily activities will go a long way
towards improving your health; add circuits and intervals to knock off the most
stubborn fat.

11. Have a little fun – find an exercise program you enjoy and do it

If you enjoyed the information in this article, you will also enjoy the
David Grisaffi Walking Guide, which is a complete walking exercise plan
that comes FREE with the Firm And Flatten Your Abs program Click Here!

By David Grisaffi, C. H. E. K. II, CFT, PN
Corrective Exercise Kinesiologist
Golf Biomechanic Certified
Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach
mailto:david@flattenyourabs.net

http://www.FlattenYourAbs.net