To explain this problem, we must first understand that there are two important fat storage warehouses in the human body: visceral fat and subcutaneous fat. Visceral fat mainly surrounds the fat layer wrapped between the internal organs, which gives the body a “big belly” and
an apple-shaped figure ; subcutaneous fat is between the skin and skeletal muscles. From a body look, the person is thicker as a whole and the skin is pulled up. A big lump.From the perspective of fat accumulation, visceral fat is easier to form and easier to consume. Subcutaneous fat is often related to genes, accumulates slowly, and is also consumed slowly.
Visceral fat is a product of violent heat absorption
The main reason why people produce fat is that they take in more calories than the body needs to consume, so it is temporarily stored as high-energy fat (just like if you earn a lot of money and can’t spend it all, you have to keep it in the bank). As for whether it is stored in the internal organs or under the skin, there is a relationship between speed and speed.
When we eat foods with a “high glycemic index”, it is very easy to accumulate visceral fat. Foods with a high glycemic index are those that can quickly raise blood sugar, such as highly processed cakes and breads.
After blood sugar rises, in order to maintain blood sugar stability, the body’s pancreas will secrete insulin to send glucose into cells and reduce the glucose content in the blood. If the glucose sent into the cells is excessive and cannot be consumed, the remaining part will be converted into neutral fat and stored in fat cells. This fat conversion is delayed. If blood sugar rises too fast and cannot be transported to cells throughout the body, it will be stored preferentially in fat cells near the internal organs because it is nearby.
If you eat too much high-glycemic index food, it will be absorbed by your stomach and blood sugar will rise, and it will be sent to your internal organs and become fat. So, we see the result: visceral fat, a product of violent caloric intake. In a word, the calories of the food eaten are too pure and too much. When they are not used up, they are stored nearby in the abdominal organs.
Humans are born to eat high-calorie foods. Our ancestors were hungry all year round, so our genes have a preference for high-calorie foods, because eating more is beneficial to survival. Therefore, there are many highly processed foods high in oil, salt and sugar in modern society, but our gluttonous genes have not changed, so more and more people have excess visceral fat (big bellies).
Long-term aerobic running consumes visceral fat most directly
Visceral fat actually comes and goes quickly. Visceral fat is not as stable as subcutaneous fat and is easier to break down. If you do aerobic exercise for a long time, it will directly consume fat reserves, and a lot of them are visceral fat that is not very stable.
According to each person’s different physique, aerobic exercise will significantly increase the energy supply ratio of fat, so if you want to lose fat, you need to exercise for a certain period of time.
Why should we emphasize longer aerobic exercise? Because at the beginning of exercise, the main source of energy is blood sugar. Remember, because it is aerobic consumption, blood transportation will be more leisurely. No matter which part of the body exercises, resources will eventually be allocated from the fat storehouse.
The time of exercise depends on the current exercise ability and varies from person to person. Generally speaking, exercise that maintains an aerobic fat-burning heart rate for no less than 30-40 minutes, plus warm-up and cool-down before and after, adds up to about 60 minutes, which is considered a relatively effective fat-loss exercise.
Therefore, from an exercise perspective, the most effective way to reduce body fat is to monitor your body fat through heart rate equipment and allow yourself to exercise within an optimal aerobic fat-burning heart rate range. At the same time, your body will gradually build a strong aerobic foundation for future use. Gradually, the proportion and efficiency of fat consumption in daily exercise will increase, and the ultimate goal of reducing body fat can be achieved.
Low-intensity long-distance running can be regarded as a kind of exercise that directly consumes energy for a long time.
The energy consumption process is roughly as follows: first consume the muscle glycogen reserves in the muscles – consume blood sugar – consume visceral fat – consume subcutaneous fat.
Of course, it must be emphasized that these consumptions (muscle glycogen, liver glycogen, blood sugar, visceral fat, subcutaneous fat) are actually carried out at the same time, but the energy supply ratio is different. The main source of energy at the beginning is muscle glycogen (most directly consumed near muscles), followed by blood sugar and liver glycogen (which continuously provide energy to all parts of the body with the blood flow throughout the body. If blood sugar decreases, liver glycogen is released into blood), and finally fat provides a large amount of energy (after running for a long time, oxygen is still sufficient, and sugar reserves are limited, so it is more economical to use fat oxidation to provide energy).
What the human body consumes depends mainly on activity intensity and time. Under normal circumstances, short-term, high-intensity exercise mainly uses glycolysis to provide energy, because it needs to supply energy quickly, and fat oxidation is not that fast; long-term, low-intensity exercise generally consumes mainly fat, and glycogen also It will be consumed in a certain proportion. When the glycogen reserves in the body are insufficient, gluconeogenesis will also be initiated to break down protein and convert it into sugar to maintain the stability of blood sugar. This is why we need to replenish energy gel during a marathon, also to protect our muscles.
Back to our topic of concern, “Is running the best way to remove visceral fat?” The answer is that long-term jogging will effectively and directly consume visceral fat, which is a very good way. You will find that for those long-distance runners who aim to lose weight, the first thing to lose weight is often the belly. When a person gets fat, the first thing to lose weight is often the belly.
dietary taboos
As we said before, if you eat too much highly processed carbohydrates and other “high glycemic index” foods, your blood sugar will rise rapidly and will be converted into fat under the synthetic action of the insulin response. And because fat is produced too quickly and transportation is too troublesome, a lot of fat is stored locally, so a lot of fat is produced near the internal organs. Carbohydrate foods that are high in calories and quickly absorbed are the main culprits of visceral fat.
Therefore, to lose visceral fat, in addition to long-term jogging and other aerobic exercise, you must control your diet and avoid foods with a high glycemic index, as well as foods with too many calories at one time, such as fried foods. The body can only have a limited amount of energy at one time, so the excess must be stored. If too much is stored without being consumed, many related diseases will occur. This is also nature’s way of balance. Many people fail to lose weight because of the amount of running vs. the amount of food they eat. Food volume wins.
In addition, visceral fat accumulation is also related to endocrine. Staying up late and sitting for long periods of time can easily induce visceral fat accumulation.
Many people find it difficult to lose visceral fat because they have not lost subcutaneous fat. Of the two, visceral fat is relatively easy to lose. Long-term aerobic exercise, which mainly consumes fat to provide oxidative energy, is the most direct and effective way to eliminate visceral fat.
It is worth noting that fat has high energy, and it is not possible to lose a lot of weight by running 5 kilometers at a time.
One kilogram of fat (1000g of fat) can provide 9,000 calories. A person can generally consume 60 to 80 calories by running one kilometer. Calculate, if you lose one kilogram of fat, aerobic fat is the main source of energy. , at least 112 to 160 kilometers. Therefore, there is no problem with the logic of jogging to lose fat. If you really want to lose weight, your running mileage needs to keep up.
In addition, it is also very good to do some appropriate strength and resistance exercises. The process of “muscle tearing-repairing-rebuilding” is also a large energy consumer. After every strength training session, the body requires a large amount of energy to repair. These repairs are carried out 24 hours a day, and energy is also consumed while lying down. After muscle growth, basal metabolism increases, which can also help you consume more energy every day.
Eating sugar is a temporary pleasure, but the road to fat loss is long. To lose visceral fat, eating less and moving more is a balance. Living within your means is the healthiest thing.