Weight loss for men is trending day by day. Weight loss, dieting, and the quest for the perfect body are not just for women. More and more men are embarking on slimming diets with the aim of reducing their waistline, shedding some pounds, and staying fit and healthy for as long as possible. If women are subject to hormonal variations that make weight loss more or less complicated, men too have their own way of making fat. You just have to look around. Women store fat on the hips, buttocks, and thighs while men tend to store everything around the waist. Why do men gain weight? What would be the ideal diet? How important is physical activity? These are all questions we are going to deal with in this article and help you develop the perfect scenario for losing weight.
How Do Men Gain Weight?
Poor lifestyle
Until the 90s, it was normal to associate weight problems with women alone. Overweight men, especially from adolescence to about 30 years old, were very difficult to be found. Today, men and women are on equal ground. Children and adolescents are getting fatter and adults are more easily found obese in both sexes.
What has changed in the past 30 years to make men fatter and fatter?
The most obvious answer to this problem of overweight (from adolescence) would be the increase in the consumption of fast foods and high-caloric foods. The lunch break today comes down to a long line outside the sandwiches counters. Schoolchildren eat poorly, and these poor early eating habits leads to weight problems in the medium and long term.
Added to this is the increasing consumption of alcohol’s negative impact on our body composition is also well established.
Hormonal disruptors
Junk food affects women just as much as men. However, there is a factor that only men are sensitive to – their testosterone levels drop. Recent studies show that men have lost 17% of their testosterone in the last 30 years. This is one of the consequences of junk food consumption. However, under the action of aromatase, fat transforms testosterone into estrogen, a female hormone. The reason is simple. Higher the level of body fat in a man, the higher his estrogen level. It is worth noting that estrogens are poisons that men should avoid at all costs.
Pollution is also a hormonal disruptor. By breathing, by consuming contaminated food, or simply by drinking water in plastic bottles, we are exposed to some disturbing agents. They stimulate the estrogen receptors causing phenomena of localized weight gain like the cases in the majority of women.
Watch out for distended abdomen
In addition to easily storing fat in the abdominal area, men have ventral breathing, unlike women who tend to have chest breathing. Although ventral breathing is more effective in oxygenating the lungs, it also tends to distend the abdominals, and more specifically the transverse muscle. The purpose of this muscle is to maintain the viscera in the abdomen and to sheath the upper limb. It also participates in breathing. Without specific work on this specific area, all men will sooner or later no longer manage to tuck fat in their tummies!
The Ideal Diet To Lose Weight For Men
Increase your protein
Protein is the absolutely essential nutrient because it intervenes in almost all the physiological processes of the body; from muscle development to activation of certain enzymes or hormones. If you want to maintenance of muscle mass, consumption of 1g of protein per kilogram of body weight is recommended. And, if you are looking to lose fat and reduce your waistline, you have to take at least a dose of 2g of protein per kilogram of body weight. Consider protein as a priority. You should have this present on each of your meals.
Food sources of protein
- White meats
- Lean red meats
- Organ meats
- Dairy products
- The protein powder
- Eggs
- Fish (fatty and non-fatty)
Increase your lipids
Good unsaturated fats such as omega 6 and omega 3, as well as some saturated fats, are absolutely essential for the optimal functioning of the body, but they are also very useful for boosting natural testosterone levels. Do you know that cholesterol is the main precursor? Instead of avoiding fat at all costs, select them carefully and consume them with each meal.
The sources of lipids to favor
- Olive oil
- Rapeseed oil
- Walnut oil
- Oily fish like salmon
- Whole eggs
- Walnuts, almonds, cashews, Brazil nuts
- Omega 3 in the form of food supplements
Watch your carbs
When weight loss for men is concerned, we advise you to increase your intake of proteins and good fats, it is not the same for carbohydrates, which you should watch carefully. Depending on your body type, your carbohydrate intake should be relatively moderate. Consume only complete, high-fiber, low-glycemic carbohydrates. Avoid fast sugars such as sweets, pastries, sodas, and alcohol. Poor carbohydrate management is one of the main causes of metabolic disturbances and all the consequences that follow are obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease, chronic inflammation, etc.
Preferred sources of carbohydrates
- Sweet potato
- Whole rice
- Quinoa
- Flakes and flour oats
- Legumes such as lentils
Play sports
This is not news to anyone. Participating in sporting activities represents the best prevention tool against overweight and the pathologies associated with it. More specifically, bodybuilding should be preferred for all those who wish to improve their body composition, their well-being, and their whole health.
Apart from developing muscles, strength training strengthens the osteoarticular system, supports metabolism, improves the distribution and use of nutrients, balances the endocrine system, improves insulin sensitivity, and burns fat more effectively, even at rest.
Plan a workout routine with the exercises that suit your needs and your schedule, your body will certainly thank you.
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