Visceral Fat in Your Gut is a Testosterone Killer

The older you get, the harder it is to shed fat around the waistline… but the more important it becomes. Too much fat around the midsection leads to deposits of visceral fat in a deeper part of the stomach.

As opposed to subcutaneous fat, which sits on the outer layer, the deeper visceral fat is dangerous. As Dr. Garth Davis, a bariatric surgeon at Houston Methodist explains, “visceral fat cells are biologically active, essentially an endocrine organ that secretes hormones and other chemicals linked to diseases that afflict older adults.”

They are active, evil little creatures, wreaking havoc in all that is good to you as a man!

This visceral fat causes inflammation in the body, which can lead to heart disease, diabetes and other serious health issues issues. But from a purely masculinity-concerned point of view, it will lower your testosterone production as well, as studies have shown.

So now that you know it’s bad, what can you do to lower your visceral fat, increase your testosterone production and lower inflammation in your body?

How to Lose Visceral Fat and Improve Your Testosterone Production

The good news is that visceral fat is some of the first fat you lose when working on weight loss.

Gaining back a testosterone producing waistline is all about long-term discipline and an ingraining of healthy habits in your daily life.

As to diet – You want to reduce your carb intake, but not all the way. Carbs are important for testosterone production. Just lower the amount you serve yourself and eat. Eat protein first, carbs secondary when eating a meal. Cut breads and chips as much as possible. They just take up space without providing much benefit – rice, potatoes, pasta is the way to go.

Reduce your fat intake. You know what is fatty. Greasy, tastes great. Don’t cut it out all the way, though, as it is also important for your testosterone. As mentioned on Sciencedirect.com:

“Low-fat diets decrease testosterone levels in men. Low-fat diets appear to decrease testicular testosterone production. Further randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these effects. The effects of low-fat diets on testosterone may differ by ethnicity.”

Everything in moderation. You can make exceptions, and eat those pizza slices, or have that bacon cheeseburger with fries, but make sure it is not often, or you will lose what you worked on… the process of losing weight is something that happens over time. And just like it took a long time to lose that weight, a cheat meal here and there is not going to make you lose everything you worked so hard on… but make it the exception, rather than the rule.

Grains, fruits and vegetables are great for aiding digestion. They help move things along, out of your gut. Eat them often, and try to include them in most of your meals and for snacks.

As to exercise – Cardio is key, and so is weight training. Move your body often, in extreme ways if possible to shock your system (HIIT, sprints, sports), but regular, more relaxed cardio can work as well. Lift heavy with lower reps, and alternate with lighter and more reps. Confuse your body, but work it hard and often. Make sure you get enough rest, hydration and protein and carbs to fuel your training and muscle regrowth. Just having more muscle mass on your body burns more fat.

I recently felt myself getting a little heavier than I liked. I turned 40 a few months back, and noticed not only was I gaining a bit of weight lately, but I had a reduction in strength in the gym. I went on a mission to lose the gut.

After shedding a significant amount of stomach fat, I noticed a positive difference in not only my energy levels and libido, but I got back up to weight I was hitting regularly in the gym (45 pound plates 10 times on military press – hadn’t done that in a while), and was actually packing on more muscle mass. My body looked much better and I felt better. The benefits of optimum testosterone production, which you too can easily reap with some adjustments.