Testosterone: A fat burner?
Testosterone: A fat burner?
When we think about getting into shape, the unavoidable thought of ‘fat loss’ comes along with it! Your body's reaction to food is controlled by hormones. Healthy eating is not the only factor in fat loss. It involves keeping your hormones in check. And for men, one of the key players for fat loss is said to be the male sex hormone ‘Testosterone’.
Why is testosterone important?
Testosterone is the strongest androgen in men and is essentially called for the maintenance of overall health and wellbeing. Testosterone influence the development of male characteristics such as the growth of facial or body hair, a rise in muscle mass, the enlargement of the shoulders and chest, and the development of a deeper vocal tone.Testosterone level drops with age, which explains in part why you lose bone and muscle mass. The decline in testosterone levels not only inhibits muscle maintenance and growth, but it also might encourage weight gain.
How decreasing testosterone increases weight?
Testosterone enhances muscle growth and suppress fat growth. A lower testosterone level slows muscular growth, which raises the possibility of overeating and fat storage. Moreover, the main cause of males gaining weight due to testosterone deficiency is decreased muscle mass.
How can optimum testosterone levels cause fat loss?
Low testosterone causes the body to spiral out of control. The lower value of testosterone slows down the pace of metabolism and muscle growth, which exacerbates obesity by causing an increase in the build-up of body fat. Excessive fat prevents the body from producing testosterone, thus reducing the level of testosterone in the bloodstream. However, increasing testosterone can accelerates the metabolism rate in muscle cells, causing fat burn and muscles growth as a result. It is scientifically evident that increasing testosterone levels in low-T males may aid in muscle growth and fat loss.
Weight loss or Fat loss?
If you have ever considered remaining in shape, we are certain that you have dwell on the terms "weight loss" and "fat loss". It is important to understand the fact that losing weight should be focused on losing ‘Fat’ and not on losing ‘Muscle’. As soon as our weight shoots up, we tend to opt for crash dieting and inappropriate workouts in order to shred those extra kilos. This usually targets the muscle mass and reduces it (which is obviously not the right way to lose weight). Don’t forget! Tortoise won the race the “Right” way, not the “Faster” way!
Losing fat mass can be achieved through proper nutrition and correct training. Not only this, but for men, maintaining healthy testosterone levels may also works as an additional tool to achieve the fat loss goals.
Is being overweight really related to Testosterone?
Obesity and low testosterone are connected to one another. According to research studies, testosterone levels in obese men are lower than those having normal weight. Obesity and Testosterone are like the sides of a coin. If your testosterone levels are tossed up, the fat mass will go down and vice versa!
The supposed reason behind decreasing testosterone levels may be that the fat tissues produce an enzyme called aromatase. This enzyme is produced by belly fat excessively. It converts testosterone to a female sex hormone, estrogen. As estrogen goes up, testosterone drops down. We can put it simply by saying that belly fats suppress the level of testosterone. Under healthy circumstances, aromatase converts only smaller amounts of testosterone to estrogen but when men hit obesity, more fat tissues are present, more conversion occurs, and thus low testosterone levels can be observed.
In conclusion, it shouldn't be an impossibly difficult task to burn fat. Low testosterone levels might be the reason you're having trouble. If obesity is reversed by making some good lifestyle changes, testosterone levels could be brought back to normal. Inversely, if the testosterone levels are increased or brought back to normal, there are chances of losing fat.