TMHS 737: The Truth About Belly Fat - With Thomas DeLauer

Having a larger waistline is linked to a whole host of risks, including higher propensity for heart disease and diabetes. And while it isn’t possible to directly target belly fat through exercise and diet, there are some steps you can take to facilitate overall fat loss, resulting in a reduction of dangerous visceral fat. Today’s guest, Thomas DeLauer, is an expert in the realm of diet and nutrition. His popular YouTube channel has amassed millions of subscribers with the mission of helping folks implement realistic and sustainable habits to optimize their health. On this episode of The Model Health Show, he’s diving into the science behind losing belly fat. You’re going to learn the critical mechanisms behind belly fat, including the role of hormones, calories, macronutrients, and more. You’ll hear about the best types of exercise for reducing fat, how to simplify your diet for better body composition, and a whole lot more. Thomas has a wealth of knowledge in this space, and I hope you enjoy this interview. In this episode you’ll discover: What central adiposity is. The difference between visceral fat and belly fat. What the main culprits of visceral adiposity are. How cortisol works in relation to belly fat. Why so many people are skinny fat. How trans fats are created, and how the body breaks them down. The connection between leaky gut and inflammation. What you need to know about trans fats in our food supply. Why both excess sugar and excess fat can cause elevated blood sugar levels. How the liver stores and utilizes glycogen. Why processed foods create the perfect storm for accumulating belly fat. The mechanisms behind how the body burns fat. Which types of exercise are best for burning belly fat. The truth about spot reduction. What LISS is, and how to utilize it. Thomas’ story of transforming his health. The first thing you should do daily to start your day off right. A meal prep tip to help you simplify your life. How to create an environment that facilitates healthy choices. Items mentioned in this episode include: DrinkLMNT.com/model -- Get a FREE sample pack with any order! HVMN.com/model -- Save 30% on your first subscription order of Ketone-IQ! EatSmarterCookbook.com Connect with Thomas DeLauer Website / Instagram / YouTube Join TMHS Facebook community - Model Nation Be sure you are subscribed to this podcast to automatically receive your episodes: Apple Podcasts Stitcher Spotify Soundcloud Thanks To Our Sponsors This episode is brought to you by LMNT. Now, one of the most essential things that enables our cells to literally talk to each other, that enables signal transduction are electrolytes. Electrolytes are minerals that carry an electric charge. Now, there's a certain electrolyte that has gotten drag through the media, through popular culture and really framed as a villain, and that electrolyte is sodium. Now, according to the FDA, over 70% of the sodium in the average American's diet is coming from ultra-processed fake foods. It's coming from ultra-processed foods, from things like Pop-Tarts and potato chips, and the list goes on and on, fast foods. This is where we're getting the bulk of our sodium intake, very low quality sodium and really a one-trick pony because there isn't just one type of electrolyte or one type of sodium. Sodium is one form of a salt. There's also potassium salts, there's also magnesium salts. There's many forms of magnesium, many forms of sodium. That highly refined sodium found in ultra-processed foods, that can be problematic, absolutely. But what happens when we start to shift away from having a diet largely made up of these ultra-processed foods and we're eating more real foods? Are we certain that we're getting the sodium that our cells really need to have a high level of communication and also to protect our metabolic health? Because a meta-analysis published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews uncovered that study participants placed on a low sodium diet did have slightly lower blood pressure in the short-term because that's what we often think about when reducing the sodium, is because of hypertension. So they found that lowering sodium intake did slightly lower blood pressure in the short-term, but they found that restricted sodium also led in the more medium to longer-term, eventually led to elevated triglycerides or blood fats, elevated stress hormones, and accordingly elevated blood pressure. So short-term, reducing sodium, reduces blood pressure, but if you do that for too long, blood pressure is going to be elevated. So there's a balance here. We need sodium. It is a critical nutrient to human health, but we don't want it coming in in that one-trick pony version from ultra-processed foods predominantly. And also a study that was published in the Journal Metabolism that was done by researchers at Harvard Medical School found that low salt intake directly increases insulin resistance in healthy test subjects. So with that being said, make sure that we're eating foods that are naturally rich in sodium, but also what I saw at my special guest recording studio, what we have here at our studio is the electrolytes from LMNT. Go to drinklmnt.com/model and you're going to get the highest quality electrolyte supplement in the world. And they're also, by the way, with every electrolyte purchase, they're going to send you a free bonus pack, a free gift as well. Now, a fascinating study published in the journal Neuron found that magnesium, which is one of the other electrolytes in LMNT, incredible ratios, magnesium is able to restore critical brain plasticity and improve our cognitive function, right? So our brain is critically dependent on sodium, magnesium, and potassium is the other key electrolyte in this equation. And LMNT has hundreds of thousands of data points on the optimal ratio of these electrolytes. And by the way, professional sports teams and all professional sports are utilizing LMNT now. Just because contractually they got to have Gatorade on the outside of that container on the sidelines. I'm telling you right now, I've got the inside information here. Many professional teams are now utilizing LMNT, and I know this because these high level athletes and teams are now partnering with LMNT. So again, it's something really special. It's getting away from all the highly refined sugar that's unnecessary to have in our electrolyte supplements and just delivering the high quality electrolytes that our bodies need to perform. Go to drinklmnt.com/model for a special gift of electrolytes with every purchase. This episode is brought to you by HVMN. One of the major reasons that people give for not being able to cook home-cooked meals on a consistent basis, is not having the energy to do it. Energy can be one of our greatest assets, and it can also be one of our greatest deficiencies. Obviously, our lifestyle factors play a huge role in the availability that we have to access energy, but there are a few recent discoveries that are adding to energy equation, like a few things ever have. Numerous studies, including a study published by the Federation of American societies for Experimental Biology or the FASEB journal, found that exogenous ketones can be up to 28% more efficient in generating energy than glucose alone. If this is about cognitive function, if this is about energy, you've got to utilize these ketones, but not just any run-of-the-mill ketone esters that had its time in the sun, but something far better has been brought to the world by HVMN. Go to hvmn.com/model, and you're going to get 30% off your first subscription order of ketone-IQ. Ketone-IQ is now clinically proven to improve our cognitive performance and also bolster our energy for sports performance. In fact, studies have found up to 15% increased mean power output after recovery by utilizing ketones. And the bio-availability of ketone IQ is in a league of its own. Check out ketone-IQ today. Go to hvmn.com/model for 30% off your first subscription order.