Your Questions Answered By Tom Venuto
Question: Please help me! I am a 27 year old female. I have been consistently weight and cardio training for over a year and although my upper body is looking good with nice definition, I have fat around my butt and the back of the top of my legs that just won’t budge! I am doing a (very intense) 20 minute cardio session three days a week. I follow a vegan diet, low fat, with a protein supplement. I eat small amounts every 2-3 hours. Is it possible that not eating animal protein could be affecting my body fat? My body fat is currently at about 23%. Please tell me if there is anything I can do to help get rid of this fat area, or should I just accept it as genetics and focus on other parts of my body! Thank you in advance for your advice.
Answer: Do not just “accept it as genetics.” Your genetic makeup will dictate how difficult it’s going to be for you to lose fat or gain muscle; some people definitely have it easier than others. However, anyone can lose fat, even in the most stubborn and resistant areas. It’s just a matter of adjusting your training and nutrition to your body type.
Unfortunately, some people have inherited metabolisms and body types that tend to favor fat storage. These people are called “endomorphs.” Endomorphs may possess the following characteristics:
1) Slower metabolism
2) Very carbohydrate sensitive and/or insulin resistant
3) Tendency to gain fat easily if you eat poorly
4) Tendency to gain fat easily if you stop exercising
5) Tendency to hold on to stored fat and lose weight slowly,even on a “clean,” low fat, low calorie diet.
If you have this type of body, you must adjust your training and nutrition accordingly and you may have to work harder than other people (I know – it’s not fair!) First of all, three days of cardio a week for 20 minutes should be a bare minimum. For an endomorph, you’ll need that much cardio just to maintain. To lose fat, you’ll probably need 5 – 6 days per week of cardio at a minimum of 30-45 minutes per session. Go back to three days a week for maintenance only after you reach your goal.
Your nutritional strategy must lean towards higher protein (and slightly higher fat) with more moderate carbs. (Kind of like a “Zone” type diet.) This is necessary because most endomorphs tend to be carbohydrate sensitive. People with normal carbohydrate metabolisms can consume as much as 60% of their total calories from carbohydrates and stay lean, while endomorphs will tend to get fat eating this much carbohydrate, irrespective of caloric intake.
If you have already “cleaned up” your diet and you’re eating low fat, low sugar, low calorie natural foods and it’s still not working, then the next step would be to reduce your carb intake. Start by eating five small meals per day with the starchy carbs like oatmeal, whole grains, yams, potatoes, rice, etc eaten early in the day and only fibrous carbs like green vegetables and salads late in the day. (less carbs at night)
Every meal should contain a complete source of lean protein. You can definitely create complete proteins by combining complementary vegetable sources (rice and beans, etc), but my experience has shown that it is a little more challenging for vegetarians (especially pure vegans) to achieve that rock-hard, fat free look without the animal proteins.
Why don’t you start by simply increasing your cardio first – that alone may do the trick. If not, then you may have to increase the protein and the “good” fats (Essential fatty acids like flaxseed oil, unprocessed vegetable oils, fish oil, nuts, seeds, peanut butter, etc). Personally, I do favor the animal proteins such as egg whites, chicken, turkey and fish, but any increase in protein and “good” fats at all will help you control insulin better and that in turn may help you lose that last bit of stubborn lower body fat.