How I Reduced My Visceral Fat From Good to Great - Advanced Strategies

Summary

This video explores the impact of visceral fat on health, highlighting its connection to metabolic disorders like insulin resistance and heart disease. The speaker shares their personal journey of reducing visceral fat from 350g to 50g through weight loss, dietary changes, and exercise. They emphasize the importance of a lower methionine intake, higher glycine intake, and aerobic high-intensity exercise. Green tea consumption is also noted as beneficial. The video concludes with advice on assessing one's visceral fat levels and maintaining a healthy lifestyle to reduce it.

Takeaways

• 🔍 Visceral fat is hidden fat around the organs and inside muscles, contributing to metabolic disorders like insulin resistance and heart disease.
• 📏 A healthy level of visceral fat is below 500g, and it's measured using a dexa scan.
• 👥 Men typically have twice as much visceral fat as women, with averages around 500g for men and 250g for women.
• 📉 The speaker reduced their visceral fat from 350g to 50g through a combination of weight loss, dietary changes, and exercise.
• 🥩 Reducing methionine intake, an amino acid found in animal proteins, may help decrease visceral fat.
• 🍵 Increasing glycine intake, either through diet or supplements, can help balance methionine levels and reduce visceral fat.
• 🏃‍♂️ Aerobic and high-intensity interval training exercises are effective in reducing visceral fat.
• 🍵 Green tea, especially those rich in catechins, can aid in reducing visceral fat when combined with exercise.
• 🍽️ Factors that increase visceral fat include refined sugars, high fructose corn syrup, alcohol, ultra-processed foods, and trans fats.
• 🚫 Alcohol consumption is particularly harmful for increasing visceral fat and should be avoided for better fat reduction.
• 📊 Waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio are simple methods to estimate visceral fat levels at home.

Q & A

What is visceral fat and why is it harmful?

Visceral fat is a type of fat that surrounds the organs and is found inside muscles. It is harmful because it is one of the biggest contributors to metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome, which can lead to heart disease and atherosclerosis.

What is the ideal amount of visceral fat for overall health?

The ideal amount of visceral fat for overall health is below 500 grams.

How can one measure their visceral fat?

Visceral fat can be measured using a dexa scan, which is a method that provides a detailed analysis of body composition including bone density, muscle mass, and visceral fat mass.

What dietary changes did the speaker make to reduce visceral fat?

The speaker reduced their visceral fat by eating fewer calories, consuming a higher carb, lower fat diet with vegetables, fruits, berries, fish, eggs, some meat, dairy, and potatoes, similar to a Mediterranean diet.

How did reducing methionine intake contribute to the reduction of visceral fat?

Reducing methionine intake, an essential amino acid found in animal protein, has been shown in studies to lower visceral fat independent of calorie intake. Methionine restriction can also extend lifespan and improve insulin sensitivity.

What role does glycine play in managing visceral fat?

Glycine supplementation can mimic the life extension effects of methionine restriction. A higher glycine intake can reduce the need for methionine restriction, and higher levels of serum glycine are negatively associated with visceral fat.

What impact does aerobic exercise have on reducing visceral fat?

Aerobic exercise, especially high-intensity interval training, has been found to be more effective in reducing visceral fat than resistance training.

How does green tea intake contribute to visceral fat loss?

Green tea intake, particularly when enriched with catechins, has been shown to enhance visceral fat loss when combined with exercise.

What are some lifestyle factors that increase visceral fat?

Factors that increase visceral fat include refined sugars, high fructose corn syrup, alcohol intake, ultra-processed foods, trans fats, a high-fat diet, inadequate sleep, sleep apnea, chronically elevated cortisol levels, low testosterone and DHEA levels, and supra physiological testosterone levels from anabolics.

What are some simple ways to assess one's visceral fat at home?

Simple ways to assess visceral fat at home include measuring waist circumference and calculating the waist-to-hip ratio. For men, an optimal waist circumference is below 85 cm, and for women, it's below 65 cm. The waist-to-hip ratio should be below 0.95 for men and 0.80 for women for the lowest risk.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Understanding Visceral Fat and Its Impact on Health

Visceral fat is a type of fat that surrounds the organs and is hidden within muscles, contributing significantly to metabolic disorders like insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome, which can lead to heart disease and atherosclerosis. Although everyone has some visceral fat, it's not visible as it's not under the skin. The ideal amount of visceral fat is below 500 grams, which can be measured using a DEXA scan. The speaker shares their personal journey of reducing visceral fat from 350g to 50g through weight loss, dietary changes, and exercise. They also discuss the average visceral fat levels in different demographics and the importance of keeping visceral fat low for overall health.

05:01

🏋️‍♂️ Strategies for Reducing Visceral Fat

The speaker outlines the strategies they used to reduce their visceral fat, including losing weight, reducing methionine intake, and increasing glycine intake. They explain the role of methionine, an essential amino acid found in animal proteins, in visceral fat accumulation and how its restriction can lead to its reduction. The benefits of glycine supplementation are also discussed, as it can mimic the longevity and fat reduction effects of methionine restriction. The speaker also highlights the importance of aerobic exercise, particularly high-intensity interval training, in reducing visceral fat. They mention their personal exercise routine, which includes Zone 2 cardio and the 4x4 Norwegian protocol, and the role of green tea in enhancing fat loss. The paragraph concludes with a discussion on the impact of factors like refined sugars, alcohol, sleep, and stress on visceral fat accumulation.

10:02

📏 Measuring and Managing Visceral Fat

This paragraph focuses on methods to measure and manage visceral fat. The speaker explains that while DEXA scans provide the most accurate measurement, waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio are accessible ways to estimate visceral fat levels. They discuss the optimal measurements for these indicators and the associated health risks. The speaker also covers lifestyle factors and dietary changes that can help reduce visceral fat, such as fasting, calorie restriction, exercise, and the consumption of polyphenol-rich foods. The importance of losing weight as the primary method to reduce visceral fat is emphasized, especially for those who are significantly overweight. The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to take steps towards a healthier lifestyle to reduce visceral fat and improve overall health.

Keywords

💡Visceral Fat

Visceral fat refers to the type of fat that surrounds the organs and is found inside muscles. It is one of the biggest contributors to metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome, which can lead to heart disease and atherosclerosis. In the video, the speaker discusses how reducing visceral fat can significantly improve health, with the ideal amount being below 500 grams.

💡Metabolic Disorders

Metabolic disorders are a group of conditions that disrupt normal metabolism, including insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. These disorders can lead to serious health complications like heart disease and diabetes. The video emphasizes the role of visceral fat in contributing to these disorders and the importance of managing it for better health.

💡DEXA Scan

A DEXA (Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) scan is a diagnostic technique used to measure body composition, including bone density, muscle mass, and fat mass. In the context of the video, the speaker uses DEXA scan results to track their visceral fat reduction from 359g to 54g, illustrating the effectiveness of their health regimen.

💡Methionine

Methionine is an essential amino acid derived from protein sources, particularly animal proteins like meat, eggs, and dairy. The video discusses how reducing methionine intake might contribute to lowering visceral fat, independent of calorie intake, and its potential role in extending lifespan when balanced with glycine.

💡Glycine

Glycine is a non-essential amino acid that, when supplemented, can mimic the life-extending effects of methionine restriction. The video suggests that higher glycine intake, in conjunction with lower methionine intake, can significantly reduce visceral fat, which is part of the speaker's strategy for health optimization.

💡Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise, also known as cardio, refers to physical activities that increase heart rate and breathing to improve endurance. The video highlights a 2012 meta-analysis showing that aerobic exercise is more effective in reducing visceral fat than resistance training, supporting the speaker's shift towards more cardio in their routine.

💡High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

HIIT involves short bursts of intense exercise followed by recovery periods and is known for its efficiency in burning calories and fat. The video mentions that HIIT, such as the 4x4 Norwegian protocol, can be particularly effective for reducing visceral fat and improving cardiovascular fitness.

💡Green Tea

Green tea is rich in catechins, particularly EGCG, which have antioxidant properties and may aid in weight management. The video cites studies showing that green tea, especially when enriched with catechins, can enhance visceral fat loss when combined with exercise.

💡Calorie Deficit

A calorie deficit occurs when an individual consumes fewer calories than they burn, leading to weight loss. The video explains that while the speaker did not drastically reduce calories, creating a calorie deficit through a higher carb, lower fat diet, along with increased exercise, contributed to their fat loss.

💡Waist Circumference

Waist circumference is a measure of abdominal fat and is used as an indicator of visceral fat levels. The video discusses the importance of maintaining a healthy waist circumference to reduce the risk of heart disease, with optimal measurements being below 85 cm for men and 65 cm for women.

Highlights

Visceral fat is a type of fat around the organs and inside muscles, contributing to metabolic disorders like insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.

Visceral fat is not visible and can only be measured with a dexa scan, with a healthy level below 500g.

The presenter reduced their visceral fat from 350g to 50g through lifestyle changes.

Weight loss, specifically losing 2 to 3 kilos, contributed to the reduction in visceral fat.

A high-carb, low-fat diet with vegetables, fruits, berries, fish, eggs, some meat, dairy, and potatoes was followed.

Reducing methionine intake from animal proteins like meat, eggs, and dairy may lower visceral fat.

Glycine supplementation can mimic the longevity effects of methionine restriction.

Aerobic high-intensity exercise, such as high-intensity interval training, is more effective for reducing visceral fat than resistance training.

Green tea intake, especially when enriched with catechins, can aid in visceral fat loss.

Alcohol intake, refined sugars, and high fructose corn syrup are significant factors increasing visceral fat.

Eliminating alcohol can play a major role in reducing visceral fat.

Chronic stress is linked to increased visceral fat, but managing it is not as crucial as other factors.

Intermittent fasting and the fasting MIM (Multiple Meal) diet can reduce visceral fat.

Polyphenol-rich foods like olive oil, leafy greens, berries, and some fruits can support visceral fat loss.

Higher fiber and protein intake has been found to reduce visceral fat.

Losing weight is the top priority for reducing visceral fat, especially for those carrying extra weight.

Waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio are easy ways to approximate visceral fat levels at home.

Transcripts

visceral fat is this type of fat around

the organs and inside muscles is one of

the biggest contributors to metabolic

disorders such as insulin resistance and

metabolic syndrome which ultimately

leads to heart disease and

atherosclerosis every one of us has a

little bit of visceral fat but we can't

see it because it's around the organs

not under the skin and even if you're

otherwise lean and healthy you might

still have too much visceral fat for

overall health you want to have your

visceral fat below 500 G which you can

measure with a dexa scan in this video

I'm going to share with you how I

reduced my visceral fat from 350 G to 50

g which is a very good result so I've

done two dexa scans over the last year

and I've seen my visceral fat decrease

from 359 G to 54 G which is a 300 G

difference the average healthy person

between the age of 20 to 30 has been

seen to have about 550 gam of visceral

fat men have about twice as much

visceral fat as women 500 versus 250 g

unal healthy obese people have over,

1500 gr of visceral fat the average

person in their 40s has about 1,000 gr

of visceral fat and visceral fat appears

to increase with age because of the age

related fat gain and lack of exercise

for reference Brian Johnson's dexas scan

results showed he had visceral fat of

0.42 L which if you convert into grams

is about 378 G Paul saladino's recent

Texas scan results showed he had 0.3 lb

of visceral fat which is 136 G so how

did I do it how did I decrease my

visceral fat so much the first big

change was me losing weight I lost about

2 to 3 kilog of weight between November

and July which is decent but not a

massive difference I was already lean

and you can't really see a massive

difference in my leanness between 10

months and I lost 100% body fat as shown

by my Dix scan because I also gained 0.2

kg of lean mass in my arms and legs so

this weight loss came 100% from body fat

so I lost body fat both from the

subcutaneous area under the skin as well

as the visceral fat how did I lose the

fat just by eating a bit fewer calories

and doing more exercise I eat a higher

carb lower fat diet with vegetables

fruits berries fish eggs some meat Dairy

potatoes Etc it's similar to a

mediterranian diet however I don't think

that eating slightly less calories was

the biggest reason why I lost so much

visceral fat because I was already

eating this diet before the second big

thing I did was reduce my methine intake

methine is an essential amino acid you

get from protein the highest sources of

methine are animal protein like meat

eggs dairy there are studies in rodents

that methine restriction lowers viseral

fat independent of calorie intake and

there's a lot of evidence that methan in

restriction in animals extends lifespan

but this phenomenon is because of

achieving balance with glycine glycine

supplementation mimics the Lipan

extension effects of methine restriction

if you get higher amounts of glycine

then you don't need to restrict your

methan that much for the longevity

benefits but it appears that reducing me

meanin intake independently also lowers

visceral fat I did reduce my methin

intake over the last 10 months quite a

lot and I was eating mless meat and eggs

maybe once or twice a week I did

continue consuming Dairy every day and

fish like every other day so I don't

know exactly how big of a role reducing

my methan intake had in reducing my

visceral fat but it did play a role I'm

pretty sure of that in humans with

metabolic syndrome 16 weeks of methan

restriction 2 Mig per kilogram per day

of methan compared to a diet 33 Mig per

kilog per day of methan has been seen to

improve insulin sensitivity increase fat

oxidation and reduce lipid content in

the liver independent of weight loss so

methan and restriction might reduce

liver fat in humans as well the

interesting thing here is that Paul

saladino eats quite a lot of methine

because of his animal-based diet whereas

Brian Johnson who eats a plant-based

diet or vegan diet he consumes almost no

methine from his diet the difference

between Paul saladino and Brian Johnson

is also that Paul saladino has a much

higher glycine intake because of the

organ Meats whereas Brian Johnson also

has a very low intake of glycine from

his diet and he doesn't take a lot of

supplements for glycine either he only

takes 1200 milligrams of glycine per day

whereas Paul saladino gets a lot more

from his tendon Meats whereas me

personally I have a lower methan intake

I have less methan intake than Paul

saladino but I also have a much higher

glycine intake than Paul sadino because

of supplementing glycine I take about 10

to 15 grams of glycine per day as a

supplement in older adults they have

found that low plasma glycin levels are

a marker of visceral adiposity

independent of sex age body composition

or chronic diseases serum glycine is

also negatively associated with

intramuscular OS tissue which is the fat

inside the muscles so the key here

appears to be that you need to be on a

lower methine intake and on a higher

glycine intake to see a dramatic

reduction in your visceral fat the third

thing I think played a role was aerobic

high-intensity exercise aerobic exercise

has been seen to reduce visceral fat and

a 2012 metaanalysis of randomus control

trials found that aerobic exercise was

more effective in reducing visceral fat

than resistance training and there are

studies indicating that high-intensity

interval training is superior to low

intensity exercise for reducing visceral

fat and abdominal obesity so during this

time I have shifted my exercise more

towards aerobic exercise as well as

incorporating more high intensity

aerobic exercise I've done much less

resistance training than last year and

I've done a lot more cardio this year

based on the evidence doing more cardio

and doing more high intensity cardio

appears to be more Superior for reducing

visceral fat than doing resistance

training during this time I was doing

about two to three times a week of Zone

2 cardio for 60 minutes and once a week

I did high-intensity intervals with the

4x4 Norwegian protocol 4 minutes of high

intensity at 80 to 90% of Max heart rate

and 4 minutes of 50 to 60% of Max heart

rate repeated for four rounds this hit

protocol is quite brutal but it is one

of the most effective ways to increase

your vo to Max and it probably has a

very beneficial effect on reducing

visceral fat as well the final big thing

that reduced my visceral fat was

probably green tea intake I started

adding two to three cups of green tea

every day whereas previously I was

drinking only one cup there's a 2012

random as control trial showing that

kogen enriched green tea for 12 weeks

resulted in greater visceral fat loss

than in the placebo group another 2009

study found that green tea cogens enhan

the loss of abdominal fat from exercise

the green T group lost more fat Mass

across the board compared to the control

group they lost more visceral fat as

well as more subcutaneous fat as well so

the total visceral fat loss from green

tea isn't massive but if you combine

green tea with exercise you'll see

greater loss in visceral fat than if you

do just exercise alone basically if you

combine hit cardio with green tea you're

going to see massive reduction in

visceral fat and regular coffee has also

been seen to support visceral fat loss

but my coffee intake stay the same

between this time period two cups per

day these are the main things that I did

that resulted in visceral fat loss but

obviously there's a lot of basic things

as well that will support losing

visceral fat which is a good thing here

are the biggest factors that increase

visceral fat added refined sugars high

fructose corn syrup alcohol intake Ultra

processed foods trans fats a high-fat

diet inadequate sleep sleep apnea

chronically elevated cortisol levels low

testosterone and low DHEA levels as well

as Supra physiological testosterone

levels such as when you use steroids or

other anabolics when it comes to things

like fat intake and sugar intake then

the total calorie intake is the most

important thing you could still eat some

amounts of sugar and still see a

reduction in your visceral fat if you're

in a calorie deficit and you lose weight

across the board it's just that if

you're very dialed in with your

nutrition already and you don't see a

reduction in your visceral fat then

reducing the sugar and reducing the fat

intake will probably move the needle I'm

personally not on a zero sugar diet I'm

getting over 200 gram of carbs every day

and my visceral fat is Extreme ex low

and my blood sugar markers like

hemoglobin A1c and fasting insulin are

also very low I don't drink alcohol at

all I haven't drunk alcohol pretty much

for the last 10 years which I do think

has a major role in reducing visceral

fat if you're lean and you're exercising

regularly and you eat a healthy diet but

you still drink some alcohol then you're

just going to carry a little bit too

much visceral fat that's pretty much the

truth and eliminating the alcohol will

reduce your visceral fat I think alcohol

is way worse for increasing visceral fat

than sugar or fat intake is just much

more harmful for your liver and is going

to increase your viseral that way more

than any kind of processed food would

and lastly chronic stress is also link

to visceral fat but I'm not living a

stress-free life I run my own business I

work pretty much 12 hours a day in front

of the computer I have several employees

so I think the key here is being lean

and adjusting some of the dietary macros

to reduce the visceral fat and stress

isn't that big of an obstacle what about

the things that reduce visceral fat here

are the biggest factors inent fasting or

alternative fasting as well as the

fasting MIM making diet has been seen to

reduce visceral fat get 7 to 8 hours of

sleep calorie restriction combined with

exercise polyphenol Rich vegetables and

foods like olive oil leafy greens

berries and some fruit phytochemicals

like berberine corcumin and capsacin and

lastly a higher fiber and higher protein

intake has been found to reduce visceral

fat in terms of the hierarchy of

importance then just losing weight is at

the Top If you're carrying 20 kilos

extra weight then losing that weight

will reduce your visceral fat as well so

you don't need to micromanage or the

other nuances if you're already lean you

can see your abs you're exercising and

you eat like a relatively healthy diet

then you can start to micromanage these

things a bit more like okay I'm going to

look into some supplements I'm going to

try to do more hit cardio I'm going to

drink green tea or I'm going to increase

my glycine intake Etc but if you have 20

30 kilos of extra weight to lose then

just lose the weight and you will see

improvements in your visile fat scores

but how do you know how much visceral

fat you have and how much do you need to

lose like I said the dexa scan is the

most accurate way to measure your body

composition including bone density

muscle mass and visceral fat Mass Texas

scans are quite easy to find in Bak

cities but not every country has them

there are some easy ways to assess your

whistle fat as well to approximate it

but it's not the most accurate way you

basically want to measure your waist

circumference a high waist circumference

is a risk factor for heart disease and

it typically indicates a higher amount

of belly fat which is an indicator of

visceral fat the higher the was of

comference the higher the risk of heart

disease and mortality in both men and

women the optimal was circumference for

men is is below 85 cm and for women it's

65 cm above 95 and 75 cm for women the

risk starts to increase exponentially so

measuring your waist conference is very

easy and convenient you can do it at

your home but it's not 100% perfect

there's also what's called the waist to

hip ratio which is also useful you

basically measure your waist

circumference and then your hip

circumference and then you divide your

waist circumference with your hip

circumference and you get a number you

want your waist to be narrower than your

hips if your waist is wider than your

hips then it means you have too much

belly fat and too much visceral fat the

lowest risk of heart disease is seen

with a waste of hip ratio below 0.95 for

men and 0.80 for women with a waist to

hip ratio above one for men and 0.86 for

women you would see the highest risk so

pretty much get your waist circumference

as low as possible for both men and

women and your hips would ideally be

always wider than your waist overall too

much visceral fat is bad for your health

because it's a sign of metabolic

dysfunction incident resistance and

organ fat a healthy and safe amount of

visceral fat is less than 500 gram or

about one pound however ideally you want

it to be closer to 100 to 200 g Which is

less than a half pound other than that

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