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How Do I Get Rid of Saddlebags?

Posted on May 12th 2010 1:00PM by Joe Dowdell


These individuals are also the ones who build entire classes or training sessions around the premise that spot reduction is an effective method of losing body fat. Well, this is simply not true; in fact the primary muscles that are involved in the above movement patterns (i.e., gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, tensor fascia latae) are not even close to where the actual body fat is being stored. I'll talk about effective exercise strategies for losing body fat later, but for now I've asked my esteemed co-author of our new book, "Ultimate You," Dr. Brooke Kalanick, to weigh in on the saddlebag issue since it really goes much deeper than what most people have been told.

The sex hormones -- estrogen, progesterone and testosterone -- are often overlooked when it comes to losing weight. This is surprising because even a casual glance at men's and women's bodies show a striking difference in where they store body fat. That difference in "shape" is the sex hormone effect on body fat -- particularly in the hips and thighs for women, and the belly for men.

Ladies, whether you've always had wider hips or you've started storing more fat there as you've gotten older, fat on the hips and thighs -- a.k.a. saddlebags -- means you've got imbalanced sex hormones. More specifically you are estrogen dominant. Estrogen dominance happens when a woman's estrogen is at least relatively high and her progesterone is at least relatively low. (Keep in mind relative hormonal imbalances are not easily seen on a standard blood test).

Estrogen is the female sex hormone that gives ladies smooth skin and curvy hips -- when out of balance, it can wreak havoc on your health and your figure. Dreaded saddlebags aside, remember, no hormone is all good or all bad. After all, estrogen gives women soft skin, a healthy heart, strong bones and of course it plays a role in regulating the menstrual cycle and thus fertility. It's when the scales tip too much in favor of estrogen that we see menstrual irregularities, worse PMS, difficult menopause, fibroids, endometriosis and expanding hips and thighs.

Wondering if you are estrogen dominant? If you answer yes to any of the questions below, it is likely that estrogen plays a role in your weight issues:

--Are you overweight?
--Do you carry body fat in your hips and thighs?
--Do you have a hypothyroid condition?
--Do you have fibroids, endometriosis or PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome)?
--Have you taken or do you currently take birth control pills?
--Are you menopausal or perimenopausal?

We end up estrogen dominant by skewing the balance between estrogen and progesterone. This happens as a result of other hormonal imbalances, a low protein diet, being overweight and stress, as well as from medications and our modern environment that's rife with endocrine disruptors.

Stress triggers estrogen dominance through a couple of mechanisms. First, progesterone and estrogen have a delicate, easily upset balance. When we are stressed, we convert more raw materials to cortisol, your stress hormone, and less to making progesterone (this is known as the Progesterone Steal. If you've ever been under a lot of stress and missed a period or it was late, you've experienced this). Having less progesterone around to balance out estrogen leads to estrogen dominating a woman's hormonal landscape and among other things starts to pack on the padding around the hips.

Secondly, when cortisol rises due to stress, an elevation in insulin -- your fat storing hormone -- occurs as well. Both of these things increase body fat and increase your overall estrogen dominance. What's worse is body fat itself creates more estrogen -- so you can see the vicious cycle. It sounds horribly unfair, but an enzyme called aromatase, found in high concentrations on the hips and thighs of a woman (and more so in belly fat on a man), takes a woman's precious lean hormone, testosterone, and converts it into estrogen. As if this hormonal havoc wasn't enough, excess estrogen also disrupts thyroid hormones, turning down your metabolic rate.

Surprisingly, menopause can create estrogen dominance, too, which sounds odd because we know estrogen and progesterone both decline after menopause. But while estrogen may be overtly low, it can still dominate progesterone and testosterone making it particularly difficult to burn off those saddlebags.

Hormonal birth control (the pill, Depo Provera or the Mirena IUD) and synthetic hormone replacement therapy (HRT) prescribed for menopausal symptoms can cause estrogen dominance and weight gain. Not for every woman, though. Women are unique in what is their optimal estrogen/progesterone balance and some women's livers detox estrogen better than others, so they will tolerate hormonal medications better. If you take these medications with no issue, then you probably detox estrogen pretty well. However, if you are like many woman and gained weight from the pill or other hormonal medication, or you had a lot of side effects (mood swings, water retention, breast swelling) then you probably don't detox estrogen well and your physique will benefit from avoiding these types of medications. Of course, do not stop any medications without the supervision of your doctor.

Another issue is endocrine disruptors. These compounds occur naturally or are man-made chemicals found in our air, water and food -- everything from plastic water bottles and shampoo to pesticides on fruits and veggies contain estrogen disruptors. They block the effects of hormones that balance estrogen's effects, causing estrogen to dominate a woman's hormonal landscape. For example, endocrine disruptors can lower the effects of progesterone and testosterone by blocking their production and they can also act as strong estrogens themselves -- and your daily life is teeming with them!

Don't get overwhelmed trying to completely rid your life of excess estrogens -- you don't have to do it all, but do as much as you can. Removal of even one source of endocrine disruptors will benefit your health and your physique. Here are some big ways to avoid excess estrogens:

--Eat organic fruits and veggies whenever possible to avoid estrogenic pesticides.
--Pay more for proteins. Low-quality proteins are full of estrogens, so pay a little more for higher quality protein choices such as grass fed beef or bison, free range chicken and hormone free dairy.
--Switch to paraben and phthalate-free cosmetics, body products and deodorants, such as Weleda brand skin care, body care and deodorants.
--Use only natural cleaning products such as Method, Mrs. Meyers Clean Day or Seventh Generation. *If you use plastic containers to store food, never microwave them. Opt for glass as much as possible and always for microwaving as plastics leach estrogenic chemicals.
--Avoid soft plastic water bottles whenever you can by using glass at home or office and getting a stainless steel water bottle for travel, such as Sigg or Klean Kanteen.

Supporting your liver's ability to detox estrogen can also make a big difference and this is one place where supplements can be extremely helpful. Here are a few suggestions:

--Zinc: 15 mg to 30 mg daily (zinc decreases aromatization of testosterone to estrogen)
*Use caution with long term zinc supplementation over 30mg per day as it can cause deficiencies in other minerals.
--Resveratrol: 400 mg 1 to 3 times daily (the antioxidant in red wine)
--Curcumin: 800 mg 1 to 3 times daily (the antioxidant in turmeric, especially good if you also have insulin resistance.
--Grapeseed Extract: 200 mg 1 to 3 times daily
*Use caution with Resveratrol, Curcumin and Grapeseed supplements if you have an autoimmune condition such as Hashimotos' Hypothyroidism as it can trigger autoimmune attack.
--Vitamin B6: up to 200 mg per day (B6 aids in estrogen detoxification)

If you are estrogen dominant and drink alcohol regularly, you may have a particularly difficult time shedding saddlebags. Alcohol, along with its added calories, turns up estrogen synthesis and, because it can cause swings in blood sugar, it can aggravate insulin leading to more fat storage.

Fruits and vegetables, particularly raw or steamed cruciferous veggies such as broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, kale and watercress are excellent estrogen modulators so eat these in liberal amounts daily.

The suggestions above can make a tremendous difference in your ability to shed the fat from the hips; however once you've become estrogen dominant, fat loss does become more difficult. In addition to Joe's exercise suggestions below, the more walking you can do the better.

Walking at a low intensity level as much as you can throughout the day will aid your fat loss tremendously. Increasing your walking overall is helpful, but even more helpful is walking on an empty stomach for 45 to 60 minutes first thing in the morning. This not only will yield great fat loss results, it's a nice time to take for yourself, listen to an audio book or catch up with a friend. If you can find the time, it's worth it!

Now that Brooke has enlightened you with the underlying mechanisms that cause saddlebags, I'll briefly touch upon the exercise component. Like I stated in many of my previous posts, the best solution for decreasing body fat while either maintaining or increasing lean muscles mass is through a combination of total body resistance training, interval training and proper nutritional strategies.

If you're overweight, check out last week's Your Personal Trainer column for ideas on how to start an at-home workout.

Whether you're looking to bulk up, slim down, or get fit for a particular match or race, That's Fit has you covered. Joe Dowdell, personal trainer, strength coach and co-owner of one of Men's Health's top 10 gyms in America, is available to answer all of your training questions. Please send your questions to personaltrainer [AT] thatsfit [DOT] com. You can also follow Joe on Twitter.

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