Malnutrition, Ascites and Love Handles

Love handles are the flabby skin that sticks out above a person's hips, possibly flapping over a pair of tight pants. More formally this condition is known as bulging flanks. The most obvious cause for this condition would seem to be a caloric surplus leading to weight gain. This may not be the case however and in fact the opposite may well be true: bulging flanks may be the result of a severe caloric deficit causing undernutrition and even malnutrition. These conditions are indicative of a major lack of macronutrients and many micronutrients.

One obvious result of undernutrition and malnutrition is emaciation. This is a condition in which the body’s musculature wastes away and is accompanied by overall weight loss. It may be surprising then that a second condition connected with under- and malnutrition is ascites, which is severe edema that results in abdominal swelling. More precisely this is the accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity that causes the belly to distend. It is NOT fat.

Now this is only one explanation. Unfortunately another cause of ascites may be due to liver problems and if you are having problems then you would do well to consult a doctor. That said, if you have been following a severely restricted diet for a prolonged period of time and / or have been working out with intense training then you may be able to lose your love handles by re-examining your diet and increasing your daily caloric intake of healthy, nutritious food that provides you with a balance of macronutrients and a variety of micronutrients. Less severe workouts and more recovery time will also help (but your focus should be on your diet).

As always, there is no way to spot-train specific areas of fat (or, in this case, water weight). You can do as much area-specific training as you like; yes, you will build stronger and larger muscles, but those muscles will remain hidden below your flabby skin. The most common exercise tip to burn fat is to engage in some type of aerobic exercise, such as jogging, walking, cycling or swimming. Such activities, when used in conjunction with a healthy, balanced diet, should lead to success. In the case of ascites and ridding your body of your love handles, this approach will not work and could easily lead to the condition becoming more severe. By reducing your calories further and exercising more you are robbing yourself even further of both macro and micro nutrients, which is what may be causing you all the trouble in the first place.

Fat on your body will be more solid than water weight. Water weight will be softer to the touch and will ‘ripple’ when disturbed. So if you have droopy love handles that act like a balloon filled with water when prodded you may be suffering from ascites caused by under or malnutrition (though you should be aware of more serious causes as well). Hopefully the quickest and easiest solution will be to up your intake of macronutrients and micronutrients via a healthy well-balanced diet.

Protein for Building Muscle and Burning Fat

Using protein for building muscle and burning fat is an important consideration for an athlete . A training program is necessary to build muscle and, to a lesser extent, to burn fat. However, any training program used in conjunction with poor daily nutrition is not going to give you the results you are looking for. You cannot out train a poor diet.　You need to be eating the right food at the right time to optimize your results.

There are three macronutrients necessary to base a healthy diet on: carbohydrates, fats and protein. In this article I will look at protein for building muscle and burning fat.　Protein is found throughout the body: in muscles, skin, bones. It was recognized by ancient Greeks as being the primary building block of the body and it is necessary for, among other things, muscle growth and repair. More fundamentally protein is created from twenty-two standard amino acids (there are in total more amino acids than this, but these are the ones that constitute protein). Of the twenty-two standard amino acids, nine are known as essential amino acids while the remainder are non-essential amino acids. An essential amino acid cannot be synthesized by the human body and they must therefore be ingested as part of one’s daily diet. Protein itself cannot therefore be created by the human body and must be taken in as part of a regular diet.

Protein for Building Muscle and Burning Fat

A fundamental point then is to recognize that in order to build muscle you need to be taking in protein regularly (a portion with each meal preferably). Losing weight is possible, easier even, without protein but it must be remembered that your weight loss in that case will include a loss of muscle mass (losing weight and losing fat are not the same thing). You should also consider that if you are successful in building muscle your overall weight may well increase (depending on where you are starting from and even if you are also burning fat). Your aim is to build muscle AND burn fat. For this result then using protein for building muscle and burning fat is necessary.

An interesting and relevant point is that of the three macronutrients, protein requires the most energy to digest. Known as the thermic effect, digesting protein raises your metabolism higher than either carbs or fats during the digestive process. (This should not be confused with burning fats, carbs or protein once they are digested). Raising your metabolism and keeping it raised it considered a primary method of burning fat. Eating smaller meals more often is also a good way of ensuring your metabolism remains strong while others advocate consuming protein before sleeping to ensure that your metabolism keeps ticking over.

The best sources of protein include fish, turkey, chicken, lean beef, eggs (preferably egg whites. Eggs are something you may wish to experiment with. The egg yolk is a good source of protein and various nutrients but also containｓ cholesterol), Greek yogurt and whey protein (found in protein shakes). The actual amount you take in is also something you are going to have to figure out by yourself. The commonly accepted amount is 1.0 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of total body weight for people who are seriously exercising on a regular (5-6 days a week) basis. So if you weigh 200 pounds you want to be consuming 200-300 grams of protein a day. Hard gainers though may struggle here just to consume that quantity and it should be remembered that excess protein will either be turned to waste or stored as fat. Everyone’s digestive system is different and one’s kidneys and liver (used to process protein) will function at different levels for different people. This is why drinking plenty of water is important: protein is difficult to fully digest and makes the digestive system work hard. Water smooths this process. These figures are guidelines only and are for athletes engaged in vigorous activity intending to build muscle. At the other end of the scale an adult should be looking at around 0.8 grams of protein per pound of weight for maintenance.

One of the best times to take protein is following a work out. Again, there is all kinds of science suggesting different windows of opportunity for optimal muscle growth but aiming to eat a source of protein within an hour of a workout is a good place to start. As with all other areas, experiment for yourself and find out what works best for you.

In summary using protein for building muscle and burning fat can be an effective approach to take towards building lean muscle and getting ripped. Protein is a primary component of our body (as are therefore the standard amino acids) and we need to replace it on a meal to meal basis. This will promote muscle growth which in turn will lead us to burning more fat. By making the body work to digest protein we will also burn fat. Protein keeps our metabolism high and allows us to reap the full benefits of training for muscle growth.