Is Exercise Making Your Belly Fat?

(Diet & Weight Loss), n Dr. Eric Berg's new book

"The 7 Principles of Fat Burning," (www.DrBerg.com) he shows how the wrong type of exercise can actually cause a significant number of people to become fatter in the belly.

To effectively lose belly fat, he cautions, a person should first determine what type of body deficiency they have - adrenal, ovary, thyroid or liver. Then they should follow a specific dietary and exercise plan that addresses all the health issues associated with that body type.

"The body can't and won't release fat until it is at a certain level of health," Berg says. "It shouldn't surprise you to learn why your body is holding on so dearly to fat if you understand the purpose of fat. It is a survival mechanism, and the body will not let go of fat until the source of stress or the threat to survival is gone -- in other words, until the body is healthy."

The outside of the body gives us clues as to what's going on inside, he asserts in his book. In the case of the adrenal glands, the body when under stress will store energy (as fat) around the vital organs -- in the abdomen. If there is an ovary problem, you'll see excess fat accumulate around the hips and thighs with a lower stomach bulge just under the bellybutton. When there is a weakness in the thyroid gland, because thyroid hormones are directed into all cells of the body, an overall appearance of weight gain will occur rather than in just one location. And when the liver is weak, fluid can leak into the sac around the abdomen, giving a "potbelly" appearance.

With this in mind, he has found that many people are wasting a tremendous amount of energy exercising for nothing; some even gain weight. He says that different bodies, especially the Adrenal body type, need a very specific type of plan. The Adrenal type should not be exercising intensely, because this added stress worsens the problem. Exercise of any high intensity (over a pulse rate of 125) is contraindicated for the Adrenal body shape (midsection fat). The more the adrenal stress hormone (cortisol) gets triggered by exercise, the more fat is directed to the midsection. These types just don't experience any reduction of belly fat from intense exercise even after years in the gym.

Interestingly, exercise does not melt or burn fat, he adds; it merely triggers fat-burning hormones which do their work 24-48 hours later during deep sleep if, and only if, certain conditions are present. A person does not burn fat in any significant amounts, but rather at night during the recovery period (non-exercise period; downtime).

In his book he also shoots down a commonly held misconception that people should lose weight to become healthier. Health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and stroke all result from the same cause - an unhealthy body.

Dr. Berg says, "You need to be healthy first before you can actually lose weight." People have misassigned obesity as a primary cause or a disease, when in reality it is an effect or result of something else."

To watch Dr. Berg's Body Types video go to www.DrBerg.com