What Causes Fat Burn vs Fat Storage

Hormones and Body Fat

Hormones are the little guys behind your body's choice to either burn fat or store it as fat cells. There are many things that can determine how these hormones are going to act. Here are common hormone triggers that help you burn fat and hormone triggers than can make your body store more fat.

Hormones Triggers for Burning Fat​

You want your body to burn more fat. Protein can help you do that. Aim to eat 6 or less ounces of protein per meal. Vegetables are another important aspect of a healthy diet. Veggies like kale, cabbage, and broccoli can balance and decrease unhealthy estrogens and improve liver function.

Fiber is also a good idea especially it it's fiber that comes from veggies. Fiber acts like a buffer and slows down fat storing hormones and enhances your ability to burn fat. ​

Potassium Rich Food for Fat Burning ​

Potassium allows sugar to be stored in your body. Without potassium sugar would automatically be stored in your body as fat instead of glycogen. Potassium is also needed to help balance your blood sugar. You might find yourself craving sweets if you are deficient in potassium.​

Other Factors​

Other factors that contribute to triggering hormones for fat burn are exercise and sleep. Much of your fat burning occurs when you are asleep. This is the period of time that your body recovers and rebalances hormones levels in your body.

When you do not get enough sleep your hormone levels are out of balance and this can cause you to crave foods that are high in sugar and over eat during meals. ​

Related: 8 Reason You Need to STOP Eating Sugar​

One of the best workouts for burning fat is high intensity interval training. These are short burst of hard exercise with period of rest in between. These types of workouts can increase fat burning by 450% when compared to exercising at a constant rate. ​

Hormones Triggers for Fat​ Storage

Your diet is a large contributing factor of fat storage. Sugar is one of the factors that can greatly increase your body's capacity to store fat. ​The goal is to not increase insulin levels. Increasing insulin levels can cause your body to start storing fat.

Large amounts of protein can increase insulin, the main fat-storing hormone by up to 200%. Watch out of hidden sugars like added sugar in fruit juice, and flavored yogurt.

Other insulin increasers are starches and gains. Look out for refined carbohydrates and know the difference between good and bad carbs. ​

Another main hormone that initiates fat storage is cortisol. This hormone is is most commonly activated by stress. The more stress you experiance the more at risk you are for higher levels of cortisol. This is why Yoga and other stress relieving activities are important. Sleep also helps to reduce cortisol. Yoga is a effective workout as it reduces stress and help you burn more fat.

Related: How Yoga Can Help You Melt Fat​

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