Does Losing Excess Body Fat Boost Testosterone?
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There comes a time when you have to ask yourself what is more important to you – that extra plate of nachos or the extra testosterone that keeps you a healthy, masculine man. When you are overweight, your testosterone levels can be affected negatively. Considering that, unlike age, this is an aspect of your health that you have complete control over, it seems only right to put down the unneeded fried food and start losing the excess fat once and for all.
Why Is Excess Fat Bad For Testosterone?
The more fat you have, the less testosterone you have. And, it’s a vicious cycle that keeps the fat on and the testosterone low.
Testosterone plays a role in fat metabolism, which means you will burn fat more efficiently if you have higher amounts of testosterone. When your levels of testosterone drop, your body fat can increase.
This doesn’t mean that fat is not good for testosterone levels. Testosterone is created in the body from fatty acids, so the more fat you eat, the more testosterone you create.
Eat Fat To Lose Fat
It goes against every diet rule you have ever heard, but the truth is that men need to eat saturated fat in order to boost testosterone. More commonly heard of, you should also be eating monounsaturated fat to help boost your testosterone levels. If you are not eating enough of those two fats, you will not be able to produce the hormones that help decrease fat on your body.
It is important to note that some saturated fats are better than others. Saturated fats are mostly found in foods that come from animals, but they can also be found in your favorite fried and packaged food. Eating a meal of cheese sticks and fries is not the same as eating a meal of an omelet and cottage cheese.
“In studies the best kind of saturated fat for your testosterone levels appears to be organic coconut oil along with grass-fed meat and butter.” – Anabolic Men
Do not eat polyunsaturated fats as they have been shown to lower testosterone levels.
How Much Fat Should You Eat?
Obviously you cannot chow down on fatty foods continuously and expect to lose fat or boost testosterone. This is why boosting testosterone by eating fat has its limitations.
So, how much fat do you need to eat? You should get about 30% of your total calories from fat. Focus on eating foods such as avocados, olives, red meat, and egg yolks.
It May Be Time To Change Your Diet
The problem is that many diets are not made for men, so what you need to avoid is the standard diet made for women. Many diet rules do not follow guidelines that help boost testosterone and benefit a man in the long run. Instead, they are made for women who want to boost their estrogen and benefit a woman in the long run.
Thankfully, there are actually some diets and programs (like 8 Minutes to Alpha and The Man Diet) on the market now targeted specifically towards men. Not just in nutrition, but in exercise as well, which is another very important factor to boosting testosterone.