Weight Loss

Spot reduction is a myth, right?

Sure, there are endless articles in fitness magazines about how to target and tone specific muscles, but no personal trainer worth their certification will promise they can help you take off fat from specific areas. Reduce your body fat by three percent, no problem. But get rid of that annoying cellulite on the back of your thighs or that little pouch on your lower belly – and nothing else – well, that’s just not possible. Or is it?

The promise of spot reduction is an obsession that many in our culture just won’t abandon. How many pills, creams and celebrity-endorsed gadgets have people tried that were supposed to help you develop ripped abs or slender thighs? Trainers constantly warn their clients to stay clear from such nonsense. However, the advancements in exercise endocrinology have given personal trainers new tools for combating site specific fat storage. The system is called Biosignature Modulation.

Biosignature Modulation is a scientific approach to spot reduction developed by Charles Poliquin from over 20 years of performing blood, urine and saliva tests while working with world record holders, professional athletes in all the major sports and Olympic medalists in 16 different events. His entire professional life has been devoted to finding ways to improve athletic performance among the elite, and along the way, has found innovative and amazingly effective ways to help the non-athletic population in the area of fat loss.

Based on his testing, the reason so many people have stubborn problem areas is due to imbalances in their body biochemistry, especially with hormones. Doubt the power of hormones? Just as steroid hormones can build muscle, other hormones can cause unwanted fat stores on your back, legs, hips and – well, you get the idea.

STEP ONE – BODY FAT ASSESSMENT

Here’s how Biosignature Modulation works. There are 12 major body fat sites that can be quickly and accurately tested. Measurements from each site are then compared to the tricep reading, and this identifies which areas of the body have excessive levels of fat relative to the other 11 body fat sites. Some people may have excessive fat in just one area, while others may have several problem areas. Most clients will already be quite familiar with their problem areas.

STEP TWO – DIET MODIFICATION

Once the Biosignature sites are analyzed, the next step is to set out a specific protocol of diet, exercise and supplementation to resolve the problem. After determining the cause of the fat, the next step is to make appropriate modifications in your diet. For the subscapular and supra-illiac, controlling the blood sugar levels of the body with more frequent meals, reduced daily carbohydrate and low GI food choices is critical. For lower abdominal fat, the key is reducing cortisol levels by restricting the consumption of stimulants and simple sugars. For the glutes, it’s important to detoxify estrogen levels by consuming vegetables such as broccoli that have biochemicals to accomplish this important task. Many of these dietary recommendations overlap. None of them involve any method harmful to the body, and in fact, all of them will improve the overall quality of life.

STEP THREE - SUPPLEMENTATION

The next step is supplementation. Taking a well designed multivitamin/mineral helps out the overall process, as many nutrients act as intermediaries in detoxification of hormones and provide building blocks for all the neuro-transmitters. Male slanted formulas tend to work on correcting blood fat values. Female slanted formulas are more geared towards the detoxification of estrogens.

The use of botanicals is an important component in hormone modulation in the Biosignature program. For the fat on the back of your arms, herbal products such as licorice root, ginseng (which is most effective when taken 45 minutes before a meal), suma, holy basil and rhodiola rosea might be prescribed.

STEP FOUR - EXERCISE

The final step is determining an appropriate exercise regimen. For example, for those with lower body fat, spinning will likely do more harm than good. Spinning will increase the storage of intramuscular and subcutaneous fat in the hip and thigh areas to provide a more readily available source of fuel for the muscles. Instead, a weight training protocol of high reps (10 to 15) and short rest intervals (about 30 seconds between sets) would be a much more effective choice.

This extraordinary system developed by Charles Poliquin is being embraced by North America ’s functional medicine practitioners.

”Biosignature is a revoluntionary tool for the clinician who wants to individualize metabolic healing by designing protocols that have the greates success.”
Suzanne Mack, M.D. , North Texas Institute of Functional Medicine

Biosignature is one of the most advanced non-invasive methods available to rapidly and accurately identify insulin resistance and cardiovascular risks. This allows for on-site effective medical treatment decisions.”
Mark Houston, M.D., M.S., F.A.C.P., F.A.H.A,

Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine ( Vanderbilt University School of Medicine)
Director, Hypertension Institute Saint Thomas Hospital Nashville , Tennessee