I’m sorry if the question sounds stupid but I’ve noticed that if I do lots of exercise with intermittent fasting I lose weight sure but my waist to hip ratio actually worsens, could it be that burning too much calories when fasted triggers some sort of survival mechanism where the body tries to accumulate fat viscerally in anticipation of starvation?
That’s an interesting question. It could be that the fat from your hips mobilize quicker than the fat from your abdominal regions. This would mean that the mobilized fat gets oxidized/burned before your abdominal ones. If that’s the case, then just hang in there, your body will eventually redistribute the fat as dictated by your genetics. Another point could be that your cortisol is high, fasting and intense workouts increase cortisol and that has been correlated with high abdominal fat. If that’s the case, maybe switching up the workout regimen/time will help. Stopping caffeine consumption will do wonders to your cortisol levels. Alternatively, ashwagandha has been shown in many studies to decrease cortisol levels. But do be careful with that, you don’t want your cortisol to get so low that you loose motivation to workout.
I have read that caloric restriction diets lead to this result when you ‘finish’ the diet. It’s postulated it is a survival adaptation to prepare you for what your body has learned as lean times ahead. Tough to win at this game!
viseral fat comes from fructose, some artificial sweeteners and alcohol. There are a few other causes but they are less common. Are you eating more than the usual amount of any of these three substances?