If you’re not happy with your waistline, it’s not necessarily because you need to do more sit-ups. It’s not necessarily that you tend to put on weight around your middle. And its definitely not because you need a belly button ring.
In fact, you don’t even need to be “long waisted” to have a sexy torso.
A far more telling feature is the geometry of your ribcage.
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Kobe Bryant
NBA baskeball player
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I would like to thank you for literally saving my life. Back in February, I had to be hospitalized while on vacation in Phoenix with an A1C of 11% and had to start taking 2 types of insulin and 2 other meds. I read the Fatburn Fix in April, and followed the program to a tee, and I’m down by 15 pounds, 6.8 A1C, and only one once weekly diabetes medicine. Prior to reading the book, it was almost impossible for me to lose weight as a diabetic.
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Fatburn Fix reader
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FatBurn Fix reader
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My waist is four inches smaller. I feel great and many of the minor aches and pains that I had (knees and lower back) are gone. Also, my muscle tone is amazing, even though I have not increased my workout routine.
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Completed Dr Cate's online course
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Dr. Cate dismantles the lie that seed oils are healthy, which may the biggest lie about nutrition and health because it’s so insidious.
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Dr. Cate alerts us to the harms of seed oils and she’s convincing because she knows the chemistry better than anyone.
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NBA Player
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Cate brought the seed oil issue front and center. Healthy fats matter. So much so that I created an entire product line to swap out bad fats with good.
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Pull up a chair…
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Author of the Bulletproof Diet
The key to unlocking my fatburn
I love your Fatburn Fix! Has helped me so so much! I have had the dreaded weight all my life - 20 or so pounds I could never shed. I have lost that now. I only eat 2 meals a day lunch and dinner with a glass of milk or cappuccino around 4 to hold me over. No snacking and not bad oils. It has been the key to unlocking my fatburn.
Lauren Smith
Saved my life
I would like to thank you for literally saving my life. Back in February, I had to be hospitalized while on vacation in Phoenix with an A1C of 11% and had to start taking 2 types of insulin and 2 other meds. I read the Fatburn Fix in April, and followed the program to a tee, and I’m down by 15 pounds, 6.8 A1C, and only one once weekly diabetes medicine.
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> Tears of joy
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Specifically, the ratio of your 10th rib to your 6th, as seen from the front (or the back). What you want is your number 6 rib, which lines up with the nipple, to be significantly wider than your number 10, which marks the inflection point on the torso.
As you can see in the photos, the difference is very subtle. But its enough to help one of these women enjoy a modeling career that spanned over 2 decades. (Claudia Schiffer, the second from the left.)
Of course, to be a supermodel you need to have a great face too. We talk about the geometry of the face in Chapter Three of Deep Nutrition entitled Dynamic Symmetry: Nature’s desire for beauty. But I want to focus on the belly today because while some ignore the complex facial math and claim an attractive face is purely subjective, the math of the ideal torso is simpler and easier to recognize.
These are all sexy women. Even though they have relatively short waistlines, with a short span between the lowest rib and the belly button compared to Claudia Schiffer (above), they’re still pin-up potential and it’s because of the shape of the ribcage.
The top photo also illustrates a second key element to the sexy belly code: The longer the span between the lowest rib and the pelvic bone, the better. What you want to see is a nice long expanse of flesh above and below the belly button, with a good amount of distance between the belly button and the ribs, and the belly button and the pubic bone (just under the bikini line). This zone has a powerful effect on the male gaze, sucking his helpless eyeballs to it like a space shuttle caught in a tractor beam.
Do body proportions impact health?
It’s widely recognized that more ideal geometry leaves more room for a baby to develop and exit the birth canal. What’s less appreciated is that more ideal geometry also impart also more evenly distributes mechanical stress to reduce wear and tear on connective tissue throughout the body.
When we focus on waist size, it has this implication that we just need to work harder to get it down to a smaller size. And there are billions a year spent to exploit our desire for this dainty proportion. The truth is you can flatten your waistline with hard work. But you cannot diet or exercise your way into a structurally different ribcage. Nor can you work your way up to a longer spine. So give yourself a break.
And if your like me, you have neither a long waist nor a curvy rib cage. Bummer. So what’s my solution? Instead of bikini shopping, I hit the ski slopes. I also eat the healthiest food I can afford so that my connective tissues can get the nutritional help they need.
For more on the geometry of beauty, and how it relates to health, nutrition and genetics, join me at this weeks FREE event at the Psychology of Eating Institute. (See banner on right with the big green E).
With over two decades of clinical experience and expertise in genetic and biochemical research, Dr. Cate can help you to reverse metabolic disease and reshape your body.
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