Tag Archives: metabolism

Harness the Power of Insulin

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 Welcome back –

There have been millions of words written and many millions more I’m sure to come all on the subject of how to lose weight and build muscle. Now regular readers know that I hate the term ’lose weight’ it is inaccurate & wrong – your goal is to lose body fat. It is entirely possible to lose kilos of fat but have the scales drop by less than that amount because you’ve added some muscle.

So losing weight is out, losing fat is in.

The questions usually revolve around two polar opposites – either how do you eat to add muscle without adding fat, or how to diet to lose fat whilst still adding muscle.

Do use intermittent fasting? Atkins? Palm Beach? Drink Shakes 3 x a day? Run miles every day? Work out twice a day? Eat low carb? Eat high carb? Add the latest magic food?

You know there are plenty of available strategies to consider and they all try to address one or both of the needs mentioned above but results are mixed. What works for some fails for others. The unpalatable truth is that there is no magic one-size fits every metabolism solution available. The cookie cutter approach needs to stay in the kitchen with the pastry.

For Fat Loss there isn't a cookie cutter approach...

There is a common thread in all of the effective strategies though – they utilise your metabolism to work with you for the desired results and they all – the ALL – harness the power of insulin.

Insulin has been given a bad rap in the popular press – it does not cause obesity, it is not the ‘fat hormone’. It is true because it is a ‘carrier’ hormone insulin has the ability to induce fat storage if the environment allows for this.

However id allowed to work as it is supposed insulin is in fact the single most anabolic hormone present in your body (remember anabolic means build, catabolic is to tear down)

Insulin ensures that your cells are ‘fed’, that amino acids are taken up and protein synthesis is completed.

Energy cannot be destroyed, just transformed.

If I remember my High School science correctly we were taught that energy can be changed from one form to another (ie transformed) but it can’t be created or destroyed.

To lose body fat you need to use up more energy than you take in. To lose a pound you need to either take in an amount equal to; or use up a total of 3500 calories. To gain weight (I deliberately did not say fat in this case – to build serious muscle you have to eat a lot of nutrient dense foods. Google Chris Hemsworth’s diet for his muscle gain for Thor) you have to ingest more calories than you need to remain in energy homeostasis if you are going to support lean tissue gains.

 

Serious training needs serious eating to support serious growth...

Of course if you eat more than you need and you are not exercising to create lean body mass then you’ll get fat. The Bottom line is that if you eat too much, without the mitigating effects of high intensity exercise, you’ll get fat, no matter where the calories are coming from.

In the real world, the world without chemical interdiction of the body’s processes, there is simply no mystical combination of nutrients – macro, micro or otherwise – of meal timing of super supplements etc et that can change this fact. It simply is – eat more than your body needs on a consistent basis and you’ll get fatter.

BUT – we know that a calorie is NOT just a calorie and all calories are NOT created equal. Different macro- & micronutrients produce different long-term effects hormonally and metabolically.

This brings us to nutrient partitioning.

Nutrient Partitioning: Macronutrients Matter

Nutrient partitioning is another of those scientific sounding terms that a lot of folk use to make their theories for weight loss (not fat ahem…) sound more solid. Dr Scott Connelly the man who with Bill Phillips ‘created’ MetRX, was the first to use the term I supplement marketing. Now a lot of folk do.

This doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, or that it’s not rooted in solid science it is. Nutrient partitioning is regulated by a co-ordinated, multi-part symphony that consists of liver & gut action, brain & Central Nervous System (CNS), of muscle & fat tissues, of hormones & ion channels and more besides. Even now we are still not entirely sure of all of the components and exactly how nutrient partitioning works…But work it does.

The supplement that introduced the term 'Nutrient partitioning' into marketing speak...

More importantly we can make it work for us.

What is done with the food we eat by our bodies is a function of nutrient partitioning.

The calories we ingest are either burned for fuel, used for repair & growth or stored as energy for future use (yep – glycogen first then fat once the glycogen stores are full).

Naturally we’d want as much of the food we eat to be used as fuel for repair and lean tissue growth with as little as possible being stored as fat. Whether we are a week end athlete, a couch potato or a real athlete we all agree on one thing we want to eat our food with the absolute minimum stored as bodyfat.

So whilst you can’t destroy the energy we gain from food the macronutrients we ingest do matter and have an effect on nutrient partitioning. The question is how do we maximise the glycogen stores in our muscles & liver and minimise our fat stores whilst conditioning our metabolism to either maintain or gain lean muscular tissue?

Part of the answers lies in the fact that nutrient partitioning becomes less efficient, less effective the more insulin resistant that you become. In diabetics and the obsese nutrient partitioning is so out of shape that it becomes dysfunctional.

Insulin is enormously important in the actions of nutrient partitioning – the more insulin sensitive you are the better it works, the more that nutrients are partitioned & used by your body towards our muscle building, low fat storing goals.  The more insulin resistant – the more fat you store as Nutrient partitioning twists out of true.

Insulin: Sensitive = Good, Resistant = Bad

You keep a knockin' but you can't come in - Insulin Resistance

We eat food and the carbs are broken down to glucose and absorbed by our blood stream. This gives our bodies an immediate and easy to access source of fuel. If the fuel is required it is burnt (via ATP synthesis) if not needed it is stored – both of these actions are controlled by Insulin.

Under insulin’s direction glucose is either stored as glycogen in the liver and muscle tissues, or it is converted to triglycerides and stored as body fat. That’s it, only 2 possibly outcomes.

Despite what we have read, and the fact that we want to max out glycogen storage and restrict fat storage – Insulin doesn’t care. Its action is constant – it gets out fat cells to be always taking up glucose. Once in the fat cell the glucose is transformed to fatty acids or glycerol both of which are needed to make up triglycerides. Which then get stored as fat.

So what?! you say – well this means that our bodies are ALWAYS storing fat after each & every meal. It sounds scarier than it is really is though…

The amount of fat stored under normal circumstances is under 15% because the lion’s share of the glucose (85 – 95%) is taken up & used by the muscles and as a part of body repair actions.

The key here is ‘under normal circumstances’…

Eat too many nutrient sparse, processed carbs and the whole glucose as our nutrient partitioning friend scenario alters radically. Too much available glucose means that the glycogen stores quickly fill up (their storage is limited) and the excess glucose is turned to fatty acids and then stored as triglycerides – you add fat. Speed is an issue here as well glycogen stores rapidly fill as they are the primary source of energy for our muscles and major organs like the liver. These stores can empty at a slower rate than they fill (although it is still quite quickly) even if we are out under sudden wide ranging stress, hit a hard exercise session etc. This emptying requires that more glucose be taken up to place what is used. Thing is if there is an excess of glucose in the blood stream and the just filled glycogen stores are not given a chance to empty then we

They don't come much more processed than this...

store it as fat.

Too much glucose in our blood stream is, ironically, poisonous – this is why insulin’s main purpose is to clear it from the blood through glycogen and / or fat storage. Our bodies are designed to constantly clear glucose from our blood streams. It does this by using insulin to interact with a specific receptor on fat cells that signals the fat cell to uptake the surplus glucose. This signal is sent once the glycogen stores are full.

Thing is – Insulin is just the messenger, the uptake of the glucose is controlled by a receptor. If your body has become insulin resistant the receptor ignores the insulin. But the glucose remains toxic so more insulin is released in quantities that force the receptors to allow the glucose & other nutrients to get into the cells.

Gain so what?! You say – well thing is a non-virtuous circle of feedback is created – the more insulin used to ‘pry’ open the cell receptors the more resistant to the actions of insulin they become so the more insulin is released…Even worse the insulin resistance in muscle & other tissues also rises meaning that the insulin sensitivity has decreased.

Normally this happens in these tissues when the glycogen stores are full, but with increased resistance mimicking the ‘full’ signal glycogen stores may not fully fill up falsely creating an excess of glucose in the blood stream which causes the dreaded insulin spike to get it cleared. Not only does insulin resistance cause you to get fat but it also robs your lean tissues and organs of a full complement of energy.

Consistently increased insulin levels also cause the metabolism to become “stuck” in its carbohydrate-burning mode. It does this by inhibiting the fat burning genes and by activating the carb metabolism ones. So your body develops a preference for carbs as all fuel and fat as little or none.

So we need to restore or at least improve our insulin sensitivity.

How to go about Improving Insulin Sensitivity

Good Carbs

Realise as a start that carbs are not bad, they’re not the enemy. Excess carbs, especially from highly processed nutrient sparse sources are.

Firstly watch what types of carbs you are eating. Again – you know the drill eat carbs from sources as unprocessed and as nutrient dense as possible. Next look at when you are eating you carbs. Aim to have about 30% of your daily intake at breakfast with a godly amount of lean protein.

Spread the other 70% over the day – again being aware of the source of them. If you are working out ensure that you have a decent ‘hit’ of carbs with protein in the hour after working out.

Look everyone’s metabolism and its needs are different – these are only rules of thumb – you have to see what works best for you. Main thing is to eat fibrous, unprocessed carbs mainly from fruit & vegetables and sparingly from grains. Eating this way will bolster your chances of nutrient partitioning working more for and less against you.

Remember that most folk have about 100 grams of glycogen in their liver and another 400-odd in their muscles. If you were to totally deplete these stores any amount of carbs over 500 grams not burned immediately for energy would be destined for fat storage.

So again try to limit your carb intake to avoid taking in an excessively high amount. Also again – check your sources of carbs – lean towards the fibrous, the unprocessed as much as possible.

What we really need is a way to improve our nutrient partition by increasing our insulin sensitivity, or by decreasing our insulin resistance.

Improving nutrient partitioning by combating insulin resistance

I have written before about the effect of whole body inflammation on metabolism, fat storage and heart disease. It should come as no surprise that by reducing any inflammation in the body we also improve our insulin sensitivity.

Look for oils that have a low Omega 6 and a high Omega 3 porofile

Leaving aside the cogent arguments of the Paleo folk regarding the inflammatory effects of grains, we know that a major cause of inflammation is the imbalance between Omega 3 & 6’s. Turns out that this imbalance is also a supporting factor for insulin resistance. High Omega 6’s means a higher than desirable level of inflammation regulators, whilst a high level of Omega 3 means higher levels of the anti-inflammatory ones. (we do need both but it is the ration that effects out sensitivity.)

A common denominator in obesity & diabetes (especially type II), is chronic inflammation of the cell membranes. This means that poor insulin sensitivity means you’ll gain fat, and that  your ability to effectively partition nutrients will suffer.

Increasing your Omega 3 ratio is the easiest way to limit if not decrease inflammation and also improve your insulin sensitivity. Fish or Krill oil supplements, eating fatty deep sea fish and even supplementing with alpha-linolenic acid, an omega 3 fatty acid will all help.

Using olive, coconut or macadamia oils for cooking & dressings and cutting down as much as possible on ‘vegetable oils’ (seed oils really) like canola, safflower, peanut and blended oils will help also. All of these oils have a much higher level of Omega 6 than omega 3.

Now here is some concerning news – whereas fat tissue was once thought to be passive and largely inert, we now know that fat stores also have a function to control our whole body insulin sensitivity. Inflammatory responses in our body that cause insulin resistance & diabetes are in fact linked to our fat stores. The more of these you have the more likely it is that you will have insulin resistance and be at high risk of diabetes.

Fat it appears acts more as endocrine (hormone producing) organ, releasing hormone types called “adipokines.” It is these adipokines that control whole-body insulin sensitivity and inflammation. The famous hormone Leptin is an adipokine that is a strong nutrient partitioning agent that increases fat burning, decreases fat storage and improves insulin sensitivity.

Other adipokines work in the opposite direction. The way to influence which ones are produced is to up our Omega 3’s so the ‘good’ adipokines are released and the ‘bad’ ones are not..

Lastly – Don’t Stress!

This'll kill you - destress!!

Our insulin sensitivity falls off a cliff if we are under chronic, not acute stress. In these days of traffic jams, deadlines, taxes, poor economies etc etc it is hard to avoid experiencing at least some form of chronic stress.

Unchecked. Constant stress is a killer. It affects a plethora of body systems and erodes your health in numerous ways.

Learn to get enough sleep, exercise hard & regularly, enjoy regular sex, relax, do some meditating, choose who you spend time with and work at not worrying about the things outside of your control.

You’ll live longer, be happier and have much better insulin sensitivity…

See you next week – don’t forget to Tweet or face Book us!!

References

Kahn BB. Lilly lecture 1995. Glucose transport: pivotal step in insulin action. Diabetes 1996;45:1644-54.

Kahn SE, Hull RL, Utzschneider KM. Mechanisms linking obesity to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Nature 2006;444:840-6.

SchutzY. Concept of fat balance in human obesity revisited with particular reference to de novo lipogenesis. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2004;28 Suppl 4:S3-S11.

Schwarz JM, Linfoot P, Dare D, Aghajanian K. Hepatic de novo lipogenesis in normoinsulinemic and hyperinsulinemic subjects consuming high-fat, low-carbohydrate and low-fat, high-carbohydrate isoenergetic diets. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2003;77:43-50.

Parks EJ. Dietary carbohydrate’s effects on lipogenesis and the relationship of lipogenesis to blood insulin and glucose concentrations. Br J Nutr 2002;87 Suppl 2:S247-S253.

KoltermanOG, Greenfield M, Reaven GM, Saekow M, Olefsky JM. Effect of a high carbohydrate diet on insulin binding to adipocytes and on insulin action in vivo in man. Diabetes 1979;28:731-6.

Roberts R, Bickerton AS, Fielding BA, Blaak EE, Wagenmakers AJ, Chong MF, et al. Reduced oxidation of dietary fat after a short term high-carbohydrate diet. Am J Clin Nutr 2008;87:824-31.

SemenkovichCF. Insulin resistance and atherosclerosis.J Clin Invest 2006;116:1813-22.

Calder PC. n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, inflammation, and inflammatory diseases. Am J Clin Nutr 2006;83:1505S-19S.

SerhanCN, Hong S, Gronert K, Colgan SP, Devchand PR, Mirick G, et al. Resolvins: a family of bioactive products of omega-3 fatty acid transformation circuits initiated by aspirin treatment that counter proinflammation signals. J Exp Med 2002;196:1025-37.

Schwab JM, Chiang N, Arita M, Serhan CN. Resolvin E1 and protectin D1 activate inflammation-resolution programmes. Nature 2007;447:869-74.

SimopoulosAP. Importance of the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 essential fatty acids: evolutionary aspects. World Rev Nutr Diet 2003;92:1-22.

BurdgeGC. Metabolism of alpha-linolenic acid in humans. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids 2006;75:161-8.

DeFilippisAP, Sperling LS. Understanding omega-3’s. Am Heart J 2006;151:564-70.

WellenKE, Hotamisligil GS.Inflammation, stress, and diabetes. J Clin Invest 2005;115:1111-9.

ShoelsonSE, Lee J, Goldfine AB. Inflammation and insulin resistance. J Clin Invest 2006;116:1793-801.

Rosen ED, Spiegelman BM. Adipocytes as regulators of energy balance and glucose homeostasis. Nature 2006;444:847-53.

GnudiL, Tozzo E, Shepherd PR, Bliss JL, Kahn BB. High level overexpression of glucose transporter-4 driven by an adipose-specific promoter is maintained in transgenic mice on a high fat diet, but does not prevent impaired glucose tolerance. Endocrinology 1995;136:995-1002.

Abel ED, Peroni O, Kim JK, Kim YB, Boss O, Hadro E, et al. Adipose-selective targeting of the GLUT4 gene impairs insulin action in muscle and liver. Nature 2001;409:729-33.

TrayhurnP. Endocrine and signalling role of adipose tissue: new perspectives on fat. Acta Physiol Scand 2005;184:285-93.

Havel PJ. Update on adipocyte hormones: regulation of energy balance and carbohydrate/lipid metabolism. Diabetes 2004;53 Suppl 1:S143-S151.

Wall R, Ross RP, Fitzgerald GF, Stanton C. Fatty acids from fish: the anti-inflammatory potential of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. Nutr Rev 2010;68:280-9.

Murata M, Kaji H, Takahashi Y, Iida K, Mizuno I, Okimura Y, et al. Stimulation by eicosapentaenoic acids of leptin mRNA expression and its secretion in mouse 3T3-L1 adipocytes in vitro. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2000;270:343-8.

Perez-Matute P, Marti A, Martinez JA, Fernandez-Otero MP, Stanhope KL, Havel PJ, et al. Eicosapentaenoic fatty acid increases leptin secretion from primary cultured rat adipocytes: role of glucose metabolism. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 2005;288:R1682-R1688.

ItohM, Suganami T, Satoh N, Tanimoto-Koyama K, Yuan X, Tanaka M, et al. Increased adiponectin secretion by highly purified eicosapentaenoic acid in rodent models of obesity and human obese subjects. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2007;27:1918-25.

Oh DY, Talukdar S, Bae EJ, Imamura T, Morinaga H, Fan W, et al. GPR120 is an omega-3 fatty acid receptor mediating potent anti-inflammatory and insulin-sensitizing effects. Cell 2010;142:687-98.

KreierF, Fliers E, Voshol PJ, Van Eden CG, Havekes LM, Kalsbeek A, et al. Selective parasympathetic innervation of subcutaneous and intra-abdominal fat–functional implications. J Clin Invest 2002;110:1243-50.

RobidouxJ, Martin TL, Collins S. Beta-adrenergic receptors and regulation of energy expenditure: a family affair. Annu Rev Pharmacol Toxicol 2004;44:297-323.

Schwartz MW, Woods SC, Porte D, Jr., Seeley RJ, Baskin DG. Central nervous system control of food intake. Nature 2000;404:661-71.

Drawn in part from an excellent article on www.t-nation.com by Bill Willis PhDc and John Meadows, CSCS, CISSN – 9/14/2011

 

 

Metabolism – What it is & How you can make it work for you Part 3

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Welcome Back!!

Today we look at the 4 components of metabolism and how you can manipulate them to drop fat…

The Four Components of Your Metabolism:

Human metabolism is basically made up of four parts which combine to become our metabolic rate.

In any 24-hour period, our bodies ‘burn’ a given number of calories – this is called TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) or TEE (Total Energy Expenditure) – and this calorie / kilojoule burn is a measure of our body’s metabolic rate.

Your body’s metabolic rate (or TDEE) can be divided into four components:

Broadly speaking this is our metabolism...

Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the number of calories your body burns while sleeping. Many factors can affect your BMR, including your age, health, stress level, and even the temperature of your environment. Your BMR, like all of your metabolic elements, decreases as you age. This means that it is harder for your body to burn calories and harder for you to lose fat the older you get. Increases in BMR are possible but this increase comes about through the actions of the next three components.

Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is a measure of the amount of calories / kilojoules your body burns at rest just to maintain it. The RMR accounts for 50-80 per cent of the energy we use doing ‘nothing’ whilst being awake.

In reality even when lazing around or just chilling out watching DVDs our body’s metabolism is still active. The total lean mass of our body, especially muscle mass, is largely responsible for the RMR.

So, anything that reduces your lean mass will reduce your RMR. RMR is the largest part of our total metabolism and accounts for 50 – 80% of the calories burnt in a day. This is why it’s so important to preserve lean tissue mass when you are working at shedding fat – your RMR is your main metabolic ‘furnace’. This means that exercise that encourages the preservation or growth of muscle is a must if we are to get the RMR working for us.

Your RMR is also affected by the simple act of eating which leads us to…

The Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) – this is covered in depth in the Lose 20 in 30 Fuel Manual but essentially TEF is a measure of the energy that your body uses to eat, digest and metabolise food.

Really it is the second law of Thermodynamics at work – converting energy from one form to another is never 100% efficient. This means that to release the energy in food we need to expend energy to ‘fuel’ this process.

TEF accounts for about 5-10 per cent of our energy use. Our RMR rises after we eat because of the energy

Maximise your TEF by eating lean proteins with low GI, high fobre carbs...

we use to eat, digest and process the food we’ve just eaten. The rise occurs soon after we begin to eat and peaks two to three hours later. The RMR rise can range from between 2-3 per cent to up to 25-30 per cent, depending on the size of the meal and the types of foods eaten.

For example:

  • Fats – generally raise the RMR about 4 per cent
  • Carbohydrates – can raise RMR up to 6 per cent
  • Proteins –  usually raise RMR up to 30 per cent

Unfortunately, since our body can store excess dietary fat pretty much directly as body fat, there is no need to convert it, so eating fat generates virtually no thermic effect at all.

Another factor that affects your TEF is your body composition. Basically the leaner you are the higher your TEF is. Columbia University ran a trial with a group of lean individuals and a group of obese ones and then tested their TEF at rest, during exercise and after exercise.

Compared to the obese group the lean group TEF was:

  • 70% Higher at rest
  • 316% Higher during exercise
  • 175% Higher after exercising.

This is proof that shedding fat helps to recondition your metabolism which in turn helps keep you lean.

The Thermic Effect of Activity (TEA) – this is the amount of energy that we use during physical activity – and for in a ‘normally’ active person, this accounts for 15 – 40 per cent of our daily energy use depending upon the type of activity and its metabolic ‘cost.’ The range in effect is because of the variance in the amount of and type of activity we can indulge in.

This will up your TEA no end!!!

TEA includes all physical activity whether conscious exercise, climbing stairs, brushing your teeth, shivering in the cold or even fidgeting. At rest, by themselves, our muscles can account for about 20 per cent of our total energy expenditure. Not too shabby but during strenuous exercise, our rate of muscular energy expenditure can increase 50-fold or more. During heavy physical exertion, our muscles can burn through as much as 3,000kJ per hour. This is the only type of energy ‘burn’ that we can directly control – the energy used during conscious exercise.

After food intake, movement and conscious exercise are the final keys to fat loss and a reconditioned metabolism.

It is here where we can have the greatest immediate effect on our metabolism. The metabolic effects of food work hand in glove with conscious exercise, but nothing revs up your metabolism in the short term as much as vigorous exercise. The intensity, type, frequency and duration of any activity will have an effect on metabolism. We need to choose wisely and use those which have the highest metabolic cost and the create the strongest afterburn.

I can’t stress it enough – the effect of your TEA on your metabolism will vary depending on your individual activity level each day. The more you move the more you burn. The smarter you move the even more you burn.

A sedentary person will require fewer calories to maintain their current body composition than a busy worker on a construction site or someone who uses metabolic resistance training at least 3 times a week.

Of these 4 metabolic components we are most interested in and most able to directly positively affect the TEF & our TEA. Once get these 2 components working for us, our RMR & BMR will both rise, and our set points can be altered. More importantly our body composition can shift.

Okay so how do we use these components? That’s the subject of the next post…

Take Away: By raising your RMR we can become leaner and stay that way – the 2 ways we can do this most easily are by manipulating our TEA & the TEF.

Metabolism – What it is & How you can make it work for you Part 2.

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Welcome back…

A lot of fitness writers rattle off all sorts of terms and don’t realy either expalin what they mean or use them in ways that are, well… dubious at best.

Here is the most common terms used in conjunction with metabolism and what they really mean!!

Some Terms to know:

Metabolism: The various ways the cells, organs and tissues in our bodies use and handle the fuel derived from the food we eat.

Homeostasis: The term was coined in 1932 by Walter Cannon from two Greek words meaning’ to remain the same’. In particular it refers to the body’s preference to remain as it is today. Your body does not like to change – especially quickly, and it resists our efforts to alter it from where it is today.

keeping things dead level is what homeostasis means - hard to do though!!

The thing is the way your body is today as you read this just did not happen overnight – it arrived here by a gradual slowing of your metabolism, the accretion of bad exercise & food habits and so forth. Your body accepted these gradual, incremental changes to its composition and metabolism until they became a part of what your body now considers ‘normal’.

Homeostasis is the desire of your body to stay the way it has been gradually conditioned to consider normal.

If you are fat, and have been for some time, your body will consider this ‘normal’ and fight to stay that way. This is particularly true in times of calorie restriction.

Basically our bodies were designed to store fat against future food scarcity and are very good at it. Too rapid a fat loss can threaten what your body considers to be ‘normal’. Even if you are overweight! Your body is trying hard to keep what it considers your normal weight within a narrow margin.

The good news is that your body accepts changes to its composition and metabolism when they are repeated. The Lose 20 in 30 Program uses this fact to ‘reset’ your homeostatic trigger point.

Simply put homeostasis is your body using a host of internal feedback mechanisms in an attempt to remain the same. It is what makes it easier to gain body fat than it is to shed it. But we can make homeostasis work for us by creating a new ‘norm’ that it will fight to preserve.

Metabolic Set Point: The metabolic set point is an inbuilt survival mechanism, and is a major part of the homeostasis systems used by your body to resist changes to its composition. Your metabolic set point acts to ensure that there is adequate body fat for survival in the event food becomes scarce. Our bodies are

It's not easy but you change your 'set point' & alter homeostasis...

great at fat storage. Unfortunately, in modern times, with food in abundance, our body cannot easily distinguish between what is a real famine and what is an attempt by us to get leaner. Certainly our bodies cannot differentiate between a crash diet and a strategic approach to body recomposition. This makes altering this metabolic set-point difficult.

Not one of us has the same metabolic set point; your body composition is as individual as you are. What is the same though is that it can be hard to shift this set point because your body likes stability. In fact, as we saw above in ‘Homeostasis’,  your body will fight hard to maintain what it has come to accept as your normal amount of body fat and lean muscle mass. But, again, we can make this work for us. Once reset, this survival mechanism becomes our supporter, not our adversary.

Metabolic rate: Your metabolic rate is a result of a combination of your activity levels, caloric intake, the types of foods that you consume and the way your hormones react to this. Sudden changes to your calorie intake or sudden weight loss can trigger a defensive reaction which manifests as a slower metabolism as your body tries to maintain what it has come to view as your ‘normal’ weight.

Metabolic Cost: The amount of energy consumed as the result of performing a given work task; usually expressed in calories / kilojoules. In the Lose 30 in 30 Exercise manual we use a program that creates a high metabolic cost to really burn calories and recondition our metabolism.

EPOC: Formerly called Oxygen Debt, excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) refers to the body’s continued need for higher amounts than normal (ie non-exercising) of oxygen after metabolic, cardiovascular exercise or weight training. It is closely tied to Metabolic Cost and you could almost consider it the ‘follow on’ effect of the exercises used the Lose 20 in 30 Exercise program. Often it is referred to as the ‘Afterburn’ effect.

Because your body will experience a heightened metabolism after our strategic exercise programs, it will continue to burn fat for hours after the exercising is completed – this is EPOC / Afterburn and is an important part of your fat loss and metabolic reconditioning tool kit.

One way to up the metabolic cost of exercise - add a weighted vest...

Metabolic Conditioning: A type of exercise protocol that creates both an enormous metabolic cost and a strong EPOC that is the most effective way to burn fat and reconditions your metabolism. A strategic mix of cardio, and resistance training performed using an interval training protocol. This is covered more fully in the Lose 20 in 30 Exercise program, and is the best way to rev up your metabolism and burn fat through activity.

Hypothalamus: this is the main organ responsible for regulating your metabolism. The hypothalamus is located on your brain stem. Its chief functions are:

  • The control and integration of the activities of your autonomic nervous system (ANS)
    • The ANS regulates the contraction of both smooth muscle and cardiac (heart) muscle, along with the secretions of many endocrine organs such as the thyroid gland – which controls many of your hormone levels.
    • Your hypothalamus uses feedback from the ANS to regulate activities such as your heart rate, the movement of food through your gastrointestinal tract, and the contraction of your bladder.
  • The control & regulation of your body temperature
  • The regulation of food intake, through your feeding centre:
    • The feeding centre or hunger centre is responsible for the sensations that cause us to seek food.
    • When sufficient food has been eaten and leptin is high, then the satiety centre is stimulated and tells your feeding centre that no more food is needed at this moment.
    • When insufficient food is present in the stomach and ghrelin levels are high, receptors in the hypothalamus make you experience hunger.

Taken together, the functions of the hypothalamus form one of your body’s survival mechanisms that enable us to sustain the body processes that make up your BMR and RMR.

Well a bit dry this wekk but important nonetheless…. Back to more fun stuff next week when we look at making your metabolism work for you…

Be well.

Metabolism – What it is & How you can make it work for you Part 1

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The next few posts on this blog will be all about giving you a solid understanding of what your metabolism is, what affects it and how you can make it work for you.

The information here will give you a better working knowledge of those parts of your metabolism that you exert some direct control over, those you can exert some indirect control over and those you just have to live with!

Having a fast metabolism means more than exercising...

If you have ever felt like you’re fighting a losing battle to shed pounds, in a sense you are.

Metabolism is NOT just about energy in versus energy out.

In our primitive past our bodies evolved so that we could store energy as fat in times of plenty (feasting) so that we are able to survive in times of scarcity. In these modern times we feast and then feast again without ever really enduring times of scarcity where food becomes rare and starvation looks likely. So this survival mechanism keeps storing energy as fat against hard times that frankly most modern humankind will never experience.

That creates problems for us because our bodies are basically fat storage machines. Very efficient ones.

The Body Shape Shifters philosophy is based around the idea of reconditioning your metabolism through a strategic mix of exercise, diet and hormone manipulation. A high metabolic rate means that we use the nutrients from our food more efficiently, maintain healthy body composition (lower fat and higher muscle levels) longer, feel better, think clearer and live healthier lives overall

What is Metabolism?

Beginning with birth and ending at death, our body receives the energy it needs to fuel itself through the processes of metabolism.

Yep - it can appear complex...

Metabolism is an umbrella term that covers the non-stop chemical processes that operate to keep our bodies functioning. Your Metabolism is primarily 2 things:

1)      The rate at which your body uses energy to support all of the basic functions that are essential to sustain your life,

2)      Plus all of the energy requirements for needed for additional activity and digestive processes.

Think of it this way – just being alive requires energy so when we talk about Metabolism it includes standing, sitting, sleeping, running, jumping, breathing, eating, digesting, having a beating heart, growing new cells, hair, skin, muscle and bone. So when we talk about our metabolic rate we are talking about the rate at which our bodies are burning the calories / kilojoules we have stored and that we get from food.

Your metabolism burns calories / kilojoules all the time, whether you’re just sitting on the couch or you’re jogging around the block. Even while we sleep our metabolism is working.

Every process that takes place in our body ultimately gets the energy to do so from the food we eat. The food we eat is broadly made up of Carbohydrates, Fats or Proteins with some micronutrients in the form of vitamins & minerals. (More detail on the effect that different nutrients have on our metabolism in later posts.) The amount of calories your body burns at any given time is regulated by your metabolism. In other words, it’s not just about burning up the food we eat, but about how the various nutrients from that food are used to help us maintain a healthy body.

There are two primary metabolic processes that take place in your body:

Catabolism – this is the breakdown of food components such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats into

No! Not that sort of anabolism!!

their simpler forms, where they are then used to create energy which can be turned into heat or burned up by your cells. This can also mean the breakdown of body tissue like muscle in the absence of other fuel sources. Catabolism is the destructive phase of metabolism, and the critical partner to anabolism, as they rely on each other to do their specific jobs. Digestion is a catabolic process that breaks your food down into smaller particles that can then be used in anabolism.

Generally characterised as ‘bad,’ catabolism is an essential part of our metabolic processes.

Anabolism – means growth or storage so energy is stored as glycogen in the liver & muscles, in fat cells (once the glycogen stores are full) or used to help build and repair structures of the body. It is most often associated with muscle growth. Anabolism is the constructive phase of metabolism, as it produces all of the substances needed in our body for it to grow, maintain and repair itself.

These two processes are carefully monitored by our body to make sure they remain in balance. However our diet, our environment and our type & amount of daily activity can all affect them both.

Ultimately our metabolism is controlled by hormones (think chemical messages that trigger processes) and by our nervous system. Hormonal problems, our physical environment and genetic disorders can all affect our metabolism. Whilst we cannot control our metabolism per se, we can make it work for us.

In part, Hormones determine how much of each of these you have...

Studies conducted by Spennewyn in 1990 found a number of strong correlations between lean mass and metabolism based on indirect calorimetry measurements. Spennewyn discovered that lean tissue in men and women required approximately 16 calories per pound per day. This means that once a person’s lean mass is known then it can be multiplied by 16 to reveal ball park daily caloric needs based on the activity level of the individual. This method has been used in many gyms, health clubs and dietician settings to determine daily caloric needs. It is not perfect.

Where is the energy used?

Energy expenditure for your body is roughly broken down like this:

  • Liver 27%
  • Brain 19%
  • Heart 7%
  • Kidneys 10%
  • Skeletal muscle 18%
  • Other organs 19%

To shift our shape by getting rid of fat we need to understand the ways & the speed with which we burn the calories from the food we eat. We cannot necessarily speed up all of your metabolic processes but we can make them more efficient.

Well that’s the basic stuff out of the way – next week we get into some terms to know and then the 4 components of your metabolism & how you can affect them for your benefit.

Be well.

No More Excuses – Plan your new body using the New Financial year…

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Welcome back!!

Let’s put a new spin on the usual New Year’s Resolution  mess – let’s use the start of the new Financial Year (July 1st)  as the deadline to get our house in order and be ready and able to shed fat, refire our metabolisms and get healthier & fitter!!

This is how it works – it’s the 10th of June as I write this and you have until the 30th to get your kitchen prepared and ready for the next 12 months of right eating, exercising and living…You’ll have to hustle to get everything ready for the new, improved you…

Why wait for january 1st??

What will your fridge have inside of it? Your cupboards and your pantry? What will be in your freezer? Don’t forget – you cannot out train a poor diet so your health & leanness and fitness will depend upon on your kitchen and food supply…

The question is this. Is your kitchen prepared for the new you? Will they look inside your fridge and be impressed with your nutritional choices or will they cancel their developing path in your future? Will they have to call in a kitchen version of Extreme Makeover?

In this week’s blog I’m not going to try to give you an idea of what, where, when and why to eat – I presume that you’ve done enough research both here and on other blogs to have an idea of what works best for your body to become fit & lean…

Instead I’m going to try to give you an idea of the action-steps you need to take in order to execute your ‘new, leaner me’ plan effectively in  FY 2011/12.

Get Started- Create a Safe House

No – not one with safety bumpers and all sharp corners padded… Before the new Financial Year arrives you have to get the nerve centre of the house, the very heart of it in shape. We need to alter it so that it starts to resemble a place where Pro athletes and the lifelong lean come to eat. Let’s try to set a high standard from the get go. If you want a healthy lifestyle, a lean fit body then your kitchen has to become transformed into a place where you can eat like a champion.

The plan is to remove all foods that are not conducive to and supportive of your revitalised metabolic, lean body, fit goals and replace them with foods and a variety of better choices that do.

I’ve already made reference to the study that showed the closer candy is the ore you eat, the more visible junk food is the more folk eat…so if you get the junk food, the processed food out of the house you will not eat it. If it is there don’t try to kid yourself – you will eventually eat it.

If they're in your house you'll eat them sooner or later...

The key here is to view your home like a Neighbourhood Watch credentialed ‘safe house’ – that is a place where you can find sanctuary from poor foods & food choices. A safe place where you are free from all the temptations of the food we know do not support a reconditioned, fat free, lean physique. Everywhere else you go there will be temptation – fast food for the quick lunch, finger food at socials, alcoholic beverages at parties, sweets at a friend’s house or apartment, birthday cake at work and.. the list goes on. With all of this temptation, this potential for sabotage, you need to create a safe house you can return to each night.

Here’s how to do it right for  FY 2011/12:

The Fridge and Pantry Makeover

Okay – empty your fridge, pull everything out & put it on the kitchen counters. Look at the cornucopia of uncleanness you have brought into the light of day… and move it to one side for the moment. Now strip out the pantry – same drill put everything onto the kitchen counter, if you don’t have room then bring out the garbage bin, put a fresh liner into it and walk around and start to fill it…

Now you need to call your family, your wife, your husband, or your boy / girlfriend together ‘cause tis fridge & pantry cleaning time!

For some reason it is easier to re-stock a clean empty fridge with healthy food choices if it has been scrubbed within an inch of its life first. Don’t take my word for it – try it!!(if you are feeling really ambitious throw in an oven clean as well…)

What to put in the Bin

In reality there are few actually ‘bad ‘foods, just foods that are eaten at the wrong times. An occasional Big Mac or packet of crisps or Mars bar or handful of M&Ms will not hurt you – the trick is occasional.

Here are some guidelines that, if you follow them, will get you into a smaller pair of jeans sooner…

SODAS AND JUICES – Both are essentially water and sugar – if you want fruit eat the real thing or juice your own.

PROCESSED MEAT – store pre-made burgers, sausages, pepperoni, bacon and related foods are

Fats, Nitrates & sodium - not what you want to be eating...

absolutely full of fat. We know that all fat is not bad for us but heaps of saturated fat with lots of nitrates (just one of the 10+ preservatives used in the meat processing industry) lots of sodium and you have a heap of protein that will set your health & quest for leanness way back. These foods are NOT good sources of protein.

FROZEN DESSERTS AND ICE CREAM – Sugar, artificial colours, preservatives, fats – nothing here is a good choice to eat. Want some dessert try Greek yoghurt with some peanut butter whipped in…

SAUCES & DRESSINGS – doesn’t matter the name if it falls into the categories of ketchup, barbecue or mustard sauce, mayonnaise, French, Italian or greek dressing most of these are really just another way to get a lot of HFCS. Use pan juices or homemade. You’re much better off spicing up your meals naturally with spices and herbs and just avoiding all the sugar and extra empty calories commercial sauces & dressings provide.

PROCESSED FOODS – View with suspicion anything that is in a box, a wrapper or bag. Especially beware those with lots of bright colours and which proclaim ‘Low Fat’ or ‘Reduced’ something… You should hear an air raid siren when you look at these types of ‘food’ choices. Rule of thumb – if sugar (any type) is in the top 5 ingredients, if it appears in more than 1 form or if the label has more than half a dozen ingredients that sound like they belong in a Lab – then out it goes.

More likely than not what you were looking at was de-natured, processed, nutrient-sparse and not really fit for humans to eat. Most of these foods have a long list of binders and fillers that give a longer shelf life but add nothing nutritionally. The other test is if your Grandmother would not recognise it as  food then out it goes… Avoid this processed stuff at all cost!

SAVOURY BISCUITS & CRACKERS – As per the above – but with the delights of added sodium and more than likely a helping of trans fats…

BISCUITS & COOKIES – Fat, sugars, flavourings, binders, fillers, artificial creams – just a disaster..

White flour as an ingredient - not what we want...

WHITE FLOUR & WHITE FLOUR PRODUCTS – Let’s see white bread, bagels & rolls, packet cake mixes, muffins, etc etc. Denatured, nutrient sparse and bad for you. Whilst there is a growing view (supported by science) that we are not meant to eat grains or grain products the ones we do eat come from sources where the nutritional value has been all but removed in the processing. The removal in milling of a wheat seed’s bran and its ‘germ’ sees over 70% of the nutrients also taken out. (0+% of fibre is lost and then the resulting denatured mess is bleached to get that lovely, deathly shade of white so it looks attractive and has a long shelf life…

Then of course they add back vitamins & minerals & fibre – they call this enriching – but use the cheapest materials possible to supposedly add nutritional value when really all that is occurring is a shell game to cover up the paucity of real nutrients present.

PASTA – unless it is wholemeal (and even then it is a bit suspect) out it goes for all of the reasons pertaining to white flour.

POTATO CHIPS – Loads of saturated fat? Lots of sodium? Lots of laboratory designed ‘nature identical’ flavourings? Colourings? Preservatives? Yep – they’ve got them all…If you have to have potato chips use your oven & make your own. The chemical load from these store bought ones put one heck of a strain on your body…

ANY ‘SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS’ IN CONTAINERS – TUPPERWARE OR OTHERWISE – Good rule of thumb, great lamb roast or not, terrific stir fry ot stew if it has been in the fridge for more than a day after it was first served up it is time to go…Likewise check the ‘Use By’ or ‘Best By’ dates on foods as well. If they are past it throw them.

Check your labels – Trans fats – in the bin, Sugar in the top 5 ingredients? In the bin. Sugar over 12

Now stage 2...

grams per serve – in the bin. You know what to look for – really look at the packaged food labels & don’t be surprised if most of it you throw out (or put in a box and give you your neighbours or your son’s girlfriend’s family – whatever, whomever – just get it out of the house!!

Now What to Add to the Kitchen

Feeling virtuous now? In charge? A little guilty perhaps – no matter here is what you need to use to replace all of the non-goal supporting food stuffs. Your pantry & fridge probably look like Old Mother Hubbard’s place and that means that it is time to re-stock it.

BEVERAGES – Water, water & more water – get several litres / quarts a day into you. Drink filtered or boiled and avoid tap water unless you live in an area with safe supplies. Don’t buy bottled water – it is more expensive than petrol or scotch, and bad for the environment.

Have some green tea, make some of your own juices and perhaps a glass of red wine (a glass not several)…If you must have a zero calorie soda but if you can avoid all sodas, store bought fruit juices, flavoured milk, store bought iced teas, etc etc

BEEF, LAMB, FISH – go for lean cuts, use a slow cooker for cheaper cuts, get creative on the barbeque or watch Master Chef. Fresh Salmon is great!Lean protein is an absolute must!

BONELESS CHICKEN THIGH FILLETS & BREASTS – Essential, wonderful, versatile, low fat high protein. The thigh fillets stay moister and have more flavour but are a little fattier.

LEAN TURKEY OR CHICKEN SAUSAGES – Great for a change and for breakfast – again go for low processed ones. (My local butcher makes his own)

Lean protein is on the list to keep!!

LEAN TURKEY AND CHICKEN MINCE – Another great way to add variety to meals.

TINNED SALMON OR TUNA – water packed and low salt. Great for a snack or a standby…

COOKING SPRAY – Olive oil is best, canola second, nothing else is third or below…

CHEESE – Use in moderation but am important source of calcium, protein minerals and more. Have a variety of soft & hard, use as a garnish or to flavour salad. Beware parmesan that is not bought in a block – check the label. Avoid processed cheddars – you know the ones the soft, yellow plastic like ones…

NUTS & DRIED FRUIT – Brazil nuts for their zinc (men you need this – trust me!), walnuts for their ‘best of all nuts’ antioxidant profile, macadamias for their beneficial fats. No salted or roasted, no mixed or sugar coated…Dried fruits are packed with energy & calories. Use to head off sweet cravings and for a snack replacement, Use sparingly – they are calorie heavy. Also be careful – many dried fruits have an ingredient profile to match food from a box. Read the labels.

EGGS – For the socially conscious & well heeled chose free range, for the rest of us aim to get Omega 3 eggs in preference to others. Bottomline, no matter the source eggs are the closest thing nature has produced to the perfect convenience food.

FRUIT – Get an assortment of types & colours. Aim for at least a couple of pieces everyday and yes – one of them should be an apple of some variety.

A VARIETY OF GREEN TEAS – Plain green tea is great but  like the peppermint variety – up to you. Again just check your labels because even tea can be stuffed up.

GRAINS & GRAIN BASED FOODS – I love my bread – especially the ‘rustic’ styles and a bacon &

Get ready to drink lots of this...

cheese pull apart…But I indulge in these white flour products at Sunday brunch only. The rest of the time it is real wholemeal, seeded or rye. In every case it is used sparingly.

In terms of grain foods – oats, steel curt in preference to instant 9additives) but oats for breakfast along with an egg, a coffee and fesh juice is the best way I know to start off a working day…

PASTA, NOODLES & RICE – Not eaten very often, always wholemeal for pasta, brown for rice and as low preservative / low additive as possible for noodles. Never white rice or ‘normal’ pasta.

BEANS / LEGUMES – Kidney beans, split peas, chickpeas and lentils are excellent sources of fibre, a great way to add body to a stew or casserole of substance to a salad. Look for tinned with few ingredients beyond the beans & water or go frozen.

SAUCES AND CONDIMENTS – Make your own (it’s worth the trouble) use vinegar, olive oil infused with spices, wine or again – low ingredient ones from the store. Look in the Asian section of your supermarket – try adding coconut milk or even using some of the green or yellow curries.

SPICES – Rosemary, oregano, thyme, basil, mints, chilli, coriander, oregano – the list is almost endless – not only do ‘hot’ spices give your metabolism a boost but spices in general add flavour, lift a dish and also boost your immune system. Grow them yourself or get fresh ones…

VEGETABLES – Easy lots & lots of these with as wide a variety of type & colours as you can find. 4 or

Spices - boost immune systems, metabolism & flavour!!

5 servings a day. Buy often to ensure freshness. Greengrocer in preference to supermarket, market in preference to greengrocer. Staples to have are: spinach, broccoli, capsicum / peppers, asparagus, tomatoes, mushrooms, Spanish onions, cucumbers, sweet potato, Bok Choy, fresh garlic & ginger, celery and carrots.

Planning & then Shopping Smart

Create a weekly meal plan based along sound nutritional (ie low processed carbs, high lean protein, high natural carbs) and shop to this. On average you will be eating between 21 and 42 times a week, every week depending whether or not you are eating 3 or 6 (recommended) times a day.

Aim for a 90% success rate. When, if, you fall short and eat some crap don’t berate yourself, enjoy the fact that you are indeed human and then get back into the right food right action saddle.

It can be hard replacing old behaviours with new habits (that’s all habits are – repeated behaviours) but once you have done something 21 times in a row it becomes a new habit. This is not as easy as it sounds but it holds enough truth for you to use it as a guideline! Add in the 90% compliance target and eating better is not as daunting as it first seems.

Use a list when shopping. Develop the list from your meal plan. Plan to buy fresh foods a couple of times during the week. Plan to buy non-perishable foods in bulk to cut down on expenses & time.

Shop the periphery of the supermarket (the fresh, frozen & refrigerated food departments) first then dive – fleetingly – into the aisles for other essentials. Avoid the soda & sweet aisles.

There you have it – clean out the crap, clean the kitchen and bring in the new!!!

Whatever body you are living in now – perhaps it is too fat or too thin, not tight enough or too tight, soft flabby or muscular – it doesn’t matter. What matters is that if you are not happy with it a new FY kick off starting in the kitchen could be all you need to transform your body for the better. You are, in the end, responsible for how you look & feel.

Your shape ultimately is up to you.

Remember how you are now is the direct result of the person you are, and the decisions you have made. Stay the same and you’ll stay the same

Make the new Financial year – 2011 /12, not only the year that you master your meal plan – but the year that you stick to your resolutions and create a new body and a new life!

See you next time!!

A Simple Swap To Lower Body Fat

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Hi & Wecome back!!

This week’s post is relatively short because the message is simple – to lose body fat and get healthier alter the source & types of carbs you eat.

Regular readers will know that I am not anti-carb, but anti- processed, denatured, nutrient sparse carbs. Our bodies need carbs and the micronutrient that come with natural source carbs, so the whole ‘no

Swapping these for simple carbs...

carb’ thing does not make any sense to me except for specific and strategic short term use – but that is another post.

So here is the message short & sharp – replace starchy, processed carbs with vegetables and fruit. Yep just like your Mum & her Mum and her… used to say. They were & are right – fruit & veggies are the best sources of carbs and the co-factors and micronutrients that our bodies need for peak efficiency.

Vegetables should be the main type of carb you eat with fruit also essential but insmaller quantities because of the effects of fructose.(quick side note fructose from fruit is not a problem except in a society that add high fructose corn syrup to damn near everything – this creates a sensitivity to fructose that leads to various not so good halth effects. Fruit is good but in moderation…)

Here’s why you choose these natural sources:

Lots of carbs here - just not the ones that are good for you...

All of the carbs that you eat end up as glucose (blood sugar) after your body has processed them, taken out the vitamins & minerals, the antioxidants & co-factors; the fibre and leaves only its preferred energy source.

So after processing by your body; a piece of bread, an apple, a tomato, some potato or broccoli; a spoonful of sugar, a soda, a strawberry or even an Oreo are turned into your body’s main fuel source, blood sugar.

In other words – any carb, no matter its source, ends up in your blood stream as glucose.

What makes a spectacular difference to your health and body fat is the rate at which the carbs you feed your body are processed and metabolised.

Tim Ferriss talks about ‘Fast’ & ‘Slow’ Carbs in his book the ‘4 Hour Body’ and diabetics (and savvy folk) are familiar with the Glycemic Index which lists carbs as being high ‘GI’ (fast to break down to glucose) and low ‘GI” (slower to break down to glucose).

Simple / Fast carbs are those with a high GI and tend be starchy carbs. They are easy to spot – they have been processed and often are white in colour (no not cauliflower – but white flour products, white rice, white sugar, etc etc – all processed, starchy high GI foods) Some fruits fall into this category as well – especially dried fruits. Simple carbs are converted more rapidly into glucose for a quick energy boost.

Only a little goodness here

Complex / Slow carbs are those with high levels of fibre, generally a low GI rating, can often be imagined as coming from a farm or an orchard and tend to come in many colours with green being the predominant one. Oats is an example of a processed carb that is low GI (Steel cut, NOT instant). Complex carbohydrates take longer to break down into glucose and therefore offer a more sustained supply of energy for your body.

This sustained energy supply is why you must choose complex carbohydrates as your main carb source. Blood sugar spikes from simple, fast carbs cause insulin spiking and fat storage. Slow carbs do not.

However this is a simplistic view – ‘Fast’ versus ‘Slow’ carbs, high ‘GI’ versus low ‘GI’ the truth is more complex than this. It always is when we begin to look at the processes of our bodies – they overlap & interact at so many levels that simplistic approaches can be dangerous at worst or just misleading at beast.

Why? Well take watermelon. It is a high GI food but eating it actually has a negligible effect on glucose levels – even in large quantities.

Watermelon may have a high GI, but compared to other carb foods you might eat, it doesn’t have as much carbohydrate because it is mainly water.

Hi GI or not???

There is a small amount of carbohydrate in watermelon. This amount is processed into glucose very quickly making it a high-GI food, but because there is so little of it, it just doesn’t have much of an effect on your blood glucose levels, so in terms of impact, it is very low. This impact of the amount of carbs in a food is called the ‘Glycaemic Load’.

This is an important point – it is the amount of carbohydrate in a food that matters, not just the speed at which it is processed into glucose. We know that all carbs are turned into glucose – so it follows that the more carbs in a food, the more glucose that will be produced from it. Again this by itself is not  clear guide – what is needed is a method that takes into account the amount of carbs in a food and the speed at which those carbs are metabolised into glucose by our body. This measure is the Glycaemic Load (GL) which considers the amount of carbohydrate in a food as well as its GI. Both of these factors acting together determine the blood glucose response from any food.

To work out glycaemic load (GL), multiply the GI x the grams of carbohydrate, then divide by 100.

For example:

  • 1 cup of watermelon: (GI of 72 x 9 grams carb) / 100 = 6.5.
  • 1 cup of sweetcorn (GI of 37 x 32 grams carb) / 100 = 11.8.

Your body’s glucose response to the same amount of these 2 foods will be quite different because the amount of carb present in each. The differing amount of carbohydrate affects the glycaemic load. Portion size is another way to affect the glycaemic load of a food. For example, one cup of sweetcorn has a GL of 11.8 but half a cup only has a GL of 5.9.

What this shows is that using the GI by itself is okay as a rough rule of thumb, but it does not give you the full story. You need to also take into account the amount of carbohydrate in the food you are eating.  For this reason, the GI is most useful when choosing between foods with a high percentage of carbohydrate and but becomes fairly irrelevant when foods contain a low percentage of carbohydrate.

However the carb content should be taken one step further – the amount of carbs in a food that comes from fibre also affects your body’s speed of metabolising carbs to glucose. The Atkins people introduced the idea of ‘Nett’ carbs years ago and this was arrived at by subtracting the amount of fibre in a food from its total carb count. The remaining amount is the ‘Nett’ carbs and you apply the GL to this.

This is important because foods with a high carb% that also contain a high fibre % will convert to glucose to more slowly than high carb / low fibre foods. This also highlights that when a food has a low GI it does not mean you can eat huge volumes of it.

Bottomline – fibre counts – big time! And fibre comes from lightly to unprocessed foods, not factory processed ones.

So when considering a low- or high-GI food we need to also take into account how much carbohydrate a food contains and how much of that is fibre.

Bread, rice, pasta and cereals are mainly carbohydrate so choosing low-GI varieties makes a difference – but only if they are high fibre varieties.

All fruit and vegetables are fantastic for health because they are packed full of antioxidants and nutrients. But some fruits are low in fibre but high in carb content and therefore should be eaten sparingly.

Go for lots of colours when you are getting your fibre...

The biggest reason to switch from a diet full of starchy carbohydrates like bread, pasta, and rice to a diet with more fibrous, leafy ones like vegetables is the calories involved.

By ‘swapping’ out starchy, fast, simple carbs and replacing them with slow, complex, fibrous ones you will create a significant drop in calories. To lose fat we know we need to create a calorie deficit so fewer calories with more stable blood sugar will certainly assist in leading to a significant drop in body fat.

Just like it’s wise to moderate fats because they are very calorie dense, starchy carbohydrates like bread and pasta are more calorie dense (and definitely more nutrient sparse!!) than fibrous, carb sources like vegetables in general and leafy ones in particular.

What you want to do is eat a lot of calorie sparse, nutrient dense foods that makes us feel full without over-doing it with the calories. (See my earlier post – February I think – on achieving healthy satiety)

For effective, permanent fat loss, I feel it’s important to choose foods that are in high fibre are nutritionally dense but low in calories. This way you do not feel hungry because you are full from the fibre of the carbs, you don’t feel too deprived as the improved nutritional impact will help you cope with any cravings that arise from a ‘fast’ carb withdrawal. You will still be eating a lot of food but you’ll be getting a lot fewer calories.

Vegetables & most fruits offer this luxury. You can eat a lot in volume, but you just don’t get a lot of calories in return. (Unless you deep fry them, drench them in honey or drown them in butter on a consistent basis…)

Increased Complex Carbs = Fat Loss

This high volume, low calorie luxury doesn’t exist with starchy carbohydrates.

A small serving of starchy carbs like pasta, bread, and rice is still high in calories.

For example, a 1/4-cup of rice has approximately 150 calories, but you can eat an entire bag of carrots or 8 or more cups of broccoli and still have ingested fewer calories than if you the 1/4 cup of rice.

Look I love bread as much as the next person, especially Sunday morning brunch with a fresh loaf from the local bakery, and I am not suggesting that you stop eating grains, pasta, oatmeal or rices. I am however suggesting that you eat less of them, swap them out for more vegetables, reduce their serving size at your meals and add some leafy green stuff!

Supplement smaller servings of simple, fast carbs with more vegetables.

Your body absolutely needs carbohydrates. Carbs are the body’s main source of glucose. Your brain cannot function without glucose; in fact, you’d die without blood sugar.

Cut down on these don't cut them out...

So to start cutting excess calories from your diet, start to limit the amount of starchy carbs like bread, pasta, rice, oatmeal, bagels, that you eat and swap them instead for more vegetables like broccoli, carrots, green beans, spinach. lettuce, peas, and so on.

You’ll lose fat. Your skin will improve and so will a lot of other health indicators.

Be well, see you next time.

Shock! Gasp! LipoSuction is NOT permanent…Guess Metabolism Wins after all!!

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Welcome Back!!

For years Liposuction has been the darling of the fat loss set – that part of it who could not be bothered with fixing their lifestyle & metabolism. It is equally as popular with Women & Men, and is very, very lucrative…

The traditional before & after fo Lipo ads with way too much fat being removed this way...

Quick, relatively painless with a hint of danger to spice it up Lipo has been the mode of choice for actors, actresses, body builders, matrons, aging gigolos, the rich the vain and in a very few cases those who needed it as a medical necessity.

The news is in though and it is not good for lovers of Lipo – the fat comes back … and where it comes back to is health threatening.

You can almost hear the shonky Plastic Surgeons weeping from here….(the good ones actually say that Lipo is NOT a get out of fat jail free card and that you will regain the fat if you don’t address factors like food intake, exercise and metabolism). Thing is Lipo along with rhinoplasty (nose jobs) and breast enlargement is one of the 3 most popular and profitable cosmetic procedures undertaken in the developed world.

The April 7th 2011 edition of the journal ‘Obesity’ published the results of research, conducted by a team from the University of Colorado. This research not only assessed if the fat returned after liposuction, but where the body stored the returning sludge.

Invasive & potentially dangerous

You see Lipo actually ‘works’ by sucking fat cells out of the body – by removing them. Cosmetic Surgeons do this by inserting a canula through an incision in your body, pumping in a saline solution and then working the canula back & forth under your skin with the vacuum turned on…More modern approaches use lasers and vibration etc but the fact remains it is an invasive form of surgery that carries substantial risks.

The theory was that with these fat cells gone you would not only lose the fat vacuumed out but you would not regain the lost fat. Not true – you do get the fat back, just not in the same place… So you risk disfigurement, infection and at the very least several weeks of pain for a procedure that does not deliver as it has been advertised…

The researchers took a  group of 14 non-obese women, performed some Lipo on their thighs and monitored them at six weeks, six months and one year after the surgery.
Women assigned to the control group did not have the Lipo performed on them.

The results found that after a year the fat not only returned but was now redistributed to the stomach area instead of the thighs. After 12 months there was no difference in bodyfat between the control and Lipo groups.

Lipo CAN fix this - but it won't last without other changes...

Although only a small study, and yes there is a lot of noise about that!!, the results support widely known anecdotal evidence from patients and Cosmetic Surgeons. The fat comes back if you don’t clean up your act – especially in the areas of diet & exercise.

So – the researchers found that a year after Lipo, that fat returned but not to the Lipo site – but to the belly. Lipo on the thighs resulted in increased stomach area fat 12 months after the surgery. This is a less healthy place to store fat.

Even worse – if Lipo was done on the belly, the fat gain after 12 months re-accumulated there, despite there being fewer fat cells. The existing ones just grew in size.

The fact that fat returns and goes to the belly is not really surprising as the belly is an area designed for fat storage in order to cushion, protect, insulate and provide quick energy to our internal organs. The real surprise is that people have undergone this dangerous procedure (Google ‘Liposuction deaths and injuries’ – just avoid the image search) and then kept the rest of their lifestyle as it was.

Not only can you NOT out train a bad diet, it seems you can’t out-surgery one either!!

So Lipo can give a quick cosmetic effect but for lasting body recomposition you need to live a lifestyle like the one we talk about here – eat a high protein, low processed carb, moderate fat diet; eat 6

Lipo only gives this if you also eat & exercise the right way...

times a day, exercise at 3 times a week using a HIIT / Interval protocol so you fire up your EPOC; go for a walk, hug your loved ones, do some stretching – move & have fun.

If you don’t the results of any quick fix – surgical or other will not last…

See you next time.

Lose Fat without a Gym to go to…

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Welcome back!

Last week I showed some of my favourite ways to rip fat off at the gym, and let’s face it Gyms are great because of the equipment available. Thing is you can get as good results by working out at home. The truth is you don’t need a lot of machines or equipment to get results.

You can get results like this - via the Gym or at home!!

Now I happen to like using some of the equipment at the gym and it is great to have access to a full run of Kettle Bell and dumb bell weights but you don’t need it. At home I suggest you invest in a good chin up bar, a set of kettlebells (12,16, 18, & 20 kg) a basic barbell with about 30kgs of weights, a couple of dumbbells, a cheap ‘aerobic’ step, a skipping rope and a weighted vest. But even this is more than you need for results – you carry around your best fat loss weapon everyday – your body.

Bodyweight exercise is a great way to burn fat, recondition your metabolism and get a great workout no matter where you are.

Before we look at some routines some commonsense rules apply to this and all other exercise routines. One – check with your doctor or medical professionalism before starting any exercise routine especially if you have not exercised for some time, are overweight or

I love weighted vests...

over 40. Two warm up by skipping on the spot, doing some shoulder swings and moving around – it is important that you warm up your joints and muscles before stressing them. This does not mean do static stretches – save those for warming down at the end of your session when you muscles & tendons are nice & warm and able to benefit fully from stretching.

Here is a simple but effective routine you can do at the beach, in your living room, in a hotel room or at the park.

  • Jumping Jacks x 30
  • Push ups x 10 -2 20
  • Jumping Jacks x 30
  • Prisoner squats x 30 – 50
  • Jumping Jacks x 30

Do each exercise in a non-stop sequence with a rest after the third set of Jumping Jacks. Repeat 3 -5 times. You can swap out the Jumping Jacks for Burpees, or squat Thrusters knee lifts for some variety.

If you add a chin up bar to the mix then you can do my all time favourite:

  • Push ups X as many as you can
  • Rest for 1 minute
  • Chin Ups X as many as you can
  • Rest for 1 minute
  • Squats X as many as you can
  • Rest for 1 minute

Repeat for 5 rounds.

Push ups don't need any equipment & give great results!!

Not tough enough for you? Do the push ups & squats wearing a weighted vest…

For something that is really challenging try burpee ladders. The way this works is you do 10 burpees and rest, then 9 and rest then 8 and rest etc all the way down to 1 and then you go back up the ‘ladder’ to 10. Trust me this is a killer. Of course you can substitute any exercise for the burpees. Kettle Bell swings, like just about any exercise, take on a life of their own when ‘laddered’…

Speaking of kettle bells – and assuming that you have taken instruction so that you know how to perform a KB swing correctly – try doing 100 KB swings a day for 20 days. You will drop a lot of fat and tighten up your entire physique.

(NB – Kettle Bell swings if you are getting lower back pain when you do these you are doing them wrong and not ‘hinging’ correctly at the hips – an upcoming blog addresses how to do them properly.)

No longer trendy - just a home fitness essential in my opinion

My routine for last March:

Day 1

  • Kettle Bell Swings x 100 (done in sets of 20)
  • Medicine ball above the head throws X 12
  • Kitchen steps step up x 30 each leg

All done circuit style with a heavy weighted vest

Day 2

  • Push ups x 20, 15, 12, 10, 8
  • Chin Ups x 12, 11, 10, 10, 7
  • Squats x 50, 50, 50, 40, 20
  • Training bands shoulder mobility x 12

(Lighter weighted vest on the push ups & squats.) Done circuit style for 5 sets.

Day 3

Bike Ride (including hill climbs and a couple of sprints.)

Short of time?

  • Wall squats / holds for 45 seconds
  • Prisoner squats x 30
  • Mountain climbers x 30

As usual do as a circuit but with only 30 secs rest between each one and 45 secs rest between each of your 5 circuits.

This is the type of home chin up bar to go for...

Bodyweight exercises are great, require little equipment, maintain & build muscle and burn fat. Not being able to afford a gym or a home gym is not a reasonable excuse for not getting lean.

Even better they are fun and with the right attitude can put us back in touch with that younger self who just ran & jumped and swung & played for the sheer hell of it!!

Love body weight!!!

Be well.

My Gym Program to Shed Fat – Fast!!!

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Welcome Back!!

Last time I listed 30 something reasons to get in shape if you are over 30 and this time I want to look at the use of exercise as a major component of getting into shape  – or staying there once you’re happy with how you look.

The first type of program uses barbells & dumbbells and pretty much needs a gym so you can access enough weight to really challenge yourself. If you are already set up at home so much the better….

But what if I don’t go to the gym I hear you ask? Don’t worry – I have info on how to use body weight workouts in the next blog post.

Not many of us can afford to set up a home gym with this much equipment

We all know that diet is 80 – 90% of fat loss and that you cannot out-train a poor one.

So let’s assume that you’ve reduced your calories and are eating nutrient dense but calorie sparse foods. That you are eating clean – lots of protein and low GI carbs, few processed foods, no transfats and you’ve come as close to eliminating High Fructose Corn Syrup from your diet as humanly possible. You’ve also added spices like cinnamon & capsicum to your diet, drink green tea and use protein shakes as a means to keep your body feeling full and also staying in positive nitrogen balance. In other words you’ve got your fat loss diet sorted.

Now we need to get the exercise part firing, this is one of my preferred routines.

Now as we have discussed in previous posts – once our bodies sense a cut in calories it immediately begins to preserve (and if possible) add to fat stores. It also begins to burn muscle for fuel once glycogen stores are depleted – result; a slower metabolism and more body fat.

You can combat this though – by convincing your body that it needs to maintain if not add to your muscle if it is to survive. And we do that by lifting heavy weights and then following this up with a Metabolic conditioning / HIIT style workout.

No more than hour is needed to get great results

The total workout should take no more than an hour with 30 minutes spent on the strength / muscle preservation side and the final 30 spent on reconditioning & firing up your metabolism with some HIIT circuits.

Your goal has to be to maintain lean muscle and to max strength when you are reducing calories. The best exercises to use for this are compound (ie multijoint) ones like Squats, Deadlifts, Overhead Presses and weighted Chin Ups. (You’ll note the absence of the bench press – this is deliberate as I & many others believe that it is not as effective as overhead presses, creates strength imbalances in the shoulder girdle and often causes shoulder injuries)

So in order to preserve your muscles and build strength you use this program:

  1. 1. Deadlifts paired with Overhead presses on Day 1
  2. 2. Squats paired with Pull ups (weighted if possible) on Day 2

The reason that pullups and deadlifts aren’t paired together is that they’re both challenging to your grip and will weaken it. A weak grip means that you can do fewer reps or use less weight so by splitting them apart your grip only gets ‘hit’ with 1 exercise each session. (Note – if you can’t do weighted chin ups don’t worry – do as many as you can in each set. Once you get strong enough to do 10 from ‘dead hang’ with good form then add some weight and drop your reps back to 3 or 4 and work back up)

On each day you do the following metabolic condition workout:

You WON'T be using any of these - they don't work!!

  1. 1. Dumbbell Squat and Presses
  2. 2. Jumping Jacks
  3. 3. Dumbbell Bench Step-ups with Bicep Curl (do reps for each side)
  4. 4. Squat Thrusts
  5. 5. Dumbbell Walking Lunges (do reps for each side)

Go through 10 – 15 reps of each exercise pausing only long enough to swap weights until you’ve completed one circuit. Rest long enough to get your breathing down ( 2-3 minutes) and repeat 3-5 times.

The goal of this style of training for the second 30 minutes of each workout is to get your metabolism really ramped up so that you create a strong EPOC and continue to burn fat as fuel for hours after the workout is done.

Execution:

Firstly warm up with some Jumping Jacks followed by walking lunges, then shoulder swings, some push ups and some body weight squats. Not a lot, just enough to get the blood flowing and the joints lubricated.

Then set up your barbells for the deadlift and the overhead press. Put enough weight on each bar so that you can only do 5 -6 fast reps of each exercise with good form.

Don't forget to warmup first

Speed is important as it engages more muscle fibres, fires up more mitochondria ( the fat burning furnaces in each cell) and builds more strength. Good form matters as injury will slow if not halt your progress. Always err on the side of caution.

Then do 3 – 4 sets in circuit fashion (3 reps of Deadlifts, rest long enough to get your breath back, then 3 reps of Overhead Press, rest long enough to get your breath back then back to Deadlifts again and repeat for 3-4 times)

That is the first part of the workout on day 1, next you move to part 2 which is the metabolic circuits.

For these you need to set up several sets of different dumbbells. You need different weights as you will be able to handle different ones depending upon the exercise. For example you can hold a larger weight for the walking lunges than you can curl on the step ups. Again aim for speed with good form.

Put your equipment back and go home and eat a meal high in protein, moderate carbs and low fat. Because you are trying to drop bodyfat you should NOT go the high carb route. That works when you are already lean and certainly enhances muscle growth, but if you are carrying body fat your metabolism is still primed to store carbs as fat…

Then you come back on day 2 and do the squats & Chin Ups followed by the same metabolic workout.

For best results, and if you are up to it you should workout 6 days a week, alternating Workout 1 with Workout 2.

Over a week it would look like this:

Day 1- Deadlifts & Overhead Presses + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 2- Squats & Chin Ups + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 3- Deadlifts & Overhead Presses + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 4- Squats & Chin Ups + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 5- Deadlifts & Overhead Presses + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 6- Squats & Chin Ups + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 7 – Rest

Follow this program for 6 weeks with a clean metabolism boosting diet and you’ll see great results. Make no mistake though – this is hard work and should be challenging!!

Results come to those who work at it!!

If however you are just starting out you should aim for working out 3 days a week with a 2 week program that looks like this:

Day 1- Deadlifts & Overhead Presses + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 2- Rest

Day 3- Squats & Chin Ups + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 4- Rest

Day 5- Deadlifts & Overhead Presses + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 6- Rest

Day 7 – Rest

Day 8- Squats & Chin Ups + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 9- Rest

Day 10- Deadlifts & Overhead Presses + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 11- Rest

Day 12- Squats & Chin Ups + Metabolic Conditioning Exercises

Day 13- Rest

Day 14- Rest

If you use the 14 day cycle aim to do it for at least 8 weeks then switch to the 6-days a week one foe another 4.

Well there you have it – follow this program with a clean diet and the fat will certainly disappear.

See next time when we’ll look at why bodyweight workouts can deliver excellent results – even without gym equipments.

Be well.

30 Something Reasons to Get in Shape for 30 Something+ Year Olds……

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Hi & Welcome back!!

I have put together a list of what I believe are the most compelling reasons for the over 30’s (not to mention over 40’s or my mob – the over 50’s) to get in shape and stay there.

In shape - but not for most of us mere mortals

Being in shape for me means that I have a low & age appropriate body Fat %, I feel strong and have muscular endurance, that I hold a reasonable cardio endurance, can touch my toes and have a good general flexibility. It is my firm belief that getting better in the these areas will see you able to live and enjoy a fuller life. (You’ll also LBN!!)

So to get or to stay in great shape her are 30 something reasons…

LBN

Let’s clear up LBN – LBN means Look Better Naked. With a lower fat percentage, some muscle and more importantly the confidence that comes with being in shape you can’t help but LBN!

Reduces Cholesterol

Increasing research is showing that this is not the bad boy it has been painted as for the last few decades, but nonetheless too much LDL (Low Density Lipoproteins) is still not a good thing to have going on and regular exercise (especially Interval style – see earlier posts) has been proven to reduce LDL levels whilst increasing HDL ( High Density Lipoproteins) – the good cholesterol.

Not everyone can get in this shape - but we can improve our own!!

You’ll Sleep Better

Lack of sleep increases the release of cortisol and cortisol promotes fat storage especially around your belly. ( no cortisol is not bad – but too much of it is!) Regular challenging exercise helps you get to sleep quicker and to sleep longer and more deeply. It also reduces the release of stress related hormones like cortisol and promotes the release of HGH ( Human growth Hormone) This hormone is often called the ‘Fountain of Youth’ hormone due to its effect on your body’s fat stores ( it cuts them) your lean tissue (you get more muscular) and your over all health.

You’ll feel better about yourself

Just working out regularly and getting in shape makes you feel better about yourself. We can’t all look like Brad Pitt in Troy or Angelina in… (Well ladies insert your favourite here!) but we CAN make of ourselves the best we can. Doing this enables to feel more in control of our lives and being in shape for ourselves will give a confidence boost.

Physical appearance isn’t everything,  but by getting into better shape you’ll look better, and this will improve your confidence.

Your Blood Pressure will reduce

Stress, lack of sleep, poor diet – all contribute to high blood pressure – a recognised killer. Getting in shape not only reduces your blood pressure but can actually prevent it from either re-occurring or taking place in the first place!

Your won’t ache or hurt as much

One of the most common (and in many cases debilitating) complaints of the over 30’s ( & it sharply increases for each 5 year increment above this in the general population) is back pain – usually lower back pain. Years of sitting actually shortens certain muscles & tendons resulting in constant & additional pressure on our lumbar region. General lack of movement and no weight bearing exercise weaken muscles generally. This combines to the dreaded ‘throwing your back out’…

You won't need one of these if you are in shape...

Simply by lifting weights, moving more and sitting less can & does reduce this. Getting in shape with the strength & flexibility can eradicate it completely or at lest reduce it to more manageable levels. A large number of studies show that exercise is an effective treatment for recurrent low back pain.

You’ll suffer fewer injuries

Getting in shape & developing a strong, fit body will see your injury numbers decline severely. Not just back pain, but twisted ankles, stubbed toes, sore shoulders and neck pain – but general aches & pains all decrease the fitter and more in shape that you are.

You’ll be able to stand in the one spot longer (important in supermarkets, cinemas, at parades, in Church or just life in general…

You’ll reduce your chances of getting some types of Cancer

There are a number of studies that show regular exercise and low body fat equal a lesser chance of developing a number of cancers – particularly bowel, colon and breast cancers. In some cases the studies suggest being in shape & regularly exercising reduces some cancer risks by up to 40%.

You’ll have a faster Metabolism (my favourite)

By now you know that this blog is primarily about ways to recondition your metabolism so you shed fat, get fitter and enjoy much better health. I’m not going to labour the point here – by getting in shape will recondition your metabolism meaning that you heal faster and burn calories more efficiently & effectively. A faster metabolism carries a host of health benefits.

You’ll recapture some ‘lost’ Range of Motion

Getting in shape & working out with a strategic program will help you rediscover the joys of being able to

Range of motion - not everyone wants this much, but you can get more...

touch your toes, scratch your back and other many other  lost ranges of motion.

Nowhere else is it truer that if you don’t move it you’ll lose it as in the area of flexibility.

Becoming more flexible reduces joint stiffness, can assist with arthritis pain and also adds to reducing injury occurrence.

Your Functional Strength will improve

Functional strength is one of those terms that has become more of a marketing handle than a real descriptor of a real thing. However true functional strength means that you have the strength & power to do the things you need to each day in your life.

It can be carrying groceries, lifting a child, getting out of a chair, digging a garden bed, riding a bike, painting a ceiling, push starting a car or… you get the idea.

Being in shape improves your quality of life because you have the ability to do the things in your life.

You’ll improve your Insulin Sensitivity

Insulin sensitivity is the degree to which your body (primarily muscles) is able to receive and glucose from your bloodstream. Insulin resistance means that more & more insulin has to be released by the pancreas leading to increased fat storage, or in extreme cases (which are becoming less rare in these days of obesity) a loss of the ability to produce sufficient insulin at all. Yep – dose dependent diabetes…

Being in shape with a more efficient metabolism & lower body fat improves insulin sensitivity and can prevent the development of type 2 (often called adult onset) diabetes.

You can find a few out of the 168 hours each week to get in shape

With 168 hours each and every week we can all find 3 or 4 of these to use to get in and stay in shape. The benefits are too many to ignore and the results too important to miss out on because ‘Dancing with the Stars’ is on.

If you have to, make your workouts an appointment in a diary. Just find the time…

You’ll have a higher desire for Sex

No not enough that you’ll develop sex addiction, but being in shape & LBN certainly raises the sex drive of both males & females.

Part of it is better circulation, part of it is increased body awareness and feeling more in control of your body and a large part of it is improved hormone health. Regardless – getting or being in shape certainly improves the bedroom…

Heart Atack and more diseases either in progress or about to start...

You’ll Decrease your Risk of Heart Disease

Challenging exercise exercises the heart like any other muscle and like any other muscle regular exercise improves the hearts strength & responsiveness to the demands placed on it.

Contractile strength improves and with higher HDL & lower LDL your risk of heart disease drops. A lot.

You’ll get a kick out of exercise

Challenging exercise releases a number of ‘feel good’ hormones (think runners high) that elevate our mood, lift depression, decrease the effects of stress and poor sleep and have been proven to make us happier.

This effect is even more marked when you make at least a part of your exercise program an activity that you love to do. It can be ballroom dancing, squash, tennis, a martial art, yoga – whatever. When you have at least 1 regular activity of your exercise program as something you love you overall enjoy getting & staying in shape more. And you smile more – a lot more.

You’ll likely live longer

Folk who are in shape tend to live longer, have better health and less disease & injury. At the very least they experience a better quality of life.

You’ll develop (rediscover) better balance and Coordination

This sort of ties in with suffering less injuries if you are fit – but if you are in shape & working out regularly your kinaesthetic awareness (your mental awareness of your body’s place in the space around it) improves. You’ll trip less often, bump into less and find that you drop things less often.

Well maybe not this much more balance (unless you want to work for it!!)

Even better – for the older ones of us – you’ll be less likely to fall – and for anyone in their late 50’s on falls is a major health problem …

You’ll reduce your chance of Osteoarthritis

Weight bearing exercise coupled with moving more means stronger bones. Period. Calcium supplements have their place and so does diet but if you want strong bones move some weight and get stronger than you are today.

Your gut will work better

Getting in shape means more efficient processing of the food you eat. It means reduced risk of ‘over 40’s’ diseases such as diverticulitis, gastrointestinal haemorrhage, and inflammatory bowel disease; for everyone else it means a decreased incidence of constipation.

Getting in shape is not just for cosmetic external purposes – a reconditioned metabolism means everything works better.

Your weight will change

Getting in shape means dropping body fat and developing some muscle. Scales don’t count because muscle weighs more than fat, but the mirror, your partner’s reactions and how your clothes fit do.

Your body will use more fat as fuel

Regular exercise tends to improve your body’s ability to use fat as fuel. This is a good thing as is unfit folk our bodies have a tendency to store fat and breakdown muscle for fuel once glucose is depleted.

Even better – unhealthy fat stores like belly rolls and love handles, visceral (internal) fat can not only be prevented but heavily reduced if not wiped out by getting in shape.

You’ll get sick less often

Your entire Immune System will improve...

Being fit means a stronger immune systems and this translates into less illness – fewer colds, quicker recovery from the ‘flu and generally better health.

You’ll focus better

Another truth about moving into the above 30 age bracket – our ability to focus , concentrate and multitask begins to drop. A lot. By your 50’s it can be beginning to become a real issue.

A better supply of oxygen & nutrients to the brain due to improved circulation from regular exercise not only arrests this mental decline, but can on occasion reverse it.

You’ll have loads more energy

Exercising regularly improves your body’s utilisation of food and the performance of its various energy systems. Net result? A real increase in energy levels.

More energy means better quality of life and more engagement in living – to good to miss!!

You’ll reduce the chance of developing Alzheimer’s

Remeber when you had this much energy??!!

Although this is likely tied to improved circulation of oxygen & nutrients to the brain, getting in shape through challenging & regular exercise appears to keep your brain sharper and may reduce the chances of you developing not only Alzheimer’s disease but a number of other dementia type mental disorders.

It may be tied to the improved circulation and the increased amount of mental awareness required to partake of exercise or other physical activities. There is even some talk of the feel good hormones also playing a role…

In any case the research is ongoing but is too good to ignore.

You’ll feel like you are reaching your potential

Being out of shape, fat, flabby and out o breath with no strength means that you cannot possibly be at your best. The world is a nastier place when you are out of shape and your internal landscape can come to resemble your outer one. Not healthy – physically or mentally.

By getting in shape, reconditioning your metabolism and losing ft you transform into you Ver 2.0 – a better version of yourself.

The Greeks used to say ‘Healthy body, Healthy mind’ – and the more we learn about how our bodies work and how they integrate with our emotions and thought process the more correct the Greeks seem to be.

Undertaking a physical transformation will improve your mental, emotional, and spiritual state; and upgrade your quality of life.

From the appearance of your skin, to your overall body shape, to how well your metabolism works, how you think or shrug off illness – just about every physical attribute you posses gets better when you’re in shape.

Set them up for a better quality of life

You’ll set a good example for your kids (or grandkids, or…)

By taking charge of your shape & fitness and being committed to it you will also help your kids to develop similar habits. Being in shape has so many health benefits that if you can influence by example your children you could literally be reducing the amount of stress, pain & illnesses that they will suffer in their lives. A helluva a good reason to get & stay in shape as far as I am concerned…

(If you like this list and have sedentary friends then shoot them a copy of this blog – it just might get them moving.)

Please leave a comment below and I’ll see you next time…