What is meant by metabolism

Wanting to get rid of undesirable flab?

Have you been struggling to release unhealthy, undesirable flab around your waist and improve your body shape?  I know the feeling as I have been there too.  It isn’t easy to find the perfect hack with all the eating advice promoted in mainstream and social media.  There are so many pieces to follow, such as Fat grams, antioxidants, gluten sensitivity, veganism, sugar-free, whole foods.  I can go on with a list of diet fads.  According to the National Health and Nutrition examination survey, much of the diet advice has not worked for most people in America as almost two-thirds of the population is overweight.

As we age, most of us add one pound of fat to our bodies each year and accumulate a large amount of flab around our midsection as our metabolism slows down. Some may ask what is meant by metabolism?  Metabolism is the amount of energy (calories) your body uses to maintain itself.  It is the chemical processes that go on continuously inside your body to keep your organs functioning normally, such as breathing, repairing cells, and digesting food.

In addition to naturally declining metabolism rates, most people these days spend their leisure time around computers, scrolling through social media, watching Netflix, online gaming, and other passive activities.  Less than 10% of adults fire up their metabolism by exercising with high intensity 2 to 3 times per week.  As we age, we see a gradual decline in muscle and an increase in fat caused by dehydration.  This post will highlight more of Dr. Ellington Darden’s research and teachings on reversing this trend and shrinking our fat cells.

Meals, hydration and exercise

To stoke your metabolism, plan to eat your meals six times per day with limited portions.  This will regulate your appetite and accelerate your desired weight loss to get that leaner look.  In addition, you want to get into the habit of progressively sipping a total of 4 litres of water throughout your day to keep super hydrated.  I like to add lemon and or 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar which can aid in your goal to drop weight.  Avoid eliminating macro-nutrients such as carbohydrates as it typically leads to the loss of muscle tissue, and it is the muscle that fuels your metabolism.  The successful path to fat release is adding fire to your metabolism and not extreme dieting, leading to the weakening of your system for short-term weight loss.  The majority of dieters who lose significant weight regain most of it over the following year.  This is why we need to get the proper eating, hydration, exercise and sleep habit in place. Keeping fat loss in check for three years will lead to more manageable and long-term success at maintaining your shape for the long term.  Adding high-intensity exercise to the mix is essential as it forces your body, brain, tissues and hormones to work for you towards releasing unhealthy and undesirable flab around the waist.  Exercise is a must to avoid muscle atrophy and lowering of your metabolism.  Check out the Amazon fitness hub here to browse through a wide range of fitness products that may suit your needs.

So, are you COMMITTED to achieving results?

If the answer is yes, you will have no problem adapting to these recommendations for as long as you want to feel younger, vibrant, attractive and physically fit.

Calories to fuel muscle versus fueling fat

I learned some interesting statistics through Dr. Darden’s research and how muscle growth connects to fat loss.  Did you know that:

• A pound of muscle requires approximately 37.5 calories of heat per day to live.
• A pound of fat only needs 2 calories of heat per day to live.
• A pound of muscle burns 18.75 times as many calories as a pound of fat.

Therefore, muscle requires more calories to stay alive and function, so we need to avoid shutting the body down, eating the right foods, drinking lots of water, getting quality rest and sleep, and maintaining regular weekly exercise.

Fat storage

Only muscles can see a decline and waste away, unlike fat.  This is called muscle atrophy.  On the other hand, fat sits on top of the muscle, behind it and intermingled within it.  The majority of it is stored directly under the skin, and thicker layers accumulate around the core midsection, hips and thighs.  One key point to note is that when you are working on releasing fat, it is reduced evenly from all over your body and not in one targeted area.  People often refer to this as spot reduction, which is a myth.

Monitor your progress

As you apply the recommendations in this post, it is best to monitor your leanness once every 3-4 weeks.  By marking measurements and observing progress, you will naturally remain motivated to continue pressing on.  Dr. Darden shares this super simple measurement method and calls it the relaxed vs contracted test.

Relax your upper arm and record the measurement around your bicep in an unflexed state.  For example, let us say it is 16 inches. Then you contract your bicep in a flexed state and record your measurement and let say it is 16.5 inches.  Compare and calculate the difference. In this example, it is 0.5 inches.  You can take this result and apply it to the following that expresses the difference in body fat percentage.

Difference = % Body Fat

• 0.5 in     =    24%
• 0.75 in   =    18%
• 1.0 in     =    13%
• 1.25 in   =    10%
• 1.5 in     =     7%

The healthy range of body fat for men ranges between 8%-19%, while 21% to 33% for women.  You can also make it easy and consider purchasing a body fat BMI smart scale.  Have a look here.

My goal is to help people break through their comfort zones and share what it takes to improve their health and physical shape long term.  It requires commitment and unrelenting persistence, determination and discipline.  When you comply for 100 days, it becomes a habit, and that is when you begin to cement positive change for the long haul.  Trust me; it is attainable if this is what you desire and your WHY is big enough. Grab your FREE guide – 3 Pillars to improved health here and feel free to reach me directly to assess your needs and goals.