How Fat Loss Really Works!
Hi Everyone,
wow it's been 45days since my last post, way too long. However I can say that the reason it's been too long is because the fitness industry luckily is still thriving even with the international economic troubles. My goal this summer will be to write in my blog once a month. I can really only keep up with it once a month especially because this summer I'm goign to be doing some YouTube vidoes. I find it easier to educate people by showing rather than just writing about it. This is why I became a fitness trainer in the first place. I'm really excited to get the YouTube projects underway. Don't worry I'll let you all know when I have my first posting on YouTube so you don't miss out.
Anyways Today I wanted to explain the 3 main principles to changing your body, and hopefully it will help you understand a few of the complexities of how fat loss really works.
Resting metabolic Rate (RMR)
Your resting metabolic rate takes up the greatest majority of calories in the day. So if your RMR is functioning at a higher rate then you're going to burn more calories in the day. What is metabolic rate? It's all of the process's your body goes through in the course of the day and when you're asleep. It never shuts off and it uses energy (from food) to keep your body functioning properly.
So How do you increase your RMR? It's simple to say but harder to practice.
1. Exercise: The more you move the higher your RMR will get over time. The more muscle and lean tissue you build the higher you RMR. Moving weights around intensly for 3-4xweek is a great way to ge tyour RMR revved up for even hours past the workout. Going for walks, runs, sprints, all movement increases your RMR. So move more and mix it up between high intensity exercise and low intensity.
2. Nutrition: Eating enough calories in the day may seem scary to those of you who diet all the time. But consider this, when you diet and lower your calories you're also lowering your RMR and that's counter productive. Yes you can lower your calories to about 300-500 a day without effecting your RMR much, but if you drop it even more then prepare to gain it all back twice as fast as you lost it and expect to be 5% heavier than when you started. Eat the right foods and the right amounts.
The simple rule of thumb here is to eat what was around 1,000 years ago, foods high in sugar, starch, processed crap, give it to people you don't like. Eat plenty of fiber, protein, and healthy fats, yes don't be afraid of fats, but be very afraid of sugar (aka "the white devil").
Insulin/Blood Sugar relationship
Your body has a very strong hormone that is the KEY hormone when it comes to storing energy (fat). The hormone is Insulin and insuling and blood sugar act together, when your eating is sparatic and high in sugar you'll experience the sugar High and the the low or what I call Peaks and valleys. Insulin is released in large amounts only when large amounts of sugar (all forms) are consumed. When this happens the insulin takes the sugar and transports it into your cells, mainly your fat cells. This is why sugar is so bad for you, the more simple the sugar is, the faster it is digested. unles you're training hard for 2hours or more, or competing in a Marathon, high sugar foods are not required by the body and thus is stored in your cells making you fat.
So how can I stop insuling from being release?
You can't unless you're Diabetic. You do want insulin in your body but you also want the relationship of insulin and blood sugar to be a stable one not the peaks and valley relationship you get with poor nutrition habits.
Eating smaller more frequent meals can help keep your blood sugars in balance
Eating low G.I. (glycemic index) foods and eating protien or healthy fats along with your carbohydtrates will keep those blood sugars in check. Stick to eating this way and you'll have more energy and your fat storing days will be all but gone.
Cortisol/Stress
Your body has another hormone called cortisol, and when you get stressed, either physically or mentally, your body is going to release this hormone. This hormone mechanism along with the hormone insulin are rumored to be the difference between us surviving our first few mellenia on earth and us going the way of the Neanderthal. So for that I thank my lucky starts I have these hormones, unfortunately, now that we live in abundance of all of our daily survival needs, these hormones can get in the way of looking healthy. Cortisol will release and promote fat storing when you are stressed out, so the only way to counter balance cortisol is to reduce your stress.
Get an amazing 7-9 hours of sleep per night uninterrupted.
Don't sweat the little things
if you are stessed out and physically exhausted scale back the intensity of your exercise, yes exercise places temporary stress on the body, and thus if you are already really stressed out, lighter workouts can actually relieve stress.
Find an outlet or hobby that you enjoy that can take away from the daily pressures of life.
Take vacations! I had to learn this the hard way a few years ago when I was burning the candle at both ends for too long and eventually one day I sat down and I just couldn't get up, It was like being in a trance, I just couldn't move. Don't let that happen to you, take your vacations, don't worry about your boss, your workload, or anything, take the time to enjoy yourself to the fullest.
Conclusion
I could easily go into more depth with these, but really it takes more than once blog post to educate you about how important these 3 main keys are to a healthier leaner and more energetic body. I hope what you've learned in this blog post will be put into practice right away, and that you're energy this summer is taken to new highs.
until next time, Stay Fit
Robin Mungall
wow it's been 45days since my last post, way too long. However I can say that the reason it's been too long is because the fitness industry luckily is still thriving even with the international economic troubles. My goal this summer will be to write in my blog once a month. I can really only keep up with it once a month especially because this summer I'm goign to be doing some YouTube vidoes. I find it easier to educate people by showing rather than just writing about it. This is why I became a fitness trainer in the first place. I'm really excited to get the YouTube projects underway. Don't worry I'll let you all know when I have my first posting on YouTube so you don't miss out.
Anyways Today I wanted to explain the 3 main principles to changing your body, and hopefully it will help you understand a few of the complexities of how fat loss really works.
Resting metabolic Rate (RMR)
Your resting metabolic rate takes up the greatest majority of calories in the day. So if your RMR is functioning at a higher rate then you're going to burn more calories in the day. What is metabolic rate? It's all of the process's your body goes through in the course of the day and when you're asleep. It never shuts off and it uses energy (from food) to keep your body functioning properly.
So How do you increase your RMR? It's simple to say but harder to practice.
1. Exercise: The more you move the higher your RMR will get over time. The more muscle and lean tissue you build the higher you RMR. Moving weights around intensly for 3-4xweek is a great way to ge tyour RMR revved up for even hours past the workout. Going for walks, runs, sprints, all movement increases your RMR. So move more and mix it up between high intensity exercise and low intensity.
2. Nutrition: Eating enough calories in the day may seem scary to those of you who diet all the time. But consider this, when you diet and lower your calories you're also lowering your RMR and that's counter productive. Yes you can lower your calories to about 300-500 a day without effecting your RMR much, but if you drop it even more then prepare to gain it all back twice as fast as you lost it and expect to be 5% heavier than when you started. Eat the right foods and the right amounts.
The simple rule of thumb here is to eat what was around 1,000 years ago, foods high in sugar, starch, processed crap, give it to people you don't like. Eat plenty of fiber, protein, and healthy fats, yes don't be afraid of fats, but be very afraid of sugar (aka "the white devil").
Insulin/Blood Sugar relationship
Your body has a very strong hormone that is the KEY hormone when it comes to storing energy (fat). The hormone is Insulin and insuling and blood sugar act together, when your eating is sparatic and high in sugar you'll experience the sugar High and the the low or what I call Peaks and valleys. Insulin is released in large amounts only when large amounts of sugar (all forms) are consumed. When this happens the insulin takes the sugar and transports it into your cells, mainly your fat cells. This is why sugar is so bad for you, the more simple the sugar is, the faster it is digested. unles you're training hard for 2hours or more, or competing in a Marathon, high sugar foods are not required by the body and thus is stored in your cells making you fat.
So how can I stop insuling from being release?
You can't unless you're Diabetic. You do want insulin in your body but you also want the relationship of insulin and blood sugar to be a stable one not the peaks and valley relationship you get with poor nutrition habits.
Eating smaller more frequent meals can help keep your blood sugars in balance
Eating low G.I. (glycemic index) foods and eating protien or healthy fats along with your carbohydtrates will keep those blood sugars in check. Stick to eating this way and you'll have more energy and your fat storing days will be all but gone.
Cortisol/Stress
Your body has another hormone called cortisol, and when you get stressed, either physically or mentally, your body is going to release this hormone. This hormone mechanism along with the hormone insulin are rumored to be the difference between us surviving our first few mellenia on earth and us going the way of the Neanderthal. So for that I thank my lucky starts I have these hormones, unfortunately, now that we live in abundance of all of our daily survival needs, these hormones can get in the way of looking healthy. Cortisol will release and promote fat storing when you are stressed out, so the only way to counter balance cortisol is to reduce your stress.
Get an amazing 7-9 hours of sleep per night uninterrupted.
Don't sweat the little things
if you are stessed out and physically exhausted scale back the intensity of your exercise, yes exercise places temporary stress on the body, and thus if you are already really stressed out, lighter workouts can actually relieve stress.
Find an outlet or hobby that you enjoy that can take away from the daily pressures of life.
Take vacations! I had to learn this the hard way a few years ago when I was burning the candle at both ends for too long and eventually one day I sat down and I just couldn't get up, It was like being in a trance, I just couldn't move. Don't let that happen to you, take your vacations, don't worry about your boss, your workload, or anything, take the time to enjoy yourself to the fullest.
Conclusion
I could easily go into more depth with these, but really it takes more than once blog post to educate you about how important these 3 main keys are to a healthier leaner and more energetic body. I hope what you've learned in this blog post will be put into practice right away, and that you're energy this summer is taken to new highs.
until next time, Stay Fit
Robin Mungall
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