Newsletter
Quote: “In order to be wealthy, you must be healthy”
As I keep getting older I keep gaining weight and I still eat the same, WHY?
As we age, each decade after the age of 30 your metabolism drops 2%. This may seem small but consider the average American eating 2500 calories per day, 2% less, would be 50 calories a day, multiply that by 365 days in a year= 18,250 since an excess of 3,500=a pound, in one year a person can gain 5lbs. or 5 years= 25lbs. Without making up for this through exercise (burning more calories) and proper nutrition one will inevitable gain weight. The weight loss game is a constant conundrum in figuring out how we can live healthy with just the right amount of sacrifice needed to achieve one’s desired goal of a healthy weight. The programs like Jenny Craig and Nutri System go right into this puzzle with calorie deprivation with prepared meal plans. These programs mask the problem without getting to the ROOT of the issue. They are essentially a temporary weight loss solution, through prepared meals and severe calorie deprivation. Once you start to live in the real” food” world again the weight and then some usually comes back because of a slower metabolism, which resulted from, sever calorie deprivations and loss of lean muscle tissue.
The law of thermodynamics simply states consumption of more calories than the body burns leads to weight gain, and fewer calories burned leads to weight loss. In general, this physiological response to calories is true but not always “digested by the body”. The most common viewed way is reducing calories, where as reduce 20% of calories consumed and this should result in a reduction in 20% weight loss. This however, is not so simply achieved, just as I have stated in past newsletters that not all calories are created equal. If one should eat 1000 calories of chocolate and 1000 calories of whole grains and vegetables you will have two different feelings of energy, this is also the case with body fat/weight reduction. Numerous studies have been very poignant in bringing this issue to light. If you starve yourself by eating less you put the body into a catabolic state (eats away lean muscle tissue) its own lean muscle tissue so the body can survive on less energy. By eating away the muscle tissue it is slowing down one’s metabolic rate (energy burned on its own)
Thermodynamics also suggest that eat 20% more than you burn you will gain 20% more weight, however once again numerous studies indicate to the contrary. One will gain weight but not always in direct proportion to the amount of excess calories one should. Studies have demonstrated that we have homeostatic (the ability of the body to adjust internally to physiological changes) mechanisms during periods of energy deficit that help maintain our weight. We also are able to store energy effectively as fat during periods of too little consumption of calories. Studies show the importance of regular eating every 3-4 hours to help maintain fast metabolisms.
If you wait longer than a 3-hour period from eating it has a detrimental impact on the body’s blood sugar levels in regulating the insulin. Studies examining 3 separate eating patterns of subjects, one group ate a little in the morning and the majority of their calories at the end of the day (western common eating pattern) to bring them into a energy balance of their required needed calories. This group had one of the highest increased measures of body fat because the body was in a energy deficit throughout the day, no gas in their car running on empty all day long when they need calories. This will contribute to the body breaking down muscle tissue for energy, also resulting in a slower metabolic rate (your metabolism/how you burn calories through the day). The other group ate infrequent patterns with excess calories. This group also had higher measures of body fat. The final group ate evenly spaced out meals throughout the day and had the lowest measure of body fat compared to all. Frequent eating every 3-4max hours throughout the day will be the best way to help keep your fat low and energy sustained. Combined with regular exercise you will be on the aging weight healthy track.
By: J. D. Reber M.S. & B.S. Exercise Science, CSCS, NASM- CFT, C.Y.F.T.
Remember, eat healthy and live wealthy!
Personal training in Lenox, MA