Embracing My Health

Having a healthy metabolism is an important component of being optimally health and fit. Metabolism is the amount of energy the body uses to run. More specifically, it involves a complex network of hormones and enzymes that take the food we eat and then convert it into build blocks that we use for energy. That energy is used for everything from cellular reproduction (which affects how our bodies age) to muscle building and repair.

Metabolism is one of the many catch words in the weight loss industry. You’ll see metabolizers, metabolism boosters, metabola-this and metabola-that. And it’s true that having a healthy metabolism is important to being right weighted. However there are some myths to uncover too.

One of the largest myths: if you are overweight, your metabolism is slow. The opposite is actually true. If you are overweight, you have a higher metabolism than the right-weighted person next to you. The more weight the body has, the more energy the body has to use to keep it running. That’s why when many go on a diet they initially lose a lot of weight quickly and then plateau. The body is revving at a high level so even a modest reduction in calories brings weight loss. The plateaus begin when the body realizes there is less to “run” and it slows down the metabolism. To continue weight loss, understanding what in your lifestyle helps or hinders your metabolism is important. In addition, the things that slow down our metabolism are the very things that challenge our optimal health and fitness from A to Z. Our body is a whole and there isn’t one thing that doesn’t impact another.

That said, and considering how a healthy metabolism is critical to ideal health… let’s look at what we know that slows our metabolism:

1) Age. The first is one we can’t do a blessed thing about and that’s our age. As we age, our metabolism slows. However, the reasons for that, we can control. Typically, as we age, we slow down our physical activity which in turn reduces our muscle mass and fitness. That’s a one-two punch to the metabolism.

2) Eating too much OR too little. Life, in every facet, requires balance. The quantity of food we eat is no exception. If we eat too much food, we give our body more calories or “energy” than our body can use and it is forced to store it as fat. This includes how much you eat at each meal. Eating your calories in three large meals a day will slow your metabolism. On the other hand, eating those same calories in 5-6 smaller meals through the day will increase your metabolism.

Now eating too little – this is the first way most people want to lose weight. The adage is the less calories the more weight you lose. And while it is true that if you expend more energy than you consume, you will lose weight, there is once again a balance of approach to take into consideration. Eating too little is counterproductive to weight loss goals. This is true for a couple of reasons:

• The first is that the body, when not given enough food, will conserve its resources and slow down the metabolic process.
• When you do lose weight, it isn’t fat but instead lean muscle mass (the very last thing you want to lose if you want to have a high-charged metabolism).
• We deprive our bodies of critical nutrition.

3) Lack of sufficient sleep. Not getting enough sleep reduces the amount of Leptin in our bodies and increases Ghrelin. Leptin is created at night while we sleep. Leptin is responsible for telling the brain that whether there is fat in the body. When leptin isn’t produced, the brain doesn’t know there is fat in the body. In turn, the lack of leptin signals the body (i.e. the appetite) that more food is needed when it isn’t. Simultaneously, Ghrelin is increases. Ghrelin is hormone that both increases our appetite and suppresses use of fat as a source of energy for our bodies. It’s a double-whammy. Leptin isn’t there to tell our bodies that we have enough fat and to slow down our appetite and Ghrelin increases and intensifies the bodies cravings for more food. In addition, if we skimp on sleep, we put ourselves at increasing risk for diabetes. Ghrelin has been found in recent years to play a key role in balancing our insulin and glucose levels.

4) Skipping breakfast. Our bodies are literal in their translation. We skip food in the morning and it assumes we are starving. The metabolism slows to a crawl to make sure that we aren’t losing and begin storing energy. That energy storage… yeah, it’s fat. The other problem, when skipping breakfast, most people tend to overeat the rest of the day.

5) Stress. Hormones are at the core of so much of our bodies function. Keeping them in balance and working correctly and all goes well. If they get out of whack, a domino effect begins and our health can deteriorate. An example of this is cortisol. Cortisol is a powerful hormone that is elevated when we are stressed. During times of stress, cortisol can overpower the rest of our hormones. At appropriate levels, cortisol is valuable and even provides a boost to our bodies. But when it periods of prolonged stress, overproduction of cortisol creates reduced mental clarity and ability, thyroid suppression, blood sugar imbalances, reduction in bone density, loss of muscle mass, lower immunity, increased abdominal fat, and of course, higher blood pressure.

Next post on metabolism: let’s get our bodies humming! We’ll cover what we can do to increase our metabolism.

———————————————————————–
Sources:
http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Slows-Down-Your-Metabolism&id=753095
http://worldfitnessnetwork.com/index.php/diet-slow-metabolism/
http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/991202/sleep.shtml
http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=10875
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-ghrelin.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060510091429.htm
http://www.alive.com/4320a12a2.php?subject_bread_cramb=150
http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/cortisol.htm
———————————————————————–

This month has sped by.   We’ve had snow, ice, and sunshine.  It’s been a lovely Christmas season – and sharing it with my 4 year old daughter, has been such a gift.

I haven’t been rigid with my eating and my progress, while good, isn’t as far along as it could be.  I had goaled to be at 230.  That was a good goal, provided I had created an effective structure for achieving it.  I didn’t though – and without that, I continued progressing but not as quickly.  That said, I found these two pictures that really help me see how far I have come.

The more I think about it, the more I’m certain that having a structure will bring me the biggest results.  That will be my focus in the coming year… automating everything so that it becomes like breathing to the food that I want to, exercising, and living a fully embraced life. 

So, click more to see the numbers…

(more…)

Having a healthy metabolism is an important component of being optimally health and fit. Metabolism is the amount of energy the body uses to run. More specifically, it involves a complex network of hormones and enzymes that take the food we eat and then convert it into build blocks that we use for energy. That energy is used for everything from cellular reproduction (which affects how our bodies age) to muscle building and repair.

Metabolism is one of the many catch words in the weight loss industry. You’ll see metabolizers, metabolism boosters, metabola-this and metabola-that. And it’s true that having a healthy metabolism is important to being right weighted. However there are some myths to uncover too.

One of the largest myths: if you are overweight, your metabolism is slow. The opposite is actually true. If you are overweight, you have a higher metabolism than the right-weighted person next to you. The more weight the body has, the more energy the body has to use to keep it running. That’s why when many go on a diet they initially lose a lot of weight quickly and then plateau. The body is revving at a high level so even a modest reduction in calories brings weight loss. The plateaus begin when the body realizes there is less to “run” and it slows down the metabolism. To continue weight loss, understanding what in your lifestyle helps or hinders your metabolism is important. In addition, the things that slow down our metabolism are the very things that challenge our optimal health and fitness from A to Z. Our body is a whole and there isn’t one thing that doesn’t impact another.

That said, and considering how a healthy metabolism is critical to ideal health… let’s look at what we know that slows our metabolism:

1) Age. The first is one we can’t do a blessed thing about and that’s our age. As we age, our metabolism slows. However, the reasons for that, we can control. Typically, as we age, we slow down our physical activity which in turn reduces our muscle mass and fitness. That’s a one-two punch to the metabolism.

2) Eating too much OR too little. Life, in every facet, requires balance. The quantity of food we eat is no exception. If we eat too much food, we give our body more calories or “energy” than our body can use and it is forced to store it as fat. This includes how much you eat at each meal. Eating your calories in three large meals a day will slow your metabolism. On the other hand, eating those same calories in 5-6 smaller meals through the day will increase your metabolism.

Now eating too little – this is the first way most people want to lose weight. The adage is the less calories the more weight you lose. And while it is true that if you expend more energy than you consume, you will lose weight, there is once again a balance of approach to take into consideration. Eating too little is counterproductive to weight loss goals. This is true for a couple of reasons:

• The first is that the body, when not given enough food, will conserve its resources and slow down the metabolic process.
• When you do lose weight, it isn’t fat but instead lean muscle mass (the very last thing you want to lose if you want to have a high-charged metabolism).
• We deprive our bodies of critical nutrition.

3) Lack of sufficient sleep. Not getting enough sleep reduces the amount of Leptin in our bodies and increases Ghrelin. Leptin is created at night while we sleep. Leptin is responsible for telling the brain that whether there is fat in the body. When leptin isn’t produced, the brain doesn’t know there is fat in the body. In turn, the lack of leptin signals the body (i.e. the appetite) that more food is needed when it isn’t. Simultaneously, Ghrelin is increases. Ghrelin is hormone that both increases our appetite and suppresses use of fat as a source of energy for our bodies. It’s a double-whammy. Leptin isn’t there to tell our bodies that we have enough fat and to slow down our appetite and Ghrelin increases and intensifies the bodies cravings for more food. In addition, if we skimp on sleep, we put ourselves at increasing risk for diabetes. Ghrelin has been found in recent years to play a key role in balancing our insulin and glucose levels.

4) Skipping breakfast. Our bodies are literal in their translation. We skip food in the morning and it assumes we are starving. The metabolism slows to a crawl to make sure that we aren’t losing and begin storing energy. That energy storage… yeah, it’s fat. The other problem, when skipping breakfast, most people tend to overeat the rest of the day.

5) Stress. Hormones are at the core of so much of our bodies function. Keeping them in balance and working correctly and all goes well. If they get out of whack, a domino effect begins and our health can deteriorate. An example of this is cortisol. Cortisol is a powerful hormone that is elevated when we are stressed. During times of stress, cortisol can overpower the rest of our hormones. At appropriate levels, cortisol is valuable and even provides a boost to our bodies. But when it periods of prolonged stress, overproduction of cortisol creates reduced mental clarity and ability, thyroid suppression, blood sugar imbalances, reduction in bone density, loss of muscle mass, lower immunity, increased abdominal fat, and of course, higher blood pressure.

Next post on metabolism: let’s get our bodies humming! We’ll cover what we can do to increase our metabolism.

———————————————————————–
Sources:
http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Slows-Down-Your-Metabolism&id=753095
http://worldfitnessnetwork.com/index.php/diet-slow-metabolism/
http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/991202/sleep.shtml
http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=10875
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-ghrelin.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060510091429.htm
http://www.alive.com/4320a12a2.php?subject_bread_cramb=150
http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/cortisol.htm
———————————————————————–

I snapped this picture last night to give a general sense of where I am today. Not the most flattering picture, but that’s okay. The “before” pictures are rarely flattering. I haven’t found a picture of me before the 30lbs I lost, but if I do, I’ll post it as well.

The good news about this picture is that the pants I’m wearing are baggy from the weight I’ve lost. Another 10 lbs and I’m doubting they’ll even stay on. Signs of progress. I’ll take each and every one.

For the record, here are my numbers:

Weight: 250
Height: 5′8″
BMI: 39

Measurements

Neck: 14.5
Bicep: 15.5
Forearm: 11.5
Chest: 48
Waist: 49
Hips: 51
Thigh: 28
Calf: 19

I’ll update these numbers weekly.

Fifteen years ago, just before Paul & I got married, I went on Depo-Provera. I was, at that time, somewhere between 15 and 20 lbs overweight. Three months after my first Depo-Provera injection, I had gained 40 lbs. The weight had come on so quickly that I had stretch marks. I knew I had gained weight, but didn’t connect the obvious dots back to Depo-Provera because of the stresses of getting married, moving to a new city, a new job, and so on.

When Paul & I got married, I was working as a retail store manager and was on my feet and moving 45 hours a week. After two years at this job, injuries to my feet made it necessary for me change jobs. I went from being active daily to a full-time desk job. I didn’t exercise and my lifestyle was to work hard all day and then come home and collapse on the couch in front of the TV. Paul & I ate out a lot. Being overweight was a constant source of discouragement to me… I would constantly wish and pine for being right-weighted. I began to learn more about optimal nutrition, fitness and personal health through magazines and books. I made very small changes to my diet, but nothing significant.

During these years I was dealing with a lot of depression and self-destructive behaviors… one of those behaviors was making myself feel as bad physically as I did emotionally. I would eat food that was super sugary, fatty and caloric. I didn’t think about it that way, but I was eating to make myself feel sick – and I always did. I was putting on more weight with each year.

In the fall of 2004, Amira was born. While pregnant with her, I topped the scales around 300 lbs. After she was born, I dropped to 280. I hovered there for about a year. Exercise was very difficult for me for a while after Amira’s birth – but I improved my eating habits and dropped a few pounds. All the while, I continued reading and learning about health, nutrition, and fitness.

In 2007, I went to a naturopathic doctor and found that I was indeed very unhealthy. I began regimens under my doctor’s advice to begin the healing. I’ve lost weight and made progress on my overall health. As of today, I’m at 250.

I’m putting that history completely behind me now and starting a new story, a new chapter. I have a long way to go to achieve optimal health but I’m ready. I don’t know exactly what I should weight, but I’m guessing it to be around 140 lbs. We’ll find out and fine tune when we get there. That’s a long way away yet, so I’m not going to worry about that so much as beginning the journey of transforming my lifestyle. I already know there are going to be days that I don’t feel like it – but it’s not about what I feel like. It’s about what I’m committed to, what I believe in and what I DO each day.