METABOLISM 101:
THE PLATEAU BREAKER
revised 1/19/19
My name is Tim LaFever. I am not a health professional or diet expert. I am just a person who, by the grace of God, went from a 42” to a 32” waist and lost about 65 pounds over 10 years ago. With the help of God, I have kept it off since. The info that I am sharing below is simply what has worked for me. Before you attempt to pursue any diet program, I strongly encourage you to consult a doctor.
Many people diet until they are starving and exercise until they are ready to drop and still fail to lose weight, or they lose a little and then gain it all or more of it back. I believe that without realizing it, that I may have stumbled on one of the missing links to achieving and maintaining a healthier lifestyle: METABOLISM
6 KEYS TO PLATEAU BREAKING METABOLISM:
STRENGTH Exercise
Eat LEAN Proteins
Eat WHOLE GRAIN Fiber
Adequate MAGNESIUM consumption
Drink HOT or COLD Water
7+ HOURS of Sleep
What is METABOLISM? It is the rate that our bodies burn the calories that we have consumed. As we age, our metabolisms naturally tend to slow down. As I have found ways to boost my metabolism, even slightly, I have seen faster, greater results in my weight loss efforts. I have also experienced more permanent, stable long term results by boosting my metabolism, having lost about 65 pounds and 10 inches off my waist and kept it off for over 10 years. Over that time, I have occasionally been able to slip off my diet for a weekend or a few days and quickly recover and get back to my target weight. Over the years, if I would find myself at a plateau, I would occasionally tweak my diet or my exercise routine to try to spark my metabolism and break through that plateau All movement or activity including fidgeting helps increase our metabolism. Activity that increases our body temperature may increase our metabolism by as much as 14%.
When I first decided to lose weight, I started out using a treadmill for about 20 minutes, 3 times a week and saw some results. Then I read that Cardio exercises only burn calories while doing the exercises. Strength exercises that increase muscle, even slightly, increase metabolism so that more calories are being burned 24/7. Even while we are sleeping, we burn more calories. So then I started doing sit ups and push ups for about 10 minutes, 3 times a week, and I am certain that I’ve seen greater progress with half the amount of time invested in exercising. My Wife's Boot Camp Coach recently told the group that 4 minutes of their strength exercise would burn more calories than 30 minutes of Cardio.
For more on my thoughts regarding exercise, you might want to visit the EXERCISE page of this Web Site: http://timsweightlossandchristianbelief.weebly.com/exercise.html
Dieting that leads to hunger may seem to cause initial weight loss, but as our body senses starvation, our metabolisms may slow down reducing or preventing continued weight loss. I have read that fasting for 12 hours can decrease our metabolism by as much as 40%.
I have read many times, and believe that if the body feels hunger, such as from skipping breakfast, the metabolism slows down, making weight loss difficult. So I made the decision to start each day with a bowl of healthy, whole grain, low fat cereal such as Total Raisin Bran to avoid feeling hunger. I also tried to keep some low fat snacks such as Kashi bars or fruit handy to fall back on if I started to feel very hungry. I also read that trans fat was the worst kind of fat to eat. Much of fast food at the time was and still is high in 2 types of bad fats, saturated fat and trans fat. I had also heard that the processing of many fast foods caused those foods to lose their nutrients. So, if we eat fast food, even though our stomach may feel satisfied, our body still feels hunger for nutrients. So I believed that the consumption of fast food was a double edged sword. Not only would it be putting more of the worst kinds fat into my body, my body would be storing more fat because it felt hunger for nutrients.
It is recently being reported that our hormones have a very significant role on our metabolism. I imagine these hormones likely play a more significant role in the metabolism of women. I am not very knowledgeable about the relationship between hormones and metabolism but I have recently viewed a video by Dr. Steven Sisskind that I consider to be very credible. I believe that my weight loss experiences bare strong proof to what he says.
He says that one of the most powerful hormones regarding weight loss is a super hormone called Adiponectin. Adiponectin is a hormone that tells the body to burn fat for fuel. The difficult thing about Adiponectin is that increased body fat lowers our Adiponectin. So if we are dieting to lose fat, the fat we have is making it more difficult, especially in the beginning. As we reduce our fat, our Adiponectin levels naturally increase, which raises our metabolism helping us to then burn more fat faster. So the good news is that the more fat we burn, the faster the fat burning shall become. Besides fat loss, another thing that may increase our level of Adiponectin is the mineral Magnesium. We can get Magnesium by eating foods high in Magnesium. Toasted pumpkin seeds have some of the greatest magnesium content among all foods. We may also get magnesium by eating green leafy veggies such as kale and spinach. We may also increase our Magnesium by taking a good quality Magnesium supplement. A few years back I read that Magnesium supplements may help calm us and help us sleep better. Since then I frequently take a dose of Magnesium before bed, and I do believe that it does help me sleep. I have fewer stress filled nightmares and more pleasant dreams and according to Dr Sisskind it may be one of the reasons that I have had lasting weight loss success.
According to the Doc, another hormone that has a significant effect on our metabolism is Ghrelin. Ghrelin is commonly known as the Hunger Hormone because it may cause feelings of hunger, especially in the evenings, the worst time of day to eat. Ghrelin also causes us to store more fat even if we eat less. Lack of sleep tends to significantly increase our Ghrelin levels. By getting 6-8 hours or more sleep per night, we not only feel more rested, we also reduce our Ghrelin levels. I believe this to be true because I am confident that I have seen a correlation between my sleep deprivation cycles and my weight loss plateaus. I am very guilty of cutting corners on sleep. Over the years I tend to annually put on a few pounds over the holidays. To get it off, I try to make a habit of getting 7 hours of sleep per night, at least 5 or 6 nights per week for several weeks and that excess weight has always come off. I also notice that when we take our annual family vacation to the beach, even though I go off my diet, have a few beers and eat restaurant food on a daily basis, I am also getting a very good nights sleep every night and I have seldom if ever gained weight over our vacation.
The third hormone that the Doc lists as affecting our metabolism is Cortisol. Stress and abdominal fat can cause Cortisol overload resulting in an increased craving for sweets. Increased Cortisol may also cause a reduction in muscle mass. Reduced muscle significantly further reduces our metabolism.
The thing to remember is that the lack of sleep is like a double edged sword cutting against our weight loss efforts:
· Lack of sleep increases our Ghrelin levels which increases our fat storage.
· Lack of sleep also makes our nerves weaker and more sensitive, allowing us to become more easily stressed by everyday things such as work, and raising our kids. Stress increases our Cortisol and may reduce our fat burning muscle.
Magnesium may be a triple edged sword to help us cut away our weight by:
· Helping us to increase our Adiponectin which burns more fat.
· Improving our sleep to reduce our Ghrelin and fat storage.
· Reducing our stress to lower our Cortisol which helps maintain our fat burning muscle.
The last and what I consider the most critical Hormone affecting our metabolism, that the good Doc talked about, is Insulin. Too much Insulin imbalance leads to increased storage of visceral (waistline) fat and may lead to Diabetes. We lost my Mother-in-Law to Diabetes many years ago, which became my original source of inspiration to convert to a healthier lifestyle. Many experts blame the dramatic increase in Childhood Diabetes on the dramatic increase in Childhood Obesity. Many of these same experts claim that because of the epidemic levels of childhood Obesity and Diabetes, today’s children will be the first generation to average a shorter life expectancy than their parents. Today’s parents will be the first generation of parents likely to bury their own children. Genetics are also listed as a common cause of slow Metabolism and Diabetes. I realize that I can not do anything about my children’s genetic risk of Diabetes except pray. I also know that if either of my children contract Diabetes as a result of Obesity from following my behavior and my parental example, I would feel very directly responsible. I would feel that my lack of control over my behavior had inflicted my child with a very serious disease.
Whether we are Diabetic or not, we are all very prone to Insulin imbalance, which leads to a significant increase in fat storage. To avoid Insulin imbalance, we need to try to consume foods with a lower glycemic index. Foods with carbohydrates such as white breads, pasta, crackers, potato chips and french fries that break down quickly during digestion and release glucose rapidly into the bloodstream tend to have a high glycemic index. Foods with carbohydrates such as whole grains, that break down more slowly, releasing glucose more gradually into the bloodstream, tend to have a low glycemic index. A lower glycemic response usually equates to a lower Insulin demand.
Experts claim that, by having a WHOLE GRAIN snack before bed, we are likely to get a better night’s sleep because we avoid the sugar spikes and falls during the night. If we get a better night’s sleep, we improve our metabolism; therefore, I commonly have a 90 Calorie Fiber One Bar before I go to bed. Keeping our bedroom cool and very dark also leads to a better nights sleep for many.
Protein foods such as lean meats, tuna, salmon, shrimp, eggs, chicken and turkey tend to stem the depletion of our muscle mass and raise our metabolism, but if we put them on non whole grain white bread, crackers, or potato chips, the effort is likely to backfire causing Insulin imbalance and slowing our metabolism. Just because a food may say multi-grain or high fiber on the front of the package, it does not mean that they are whole grain. I have made it a priority to make sure that all carbohydrates, breads, crackers and chips list WHOLE GRAIN as the first ingredient.
WHOLE GRAIN cereals such as Multi Grain Cheerios or Original Fiber One may be good for our metabolism. However, if we add sugar, which has a devastatingly high glycemic index, our metabolism comes to a screeching halt. In order to satisfy my sweet tooth, I add a little honey and unsweetened vanilla almond milk to my cereals, which have lower glycemic indexes.
Sweet Potato fries and chips, which have a low glycemic index and are high in anti-oxidants, are an excellent replacement for white potato fries and chips.
One of my favorite snacks is chips and salsa. Baked Tostitos Scoops are all natural. They have only half a gram of fat for a whoppin’ 28 chips and list WHOLE GRAIN as the first ingredient. Salsa typically has little or no fat. Health experts claim that tomatoes are rich in the powerful Antioxidant Lycopene. I have read repeatedly that the Capsaicin (component of peppers that creates the burning sensation) in hot peppers helps to raise metabolism and increase the burning of calories. I have also read that Salsa ingredients Garlic, Onion and Cayenne Pepper are 3 of the 5 top natural antibiotics. So Salsa dipped with the right chips can be a very healthy, tasty, and high metabolism snack.
Strength training increases muscle mass, raises our metabolism, and thus helps us to burn excess blood sugar and avoid Insulin imbalance.
One of the easiest and cheapest ways to raise metabolism may be by drinking plenty of water. Experts claim the leading cause of fatigue is dehydration. According to recent studies, drinking water may raise metabolism by as much as thirty percent daily. Experts claim that because our body has to work to bring the water temperature up to our body's temperature, drinking cold water may do a better job increasing our metabolism. They also claim that drinking water hot enough to make us sweat (but not burn us) may help to remove toxins from our bodies. Regardless of the water temperature, nearly all health experts say that we should drink 1 ounce of water per 2 pounds of our goal weight every day. So if my goal weight is 150 pounds, I should drink 75 ounces or about 5, 16 ounce bottles of water per day.
Personally, I have never counted calories, carbohydrates, or sodium. I have counted Sat Fat and avoided Trans Fat like the Plague. Over the last few years I have put a lot of effort into consuming more and more WHOLE GRAINS.
Exercise, water, whole grain and all of the metabolism in the world will not likely be an end all to our weight problems and excess baggage if we make a habit of consuming foods that are what I call FMDs (Foods of Mass Destruction).
To learn more about FMDs, you might want to check out the RED-FMD page of this Web Site: http://timsweightlossandchristianbelief.weebly.com/red--fmd.html
To learn the whole story of why and how I was able to convert to and maintain a healthier lifestyle you might want to check out the LOSING WEIGHT page of this
Web Site: http://timsweightlossandchristianbelief.weebly.com/losing-weight.html
Thank you for visiting my Web Site. May God Bless you and your family with healthy metabolisms.
THE PLATEAU BREAKER
revised 1/19/19
My name is Tim LaFever. I am not a health professional or diet expert. I am just a person who, by the grace of God, went from a 42” to a 32” waist and lost about 65 pounds over 10 years ago. With the help of God, I have kept it off since. The info that I am sharing below is simply what has worked for me. Before you attempt to pursue any diet program, I strongly encourage you to consult a doctor.
Many people diet until they are starving and exercise until they are ready to drop and still fail to lose weight, or they lose a little and then gain it all or more of it back. I believe that without realizing it, that I may have stumbled on one of the missing links to achieving and maintaining a healthier lifestyle: METABOLISM
6 KEYS TO PLATEAU BREAKING METABOLISM:
STRENGTH Exercise
Eat LEAN Proteins
Eat WHOLE GRAIN Fiber
Adequate MAGNESIUM consumption
Drink HOT or COLD Water
7+ HOURS of Sleep
What is METABOLISM? It is the rate that our bodies burn the calories that we have consumed. As we age, our metabolisms naturally tend to slow down. As I have found ways to boost my metabolism, even slightly, I have seen faster, greater results in my weight loss efforts. I have also experienced more permanent, stable long term results by boosting my metabolism, having lost about 65 pounds and 10 inches off my waist and kept it off for over 10 years. Over that time, I have occasionally been able to slip off my diet for a weekend or a few days and quickly recover and get back to my target weight. Over the years, if I would find myself at a plateau, I would occasionally tweak my diet or my exercise routine to try to spark my metabolism and break through that plateau All movement or activity including fidgeting helps increase our metabolism. Activity that increases our body temperature may increase our metabolism by as much as 14%.
When I first decided to lose weight, I started out using a treadmill for about 20 minutes, 3 times a week and saw some results. Then I read that Cardio exercises only burn calories while doing the exercises. Strength exercises that increase muscle, even slightly, increase metabolism so that more calories are being burned 24/7. Even while we are sleeping, we burn more calories. So then I started doing sit ups and push ups for about 10 minutes, 3 times a week, and I am certain that I’ve seen greater progress with half the amount of time invested in exercising. My Wife's Boot Camp Coach recently told the group that 4 minutes of their strength exercise would burn more calories than 30 minutes of Cardio.
For more on my thoughts regarding exercise, you might want to visit the EXERCISE page of this Web Site: http://timsweightlossandchristianbelief.weebly.com/exercise.html
Dieting that leads to hunger may seem to cause initial weight loss, but as our body senses starvation, our metabolisms may slow down reducing or preventing continued weight loss. I have read that fasting for 12 hours can decrease our metabolism by as much as 40%.
I have read many times, and believe that if the body feels hunger, such as from skipping breakfast, the metabolism slows down, making weight loss difficult. So I made the decision to start each day with a bowl of healthy, whole grain, low fat cereal such as Total Raisin Bran to avoid feeling hunger. I also tried to keep some low fat snacks such as Kashi bars or fruit handy to fall back on if I started to feel very hungry. I also read that trans fat was the worst kind of fat to eat. Much of fast food at the time was and still is high in 2 types of bad fats, saturated fat and trans fat. I had also heard that the processing of many fast foods caused those foods to lose their nutrients. So, if we eat fast food, even though our stomach may feel satisfied, our body still feels hunger for nutrients. So I believed that the consumption of fast food was a double edged sword. Not only would it be putting more of the worst kinds fat into my body, my body would be storing more fat because it felt hunger for nutrients.
It is recently being reported that our hormones have a very significant role on our metabolism. I imagine these hormones likely play a more significant role in the metabolism of women. I am not very knowledgeable about the relationship between hormones and metabolism but I have recently viewed a video by Dr. Steven Sisskind that I consider to be very credible. I believe that my weight loss experiences bare strong proof to what he says.
He says that one of the most powerful hormones regarding weight loss is a super hormone called Adiponectin. Adiponectin is a hormone that tells the body to burn fat for fuel. The difficult thing about Adiponectin is that increased body fat lowers our Adiponectin. So if we are dieting to lose fat, the fat we have is making it more difficult, especially in the beginning. As we reduce our fat, our Adiponectin levels naturally increase, which raises our metabolism helping us to then burn more fat faster. So the good news is that the more fat we burn, the faster the fat burning shall become. Besides fat loss, another thing that may increase our level of Adiponectin is the mineral Magnesium. We can get Magnesium by eating foods high in Magnesium. Toasted pumpkin seeds have some of the greatest magnesium content among all foods. We may also get magnesium by eating green leafy veggies such as kale and spinach. We may also increase our Magnesium by taking a good quality Magnesium supplement. A few years back I read that Magnesium supplements may help calm us and help us sleep better. Since then I frequently take a dose of Magnesium before bed, and I do believe that it does help me sleep. I have fewer stress filled nightmares and more pleasant dreams and according to Dr Sisskind it may be one of the reasons that I have had lasting weight loss success.
According to the Doc, another hormone that has a significant effect on our metabolism is Ghrelin. Ghrelin is commonly known as the Hunger Hormone because it may cause feelings of hunger, especially in the evenings, the worst time of day to eat. Ghrelin also causes us to store more fat even if we eat less. Lack of sleep tends to significantly increase our Ghrelin levels. By getting 6-8 hours or more sleep per night, we not only feel more rested, we also reduce our Ghrelin levels. I believe this to be true because I am confident that I have seen a correlation between my sleep deprivation cycles and my weight loss plateaus. I am very guilty of cutting corners on sleep. Over the years I tend to annually put on a few pounds over the holidays. To get it off, I try to make a habit of getting 7 hours of sleep per night, at least 5 or 6 nights per week for several weeks and that excess weight has always come off. I also notice that when we take our annual family vacation to the beach, even though I go off my diet, have a few beers and eat restaurant food on a daily basis, I am also getting a very good nights sleep every night and I have seldom if ever gained weight over our vacation.
The third hormone that the Doc lists as affecting our metabolism is Cortisol. Stress and abdominal fat can cause Cortisol overload resulting in an increased craving for sweets. Increased Cortisol may also cause a reduction in muscle mass. Reduced muscle significantly further reduces our metabolism.
The thing to remember is that the lack of sleep is like a double edged sword cutting against our weight loss efforts:
· Lack of sleep increases our Ghrelin levels which increases our fat storage.
· Lack of sleep also makes our nerves weaker and more sensitive, allowing us to become more easily stressed by everyday things such as work, and raising our kids. Stress increases our Cortisol and may reduce our fat burning muscle.
Magnesium may be a triple edged sword to help us cut away our weight by:
· Helping us to increase our Adiponectin which burns more fat.
· Improving our sleep to reduce our Ghrelin and fat storage.
· Reducing our stress to lower our Cortisol which helps maintain our fat burning muscle.
The last and what I consider the most critical Hormone affecting our metabolism, that the good Doc talked about, is Insulin. Too much Insulin imbalance leads to increased storage of visceral (waistline) fat and may lead to Diabetes. We lost my Mother-in-Law to Diabetes many years ago, which became my original source of inspiration to convert to a healthier lifestyle. Many experts blame the dramatic increase in Childhood Diabetes on the dramatic increase in Childhood Obesity. Many of these same experts claim that because of the epidemic levels of childhood Obesity and Diabetes, today’s children will be the first generation to average a shorter life expectancy than their parents. Today’s parents will be the first generation of parents likely to bury their own children. Genetics are also listed as a common cause of slow Metabolism and Diabetes. I realize that I can not do anything about my children’s genetic risk of Diabetes except pray. I also know that if either of my children contract Diabetes as a result of Obesity from following my behavior and my parental example, I would feel very directly responsible. I would feel that my lack of control over my behavior had inflicted my child with a very serious disease.
Whether we are Diabetic or not, we are all very prone to Insulin imbalance, which leads to a significant increase in fat storage. To avoid Insulin imbalance, we need to try to consume foods with a lower glycemic index. Foods with carbohydrates such as white breads, pasta, crackers, potato chips and french fries that break down quickly during digestion and release glucose rapidly into the bloodstream tend to have a high glycemic index. Foods with carbohydrates such as whole grains, that break down more slowly, releasing glucose more gradually into the bloodstream, tend to have a low glycemic index. A lower glycemic response usually equates to a lower Insulin demand.
Experts claim that, by having a WHOLE GRAIN snack before bed, we are likely to get a better night’s sleep because we avoid the sugar spikes and falls during the night. If we get a better night’s sleep, we improve our metabolism; therefore, I commonly have a 90 Calorie Fiber One Bar before I go to bed. Keeping our bedroom cool and very dark also leads to a better nights sleep for many.
Protein foods such as lean meats, tuna, salmon, shrimp, eggs, chicken and turkey tend to stem the depletion of our muscle mass and raise our metabolism, but if we put them on non whole grain white bread, crackers, or potato chips, the effort is likely to backfire causing Insulin imbalance and slowing our metabolism. Just because a food may say multi-grain or high fiber on the front of the package, it does not mean that they are whole grain. I have made it a priority to make sure that all carbohydrates, breads, crackers and chips list WHOLE GRAIN as the first ingredient.
WHOLE GRAIN cereals such as Multi Grain Cheerios or Original Fiber One may be good for our metabolism. However, if we add sugar, which has a devastatingly high glycemic index, our metabolism comes to a screeching halt. In order to satisfy my sweet tooth, I add a little honey and unsweetened vanilla almond milk to my cereals, which have lower glycemic indexes.
Sweet Potato fries and chips, which have a low glycemic index and are high in anti-oxidants, are an excellent replacement for white potato fries and chips.
One of my favorite snacks is chips and salsa. Baked Tostitos Scoops are all natural. They have only half a gram of fat for a whoppin’ 28 chips and list WHOLE GRAIN as the first ingredient. Salsa typically has little or no fat. Health experts claim that tomatoes are rich in the powerful Antioxidant Lycopene. I have read repeatedly that the Capsaicin (component of peppers that creates the burning sensation) in hot peppers helps to raise metabolism and increase the burning of calories. I have also read that Salsa ingredients Garlic, Onion and Cayenne Pepper are 3 of the 5 top natural antibiotics. So Salsa dipped with the right chips can be a very healthy, tasty, and high metabolism snack.
Strength training increases muscle mass, raises our metabolism, and thus helps us to burn excess blood sugar and avoid Insulin imbalance.
One of the easiest and cheapest ways to raise metabolism may be by drinking plenty of water. Experts claim the leading cause of fatigue is dehydration. According to recent studies, drinking water may raise metabolism by as much as thirty percent daily. Experts claim that because our body has to work to bring the water temperature up to our body's temperature, drinking cold water may do a better job increasing our metabolism. They also claim that drinking water hot enough to make us sweat (but not burn us) may help to remove toxins from our bodies. Regardless of the water temperature, nearly all health experts say that we should drink 1 ounce of water per 2 pounds of our goal weight every day. So if my goal weight is 150 pounds, I should drink 75 ounces or about 5, 16 ounce bottles of water per day.
Personally, I have never counted calories, carbohydrates, or sodium. I have counted Sat Fat and avoided Trans Fat like the Plague. Over the last few years I have put a lot of effort into consuming more and more WHOLE GRAINS.
Exercise, water, whole grain and all of the metabolism in the world will not likely be an end all to our weight problems and excess baggage if we make a habit of consuming foods that are what I call FMDs (Foods of Mass Destruction).
To learn more about FMDs, you might want to check out the RED-FMD page of this Web Site: http://timsweightlossandchristianbelief.weebly.com/red--fmd.html
To learn the whole story of why and how I was able to convert to and maintain a healthier lifestyle you might want to check out the LOSING WEIGHT page of this
Web Site: http://timsweightlossandchristianbelief.weebly.com/losing-weight.html
Thank you for visiting my Web Site. May God Bless you and your family with healthy metabolisms.