Change Your “Fat Thermostat” to a Healthy Level
July 31st, 2008 by Go Weblog
Have you ever watched someone who looks healthy and
slender eating a slice of chocolate cake and wondered how
they stay thin? Part of the story is that a set-point in
the brain keeps their body fat and weight level from
varying much that is, unless they do something that causes
their brain to change the set-point.
That’s what happened when I quit smoking. I had been thin
all my life. Then I stopped smoking and gained about 25
pounds! By quitting I had inadvertently triggered a process
that changed the body-weight regulator in my brain.
My body started making fat out of everything I ate, whereas
it formerly eliminated excess calories. Stopping smoking is
only one of many major changes that can cause your brain’s
body-weight controls to be altered.
Let’s call the weight regulator in your brain a *set-
point,* and a good image for the set-point is the
temperature you set on the thermostat for the heating and
cooling system of your house. If it is set at 71 degrees,
then the temperature doesn’t vary by more than a degree or
two before the thermostat tells the furnace to heat up (or
the air conditioner to cool down).
Your brain’s set-point functions much the same way. It
maintains a steady body-weight and body-fat level through a
complex interaction of hormones and metabolic processes.
The chemistry of how this works is beyond the scope of this
article. Suffice it to say that if you’ve gained weight or
lost weight, it is because your set-point has moved. And
if you want to lose or gain weight, you can take certain
actions to re-adjust your set-point to a level more
acceptable to you.
First, eat the right stuff. This is not hard if you
follow these simple guidelines:
a) minimize sugar and flour-based foods (refined carbs);
b) eat less animal fat, such as butter, cheese, marbled
meat, and eat less fat in general but don’t use low-fat
products like low-fat mayonnaise, because the chemicals
they have to use to make this stuff palatable is hard for
your body to process; just use real mayonnaise, only less
of it;
c) eat complex carbohydrates like vegetables, fruits and
whole grains, which your body recognizes as normal foods
and will process them as fuel, giving you long-term energy.
Second, drink the right stuff: water. It supports your
metabolism, helps your systems with eliminating toxins and
other excess. Coffee, tea, sweetened juices, diet or
regular soda, and alcohol do not contribute to your health
nor to your metabolism. Keep consumption of them to a
minimum.
Third, do the right kind of rhythmic large muscle exercise
daily, and sustain it for 30 to 60 minutes. If this sounds
like a lot of time, ask yourself, how important is it to
you to be healthy and/or lose weight?
You’re not going to re-set your brain’s weight regulator
(the set-point without exercise - it’s that simple. But the
exercise can be a pleasure once you understand which types
to do. Fortunately, your not faced here with push-ups or
lifting weights.
In terms of the exercise that will affect your set-point,
‘large muscle’ means especially using your legs. Walking
is the perfect place to start because you don’t need
special skills or equipment. You can also bike or swim or
jog. Whatever you enjoy.
‘Rhythmic’ means something you can do steadily,
repetitively. ‘Sustained’ means without stopping: continuous. 30 minutes is a minimum. Work up to an hour for best results.
Get your heart rate up to the level where you are exerting
yourself, but could still carry on a conversation. More
than that level, and you’re not into set-point changing
exercise anymore. Here, no pain no gain is an undesirable
approach.
If you make these three things a daily habit, (proper
eating, drinking, and exercise) your set-point will change,
and you’ll lose weight.
I lost the 25 pounds I’d gained when I stopped smoking, and
in the process I learned some pleasant habits that have
improved the quality of my life as well as my health.
Habitually, I eat delicious whole foods, enjoy a daily
walk, and drink mainly water.
I feel good now, and looking good is just a bonus. You’ll
feel good, too, and your body will thank you, blessing you
with good health.
Please note: This article is for information purposes
only. Always consult your doctor or health-care
professional.
S.J. Harstad, personal trainer and internet publisher, is
a contributing writer for All About Nutrition,
offering valuable free information to help you make healthy
choices. Articles by S.J Harstad can also be found at Z Cooking and A-Tec Exercise.
Lose Weight by Eating More — Food that is Virtually Impossible to Store as Body Fat
July 8th, 2008 by Go Weblog
Certain foods are extremely difficult for the human body to convert into body fat - not impossible but damned near impossible. By consuming calories derived from these foods, the anabolic margin of error is extended dramatically, which means it will be easier to lose fat and gain muscle, if you choose.
Lean protein, protein devoid of saturated fat, has been the staple, the bedrock nutrient of elite athletes for 50 years. Why? You can eat a mountain of lean protein and not get fat - assuming you train with intensity sufficient enough to trigger muscle growth. Lean protein is difficult for the body to break down and digest. As a direct result of this digestive difficulty, the body kicks the metabolic thermostat upward to break protein down into subcomponent amino acids.
The human body wants to preserve stored body fat as a last line of defense against starvation. If overworked and under-fed, the body will preferentially eat muscle tissue to save precious body fat.
Obese people that go on crash diets, precipitously slashing calories, might lose 100-pounds of body weight, yet still appear fat. Despite losing from say 350-pounds to 250-pounds, they still appear fat because they still are fat. The body has cannibalized muscle tissue and saved the fat. Though they might weigh 100-pounds less, they still possess 25-40% body fat percentile.
Lean protein is the bedrock nutrient in the physical renovation process because it supplies muscle tissue battered by a high intensity weight workout with the amino acids needed to heal, recover and construct new muscle tissue. Lean protein is a bedrock nutrient in the physical renovation process because it causes the basal metabolic rate (BMR) to elevate; the metabolic thermostat, the rate at which our body consumes calories, increases when digesting protein. Lean protein is a bedrock nutrient in the physical renovation process because it is damned near impossible for the body to convert it into body fat.
The other bedrock nutrient in the physical transformation process is fibrous carbohydrates: carrots, broccoli, green beans, bell peppers, spinach, cauliflower, onions, asparagus, cabbage, salad greens, Brussels sprouts and the like. Fibrous carbohydrates, like lean protein, are nearly impossible for the body to convert into body fat. Fibrous carbohydrates require almost as many calories to digest as they contain. A green bean or carrot might contain 10-calories yet is so dense and difficult to break down that the body has to expend nearly as many calories to break down that bean or carrot as the vegetable contains.
Fibrous carbohydrates have a wonderful “Roto-Rooter” effect on the internal plumbing: as they work their way though the digestive passageways they scrape mucus and gunk off intestinal walls and help keep sludge buildup to a minimum. For this reason fibrous carbohydrates are the perfect compliment to a lean protein diet. Too much protein can cause bile buildup: fiber is the Yin to protein’s Yang. The two nutrients should be eaten together.
Both protein and fiber have a beneficial dampening effect on insulin secretions. It is no accident that professional bodybuilders, the world’s best dieters, capable of reducing body fat percentiles to 5% while maintaining incredible muscle mass, construct their eating regimen around protein and fiber.
The best way to eat is to eat often. If you eat 3,000 calories a day the best way is in five 600-calorie feeding or six 500-calorie feedings instead of a breakfast containing 400-calories, a lunch of 1000-calories and a late dinner of 1,600-calories. Avoid calories easily converted into body fat.
Eat multiple small meals in the 400-600 calorie range comprised exclusively of foods near impossible for the body to convert into body fat. Plus, these foods cause the metabolism, the BMR, the body thermostat to elevate in order to digest them. Optimally you should eat every three hours: in about the time the nutrients from the previous meal have dwindled, been expended and exhausted, in about the time the elevated metabolism is ’settling back down to normal,’ eat another small protein/fiber meal. This reestablishes anabolism, kicks the metabolism upward once again and gives the body more practice at assimilating and distributing quality nutrients.
They say practice makes perfect and by eating small, power-packed, tough to digest meals every three hours, the metabolism is kept elevated, anabolism is established and maintained and the individual never feels hungry. A person who is not hungry is far less inclined to binge on sweets and treats, junk and trash then the crash diet/calorie cutters who always feel hungry, deprived, listless and lacking energy.
The small meal/protein/fiber approach has been used successfully by elite athletes for decades and is not some untried dietary abstraction - rather it is the proven method of choice, one that has withstood the test of time, one that has been used for decades and been proven effective time after time.
If a person is able to establish a multiple meal schedule comprised primarily of lean protein and fiber eaten every three hours, then adds to this eating schedule some serious weight training and a cardiovascular regimen, physical transformation is a biological certainty.
Coming soon! “The Obesity Solution” is designed to help overweight men and women physically transform themselves into healthier, thinner, more fit individuals. Designed by Marty Gallagher, a world champion coach and former washingtonpost.com fitness columnist, he will take you by the hand to help you achieve permanent fat loss.
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Tags: bodybuilding, diet, dieting, exercise, fat, fat loss, fitness, food, nutrition, obesity, weight lossFat Thighs May Be Good For You
June 30th, 2008 by Go Weblog
Do you hate your heavy thighs and hips? If you are woman who is thinking about getting liposuction to rid yourself of the fat in your thighs, think again. Dr. Anne B. Newman, of the University of Pittsburgh found that thigh fat may be good fat (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, August 12, 2005).
Older women with lots of fat in their thighs are at much lower risk for ”metabolic syndrome,” a condition associated with high blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure that increase risk for diabetes and heart disease. The bad fat appears to be stored in the abdomen and wraps around organs. In post-menopausal women, heavy thighs and buttocks are associated with lower triglycerides, blood sugar and blood pressure. However, women who also stored lots of fat in their bellies lost much of their advantage.
We aren’t sure how thigh fat prevents disease. It may be a receptacle that draws triglycerides and other fats from the bloodstream or it may draw fat from the abdomen and around organs where it could be lethal. Sadly, there is no way to store fat only in the belly or thighs. When you gain weight, you add fat everywhere. But it’s safer to look like a pear than an apple.
Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board certified in four specialties, including sports medicine. Read or listen to hundreds of his fitness and health reports at http://www.DrMirkin.com
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Tags: diet, fat, hips, liposuction, thighs, weight loss, womens fitness, womens health