Why is my Metabolism so Slow Now?

First of all, keep in mind this is my opinion, if you feel differently, I am fine with that, we can all still be friends...

Many people feel that you can radically change your metabolism by the foods you eat and how and when you eat them, or using some magic pills or supplements. People also say that if you replace 10 pounds of fat with 10 pounds of muscle that your metabolism is going to shoot through the roof, the truth of the matter is that fat burns 2 calories per pound of fat per day while muscle burns a whopping 6 calories per pound of muscle per day so if you replace 10 pounds of fat with 10 pounds of muscle you are burning an incredible 40 extra calories per day, so if you drink your coffee with sugar and no cream then you can have an extra one with no ill effects ;)

The reality is, the work involved in achieving the new 10 pounds of muscle is what is burning the calories the most. So really any type of activity that burns calories is all that is needed, of course combine this with healthy and moderate eating and you will not have a problem with your metabolism, because the problem is not your metabolism, the problem is lack of exercise and poor eating habits.

In general your metabolism slows down about 5% every decade and the main reason for this is because over time you do less and require less muscle so you tend to have less lean body mass (more fat and less muscle).

So if your base metabolism was 1600 calories at rest in your 20's, you would burn 1520 calories in your 30's, 1444 calories in your 40's, 1372 calories in your 50's and 1303 calories in your 60's. That is of course if you did nothing to maintain your lean body mass. So we are looking at a metabolism loss of about 300 calories from your 20's to your 60's. Do you really think that's the reason why people are having trouble with their weight?

All you would need to do to offset that amount of calories at the age of 60+ is go for a brisk 20 minute walk each day, or drink water instead of juice. Why not do both and really get into shape!

All you really need to do is make small everyday lifestyle choices that include some exercise each day and healthy eating habits.

Please stop blaming your metabolism and take responsibility for what the real reason is for the extra 10-20 or more pounds you know you don't need. It's never too late to do something about it, the first step is to stop making excuses and start making plans towards a healthier lifestyle!

Reference: 

• Can You Really Boost Your Metabolism?
• The Most Important Workout Technique You'll Ever Learn

Workout Journal - Push Press - 205 Pounds for 1 Rep

A small gain today in my Push Press max single rep, up from 195 to 205 since I last went for it. I'll take the 10 pounds especially considering my legs where gone today (from yesterday insane CrossFit Langley squat workout), push press really realies very heavily on a snappy drive from the legs which I did not have once I got over the 200 pound mark.

Video samples taken from (www.crossfit.com)

Lose Weight and Get Healthy With Intermittent Fasting (IF)

Is Intermittent Fasting (IF) yet another fad diet program, let's find out!

What is Intermittent Fasting, it's the process of scheduling a regular set periods of time (Daily or Weekly) in which you do not eat food, or anything with calories in it.

Benefits of Intermittent Fasting (IF): 

• Helps your body burn Fat as fuel instead of Carbs as fuel.
• Helps you learn to control your food instead of your food controlling you.
• Helps restore vital health related hormone levels in your body.
• Let's your body focus on something other than digesting food, like injury repair, the immune system...
• Purges your body of harmful toxins stored in the cells.
• Preserving memory functioning and learning.

Ways you can Intermittently fast:

• Stop eating for a 24 hour period 1 to 2 times per week. (Stop eating at 7pm the day before and eat again after 7pm the next day)
• Only eat within a 6-8 hour window each day which allows your body 16-18 hours of fasting time benefits each day. (Eat from Noon till 6pm)

How is IF (Intermittent Fasting) supposed to work "Quotes from Dr. Mercola":

• Teaches your body how to use FAT as it's primary source of fuel by getting your body into a fat burning state since you need 8 hours from the time you last ate before your body really starts using Fat as fuel instead of stored Carbohydrates as fuel.
• When your body is using stored fat as fuel instead of stored carbs as fuel it helps your body to do the following:
  • Normalize your insulin and leptin sensitivity, which is key for optimal health and to avoid "insulin resistance", which is a primary contributing factor to nearly all chronic disease, such as diabetes, heart disease and even cancer.
  • Normalize ghrelin levels, also known as "the hunger hormone"
  • Lowering triglyceride levels. (A form of Cholesterol)
  • Reducing inflammation and lessening free radical damage (pro anti-aging benefits).
  • Promoting human growth hormone (HGH) production (for protection of cannibalism of muscle tissue), HGH plays an important part in health, fitness and slowing the aging process. Intermittent Fasting boosts HGH levels as much as 1300% in women and 2000% in men. That's huge!

"HGH, commonly referred to as "the fitness hormone" plays an important role in maintaining health, fitness and longevity, including promotion of muscle growth, and boosting fat loss by revving up your metabolism. Other benefits of Intermittent Fasting (IF) are giving your digestive track a break which many people believe allows your body to focus on other things like repairing damaged tissue, fight disease or sickness…"

 What Intermittent fasting is not:

• Not an excuse to eat whatever you want when it's time to eat. This will eliminate the health benefits of Intermittent Fasting (IF). Yes you do need to pack a full days worth of food in a short period of time but make healthy choices.
• Not a substitute for proper nutrition or exercise. On an IF diet it's best to eat complex carbs, moderate amounts of protein and slightly higher than normal "Healthy Fats", since FAT will be your new source of fuel used by your body for energy.
• IF is not a short term plan, Intermittent fasting (IF) is a lifestyle choice.

Perhaps there is a reason why most religions advocate some sort of regular periods of fasting?

Personally I'm not trying the Intermittent fasting diet to "lose weight", I am interested in the other health benefits of IF and perhaps being able to feel a bit less guilty about a cheat meal is a nice bonus :) The increase in HGH Levels, reduced inflammation and normalizing my insulin and leptin sensitivity are all very good reasons for me to give Intermittent Fasting a try.

So Is Intermittent Fasting Yet Another Diet Fad Program? Guess I will find out...

Related Links:

• What the Science Says About Intermittent Fasting
• LeanGains Website

CrossFit Langley - 5x11 55 Rep Workout for Time - With Narration

The other day at my CrossFit Gym we did a pretty grueling "Ladder styled" workout that consisted of Rowing, 35 pound per arm dumbbell Curl-Presses, Deficit Push-ups, Pull-ups and Ab Rolls. In total we had to do 55 reps of each which would normally be broken down into 10 decreasing sets that start with 10 and go down by one rep until you are left with a single rep for your last set. Each set was to be accompanied by a 100 meter row, so 1000 meters of rowing in total.

We where also given the option of doing 5 sets of 11 reps each accompanied by a 200 meter row which gets the job done a bit faster but is way more intense since you do less walking around and as you get tired the 11 reps per set become very difficult to do. I opted for the more intense 11 rep 5 set workout :)

So this is what my 21 minute workout consisted of...

Five Sets of Each:

• 200 Meter Row
• (11 Reps) 35 Pound per arm Dumbbell Curl - Press
• (11 Reps) Deficit Push-ups
• (11 Reps) Pull-ups
• (11 Reps) Ab Rolls

Grow Your Moustache for Mens Health Month - Movember 2013

It's Movember again, time for us guys to band together and grow a Moustache for Men's Health! It doesn't really matter what age you are because Protate or Testicualr Cancer as well as Mental Health issues can hit us men at any age or affect someone close to you.

What can you do to help the cause:

• Grow a Moustache!
• Donate a few bucks.
• Tell your friends to take part by passing on this video and getting involved.
• Send me a photo of your Moustache for my video montage.

Here is a direct link to my Movemeber Mo Space URL