Metabolism has got to be one of the most popular words used when talking about our weight. From “My metabolism is so slow, I wish it were faster!” to “My friend Josh is so lucky. He can eat whatever he wants and doesn’t gain a pound.”Or the best and most popular, “I don’t have a metabolism!” (usually said with a small chuckle and by a female). So what does this so often used word mean? When someone insists their metabolism is non-exsistant what are they saying?

Your metabolism is basically the sum of everything your body does. Every time you eat your body takes that food and turns it into energy to fuel all your activities(very simplified explanation). From your heart beating, your mind thinking, your eyes blinking and your legs and lungs burning during an intense cardio session, your metabolism makes it happen. Although how your metabolism works is a very complicated chemical process, we are going to review it in it’s simplist and most often thought of sense: as something that influences how easily our bodies gain or lose weight. On that train of thought this is where calories come in to play. A calorie is a unit that measures how much energy a particular food provides to your body.

Although we eat everyday I have often thought that as a population, here in this country, at this time in history, most of us DO NOT correlate WHAT we eat with HOW we LOOK and HOW we FEEL – our HEALTH in general. We just eat because it tastes good, we are hungry and it’s there, we are bored with nothing else to do, it’s how our family eats and has for generations…and on and on. But IT DOES MATTER – to how you look(how fat/fit you are), how good you feel(energy anyone) and your health(too many illnesses to list). Why? Because the quality and quantity of your calories count. Yes calories are something every body needs to sustain itself but the quality is also very important(more on this topic in another blog post).

Lets have an example here of how the quantity of calories works with our bodies. If you only need 1800 calories a day to sustain your body through-out all activities for the whole day and you consume 2500 calories you have created a surplus. What happens with those extra calories is they get stored for future use as bodyfat. Any of us have some bodyfat or energy in storage right now just waiting to be used as fuel?

Our bodies go along at a preset speed determined, to some degree, by our genetics and gender. But we still have alot of control over our metabolic rate. We can’t affect the amount of calories it takes to keep our eyes blinking and heart beating but we can make a few changes in our routines to get our bodies burning alot more calories everyday. And here is the list to get that happening today in your life…let’s get that metabolism humming along as fast as we can and start burning off all that stored bodyfat…

1. Weight Train - No. 1 way a person can really speed up their metabolism is to put muscle on…women included. Generally for every pound of muscle you put on your body(male or female), your body requires 50 extra calories a day to sustain that muscle. WOW – so if you were to put on just 5lbs. of muscle(not all that much) your body would burn 250 extra calories a day for you and you would NOT have to do anything to make it happen. If you have a husband or boyfriend that sits on the couch alot and eats twice what you do and yet does not gain weight, they are carrying more muscle and their bodies are burning up those calories. So not only do you increase your metabolic rate with more muscle but you also burn alot of calories while in the process of putting that muscle on while weight training. So what are you waiting for…start weight training today!

2. Don’t cut calories to LOW! – for all you starvation/dehydration people out there this ones for you. Why must people insist on continuing to believe that if you cut calories down to 500 calories a day and lose alot of scale weight(ie, muscle weight) this is a good thing? If muscle is the furnace for increasing your metabolism and you starve(go way below your resting metabolic rate) and your body still needs those calories(fuel) to continue to breathe, blink, use your brain – it will eat your muscle to get it and… you will lower your metabolism. So eat … If you multiply your weight by 11 that will give you an estimate of the amount of calories you should eat every day. A good website for finding your Resting Metabolic Rate(RMR) – www.caloriesperhour.com.

3. Eat Breakfast - You must eat breakfast every single day. It is the most important meal of the day and for good reason. Your metabolism slows while you sleep and it doesn’t pick up again until you eat. So jump start your metabolism every day with a hearty breakfast when you get up.

4. Protein with every meal - Protein is hard for your body to break down, so you burn more calories just digesting the protein versus the carbs. Plus it helps you build and maintain lean muscle mass…gotta keep that furnace running. Aim to have a serving of protein such as nuts, can of tuna, cup of cottage cheese, string cheese, with any fruit, vegetable or whole grains for a small meal.

5. Good carbs - I think we all know or at least have an inkling that most things white and/or anything processed is not a good carb choice(white bread, bagels, cookies, pasta, crackers, cereals etc.) So what are some good choices… start eating fruits, vegetables and whole grains for your carbs and your soon-to-be flat belly will love you for it.

6. 5-6 Small meals a day- Frequent eating through out the day matches energy expended with energy consumed and elevates your metabolism. Make sure not to go to long between meals so that you don’t get to hungry and lose you mind when you finally eat and therefore eat way to much at one time. Anyone shovel in cheez-its(or M&M’s) while making your healthy meal?

7. Sleep – When you are wiped out your body struggles with performing regular day-to-day functions and compromises your metabolism. Rule is at least 7 hours of sleep minimum and 9 maximum for optimum health. Who wants to drag along all day long…get some sleep – it makes everything easier and better.

8. Hydrate - You must have the water. Our bodies are 72% water and all functions of the body require water. When you don’t bring in enough water it can lead to poor organ function and add additional stress on your body. So drink up…shoot for a gallon of water a day, more if very active and in hot temperatures.

9. Cardio - obviously the more active you are the faster you will expend energy(calories). With interval training being one of the most efficient ways to expend energy in a short amount of time. So get out there and burn off some calories doing interval training. Doesn’t matter what the cardio is: running, biking, dancing, swimming or kick boxing find something you like to do and DO IT! Regularly.

10. Relax - Chill out – so important to learn how to destress healthily. When we are stressed out our bodies are flooded with stress hormones which cause all kinds of health problems and will often spark our appetite, making it very likely that you will overeat. Make a list of things that relax you: listening to soothing music, reading the bible, writing in a journal or playing with your dog. Schedule a time every day to just kick back and enjoy one of these activities.

So there you have it: ten things you can start today to rev up that metabolism that you might think is dead. Add these good, healthy habits into your lifestyle and watch what your metabolim can do for you. So get going – I know you can do it and do it well!

Always happy to hear feedback – I’m listening!

God Bless You,
Evey

So I was out rollerbalding for my hard and fast 10 mile sweat session the other day when suddenly I notice a lady yelling at me, so I slow down, pull out my earbuds and say “HuH!” and she yells to me “you should be wearing pads and protection” and I then yell back “been doing this for 20 years now” and rollerblade off into the, well down the trail. So of course I am wondering what was that all about anyway. I have seen this particular lady many a time on the bike trail and never has she felt the need in the past to yell out to me that I need to go rollerblading all protected like she does. I concluded that because she is fearful of wiping out while rollerblading that I then should also be fearful of the same consequence.  Apparently I must wear knee pads, elbow pads, wrists guards and a helmit or I am risking serious bodily harm while rollerblading.  Definately her fears, not mine.

In my defense(for being somewhat abrupt to her), I have rollerskated, iceskated and most recently (past 15yrs) rollerbladed since I was seven years old. During the early beginning stages of learning these sports I spent many a time wiping out and I would like to say that I even got pretty good at it. Made it a point, in fact to learn how to wipe out with minimum damage, particularly because I liked to do tricks and dancing on my rollerskates and iceskates and the side effect of these ventures were plenty of falls. 

So my question to you is, why was it necessary for this lady to project onto me her fears of rollerblading?  And presume that because her fears are so powerful that I must also have the same fears? Do you know someone who insists on putting their limitations on you no matter what your past experience with the project, subject or activity is? Who insist on dumping all their own personal baggage of fears onto you and presume that you must feel the same way? It can be someone you know well or someone who is  just an aquaintance in your life! It can be about getting healthy and fit or about running down the street….

So what was this lady thinking about? Where was her FOCUS?  NOT on going peacefully anywhere. Her focus, from my incredible deductive skills, was on wiping out while rollerblading and suffering severe bodily harm. She projected that I was in the same boat with her….so not sooo.. As I was rollerblading in my zone before being  interrupted I was focused on thinking how much longer can I go gasping like this, when can I slow down, how long is this going to take, thinking about the family, thinking about the business, etc…etc..pretty much everything in my life BUT wiping out. Not a focus for me anymore.

So when someone you know well (or not)and they insist on trying to get you to tow their line, step back, and politely say No I am good and move on…don’t let other people get YOU focused on THEIR problems, issues or insecurities. Just keep your focus on your direction and if you can help them out in a positive way, do so, if not move on….

God Bless You,

Evey

Last night I watched the season finale to ‘the Biggest Loser” and what struck me was the incredible before and after pictures. On this season, most of the contestants lost at least 100+ pounds each and boy did the photos show it. What inspiring before and after photos…and the best part is they are real live people. It is so motivating to see these contestants go from 350+lbs to 180lbs.  and see the flashback of photos showing each contestant along the way just getting smaller and smaller. Did the contestants even imagine the could look the way they ended up looking, before, when they first started out? Could they envision being 100+lbs lighter and accomplishing all the physical feats they accomplished along the way to their objective of getting healthier and fitter?

These real live contestants are living proof to all the naysayers out there who continually say “It can’t be done!, I am fat forever! This is my genentics! My whole family is fat! I need lipo!” It is very obvious that it can and is getting done on live TV with lots of before footage of people that weren’t all that sure themselves that it could be done. And we are not talking about just 20 or 30lbs of fat to be lost but 100+lbs….a whole lot of bodyfat.

When clients show up at our personal training studio one of the first things we do is get a “before photo” because photos are so powerful. Oftentimes, when a client comes in and we take the photos with their bathing suits on they just look and look and in disbelief say, “I look that bad?” “I am that fat” “I didn’t realize how big I was!” “That’s me?”

It’s at this point of acknowledgement that progress can start. You must recognize where you are. Really, really know exactly where you are. Not some idea in your head but black and white, in your face reality check. You are unhealthy, you are unfit, you are very overweight…recognize it and it will set you free to resolve it. You can’t say I didn’t know when the photo is right there showing you in full color what your body looks like. What your lifestyle has produced of you. Use that photo as your motivation to change, change your lifestyle, learn to eat healthier and exercise more because is that really you? Is that the reason God put you on this earth? To live within the prison of your own body? I don’t think so….

Take the first step today and have someone take your “before” photo, take a real hard look at what you see. Do you like what you see or is there lots of room for improvement? Then after you have it in your head exactly where you are now start dreaming….where do you want to be? What can you look and feel like? Ohhh the potentials…

God Bless You,

Evey

You want to get me all fired up just mention to me that such and such a supplement has transformed your health and fitness.  Taken you from a 300lb loser to a 180lb fit, fit person, or finally allowed you to have definition where you never, never could before. If your a woman, you’ve finally gotten rid of your saddlebags. I am quite sure that ALL supplement companies thrive on this info., but is it true? Why do so many people believe it?

Ok  so Lynn and I went to a kids birthday party yesterday and we encountered Advocare network marketers and listened to them go on about how great Advocare is….fitting because they are sellers and we own a personal training studio(potential sellers for them)…good match! Nothing against this very nice couple or even against Advocare, which is a very established supplement company that sells quality products, but listen carefully here….SUPPLEMENTS DO NOT GET YOU FIT AND HEALTHY.  I don’t care if you get blue in the face trying to tell(sell) me that such and such a supplement did this and that for you because it just is not so. You might be convinced that it is the supplement but let me assure you it is not…you are doing something in conjunction with taking this supplement that is finally rewarding you with the outcome you have been searching for.

So why do I believe so strongly about this? For the same reason Lynn and I have NEVER been supplement peddlers. It comes from within…not what you buy to help you along.  Supplements do have there place in a healthy lifestyle but certainly NOT the end all and be all of your transformation.

Some of you reading this already know all about my husband Lynn Lingenfelter and (those that don’t read on) about how he won the Body For Life challenge in 1997. He went from fat to very fit in 12 weeks and was fortunate enought to win the competition that was also made into a documentary called “Body of Work”. Well get this…at this same birthday party our host says, “When I watched the Body of Work documentary, I keep saying those must have be some great products to make all those people look so good…have such great transformations. I have to take those supplements. (not verbatum but close).” Everyone wants to believe there is some miracle something you can take to magically get you fit and healthy or at least make it alot easier…

So let me tell you something that will probably surprise many…my husband only spent $240 on supplements when he was competing for the Body for Life challenge. He bought Meal Replacement Shakes and Whey protein….that is it.  Of the many times I have gotten in great shape, after both pregnancies, as well as, after the major upheavals in my life in the past 2 and 1/2 years, it was NEVER because of the supplements…always my committment to perservere to my goal.  Did supplements play a role? YES they did but I could do it with or without them…THEY JUST MAKE IT EASIER. NOT absolutely necessary.

So back to why…why do so many people fall for this or that infomercial, listening to their friends who promise the moon or at least that you will be fit and happy soooooon….if you take this or that… Is it because it is easier or because you finally have the “believe component” (more on this believe component in another blog), you just know it is going to work for you this time because these supplements are magic?

Write in and let me know your thoughts on this?  Would love to hear…