My Metabolism Has Come to a Screeching Halt…Am I Out of Luck?

I often hear people blaming their metabolism, or lack thereof, on why they are overweight and out of shape.  While it is indeed true that the metabolism slows as we age, this is not a sentence to a life of obesity nor is it an excuse to give up hope and let yourself go.  The decrease in metabolism is slow and consistent and does not just happen overnight.  There is hope and there is a way to completely change your metabolism starting today!

The truth is we are not victims of our metabolism; we are the creator of it.  Whatever type of metabolism we have is almost always because of the lifestyle choices we have made.  I say almost always because there are medical issues and metabolic disorders that can cause a sharp decline in metabolism and that are completely out of our control.  But that is a relatively small percentage of us.

The good news is that whatever life choices you have made to get where you are, they can be changed and your metabolism can be reversed.

There are several reasons that our metabolisms begin to slow once we get into our late 20’s and early 30’s.  Some are obvious while some may not be.  First, our muscles begin to atrophy (burn away) naturally once we get into our 30’s.  Lean muscle burns fat and increases the caloric expenditure in the body.  When you lose it, you burn fewer calories a day thereby lowering your metabolism.

Second, when we get into our mid 20’s we suddenly have way more responsibility (i.e. a job) and less free time. This leads to inactivity.  It’s far easier to get out and exercise and play sports when you don’t have a 9 to 5 weighing you down.

On top of having a job, the mid 20’s/early 30’s is when most get married and begin having children.  Nothing zaps away free time like a job and family.  It becomes increasingly more difficult to squeeze in a workout and prepare healthy meal s when you are spending your time at work and/or changing diapers and cleaning up the endless mess around the house.

Not only do these things take away our free time, they also increase stress.  Stress is lean muscle’s worst enemy and body fat’s best friend.  Stress causes the body to produce more Cortisol which robs the body of muscle tissue and signals the body to store more fat.

Adding to the stress is the fact that we get less and less sleep as our responsibilities increase.  Lack of sleep also causes a spike in Cortisol and leaves us feeling lethargic which makes it even harder to exercise.

Last, and certainly not least, everything I said above combined with poor nutrition (and /pregnancy child birth if you are a woman) throw your hormones for a loop.  If you want a quick way to pack on the pounds and lower your metabolism, allow your hormones to get out of whack.  Stabilizing hormones is essential if you want to be lean and fit.

As you can see, it’s pretty obvious why our waist lines expand as we age.  But hopefully you can see how it is 100% controllable and fixable.

It all goes back to being healthy and sticking to an exercise and nutrition program.  You can avoid muscle atrophy by doing resistance training workouts 2-3 times a week.  Resistance training builds lean muscle which helps keep your metabolism humming along.

You can reduce stress in your life by forcing yourself to get more sleep.  This is tough for some but the payoff is huge.  Your goal should be 7-9 hours a night.  The result is less stress and more energy…not too shabby!

Committing to a regular exercise program will also reduce stress.  Exercise releases stress reducing endorphins which elevate mood and help make us happier people!  Cap this off with quality nutrition and you will have the metabolism of a twenty year old and all your friends will grow to hate you…but at least you will look good : )

So there is hope.  You can have the metabolism of your dreams!  All you have to do is commit to being healthy…is that too much to ask?

Fish Oil vs. Flaxseed Oil

Health food stores are jam packed with flaxseed oil and fish oil.  These supplements are exploding in popularity and for good reason.  We are not getting enough of these essential fatty acids (EFA) in our everyday diet.  I am a big fan of EFA supplementation.  EFA’s do so many wonderful things for our health and they can even help you burn body fat : )  We need to consume EFA’s but we need to consume the best and most complete ones.

That’s why many experts say that fish oil is superior to flaxseed oil.  Fish oil is a complete omega-3 fatty acid while flaxseed is not.  This means fish oil will be more effective once inside the body.  There is also research that states that too much flaxseed oil can increase the number of free radicals inside the body.  Free radicals in the body can lead to many different diseases including cancer.

Research on this is relatively new but for now choose fish oil over flaxseed oil to be safe.  As I said in a previous article, if t he taste of fish oil is just too nasty for you, krill oil is a great substitute.  You can also get fish oil in a capsule which eliminates the fishy taste.

Quotes of the Month

“If it wasn’t for dogs, some people would never go for a walk”

“So many people spend their health gaining wealth, and then have to spend their wealth to regain their health.”     A.J. Reb Materi

To Your Health,

Jason

P.S. To register for your FREE BodyBack! Boot Camp session, click the link below and register now:

www.BodyBackBootCamps.com

Come and join us for a fat burnin’, calorie churnin’ workout with other people who have the same goals as you! It’s fast, it’s fun, and it works!  There is no better time to begin getting fit than January.  Be sure to register now as spots fill up VERY fast this time of year!

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