Rock Fit


March 15, 2017by Rock Fit0

The word Metabolism is a popular term these days.

Most of us know that if our metabolism is “slow”, then we’re likely to gain weight.

But how does a person’s metabolism slow down–or speed up–and what does all that mean?

What does Metabolism mean?

The word “metabolism” is used to describe all of the biochemical reactions in your body.  It’s how you take in nutrients and oxygen and use them to fuel everything you do on a daily basis.

Your body has an amazing ability to move, heal, and stay alive.  Without this amazing biochemistry, life itself would not be possible.

Your Metabolism involves how the cells in your body:

  • Allow for activities you can control (e.g. physical activity, exercise, movement,).
  • Allow for activities you can’t control (e.g. heart beat, healing injuries, digestion, processing of nutrients, etc.).
  • Allow for storage of excess calories for later.

All of these processes put together form your metabolism.  You can start to see how these processes can function slowly, quickly, or just right.

This leads us to learning about your “metabolic rate”.

What’s your Metabolic Rate?

Your Metabolic Rate is how fast (or efficient) your metabolism works and it’s measured in calories.

The calories you eat can go to one of three places:

  • Work (i.e. exercise and other activity).
  • Heat (i.e. from all those biochemical reactions).
  • Storage (i.e. extra leftover “unburned” calories stored as fat).

As you can imagine, the more calories you burn, the easier it is to lose weight and keep it off for good.

There are a couple of different ways to measure metabolic rate.  One is the “resting metabolic rate” (RMR) which is how much energy your body uses when you’re not being physically active.

The other is the “total daily energy expenditure” (TDEE) which measures both the resting metabolic rate as well as the energy used for “work” (e.g. exercise) throughout a 24-hour period.

What affects your Metabolic Rate?

Many factors affect how fast, or efficiently, your metabolism works.

The first thing we think of is our thyroid.  The thyroid gland sits on the front of your throat and it releases hormones to tell your body to “speed up” your metabolism.  The more thyroid hormone you produce, the faster your metabolism will work and the more calories you’ll burn.

But that’s not the only thing that affects your metabolic rate.

How much lean muscle you have also affects your metabolic rate!

Larger people have higher metabolic rates; but your body composition is crucial!

Muscles that actively move and lift weights need more energy than fat does.  So the more lean muscle you have, the more energy your body will burn and the higher your metabolic rate will be.

Once you’ve built that muscle, your body will burn more calories–even when you’re not working out (i.e. when your body is at rest).

This is exactly why strength training and weight-bearing exercises are often recommended as part of a weight-loss program.  We want muscles to be burning those calories from fat for you!

Unfortunately, when women lose weight, they often times burn muscle instead of fat.  This causes their metabolic rate to slow down–which is exactly what we don’t want to happen.

Therefore, there’s a need to offset that weight loss from fat by building lean muscle.

The type of food you eat also affects your metabolic rate!

Your body actually burns calories to absorb, digest, and process the food you eat.  This is called the “thermic effect of food” (TEF).

You can use it to your advantage when you understand how your body processes foods differently.

Dietary Fats, for example, increase your TEF by 0-3%; carbs increase it by 5-10%, and protein increases it by a whopping 15-30%.

By trading some of your Fat or Carbs for lean Protein, you can actually increase your metabolic rate!

Another plus to eating protein is that your muscles need protein to be firm and toned.

By training your muscles, and feeding them what they need, you’ll set yourself up for weight-loss success.

What about Stress and Sleep?

Don’t forget about the importance of Stress and Sleep…

Research shows that Stress and Sleep have an impact your metabolic rate.  Stress has zero calories and  Sleep has zero calories.  But, the more stress we have in our lives—the more fat we’re likely to store.  And, the less quality sleep we get—the more hungry and tired we’re likely to be.  This leads to eating more food to make up for the lack of sleep.

Getting your Stress and Sleep in check is absolutely necessary to allowing your body to be as healthy as it can be, which in turn allows you to burn fat and lose weight.

Combining proper Nutrition, Exercise, Stress, and Sleep will result in the stronger, confident, feel-good body you’re looking for.

Ken Diaz Founder, Rock Fit
Ken Diaz
Founder, Rock Fit

 

 

 

 

 

 

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February 2, 2017by Rock Fit0

Everyone’s doing the same old workout, and the same old diet, while expecting different results.

We call it the Groundhog Day Diet!

Mix things up with your weekly workouts (or change the way you eat) to overcome weight loss plateaus, stimulate your metabolism, and work with your body’s ability to adapt.

Watch our video below to learn more…

 

Ken Diaz Founder, Rock Fit
Ken Diaz
Founder, Rock Fit


November 14, 2016by Rock Fit0

strong-fitness-mindset-woman-female

I just read a funny Facebook post by a mom detailing how her mind drifts off during her kids’ sports games. While I was entertained in reading it, I also couldn’t help but notice that most of her stream of consciousness thoughts were self critical.  These thoughts went from wondering if her backside sagged in her lawn chair to numerous mentions about cankles.  Her self-deprecating piece generated over 143 thousand Facebook shares!

But, if her writing truly reflects her inner dialogue, then I’m a little worried.

The thoughts and images we put in our minds shape our confidence, self esteem, mood and actions. It’s critical to take charge of the words we say to ourselves, and actively work to program our brains for success.

 

Below are 10 strategies to help move you in the right direction.  If you have other ideas to share, please post them in the comments.

 

  1. Forgive Yourself:  Setbacks and mistakes happen to everyone.  Forgive yourself for your past mistakes; give yourself unconditional love and understanding.

 

  1. Eliminate definitive words such as ALWAYS and NEVER:  Identify specifically and factually what is at the root of the negative self talk.  It’s likely that you are overly critical toward yourself.

 

  1. Empower Yourself With Possibility:  Once you have come to a neutral assessment of the issue that’s prompting the negative thinking, you can come up with strategies for change.  For instance, “I’m ALWAYS late.  EVERYONE thinks I’m unreliable,”  becomes, “I’ve been arriving a few minutes late to morning meetings, when I have to deal with rush hour traffic.  Even though this trip usually takes 20 minutes, I’m going to leave 40 minutes in advance, so that no matter what happens with traffic, I’ll be on time.”

 

  1. Be In Tune With Yourself:  Become aware of media, people, or behaviors that make you feel negative or depressed, and eliminate as many of them as possible.  When you find people and behaviors that energize and inspire you, add more of them to your life.

 

self-talk-and-why-it-matters

  1. Visualize It:  Imagine yourself as you wish to be.  Use as many of your senses (seeing, smelling, hearing, feeling, tasting) as you can to create and feel your ideal body.  Do this as you go to sleep, first thing in the morning, when you’re stuck in traffic, showering, or brushing your teeth.

 

  1. Be It Until You Become It:  Live as if you’ve already achieved your goal. Make choices to embody the person you want to be.

 

  1. Be Grateful:  Take time each day to reflect on three specific things you are grateful for in your life.

 

  1. Turn Your Thoughts to Others:  Write a letter or call, text, or email someone in your life who you appreciate or may need uplifting and give them words of support and encouragement.Instead of focusing on yourself, put your thoughts onto others. The empathy you share will come back to you.

 

  1. Act with Kindness, Expect Goodness:  Small acts of kindness add up – hold the door for someone, smile, say hello, and show respect to others. Expect others to have positive intentions first.

 

  1. Work It Out:  Working out is an incredibly positive way to release stress and boost positive hormones.Rhythmic steady state cardio can melt stress away and power workouts where you push yourself hard for short bursts can help release anger.

 

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Michelle Berkley, NASM-CPT
Rock Fit Personal Trainer