Metabolism...My Special Friend!!

So, I'm doing everything I can to boost this thing called Metabolism.  Again, I have to state that I am no expert in the area of Metabolic rate or how your body processes calories...but here is the official definition according to MedicineNet.com:

Metabolism: The whole range of biochemical processes that occur within an organism. Metabolism consists both of anabolism and catabolism (the buildup and breakdown of substances, respectively). The biochemical reactions are known as metabolic pathways and involve enzymes that transform one substance into another substance, either breaking down a substance or building a new chemical substance. The term is commonly used to refer specifically to the breakdown of food and its transformation into energy.

Long definition short...how your body takes the food that you ingest and transforms it into usable fuel for your body.

Over the years, I've noticed that youngsters have "crazy-high" metabolic rates...and as we get older, unless we are regularly active, it slows down.  I've seen students eat huge amounts of disgusting food and never gain an ounce of weight.  Before P90Xing (I love changing the usage!), if I ate the same thing as those students I would definitely gain weight.  I've also seen people eat once a day without being able to lose weight at all.  I'm guessing the thought is that if you eat once a day, your body uses up fat stored in your body?!?   I've been in that camp before...not really fun at all!

So...clearly...the key to successful weight loss seems to be all about boosting your metabolism.  In the limited research I've done, here's what does it:  eating often and exercising.

Through the P90X program, they encourage eating 5 times per day.  3 meals and 2 snacks.  I break mine up even more.  I tend to eat about 7 times a day.  By doing this, my body is in the habit of breaking down food regularly and the steady consumption of food increases the metabolic rate.  If you add in a steady workout program, like P90X, then your metabolism becomes "crazy-high".  When your body is used to processing food and exercising, then when you have a cheat day, it doesn't hurt you.  In fact, I found out that some body builders actually believe that having a "cheat day" when you eat large amounts of food will supercharge your metabolism for a brief amount of time.  These bodybuilders believe that a regularly built in "cheat day" helps to keep their metabolic rate up.  I have to research this more to know what it's all about.  If you have any insights into this topic, please share.  I'm interested in working towards keeping my metabolism up.

Not sure what topic I'll cover next...feel free to submit ideas that might be on your mind!  Have a great night!!

The Results Are In!! - Day 14b

Here it goes!  Somehow, I've lost track of time.  I didn't mean to be late with my results posting.  Instead of posting again in 6 days, I'm going to wait until day 30 to post.  Also, I didn't have a great week last week in terms of strength building.  I didn't do it at all, but I did manage to get the running done that I've added to my plan.  This may mean that I extend phase 1 of the workout plan again...however, I'm not sure yet.

July 14th - 293 (Pre-P90X)

July 26th - 290.6 (Day 1 of P90X)

August 4th - 285 (Day 10 of P90X)

August 14th - 281.8 (Day 20 of P90X)

August 24th - 275.8 (Day 30 of P90X)

September 3rd - 274.4 (Day 40 of P90X)

September 13th - 270.2 (Day 50 of P90X)

September 22nd - 268.6 (Day 59 of P90X)

October 3rd - 265.4 (Day 70 of P90X)

October 13th - 263.4 (Day 80 of P90X)

October 24th - 257.6 (Day 91 of P90X)
November 14th - 257.4 (Day 14b of P90X)

Total loss to date: 35.6 pounds since July 14th.

Going back to the phase 1 nutritional plan was harder than I expected.  I grew accustomed to having 5 servings of carbohydrates in my diet and only 4 servings of protein.  I'm happy to boost up my protein, but eliminating the carbohydrates has hit me a bit.  I've really been pretty good about adhering to the diet but, since I'm repeating P90X and there is no documentation for how to do this relative to diet, I may jump to phase 2 early and hang with that until phase 3.  That allows me to have 3 servings of carbohydrates and 8 servings of protein.

Anyway...these are my thoughts for right now.  I'm back on the strength training wagon again and hope to see some results soon.  It's pretty amazing how my mind messes with me.  I took a week off and feel like the muscles are "withering away".  Not sure how fast that happens, but probably not much of a difference after a week.

Also...I am starting an "AB Ripper X" club in my school.  Anyone that wants to go through 16 minutes of pure Joy 3 times per week with me can do it.  If you're a student, we're starting next week!

Feel free to offer up any wisdom if you're reading this and have thoughts!  Oh....one more thing, if you drop me a comment, try to do it here if it's beneficial to other people.  I'll make sure I get the comment posted.


Thanks!  More later!!

Here We Go Again...

For me, Halloween meant the eve of the 2nd round of P90X. It's been a week since I last posted and I've had a pretty decent week.  I missed a few workouts, but I realized that there are just going to be weeks that I am not going to get 6 workouts in.  Mentally, it has taken me a while to let that sink in.  I always beat myself up when I take a day off, thinking that I'm straying from my program.  That change in my approach to working out also has impacted my dietary choices.  I've mentioned before that I enjoy the little "treats" life has to offer from time to time.  I ALWAYS would think that I was "cheating" the diet, but I don't feel that way anymore.  If I eat something that isn't healthy, I don't make a big deal about it, I just make sure that I stay on track.  It has never, to my knowledge, had an impact on my road to fitness.  I still step on the scale everyday and I see gains and losses, but the weekly trend is always a loss or at the worst, no weight change at all.  Pretty cool...apparently I have a pretty rockin' metabolism!!  My next post will deal with metabolism changes, but that's for another day!

I had a doctor appointment yesterday and he took my blood pressure.  It was 98/72.  Now...for many, that is probably no big deal...but my average blood pressure was anywhere from 126/88 to 118/82.  Never have I been in the 70's for the bottom number in my adult life.  The doctor made a pretty big deal about it.  Another thing we talked about at the appointment was the opening in the back of my throat.  Seems kinda weird, but he is an ENT guy.  He asked me if I snore and, of course, I don't really know the answer to that question.  So, I asked my wife and she said I snore less now than I did before, but never a lot unless I'm sick.  Doc said that the tongue is one big muscle and showed me the opening in the back of my throat with a little camera that he shoved down my nose.  Looked pretty cool!  He said my opening was a little on the small side and if I gain weight, it'll get smaller, causing me to snore more.  This leads me to believe that if I keep losing weight, then it'll get larger, right?? I'm not sure why people use machines to help with sleep Apnea, but if it's at all related to the throat size and air pressure keeping it open when the tongue relaxes, this creates more motivation for me.

Thanks for reading!  I was pretty amazed when I noticed that I was over 2000 hits on the site.  I was excited early on when I crossed the 40 hit mark.  I really appreciate all the comments, suggestions, and inspiring remarks.  I'm really committed to this and knowing that people read this blog pushes me forward...and...of course...helps me push play!!