Saturday, November 26, 2011

What to do?

So you're leptin resistant. So what?

If you want to make any lasting changes in body composition, you'll need to fix it.

Any effort at weight loss can result in weight loss. If you're reading this, you want fat loss that lasts. Most likely, you've already worked at weight loss, had success but watched it come back. That's because the underlying issue of hormonal and metabolic dysfunction has not been addressed.

Start with a high protein breakfast immediately upon waking.
Eat Paleo
Three meals a day with NO SNACKS
Sleep
Destress and "unstimulate"

Each of these is of critical importance and are each interrelated. One depends on the other.

It is important to signal your body that it is time be be awake, so fire up the metabolic engine. Eat a breakfast containing at least 50g protein within 30 minutes of waking. More protein is better. This will be a challenge, but do it anyway. I eat 4 eggs and 4oz meat each and every day, roughly equal to 50g protein.

Eating Paleo simply means, "eat meat and vegetables for every meal". Nothing special or exciting. Avoid food from containers. No grains, No sugar. This can get as complex and expensive as you want it to be.

Eat three meals a day with no snacks. If you get hungry between meals, do two things: look down at your body and imagine your stored energy (fat) mobilizing to energize your body and remember that the hormone that makes you feel the hunger pangs also puts your brain into overdrive (see http://www.gnolls.org/79/i-am-a-ghrelin-addict/). Snacks make your digestive system, especially your liver, work unnecessarily hard.

Sleep. Eight hours at a stretch. If, because of your job, this is not possible, nap. Sleep will become easier as things become right in your body - unless:

You are a ball of stress. Whether it's job requirements, family issues, financial troubles; we all have stress. It's easier said than done to "destress". You can't just flip a switch and all is well, I get that. But humans are social animals by nature and from the dawn of our existence we have relied upon one another for our survival. The only way to reduce stress sometimes is to face the stressor head-on. Rely on God, friends, family, church, faith, even me to stand by your side when you do. Inaction increases stress. Always feeling alone also increases stress.

On the topic of stress; keep in mind that you artificially increase your stress by astronomical amounts each time you chemically stimulate your body. Caffeine is the most commonly used stimulants, but nicotine is also a powerful stimulant. If you are often stressed and can't sleep right, chemical stimulants are often to blame and you will never achieve optimal  health. Simplified: you have to quit the nicotine.

You can either spend the next few years quitting tobacco or working on all other aspects of health and fitness - not both. Climb one mountain at a time.

No comments:

Post a Comment