Are You TURNED On?
By NADINE N.D.
Certified Nutrition Specialist & Blood Type Biometrics Practitioner
Creating RESULTS Holistic Center
You most likely started reading this article thinking it was about your libido. Sorry to disappoint you. This time around it is all about your metabolism.
FOOD is FUEL! By eating the right kinds of food and the right quantity of food you can turn your metabolism on. The body’s metabolism is the internal furnace. More heat is generated when more logs are added to the fire. Thus, when the metabolism is spinning in high gear the body burns food as fuel rather than storing it as fat. Do you know if your body is working for you or against you?
Take a moment to do a pinch test, or take a peek in the mirror. If you are sporting one of those “It’s not fat honey, its prosperity” bulges; have ‘love’ handles; or your main form of exercise is rolling over while watching TV or taking a trip to the fridge, there is a pretty good chance your metabolism is not working for you. Other indicators include: fatigue, bad breath, lack of hunger, insomnia, foul taste in the mouth, low blood pressure, constipation or diarrhea. The BIG indicator of whether your body is turned on or off is by looking at your food.
Most people think food is pleasure, food is social, or food is enjoyment. The bottom line is most Americans under eat and over train. On average I would say that 98% of my clients enter my doors under eating because they ‘heard’ somewhere along the way that “If I eat less, I’ll lose weight.” These same folks are also doing excessive amounts of cardiovascular exercise. Why? Because they believe that more exercise means more weight loss! However, eating less and doing more exercise creates a caloric deficit, meaning the body is burning more calories than it is taking in. Liken this to driving a car at 75 mph with an empty gas tank. When the car runs out of fuel it stops. End of story! When the body is pushed into a caloric deficit it will usually hit a plateau and stick, gain weight, or a combination of the two. Based on results…under eating and over training is not the way to go.
The daily food intake, or diet, is comprised of protein, carbohydrates, fat and water. Protein feeds muscle tissue, allows the body to heal itself, and form new cells, new tissue etc. Every cell from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet requires protein. Yet this is one of the most under eaten forms of food. The bare minimum amount of protein that should be eaten on a daily basis is 1 gram of protein for every pound of body weight. For the sake of easy calculation, an average person who does minimal exercise and weighs 190 pounds should be eating 190 grams of protein on a daily basis. That is just to maintain lean muscle tissue. The body requires more than that to build muscle and form new tissue.
Most adults need about 15 percent of their daily energy in the form of fat. Fats in the diet usually take care of themselves so you do not need to go looking for them. Linoleic acid and linolenic acid, however, are two polyunsaturated fatty acids (Omega-3 and Omega-6) needed by the body for basic functionality. These two essential fatty acids cannot be made in the body from scratch; their nutrients therefore must be supplied by foods.
Water is the most indispensable nutrient in the body. Not only is it the major transport system bringing each cell the exact nutrients needed, it is also the body’s cleansing agent. Water makes up about 60 percent of the body’s weight and 75 percent of a muscle cell. The minimum daily water requirement for a 190-pound person is 0.55 times 190, which equals 105 ounces. More water is needed if the body is dehydrated from lack of intake, exercise, sunburn, excessive heat etc. Signs of dehydration include: thirst, rough dry skin, dry mouth, low blood pressure, fatigue, foul smelling urine, reduced urine output, clothing rings on your skin, sheet marks on your skin when you wake up, and water retention. If the body is dehydrated… drink more water… if the body is retaining fluid that means the cells are holding onto whatever water supply they could find. By drinking more water, not soft drinks or coffee, the cells will open up and start transporting nutrients throughout the body.
Carbohydrates are the most direct source of glucose, the most important fuel source in the body. Yet, due to a lack of knowledge, carbs are treated as the bad guy. The body requires fuel every 2-3 hours. Once the body trusts that it will receive the needed fuel on a consistent basis, it will then respond back to you by burning the glucose it is getting from the carbs as fuel rather than storing them as fat. Thus, by eating more, and eating more often, the metabolism turns on and the body begins to burn more calories… even at rest. On the flip side, when the body does not receive the fuel it needs, it then enters a catabolic state (starvation mode), switches to self-preservation and shuts down!!!!
Right about now you might be saying, “I eat when I am hungry!”…Ok, I’ll bite. Let’s say you are sitting at your desk, tummy ‘filled’ from eating that Krispy Kreme at 0-dark-thirty with your morning caffeine hit from Starbucks. You are in the middle of a deadline; the phone has been ringing off the hook; you are bouncing between four instant messages and have 15 emails yet to be read. Round about mid morning your stomach says, “I’m hungry!” You swallow more coffee and munch on a few Twizler sticks. Hearing gurgling from the southern region of your stomach you know that bad boy is happy so you keep working. A bit later your stomach lets you know loud and clear…”Heh Dude, I’m hungry!!!!” You look up making note of the clock, there is that deadline don’t ya know, and, visualizing the sandwich crammed in the back of the fridge make a decision to ‘grab something later’. No longer feeling those hunger pangs you think things are just fine in stomach-ville. WRONG ANSWER. By now, both the digestive system and the metabolism have slowed way down; your body has figured out that you are not going to feed it and has gone hunting for food elsewhere.
Now you may be arguing… “That’s a good thing… my body will eat my FAT.” Wrong Again! The body loves fat. It can live off fat for a very long time. In fact, fat is the very last thing the body holds on to before it dies. When the body enters a catabolic state or starvation mode, rather than eating the stored fat on the body, it actually hoards the fat (self preservation) and goes for the next available food source, which is your muscle tissue. It gets worse!!! Not only is your body in hoard mode because it has no clue when you are going to feed it again, when you finally DO decide to eat, it hordes everything coming IN as well. Double Slam. The body grabs the calories from your quick easy fast food meal adding on to its life saving supply. Basically the fat just got fatter.
Eat more often to assist with quicker digestion and spinning your metabolism into high gear. Break your daily food intake, comprised of good sources of protein, carbs and fat, into 6 smaller meals, feeding your body every 2-3 hours. Keep the body hydrated so each cell receives valuable nutrients and carries toxins away.
Good sources of protein include: chicken, turkey breast, fish, lean cuts of red meat, shellfish, low fat cottage cheese, etc. Sources of ‘good’ fat include those high in EFA’s (essential fatty acids): leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, flaxseed oil, soybeans, salmon, tuna, etc. Choosing carbs and understanding the role they play in the body is like building a fire. A fire is started with very intense hot heat, burning quickly and dying rapidly. This then lights the kindling, the twigs that give a short burn. Once the kindling is burning steadily, logs can be added to the fire. They may need to be stoked from time to time, however hours of heat and enjoyment can be had from well-placed logs. Carbs come in the following forms:
SIMPLE Carbs (sugar, donuts, candy, fruit, soft drinks, etc) are those foods that have an intense burn and quickly die out. We call them simple carbs because they are simple to find, simple to grab, simple to eat. While these give an intense burn, they are not a good source for fuel and make it difficult to stabilize the blood sugar levels. You experience extreme highs then lows while the body stores these guys as fat.
FIBROUS Carbs (veggies) are the kindling in the diet. Fibrous carbs are typically low in calories, can be filling and are excellent sources of fiber. They get the fire going but cannot sustain the burn for very long.
COMPLEX Carbs (rice, beans, legumes, pasta, etc) are the logs on the fire. They break down slowly and release glucose gradually into the bloodstream keeping the blood sugar levels stable. Eating a potato (not fries), a cup of pasta, or rice will fuel the body for a good 2-3 hours allowing the metabolism to spin into high gear.
You now have the knowledge to treat food as fuel! Eat the right kinds of food and slowly increase the quantity of food to turn on your metabolism. With your metabolism spinning in high gear your body is now working FOR rather than against you! After all, 80 percent of How you look is what goes in your mouth.
Set yourself up for Success! With nothing to risk, rather gains to make and goals to set, it would be advantageous to chart your course by having your diet analyzed. A Diet Analysis will provide information on your current caloric intake of protein, carbs and fat as well as provide information on your sugar and sodium intake. With Knowledge you are then Empowered to make choices to Turn ON Your Body! And heh, when you start feeling more energy and are excited about creating a leaner stronger body… I bet your libido will benefit as well!!!!
Dr Nadine
Creating LIFESTYLE Changes to LAST Your Lifetime