Day 2 - Working With Your Metabolism

Understanding your metabolism is key to weight loss. Your metabolism is not a function any one organ or tissue in your body performs but rather a process by which your entire body utilizes the fuel (food) you give it. Everything you eat consists of either fat molecules, protein molecules or sugar (carbohydrate) molecules which when broken down by your body have a certain amount of associated energy (or fuel). This energy (fuel) is counted in units - the calorie, and is essential to perform any and every function of life. Click here to learn more about calories. Your body's job is to then utilize this fuel or to store it.

For your body to utilize the fuel, instead of store it, your body must metabolize it. No matter what you are doing; sleeping, walking, running a marathon or typing on your computer, your metabolism is running. You are burning calories to even keep your vital processes running (for example: the muscles in your heart require energy to contract and pump blood through your circulatory system). However, your metabolism during all of these activities is not running at the same level. Although there are many cellular processes occurring while you sleep, it is not even close to the number of processes that occur while performing a strenuous activity. Your body needs a lot more energy during exercise (or even just wakefulness) than it does during sleep - and so your metabolism works at a much higher level to put out enough energy.

The higher your metabolism is running the more fuel you are using, and therefore the less you are storing as fat. If you are using more than you are ingesting then your metabolism begins to use the stored energy as well. So an important aspect of weightloss (if not the most important) is understanding your metabolism, and how to get it working at its highest level.

1. Metabolism Genetics

Not only is it written in our DNA for a person's metabolism to slow down as they age. But it's true - some people are blessed with a faster metabolism than others. You know who they are; the ones who eat and eat and eat, yet never seem to gain a pound? Yup. That's because of a higher than average metabolism due to genetics. If you don't fall into this category though don't despair, there are several ways to increase your metabolism to make your life a little easier.

2. Muscle Burns More Than Fat

It may seem intuitive now that you have a little more knowledge about your metabolism but; muscle burns more fuel than fat. Fat cells have very little function and so needs very little energy to sustain them, muscle cells on the other hand are used for everything we do. So pound for pound, muscle burns more energy than fat. Meaning someone who weighs the same as another individual, but has a higher percentage of muscle has a metabolism working at a higher level. This is why getting active is so important. Even 20 minutes a day will begin building muscle and increasing your metabolism.

You do not need to be at the gym for hours trying to burn off hundreds of calories to lose weight (you can, if you enjoy it - do it, but you don't need to). By slowly building muscle mass with small activities each day you're increasing the speed at which your body burns calories - and so less of the food you ingest is stored as fat.

So today's first goal is:

Incorporate 20 minutes of activity you don't normally do into your day.

And switch it up! Not only will it keep you from boredom-induced tears, but you'll be working different muscle groups every time. You also don't have to do 20 minutes at a time, but a 5 minute dance to your favourite song here, a fast 10 minute walk to the grocery store there and 5 minutes spent wrestling with your dog and you're done. You can click on 'Being Active' in the topics section on the right for a bunch of fun ideas on how to add activity to your life. You can also use this tracking sheet to monitor your progress, if you find that helpful!

3. Eating More

Another way to increase your metabolic rate is to eat more. No joke. Well, not necessarily more but more often. You metabolism is at one of its highest levels right after you eat, actually roughly 10% of the calories you eat with each meal are used just to ingest and digest the food you just ate. Your body has a ton of work to do after you eat a meal - and it continues to stay revved up for quite some time afterwards. If you eat 5-6 small meals a day, instead of the typical 3, you prevent your metabolism from dropping back down to a lower level.

You also prevent your body from entering 'starvation mode'. Your body is built to survive famine, maybe a little too well for our modern way of living. If you go too long between meals your body begins to go into survival (or starvation) mode - and any food you do give it is packed away as fat for use later, during the 'famine' that it expects.

So your second goal today is:

Try to eat 5-6 meals a day

Enjoy your regular 3 meals, but try to include a light, healthy snack between each meal, and replace your night time munching with a healthy snack. Cheese and crackers, an apple or other type of fruit, a bowl of yogurt or a granola bar - it doesn't have to be big, but it should be healthy and delicious. If you downloaded the tracking sheet I mentioned before, you'll notice it has space for you to track your meals as well! You can also find great snack and meal ideas in the 'Recipe' section on the right.

Enjoy your day, I hope you've learnt something, and I'll talk to you tomorrow!

Day 1 - Setting Your Goals

Whenever you decide to make a change in your life, setting goals is one of the best motivational tricks. However, they are also one of the worst pitfalls. People often, especially with weight loss, set unattainable or unrealistic goals. Worse yet is when they set intangible goals. What I mean by this is, for example, that the goal "I want to lose 100 lbs by this time next year" is very reasonable, but is too distant - a year is much too long to expect yourself to stay motivated without a reward. Then, because it was a realistic goal, the individual who set the goal feels even worse for having 'failed'.

Remember;

Goals are set to motivate you.

Not to define your success or to make you feel guilty.

When goals are used properly they can be one of your most valuable tools for weight loss and for obtaining a healthy lifestyle. They just have to be used properly. So that is what today is about; setting up and using goals.

1. Goals have no concept of pass or fail

The first thing I want you to do is forget about the concept of failure. You have already decided to make a change, so you have already succeeded; there is no failing now. You are on your way to a healthy life and no matter how long it takes you to reach your final goal you have succeeded. As long as your are on the path to a healthy life you have succeeded. Notice how I said 'on' the path, and not 'moving forward' on the path? No matter how bad of a day you've had, no matter how many Oreo's you've eaten, if you still want to make changes to your life and live healthily you're still succeeding. 

Goals you set have no concept of passing or failing. They are motivational tools, they make people work harder because it feels so good to accomplish what you set out to do. I'll say it again (at the risk of sounding like a broken record): goals do not define your success. They simply make it easier to achieve your desire to get healthy.

2. Realistic Goals

The next step is understanding what is realistic for you, in both the short term and long term. Right now I will focus on weight loss goals and as we learn more together we'll set more goals revolving around healthy eating, activity levels and more.

Let's first set up a long term weight loss goal. The best way to do this is to use your Body Mass Index (BMI). You can calculate yours here by typing in your height and current weight*. Use this number to then figure out where you lie on the spectrum:

Underweight = <18.5
Healthy weight = 18.5–24.9
Overweight = 25–29.9
Obesity Class I = 30.0 - 34.9
Obesity Class II = 35.0 - 39.9
Obesity Class III = 40 or greater

If you do not currently lie in the 'Healthy Weight' range then your goal could be to reach a BMI of 24.9. Or go ahead and plug in different weight values in the calculator, find one that you would like to see on the scale, and lies in the 18.5-24.9 range. This weight is now your long term goal. If you would like to learn more about BMI and Waist Circumference and the associated health risks, click here.

As for short term goals, we need to figure out the steps to get to your long term goal. Unless you know you work best with pressure do not set deadlines on your goals**. Think of them as milestones instead, and make sure you set enough of them so that there's always one just within reach. For example, let's take 'Zookes'. He is 200 lbs, and stands at 5'7 inches. Meaning his BMI is 31.3. A great set of goals for him would be;

Long term:

• Reach 130 lbs. (BMI: 20.4)

Short term:

• Get out of Obese category (190 lbs)
• Lose 20 lbs (180 lbs)
• Lose 30 lbs (170 lbs)
• Get out of Overweight category (159 lbs)
• Lose 50 lbs (150 lbs)
• Lose 60 lbs (140 lbs)
• Reach Healthy midpoint (135 lbs)

Write yours down somewhere. (You can be more creative then Zookes though, it doesn't have to jump 10 lbs every time) Stick them on your fridge, on the inside of your cupboard, on the mirror in the washroom. Somewhere where you can see your progress and be encouraged. 

3. Staying Motivated

Along with setting your goals you need to set up two very important things to stay motivated; rewards and accountability. Rewards will give you the incentive you need to meet your goals, and accountability will help you stay on track if you start to stray. One of the best ways to stay accountable is finding a partner to follow you on this journey. If you don't know anyone right now, you can sign up and I'll set you up with someone who has similar goals, so you can help keep each other going. Below is a list of other ways to stay on track.

Accountability

• Set up a blog. Post information about yourself, your progress, your struggles and your victories. It may even inspire others to start their own journey too. I'll even link it down in the Zookenberry friends section below, just comment below with your URL.
• Introduce yourself to the group. Send me an email with a quick intro and you could be one of the 'Featured Friends' below, or get your own post on the blog. You could also comment below with a quick intro.
• Find an accountability partner. Whether it is a personal friend, family member or one of us. As long as it is someone you trust and someone you know you can go to when you're having a rough day.
• Most important though is to be accountable to yourself. Put a sign up on your mirror, put a sticky note on your door, write your goals on the calendar, what ever will remind you that you've made a decision to be healthy. I have also found that a distinctive bracelet (or watch) will help too. Not only does it go everywhere you go, but people will ask you about it.

Rewards

• Use a weight loss meter
• Take measurements weekly (and post them on a blog!). If you want more information on how to take proper measurements, click here.
• Set the money you need for your favourite treat on your dresser (don't actually buy the treat until you've met your goal)
• You know yourself best for this section! What motivates you? Yellow polka dot bikinis? A picture of your kids? A trip to the movies? I'd love to hear your ideas!

4. Conclusion

That is all I want you to do for today. Set up your goals and your rewards, then find a way to keep yourself accountable. You can start using this tracking sheet to watch your progress. Find a bracelet, make a sign for the mirror or lock away your chocolate until you meet your first goal. Remember: everyone is different, what motivates you isn't what necessarily motivates the next person. Find what works, what gets you excited and what will push you when it's hard.

And don't forget to introduce yourself and let us know why you've started Zookenberry and what you're doing to make your life a little healthier! See you tomorrow!

*Disclaimer: This calculation has limitations, and does not factor in genetics, or all ethnic groups,among other things. Use with discretion.

**Especially right now, we'll go more into detail soon on healthy and realistic weight loss rates.