Burn Fat & Boost Energy Levels
For todays article I want to discus how to burn fat and boost energy levels, primarily focusing from a nutritional lens..
• In the United States it’s estimated that one in three adults are obese while another one in three are overweight. The world health organization defines obesity levels of having a body mass index greater than or equal 30, while being overweight is greater than or equal to 25. An approximate 32.6 million Americans are living with type 2 diabetes and 88 million people suffer from pre-diabetes, THIS IS A THIRD OF THE POPULATION!
• Carrying too much fat while having low levels of muscle mass compromises our health and energy levels. If your struggling with excess body fat I want you to give yourself some sympathy. Not many people are educated enough on what makes a meal nutritious, many individuals are tricked into thinking that certain foods are healthy due to the food pyramid scandal. Lastly the world has evolved to be obesogenic. It means that by existing today the default destiny for most individuals (over 70%) is to be overweight. It has become more cultured to carry more body fat than it is to live at a healthy body weight. The causation is rather simple, there is an abundance of cheap high calorically dense foods that are designed to stimulate your neurotransmitters and bamboozle your brain into craving more food. In other words the causation is ultra processed foods. Our society loves to judge those who carry more weight and the last thing I want to do is judge anyone who is struggling.
Obesity & Sarcopenia Dangers:
• Obesity is linked to having 18 comorbid diseases which includes type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, strokes, heart failure, osteoarthritis and many forms of cancer. On a global scale, obesity is responsible for over 5% of all deaths and almost half of people who are obese die directly from it. Being obese also comes with quite the price tag from all the medications and hospital visits. The U.S. health care cost for obesity is estimated to be at 340 billion which accounts for 28% of health care spending.
• Evolution has made our ability to store fat as protective mechanism during times of overeating and in times of fasting or famine but we are limited in our abilities to store fat safely. Carrying too much body fat results in inflammation which causes fatigue in 3 ways. One of them being is that it alters and stops neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin to reaching the brain resulting in lack of motivation and enthusiasm for life. Inflammation is a signal to our bodies that we need to conserve energy so that the mitochondria helps in fighting whatever infection we may have. Fun fact mitochondria does more than just supply our cells with energy but it also acts as a defense mechanism to fight off any infections that we have residing in our bodies. When inflammation is dissipated, the mitochondria can put most of its focus into supplying our body with energy instead of focusing on fighting off infections.
• Obesity is often the big talk of discussion and not enough attention is brought into being too skinny. Suffering from Sarcopenia which is a condition being too thin and having little muscle mass is equally destructive for our bodies just as much as it to being overweight according to Kathy Katella of Yale medicine who specializes in the field of journalism for health and medicine. A study that collected over 189 other studies across 32 countries revealed that being too thin can cause equal risk of death as carrying around excess fat. Our muscles are a vital regulator of metabolism and aids in our prevention of chronic illnesses. Muscles supply our body with life that enable us to function efficiently and allows for our metabolism to remain healthy.
The goal for a healthy body is to lose fat and build lean muscle mass. Studies have shown us how effective modest weight loss improves our quality of life and physical function.
• When we dive into this journey of weight loss the goal isn’t necessarily to drop weight, but to drop fat levels. The focus is losing excess fat and gaining muscle.
PROTEIN:
• For one you have to upgrade your protein levels. Protein is your best friend like white on rice. Its the only macronutrient that helps to support lean muscle growth while also maintaining and repairing damaged muscle tissues. Of all the macronutrients such as carbs and fats, protein has the highest thermic effect. In lenience terms, it means that protein is the hardest for your body to digest, which allows your body to burn more calories at rest. When our body digest and breaks down protein, amino acids are left behind that are transported to different muscles and organs across the body. Apart from muscle repair and growth, protein does wonders to the satiety centers of the brain that help regulate your appetite. This is why the carnivore diet is such a weaponized diet for those who are overweight looking to trim down. Eating enough protein at every meal is always the goal. Thomas Wycherley, a professor in nutrition and sport science from University of South Australia discovered that consuming 1.1 to 1.6 grams of protein led to more fat loss, less muscle loss, and greater satiety levels. You might be asking yourself what protein sources should I be focusing on. When we’re thinking of high quality protein sources think of lean cuts of steak, lean grass fed ground beef, chicken, turkey, greek yogurt, eggs, and salmon. DO NOT LISTEN TO ANYONE WHO SAYS RED MEAT AND EGGS ARE BAD FOR YOU. They provide you with copious amounts of vitamins and of course they are incredibly rich in protein.
PLANT BASED PROTEIN:
• For my plant based family it’s important to note where you’re getting protein sources from. The trick with plant protein is that you normally have to consume a lot more than if it were to come from animal based sources. Foods like legumes and grains come with more calories than the protein they provide and this can be an issue if your goal is to restrict calories to some degree. It’s very easy to overeat on plant protein and as a result gain more fat rather than lean muscle.
Studies have found that humans also don't digest proteins from plants as well as we do from animal based protein sources. Compounds in the plants such as anti nutrients that prevent protein digestion. Keep in mind that these anti nutrients do not mean harmful what so ever. If you are plant based and struggling to meet your protein goals dont be afraid to implement plant based protein powders. The protein is extracted straight from the plants and doesn’t come with a price of a heavy caloric load. If your prioritizing your protein to come from whole foods add a variety of soy products such as tempeh, tofu, and my favorite edamame. Other sources include cooked grains like quinoa, oatmeal, buckwheat and wild rice.
FIBER:
As vital as protein is with your meals, it’s important to note that protein isn’t everything when it comes to losing fat and boosting energy. It’s important for us to also load up on fibrous vegetables. Veggies are rich in fiber because they’re mostly made up of water which helps increase satiety levels. Eating greens at the start of your meal can help reduce your caloric intake for the entire meal because your stomach has already started to stretch and delay its emptying. Have you ever wondered why whenever you go out to a restaurant the first thing, they bring you is bread? This is a strategy they use to make you order more food because bread is a simple carb, and your body processes it into sugar which elevates blood sugar levels and in return makes you hungrier. When we think of fibrous vegetables we should be thinking about broccoli, artichokes, eggplant, spinach, mushrooms, and kale. These veggies will not only increase your satiety, but it will improve your gut microbiome but that's a topic for another episode.
NUTRITION ASIDE:
• Apart from just nutrition there are other factors that contribute to boosting your energy flux and burning stubborn body fat. The biggest contributor to energy improvement is sleep. Sleep should be a priority in your daily life and because of social media sleep has been painted in a negative light and that sleep is robbing you of your grind. I beg you don’t listen to those who say stop sleeping and start hustling. Go to bed early so you can start your hustle early the following day. Sleeping releases hgh (human growth hormones) that help with athletic performance, muscle growth and appetite control.
• Do your best to get in atleast 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity per week. According to Harvard studies, at least 20 minutes of low to moderate aerobic activity three days a week can siignificantly boost energy levels and help ward off body fat.
Conclusion:
• Finally some people might tell you that in order to lose weight or burn fat you should eat less and move more. Eating less is going to be difficult especially if your not active and working with a reduced caloric intake. Eating less means that you might not be able to get all the nutrients your body desires. So lets change the saying to eat more and move more.
• The key thing here guys is to eat whole foods and put your focus on having minimally processed foods. It’s good for us to eat the ice cream, the fries and the shake but all within moderation. I dont want you to think too hard about whats the perfect diet because there is no one size fits all. Personally I love meat, vegetables, fruit, rice and pastas so i find that the mediterranian diet fits perfectly for me. For you it might be different, but stick to minimally processed whole foods and you’ll see the sheer amount of benefits they provide for you.