Chicks Don't Want Fat Guys

Man, to get beautiful girls you have to LOOK GOOD! To get a chick with a Hot Body, you need to have a hot body too. For us guys that means being lean and mean.  Girls don't want fat men, its as simple as that.  But don't despair.  Despite the continued popularity of diet books, cutting-edge research continues to show that the key to losing weight is not cutting carbohydrates, counting calories or even superhuman willpower, it's stoking your body's own natural fat-burning furnace...

So why can't you loose weigh?  You would be surprised how many men use the excuse of having a slow metabolism, yet when pressed, they have no idea what a metabolism even is. Then they say something like "I'm dieting, exercising and not losing weight. What else could it possibly be?”

Once the nearly exclusive property of scientists and researchers, thanks to the excessive popularity of diets, “the metabolism” has come to enjoy near rock-star status. People have become aware that they “have” a metabolism and much like one’s political affiliation, they enjoy placing significant importance on it without much need to understand what it does or means to them. So what is a metabolism? 

Well from the technical perspective, metabolism is all chemical processes that occur within a living organism. This includes the “building-up” and “breaking-down” of your body on a cellular level, technically referred to as anabolism and catabolism. Put more simply it is the process by which your body combines nutrients with oxygen to produce the energy required to keep you running. The nutrition you consume is like fuel for an engine, it’s the fuel that ignites when it mixes with oxygen (think carburettors) to create the energy and power for living. A calorie is a measure of the energy which nutrition produces when it’s “burned” by your body.

Our body’s primary source of energy is our blood sugar (glucose), which is most readily supplied by carbohydrates. When your blood sugar runs low, the process of metabolism turns to either your protein or fat stores for energy. Conversely, when your blood sugar runs high, the process of metabolism stores excess “energy” by turning it into body fat to be used another time. All too often that time never comes and instead people continue to store excess energy in and around their bodies.

What is my metabolic rate? Well it is the speed at which your metabolism runs.  When people speak of having a slow metabolism they usually mean a slow metabolic rate.  The metabolic rate can be measured in two quite different ways.  Firstly there is the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) which has received the most attention even though it’s the most technical of the two measures and very rarely used outside of a laboratory or hospital.  Then there is the Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) which is typically taken under less restricted conditions than BMR and does not require that the subject spend the night sleeping onsite prior to testing. Despite BMR’s prestige in diet support groups, RMR is more appropriate for your needs and is a more accurate estimation.

Both BMR and RMR are snapshots of your body’s processes that are used to project the total calories you would burn if you were to do nothing but resting for 24 hours. The resulting number represents the minimum amount of energy required to keep your body functioning, including your heart beating, lungs breathing, and body temperature normal. That’s all. No walking, exercising or even the energy required for eating is included in these baseline numbers.

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What is much more valuable and interesting is to have a good idea of how many calories your body utilizes in a day. This requires the addition of two other measures: unrestricted physical activity, the amount of energy the body uses during daily through exercise and general physical activity or movement throughout the day; and the thermogenic value of food which is the energy required to assimilate food, converting it to energy to support you. So what you’ve really got here are three separate yet connected ways in which to influence how much energy (calories) you burn each day; your metabolic rate, the amount of activity you do each day and the food you eat.

While it’s interesting to maximize your RMR, I’m sure you’d agree the potential and immediate effect you can make with exercise has a strong allure, as does the types and amount of food you eat. Ultimately it’s up to you whether your activity level and how you eat is working for or against you.  Some studies indicate that a sedentary lifestyle explains as much as 70% of the difference in weight gain between older and younger people and researchers have clearly demonstrated that the vast majority of any noticeable decline in metabolic rate is a result of the loss of lean muscle mass (“sarcopenia”). And this loss of lean muscle mass is the result of inactivity.

For the most part, people justify an increase in weight as they age as a result of a “natural slowing of their metabolism.” Many simply accept this as a given, a part of “getting older.” And to some degree this is correct. Starting near age 30, it’s common for many people to begin experiencing a decrease in metabolic rate. The youthful figures of the 20’s slowly start morphing into something we once poked fun at.

While they are correct about their metabolism slowing down, there’s a critical error in the belief systems most of these people, a critical error which if understood could free them from this too willingly accepted “fate.” The truth is that it’s not really age but neglect which is the cause. As our bodies age they become less efficient in how they operate, which could actually be a good thing in terms of metabolism (less efficient = more energy needed for same output) if it were not for the fact that our energy requirements tend to drop many times more. It’s my feeling that the drop in metabolism, and overall energy, has been far too easily accepted as a “normal” part of life.

Research has shown that people, well into their 90’s, are able to add muscle mass through strength training at the rate of a 25 year old. Now, I’m not suggesting that you wait until you are 90 to start, but I think this important discovery illustrates that one need not lose their lean muscle as they age.

The most common reasons metabolism slows with age are:

• Lean muscle loss due to the lack of strength training and exercise
• Eating fewer and larger meals
• Allowing your activity levels to decrease
• Making poor food choices, consistently
• Living a lifestyle that involves chronic levels of stress

So how can we increase our metabolisms? Clearly, you can see that it is not a fundamental law of physics that your metabolism decreases with age. In fact, a slowing of your metabolism is more commonly the result of lifestyle. It could be an extreme diet that triggers your body’s starvation reflex, a chronic level of stress, eating the wrong kind of foods in excess, or toxic environments. And, of course, loss of lean muscle and a less active life are metabolism killers at any age.

All you have to do is take a look at our lifestyle and cultural trends over the last five decades to find ample cause for the epidemic of obesity. Kids stare at video / computer games rather than engage in real life activities. Adults become couch potatoes. It’s truly a wonder people aren’t exploding in front of their TV sets. The good news, the place you want to focus your energy, is that you do have a choice. You can lose weight, gain muscle and live a healthy, free and strong life.  Or you can wait until you hear the loud pop! Which will it be? It’s your choice and your responsibility. No one can make you live well.

So can you truly boost your metabolism? The answer is a resounding, “Yes! Absolutely!” Next question... “What’s the easiest, quickest way to do that?”

Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the desire for a “faster metabolism” really just another way to say, “I’d like to be leaner, stronger and have more energy?” Sure it is...that’s the goal. And while the focus on metabolism is effective for marketing purposes and makes interesting cocktail conversation, the real, life changing value is in putting it all together for the results you really want. Seeking quick-fix metabolism boosters can be at best, frustrating, at worst extremely detrimental to your health.

Truly understanding how to elevate your metabolism in a healthy, energizing way, now and for life is key to the lean, strong and energized body of your dreams. Once you’ve become the proud new owner of this wisdom all that’s left is the small technicality of  actually “doing it.”

In their new ebook, “The 7 Easy Steps To Ignite Your Natural Fat Incinerator” Shawn Phillips & Tom Bilella will show you how.