Stronger Faster | Journey through Fitness | Day 1

 “Muscles Grow Only if They’re Forced to. Same is true for us.”

 

Welcome to the first installment of my fitness journey blog series! Stronger Faster | Journey through Fitness. I am thrilled to share my personal experiences, insights, and the valuable health-related information I've gathered along the way. Join me as I take the first steps towards transforming my life through fitness and prioritizing my well-being.

In this series, I aim to document the challenges, triumphs, and lessons learned as I embark on this transformative path. From workout routines and nutrition tips to mental health and overall wellness, we will explore a wide range of topics that contribute to a holistic approach to fitness.

Whether you are a fitness enthusiast or a beginner like me, this blog series will offer a wealth of resources, practical advice, and inspiration to help you on your own journey. Let's embrace a healthier lifestyle, one step at a time, and discover the incredible impact it can have on our physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

The Science of Fat Loss:

 

Science of Tools for Fat Loss

• large number of people have too high body fat percentages
• Most people struggle to lose fat
• lot of controversy in the information available online
• The discussion about fat loss has vastly overlooked 
• the role of the nervous system, neurons, and
• some of the cells they collaborate with, like glioma and macrophages,
• in encouraging accelerated fat loss.
• Calories in versus calories out
• meaning how many calories you ingest versus how many calories you burn
• is the fundamental and most important formula in fat loss
• Highly processed foods change the way we utilize food 
• can lead to higher incidences of obesity.

 

• Attack the Fat
  • Cold exposure
  • Brown fat
  • Beige fat
  • NEAT
  • Hormones

 

Powerful Tools for Fat Loss

• The nervous system and the role of the brain 
• neurons govern everything
• are the on switch and the off switch for fat burning.
• The following are science-based tools that are powerful for fat loss:
• Cold exposure: activates brown fat and beige fat.
• Brown fat: 
• burns energy to generate heat
• is activated by cold exposure
• Beige fat: burns fat to generate heat 
• can be activated by cold exposure and exercise
• NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis): 
• moving throughout the day, such as fidgeting or standing
• can burn calories and increase fat loss.
• Hormones: insulin and leptin play a role in metabolism

 

 Foundation of Health

• Quality and sufficient sleep is essential.
• Essential fatty acids are vital to many aspects of health
• EPA you ingest levels should be above 1000 milligrams per day.
• Food source: fatty fish, grass fed meat, plant sources
• Neurons crave essential fatty acids and amino acids can lead to sugar cravings.
• Glutamine can reduce sugar cravings and improve symptoms of leaky gut.
• Food source: cottage cheese, etc
• Gut microbiome should be healthy.
• Thyroid hormone and metabolism should be supported 
• through sufficient iodine and selenium.
• Food source: Kelp - iodine, Brazil nuts - selenium

 

• 5 Pillars of Metabolism
  • Sleep
  • Essential Fatty Acids
  • Glutamine
  • Microbiome
  • Thyroid

 

Impact of Belief

• A study showed that belief can impact the effects of exercise on weight loss.
• study by Alia Crum at Stanford
• subjects who were hotel service people
• Divide them into two groups:
• One group were told that
• moving around = meet the standards for US guidelines for activity
• second group was given a bunch of information 
• about how their daily routine was very good for cardiovascular health
• it could be good for weight loss
• simply being told that movement is good for you 
• can lead to weight loss led to
• significantly more body fat loss, waist-to-hip ratio changes.
• Simply by the knowledge 
• that movement and exercise can help various health markers
• how we think about a given set of activities 
• affects how we perform those activities.
• how we think about & perform those activities 
• has a real effect on our physiology

 

 Controlling Fat Loss

• Fat loss is governed by a hard and fast rule: 
• if you ingest more calories than you burn, you'll gain weight
• If you ingest fewer calories than you burn, you'll lose weight
• Belief effects can change physiology in ways that can be beneficial.
• The burn factor is one of the most important factors in fat loss.
• Fat utilization is a two-part process: 
• fat mobilization and
• fat oxidation or utilization.
• Lipolysis is the process of fat mobilization
• Stored fat has a fatty acid 
• part that your body can use and is attached to glycerol
• The nervous system can control thermogenesis
• which is the intensity of the furnace of our body
• Dinitrophenol is highly fatal 
• if your body temperature goes too high
• your metabolism includes things like 
• thyroid hormone and growth hormone
• Your body temperature and the way you utilize energy 
• is controlled by your nervous system.
• change the relationship between these neurons and the fat of your body 
• in ways that can powerfully accelerate fat loss

 

Leverage Points for Fat Loss 

• Leverage points for fat loss 
• the nervous system, hormones, and uncoupling proteins
• Hormones that can affect fat loss 
• insulin, cortisol, thyroid hormone, and growth hormone
• Uncoupling proteins can increase thermogenesis and fat loss
• Cold exposure can increase thermogenesis and fat loss.
• Exercise can increase thermogenesis and fat loss
• High-intensity interval training (HIIT) 
• can be more effective for fat loss
• than steady-state cardio
• Resistance training can increase muscle mass & metabolic rate
• leading to increased fat loss

 

Mobilization and Oxidation of Fat 

• To burn fat
• backbone between glycerol and fatty acids needs to be broken
• by an enzyme called lipase
• The mobilization of fat 
• involves getting fatty acids moving around
• in the bloodstream and out of fat cells
• Oxidation involves 
• converting them into energy by moving them into the mitochondria
• The nervous system controls both 
• the mobilization and oxidation of fat
• with neurons releasing chemicals that provide a stimulus
• for fat to be mobilized and burned
• Epinephrine (adrenaline) is released from neurons 
• connected to fat and stimulates fat oxidation.
• The process of mobilizing and oxidizing fat is local 
• not just governed by hormones

 

Activating the Nervous System for Fat Loss

• Movement is a powerful way 
• to stimulate epinephrine and
• promote more fat mobilization and oxidation
• Shivering or Fidgeting
• Subtle movements are effective
• in increasing fat metabolism and fat loss
• Fidgeting 
• form of rocking or shifting from foot to foot
• small movements
  
• boosts the number of calories burned by 38% (compared to lying down or sitting)
  
• burn anywhere from 800 to 2,500 calories
• more than the control group in experiments
• triggers epinephrine release from neurons
• works best for people who are averse to exercise
• Simply moving around a lot
• even if they are subtle movements
• greatly increases the amount of energy burned
• Studies have shown 
• incorporating fidgeting into daily routines can lead to
• considerable amounts of fat loss and weight loss

  

Cold exposure 

• can increase metabolism and fat loss
• activates brown fat and
• converts beige fat into brown fat
• Brown fat 
• allows it to take food energy and
• convert it into energy within the cells
• Cold exposure causes the release of adrenaline 
• from the adrenals and
• epinephrine from neurons that connect to fat
• Cold exposure can be used to build mental resilience

 

The correct protocol for cold exposure

• Most people use cold exposure 
• by taking cold showers or
• getting into cold water
• The correct protocol for cold exposure 
• is to use it in short, intense bursts
• example: taking a cold shower for 30 seconds or
• doing a cold plunge for 2-3 minutes
• The correct protocol should be used 
• in conjunction with exercise and a healthy diet
• Cold exposure can be dangerous for certain individuals
• such as those with heart conditions or low blood pressure

 

Other tools for fat loss

• interval training
• alternating between high-intensity exercise
• periods of rest or low-intensity exercise
• resistance training
• using weights or bodyweight exercises
• to build muscle and increase metabolism
• a healthy diet
• include a balance of protein, healthy fats, and
• complex carbohydrates,
• should be tailored to individual needs and goals

 

Shivering

• important for brown fat thermogenesis
• triggers the release of succinate
• which acts on brown fat
• increase thermogenesis and fat burning
• Cold exposure through 
• cold water, an ice bath, or
• a cold day can induce shivering
• The goal is to get the shivers

 

Cold exposure protocol for fat loss optimization

• Find a temperature that is just cold enough to be uncomfortable.
• Get in until you start to shiver genuinely.
• Get out and wait for 1-3 minutes but don't dry off.
• Get back in for 1-3 minutes and try to access the shiver point again.
• Repeat this process 3 times in and 3 times out.

 

 

Factors that dictate shivering

• The temperature of the water
• Find a temperature 
• that is just cold enough to induce shivering
• but not hypothermic
• caused by prolonged exposures to very cold temperatures
• Some people tolerate cold better than others
• so find a temperature that is uncomfortable
• Proceed with caution 
• get approval from your doctor before engaging in cold exposure

 

Cold adaptation can reduce shivering 

• Repeated cold exposure can lead to cold adaptation
• reducing the adrenaline release from cold exposure
• The cooling and rewarming process 
• induces shivering
• is important for brown fat thermogenesis
• The goal is to induce shivering through cooling and rewarming 
• to trigger brown fat thermogenesis

 

Brown Fat 

• Babies have an excess of brown fat  
• because they cannot shiver
• to warm themselves up in cold environments
• Exposure to cold environments or shivering 
• can increase the amount of brown fat
• Epinephrine and succinate may have the effect 
• of increasing the amount of brown fat cells
• by converting beige fat cells into brown fat
• Cold is a powerful tool for fat loss
• but becoming cold adapted will reduce the fat burning effects

 

Cold Exposure

• Using cold exposure is a potent stimulus for fat loss
• Use the minimal effective stimulus to promote growth
• Increase cold exposure in smaller increments 
• to get the most fat loss and increase in metabolism
• Using cold exposure to accelerate fat loss 
• for certain periods and
• then stopping for 2-3 months at a time is recommended

 

Until tomorrow.

Stay Fit. Be Stronger.
Set Big Hairy Audacious Goals.

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