In the final of his three part New Year advice series, resident expert Sam Barden of SB-Fitcore discusses the laws of thermodynamics.
We have all heard people say "I’m eating less calories than the amount of calories I’m burning off, so how come I still can’t shift much weight?”… Basically there is an awful lot more to it and Sam tells us exactly what is happening to the calories we are taking in and how our body uses them.
We have all heard people say "I’m eating less calories than the amount of calories I’m burning off, so how come I still can’t shift much weight?”… Basically there is an awful lot more to it and Sam tells us exactly what is happening to the calories we are taking in and how our body uses them.
The last of my three fat loss articles for the New Year is focused on other factors for fat loss, rather than just the standard diet and exercise logic.
The laws of thermodynamics: Energy in, energy out.
EAT LESS AND EXERCISE MORE!!....? That’s what we are all told isn’t it? If you are greedy and lazy then you will be fat….right!? But, is it really that simple?
If it was, then surely we wouldn’t still have an obesity epidemic! If losing weight really was just a simple maths equation, then I like to think that, as a species, we are smart enough to work that one out!
“I’m putting fewer calories in my body than the amount of calories I’m expending, so how come I still can’t shift that weight?”…Sound familiar?
It certainly does to me because I can’t tell you how many clients have come to me with the same problem, telling me that they aren’t eating much and they are exercising more than ever but they aren’t losing weight. So what gives?
The laws of thermodynamics: Energy in, energy out.
EAT LESS AND EXERCISE MORE!!....? That’s what we are all told isn’t it? If you are greedy and lazy then you will be fat….right!? But, is it really that simple?
If it was, then surely we wouldn’t still have an obesity epidemic! If losing weight really was just a simple maths equation, then I like to think that, as a species, we are smart enough to work that one out!
“I’m putting fewer calories in my body than the amount of calories I’m expending, so how come I still can’t shift that weight?”…Sound familiar?
It certainly does to me because I can’t tell you how many clients have come to me with the same problem, telling me that they aren’t eating much and they are exercising more than ever but they aren’t losing weight. So what gives?
Well, the truth is, that there is far more going on both in and around your body than you may think. It’s not as simple as energy in, energy out and as a society we have learnt to live with this over simplified view of health.
Thermodynamics can tell us ‘what’ happens to those excess calories when they enter our bodies (i.e. they don’t just disappear into thin air, they are stored) but it can’t tell us ‘why’.
The law of thermodynamics assumes that we are ‘closed’ systems, with little to no interaction with other systems, other living organisms or the environment. We are viewed more like machines that burn energy like Bunsen burners. Well, this just isn’t the case. We are human beings who are very ‘open’ to other environments and interactive with all sorts of external factors that will affect how and why we use and store energy.
So what other factors are we talking about?
Stress… Physiological, psychological, nutritional, thermal, environmental and chemical stress. Our body needs a certain amount of stress in life, but too much negative stress will place too greater emphasis on the sympathetic nervous system and will place us in a ‘fight or flight’ state (release of cortisol = fat storage). We need to have the ability to regulate our stress in order to balance our hormones, which means focusing just as much on our parasympathetic nervous system (rest = release of melatonin = replenish & muscle gain).
Sleep cycles….Not enough good quality, uninterrupted sleep will lead to raised cortisol levels, yo yo’ing blood sugar levels, stimulation of insulin and lower melatonin (repair hormone) and lower growth hormone release (fat burning). Not good!! So the next time you go to bed, just note these few factors:
Did you go to bed after 10pm?
Did you eat a meal high in carbohydrates just before going to bed?
Did you need to get up through the night to pee?
Did you have night sweats?
Did you wake up still tired?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you might want to think about changing your sleeping patterns, because healthy sleep is so important and may do wonders for your fat loss goals. So, make it a priority.
Thermodynamics can tell us ‘what’ happens to those excess calories when they enter our bodies (i.e. they don’t just disappear into thin air, they are stored) but it can’t tell us ‘why’.
The law of thermodynamics assumes that we are ‘closed’ systems, with little to no interaction with other systems, other living organisms or the environment. We are viewed more like machines that burn energy like Bunsen burners. Well, this just isn’t the case. We are human beings who are very ‘open’ to other environments and interactive with all sorts of external factors that will affect how and why we use and store energy.
So what other factors are we talking about?
Stress… Physiological, psychological, nutritional, thermal, environmental and chemical stress. Our body needs a certain amount of stress in life, but too much negative stress will place too greater emphasis on the sympathetic nervous system and will place us in a ‘fight or flight’ state (release of cortisol = fat storage). We need to have the ability to regulate our stress in order to balance our hormones, which means focusing just as much on our parasympathetic nervous system (rest = release of melatonin = replenish & muscle gain).
Sleep cycles….Not enough good quality, uninterrupted sleep will lead to raised cortisol levels, yo yo’ing blood sugar levels, stimulation of insulin and lower melatonin (repair hormone) and lower growth hormone release (fat burning). Not good!! So the next time you go to bed, just note these few factors:
Did you go to bed after 10pm?
Did you eat a meal high in carbohydrates just before going to bed?
Did you need to get up through the night to pee?
Did you have night sweats?
Did you wake up still tired?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you might want to think about changing your sleeping patterns, because healthy sleep is so important and may do wonders for your fat loss goals. So, make it a priority.
Digestive function….No matter what your diet is like, and how much exercise you are getting, if you have poor digestion due to fungal infection or parasites then you aren’t going to be healthy….happy gut = happy you! (There is a very interesting study about the performance of squatting and the negative function we have adopted over the years for comfort with our westernized toilets which inhibits our bowl movement. I recommend you looking up ‘squatty potty’ on YouTube for a brief insight).
Toxins…other than food and water, what else are you putting in your body, and what goes into your body without you even realising it…air pollution?
Your body has to deal with all off these factors every day which may actually be hindering your fat loss goals.
So let’s look at the why factor!
Why might you struggle to lose weight when you are exercising more and eating less?
Your body isn’t stupid. Quite the opposite in fact.
If you live by the calories in, calories out rule, then your body just isn’t going to play ball! Your body doesn’t care if you can fit into those new jeans, and it doesn’t care that you have a holiday in 6 weeks which you have to look good for. It does care, however, about keeping you alive, at all costs!
When you starve your body of calories (calories in) your body does an amazing thing. It slows down your metabolism and stores fat because it assumes that it is in a famine, and it doesn’t know where or when its next meal is coming from. It goes into starvation mode….to save itself! It makes no sense for your body to crank up your metabolism, burning off all of your energy stores at an optimal level if it doesn’t think it has enough fuel to get through until there is enough to replenish its energy stores once again.
So, depriving your body of calories isn’t going to get rid of fat….quite the opposite!! There are plenty of ‘thin’,’ fat’ people out there, who may look like they have a small frame but the majority of the weight they are holding is fat tissue, so they will have high body fat percentage and low muscle mass, which isn’t healthy.
The next problem to those wanting to lose fat by increasing exercise output (calories out) is that as well as turning down your metabolism due to lack of calories, the second thing your body will do is increase your appetite! I’m sure you have all heard of the phrase, ‘to work up an appetite’, and that’s exactly what happens when you exercise. No matter who you are, or how much will power you have, eventually hunger will win over will power every time!
So now a person wanting to lose fat has an increased appetite (by exercising more), and a lower metabolism (by eating less)…….that doesn’t quite make sense?
To regulate our appetite and our metabolism so that they both work in our favour is going to be key to our fat loss targets. So how do we do that?
Toxins…other than food and water, what else are you putting in your body, and what goes into your body without you even realising it…air pollution?
Your body has to deal with all off these factors every day which may actually be hindering your fat loss goals.
So let’s look at the why factor!
Why might you struggle to lose weight when you are exercising more and eating less?
Your body isn’t stupid. Quite the opposite in fact.
If you live by the calories in, calories out rule, then your body just isn’t going to play ball! Your body doesn’t care if you can fit into those new jeans, and it doesn’t care that you have a holiday in 6 weeks which you have to look good for. It does care, however, about keeping you alive, at all costs!
When you starve your body of calories (calories in) your body does an amazing thing. It slows down your metabolism and stores fat because it assumes that it is in a famine, and it doesn’t know where or when its next meal is coming from. It goes into starvation mode….to save itself! It makes no sense for your body to crank up your metabolism, burning off all of your energy stores at an optimal level if it doesn’t think it has enough fuel to get through until there is enough to replenish its energy stores once again.
So, depriving your body of calories isn’t going to get rid of fat….quite the opposite!! There are plenty of ‘thin’,’ fat’ people out there, who may look like they have a small frame but the majority of the weight they are holding is fat tissue, so they will have high body fat percentage and low muscle mass, which isn’t healthy.
The next problem to those wanting to lose fat by increasing exercise output (calories out) is that as well as turning down your metabolism due to lack of calories, the second thing your body will do is increase your appetite! I’m sure you have all heard of the phrase, ‘to work up an appetite’, and that’s exactly what happens when you exercise. No matter who you are, or how much will power you have, eventually hunger will win over will power every time!
So now a person wanting to lose fat has an increased appetite (by exercising more), and a lower metabolism (by eating less)…….that doesn’t quite make sense?
To regulate our appetite and our metabolism so that they both work in our favour is going to be key to our fat loss targets. So how do we do that?
It’s all about hormones!!
Balancing your hormones (endocrine system) so that the correct messages are getting sent throughout your body on a daily basis is essential to health and getting rid of that unwanted fat.
Hormones are our bodies’ chemical messengers and they pretty much guide us through life. They wake us up in the morning and put us to bed at night. They tell us when we are hungry, sleepy, sad, happy, stressed….just about everything!
So it is important for us to have a hold on which hormones do what and why, particularly for fat loss.
Three important hormones that have an impact on fat loss are, leptin, insulin and cortisol.
Adipose tissue (fat) is made up of fat cells, and within those fat cells is a hormone called Leptin. Leptin works as a messenger to the brain communicating whether fat stores are low, high or at a normal level. This has a huge impact on our metabolism. Too little leptin storage will have a negative impact on our fat loss, however, too much leptin is even worse because you can become leptin resistant. This means that there is a breakdown in the communication system between your brain and your fat stores (via the thyroid gland); it is no longer active so you find yourself constantly storing extra fat because your brain assumes that you are low on fat stores, when you actually have too much fat and you will just continue to accumulate more and more as the cycle continues! If leptin levels are too low then cortisol is released lowering your metabolism and putting you back in fat storage mode. This also plays havoc with hunger levels, because low leptin levels will increase another hormone called ghrelin, which heightens your appetite!
Remember that increased cortisol (stress hormone) will result in increased insulin, and when insulin is up then we are back in fat storage mode!
Balancing your hormones will help regulate your blood sugar levels and insulin response so that you are in your optimal ‘fat burning zone’ and out of the hypo/hyperglycaemic yo yoing zone (energy kick-energy crash), which so many people find themselves in throughout the day.
Balance is the key to success!
So the next time you are looking at ways to shed that excess fat, try thinking laterally. I believe that we need to take a more holistic view on health and wellbeing. If you are constantly banging your head against a brick wall and getting the same negative results over and over again then surely it’s time to stop, take a step back, and think…..perhaps there is more to losing fat and being healthy than simply diet and exercise.
Step out of the box.
For more information on, holistic lifestyle training, sensible nutrition, functional movement and healthy living, please get in touch with me through my website: www.sb-fitcore.com
Balancing your hormones (endocrine system) so that the correct messages are getting sent throughout your body on a daily basis is essential to health and getting rid of that unwanted fat.
Hormones are our bodies’ chemical messengers and they pretty much guide us through life. They wake us up in the morning and put us to bed at night. They tell us when we are hungry, sleepy, sad, happy, stressed….just about everything!
So it is important for us to have a hold on which hormones do what and why, particularly for fat loss.
Three important hormones that have an impact on fat loss are, leptin, insulin and cortisol.
Adipose tissue (fat) is made up of fat cells, and within those fat cells is a hormone called Leptin. Leptin works as a messenger to the brain communicating whether fat stores are low, high or at a normal level. This has a huge impact on our metabolism. Too little leptin storage will have a negative impact on our fat loss, however, too much leptin is even worse because you can become leptin resistant. This means that there is a breakdown in the communication system between your brain and your fat stores (via the thyroid gland); it is no longer active so you find yourself constantly storing extra fat because your brain assumes that you are low on fat stores, when you actually have too much fat and you will just continue to accumulate more and more as the cycle continues! If leptin levels are too low then cortisol is released lowering your metabolism and putting you back in fat storage mode. This also plays havoc with hunger levels, because low leptin levels will increase another hormone called ghrelin, which heightens your appetite!
Remember that increased cortisol (stress hormone) will result in increased insulin, and when insulin is up then we are back in fat storage mode!
Balancing your hormones will help regulate your blood sugar levels and insulin response so that you are in your optimal ‘fat burning zone’ and out of the hypo/hyperglycaemic yo yoing zone (energy kick-energy crash), which so many people find themselves in throughout the day.
Balance is the key to success!
So the next time you are looking at ways to shed that excess fat, try thinking laterally. I believe that we need to take a more holistic view on health and wellbeing. If you are constantly banging your head against a brick wall and getting the same negative results over and over again then surely it’s time to stop, take a step back, and think…..perhaps there is more to losing fat and being healthy than simply diet and exercise.
Step out of the box.
For more information on, holistic lifestyle training, sensible nutrition, functional movement and healthy living, please get in touch with me through my website: www.sb-fitcore.com
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About the Author
Sam Barden is a personal trainer who runs SB Fit-Core, a home fitness service geared around functional core strength and stability. Sam has developed well rounded, core specific programmes used to improve and develop core strength and pelvic stability. By using a variety of multidirectional movements, all stemming from core recruitment, SB Fit-Core programmes will help improve balance, proprioception, stability and strength, giving the client a well-conditioned body, which will improve any athletes’ performance and vastly decrease chances of injury.
SB Fit-Core is a North Tyneside-based mobile fitness service. Sam has been in the industry for going on 10 years now and has helped many clients reach their exercise goals. He is a fully qualified personal trainer through Premier Training International.
You can visit the website by clicking here or contact Sam direct at [email protected]
SB Fit-Core is a North Tyneside-based mobile fitness service. Sam has been in the industry for going on 10 years now and has helped many clients reach their exercise goals. He is a fully qualified personal trainer through Premier Training International.
You can visit the website by clicking here or contact Sam direct at [email protected]