This is apart of a series of articles written by Jackson Trout. To read previous instalments,
click here: Part 1 – Introduction , Part 2 – Getting Started, Part 3 – The Bike, and Part 4 – Diet and Nutrition
Keep “Spinning That Wheel”
After the first few weeks of adding the exercise bike into my routine, I began noticing the kgs beginning to drop. I went from 112kgs to 111kgs, then 110kgs, and onwards.
As I watched this positive change happen, I also began to wonder what other alterations I could include in my weight-loss program to assist me even more.
As the weight began to shed, I couldn’t help but taunt my brother by sending him weekly updates on my weight loss – 111kgs, then 110kg, then 109kg! It was like a ticking time-bomb, counting down to 103.
I began noticing my weight dropping on days I didn’t even exercise, or go on the bike, and it didn’t take long before my hypochondria crept in, convincing myself that something had to be up. This consistent weight loss couldn’t possibly be due to my new exercise regimen.
I scared myself into thinking I possibly had a terrible disease, where one of the symptoms was dramatic weight loss. This tempted me into overeating and to stop exercising to try and purposely regain the weight I was now afraid of losing.
Doubt had crept in, and I was about to give up everything – everything I had worked for – until my brother, Tom, stepped in and saved me. He explained to me the laws of metabolism, something I didn’t know anything about.
I was just about to give up everything, everything I had worked for, until my brother – Tom – stepped in and saved me.
After I explained to him my concerns, my brother explained to me the laws of metabolism, something I didn’t know anything about.
As he put it;
“In a nutshell, your metabolism is the process of your body converting what you eat into energy it requires to operate. Everything your body does requires energy, even things like thinking, breathing, urinating as well as more obvious things like moving and playing. Too much food and your body doesn’t use all the energy, which it stores as fat. Not enough food and your body starts making decisions on where the limited energy goes – resulting in feelings of fatigue and other issues.”
“The amount of energy your body needs or the rate at which your body uses (and therefore requires) energy is known as your basal metabolic rate. What your body needs from an energy standpoint to function normally. When you regularly exercise the requirements of your body – again even just to exist, goes up. You also have more muscles to provide energy to! Your body wants more energy as it is used to exercising more. So, your BMR goes up. The higher your BMR goes up, the more of ‘kilojoule furnace’ your body becomes.”
In other words, think of metabolism like a wheel that you spin manually. You spin it around and around, faster and faster. Overtime, it begins to spin so much that you can stop spinning it manually and it will continue on it’s own.
As you exercise more and more regularly, and consistently, your body burns fat at a much higher rate, even on days you don’t exercise. Much like a spinning wheel, eventually it slows down, and your metabolism will lose momentum unless you exercise regularly. You’ve got to keep “spinning that wheel.”
