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.”

The post My Weight Loss Journey: Part 5 – Metabolism appeared first on WeFlex | NDIS Personal Trainer & Exercise Physiologist.

You Do Make Friends with Salad

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.

That led me to reconsider my diet. I began to investigate to see if there was any room for improvement.

As I’ve noted before, I initially planned to stick to a very strict intermittent fasting regime, where I would only allow myself to eat between 12:00PM to 8:00PM. I also set out to reframe from the usual suspects – sugary drinks, fast-food and sweets – the unhealthy top of the food pyramid.

However, while this strategy was effective in helping me avoid unhealthy foods, it didn’t necessarily ensure an explicitly healthy diet either. I still found myself eating high-carb foods which, though not as bad as processed fast-food or sugary treats, wasn’t necessarily the healthiest alternative either.

I started to cut down on high-carb foods such as white bread and pasta. I started incorporating more vegetables into my meals, which led to a newfound appreciation for vegetable soups and salads (see recipes below).

The change was noticeable.

I saw my weight dropping at a faster rate and I also began noticing other positive effects. I was feeling better about myself. I had more energy and had a more positive outlook overall, which made it easier to accept the new changes. It worked as the perfect incentive.

However, as I began to lose more and more weight each week, I started to get a little nervous. My newfound diet and exercise program was working… maybe a little too good in my opinion.

To be continued…

Recipes

Asian Salad 

You’ll need:

• A large, mixing bowl
• 1 cup of spinach leaves (thinly sliced)
• 1 cup of red cabbage (thinly sliced)
• 1 cup of green cabbage (thinly sliced)
• 1 cup of shredded carrots
• 1 large Spanish onion (thinly sliced)
• 1 small tin of corn kernels
• Salt to taste
• Dressing of your choice (I use honey Dijon)

Optional: Any extras you wish to include e.g., roast chicken, heated frozen squid, etc.

Method:

1. Add all ingredients into a large mixing bowl
2. Mix until satisfied
3. Enjoy!

Vegetable Soup

You’ll need:

• A large, steel pot
• Olive oil
• 1 large brown onion (chopped)
• 3-4 Garlic cloves, crushed (optional)
• Carrots (chopped)
• Green beans (chopped)
• Zucchini (chopped)
• Spinach leaves (chopped)
• Sweet potato (chopped)
• Potato (chopped)
• Pumpkin (chopped)
• Any extra vegetables you have (chopped)
• Soy sauce
• Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 liter of beef stock
• 2 sachets of bouquet Garni (still in the sachets)

Optional: Grain bread rolls with some butter. Cheese, roast chicken etc. for toppings.

Method:

1. Preheat the pot at a mid-high temperature
2. Add a slurp of olive oil
3. Add onions and garlic – stir until golden
4. Add all vegetables, beef stock, then the Garni sachets (make sure the sachets are not torn throughout the process)
5. Add a dash of soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce into the mix, as well as salt and pepper to taste.
6. Stir to perfection and wait until it starts boiling.
7. Once boiling, turn down heat to mid-low and let it simmer for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.
8. Carefully remove the Garni sachets from the pot
9. Once vegetables are soft, turn off the stove. You can either puree the soup if you would like too.
10. Add any additional toppings, such as cheese or roast chicken

The post My Weight Loss Journey: Part 4 – Diet and Nutrition appeared first on WeFlex | NDIS Personal Trainer & Exercise Physiologist.