Ask John Henry: Metabolism
Hey everyone!
Hope everyone is surviving the heat wave and staying cool. Remember to drink your water! 64 ounces is the minimum I recommend to anyone, but on hot days like we've been having, make sure and get more in as you lose alot through increased perspiration without even realizing it. Also, drinking water increases your metabolism and helps you burn body fat! Yes, this is true! To find out why this is, make sure and come to my seminar on June 17 or June 21, "You Are Not a Victim of Your Metabolism, You Are The Creator!" Sign-up on the events page. I will be talking about water, good vs. bad carbs, calorie-restriction and cardio-only exercise programs and how each either boost or slow down your metabolism.
Here is the first question, and a very good question at that, that ties into what my seminar next week is about. If this question sounds like you, I better see you next week!
"Dear John Henry,
I've tried so many diets over the years and nothing really seems to work. I don't like going hungry and feeling deprived! I also have tried "working out" by doing cardio 3-4x per week but it doesn't seem to do much for my waistline which seems to be growing wider every year (yes I am a woman over 40!) I'm at the point now where I guess you could say I've given up the fight and am significantly overweight and out of shape. I'm a little intimidated by gyms and the idea of weight training sounds unrealistic for someone like me. I don't even know where to start. Help!
Feeling Defeated
South Euclid"
Thanks for the question "Feeling Defeated". It is a great question and I want you to know that you are not alone. Unfortunately, I hear similar versions of your story from many, many people. My first advice is don't give up! You've got to find that will power deep within and use it to take yourself to the next level mentally and physically. Next, you need the correct information about fitness and nutrition so you can make the correct choices when it comes to your workouts and eating. No, there are no quick fixes to losing weight and keeping it off. People follow "diets" all the time and end up where they started or worse off, feeling like they are failures. You are not a failure! Again, you just need to learn the correct info so your efforts aren't in vain and you have lasting results.
Everything I teach to my members and clients about fitness and nutrition is about incorporating it into a lifestyle. And it takes practice, especially the nutrition. Water is the base of my nutrition program. 75% of your body is water and 75% of your muscles are water. We need to keep replenishing water to your body and muscles all day long to maximize your muscles' fat-burning potential. MUSCLE, which may be a shock to most of you, IS YOUR METABOLISM! One pound of "activated" muscle tissue burns 50-75 calories (mostly fat calories) per day at rest! That is correct! One pound of fat burns 1-2 calories per day at rest. No other tissue in your body has the capabilities to burn calories like that other than muscle. By "activated" I mean weight training and proper nutrition. Cardio does not "activate" muscle like weight training does. Cardio is a great complement to the fat-burning process when done at specific times, but it does not maximize fat-burning potential. I know this comes as a huge shock to many people reading this. The media, and unfortunately the medical society, pushes cardio too much, when strength training needs to be talked about first, then cardio. And that is probably why you are intimidated by gyms. It is much easier to go walk outside or on a treadmill than begin to know what to do with dumbbells or weight machines. Find a trainer who can show you the proper techniques and keep you on a weight training program 3 days per week to start. Compound weight training exercises, that use many muscles groups at once, such as squats or chest press, are great exercises to start with. They "activate" many muscles at once at help you to start burning that body fat more efficiently so you can begin to C-REEL RESULTS! And once you start weight training, you will begin to FEEL EMPOWERED rather than defeated. It takes much more mental concentration to lift weights than to do most cardio and you will begin to C-REEL RESULTS that will last a lifetime.
Be Strong,
John Henry
Send your own "ASK JOHN HENRY" question to johnhenry@c-reelresults.com.
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