Yesterday I consumed 3300 calories and 82 grams of fat. That is probably more than I should be eating given my current level of exercise. I think the only reason that I get away with it right now is my relatively fast metabolism. We of course all know lots of people that eat like that every day and seem to have gotten away with it for their entire lives. Their reason is different than mine. While it is still metabolism, there are people who are fortunate to have been born that way. There seems to be little doubt that an individuals resting metabolic rate has a genetic factor. It is an advantage that doesn't exist in the Rooyakkers family, or perhaps more accurately the Scheepers family??
What is also considered scientifically acceptable aside from the parentage factor, is that the ability to burn calories while at rest is lower in women than men, and that it lessens as we age. Interestingly enough those 2 factors are really one and the same. They are related to body composition. Women generally have less muscle than men, and for both genders muscle tends to evaporate as we age.
Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your perspective, muscle is doing stuff even while we are sitting on the couch, while fat is just sitting on the couch!
There are of course other physiological factors that effect ones metabolism, a common one being hypothyroidism. I feel very much for those individuals as they simply have a tougher row to hoe than the rest of us.
Regardless, it is generally accepted by the experts that for just about anyone, in any circumstance, building muscle mass positively affects our metabolic rate. And to add wonder to wonder, as we gain muscle and then feed it properly it eventually becomes a viscous cycle. Build muscle, eat more! Eat better, build more muscle, etc. What really amazes me as I see more and more examples of this is how little you really have to do to make a difference. What it does however take is time, which is probably why I resisted adhering to this very same advice when Claudette gave it to me 20 years ago. It will not happen over night, but for most people it will indeed happen if one sticks with it. Of course the gender factor makes it a bit tougher for women but then they're generally tougher anyway are they not? And of course it becomes more and more crucial as we age that we maintain that muscle, especially if you started out with the wrong genetic makeup.
So that's my lecture for today. Get a set of dumbbells and start doing "something" with them. It doesn't really matter what. And if your name happens to be Rooyakkers and you don't have any dumbells, that can only be because your kids have all moved out of the house!!
Tomorrow a little about the calorie burning the hard way....with exercise.
Today I got back in the pool for the first time and I am excited to start on my new-new approach to swimming. I will focus exclusively on fixing my body position and stroke technique before I do any amount of continuous swimming.
Tomorrow I go for my first ever yoga class and that should be a hoot as well. I have no idea what to expect.
And after today's lecture I also promise that tomorrow I start back in the weight room....I am a convert!
I already learned one thing from my calorie counting exercise. Strawberries....they are amazingly low in calories and I actually enjoy them. It may the the only fruit that still tastes good to me.
(swim drills, ride 45 kms)
A lecture is an occasion when you numb one end to benefit the other."---John Gould
What is also considered scientifically acceptable aside from the parentage factor, is that the ability to burn calories while at rest is lower in women than men, and that it lessens as we age. Interestingly enough those 2 factors are really one and the same. They are related to body composition. Women generally have less muscle than men, and for both genders muscle tends to evaporate as we age.
Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your perspective, muscle is doing stuff even while we are sitting on the couch, while fat is just sitting on the couch!
There are of course other physiological factors that effect ones metabolism, a common one being hypothyroidism. I feel very much for those individuals as they simply have a tougher row to hoe than the rest of us.
Regardless, it is generally accepted by the experts that for just about anyone, in any circumstance, building muscle mass positively affects our metabolic rate. And to add wonder to wonder, as we gain muscle and then feed it properly it eventually becomes a viscous cycle. Build muscle, eat more! Eat better, build more muscle, etc. What really amazes me as I see more and more examples of this is how little you really have to do to make a difference. What it does however take is time, which is probably why I resisted adhering to this very same advice when Claudette gave it to me 20 years ago. It will not happen over night, but for most people it will indeed happen if one sticks with it. Of course the gender factor makes it a bit tougher for women but then they're generally tougher anyway are they not? And of course it becomes more and more crucial as we age that we maintain that muscle, especially if you started out with the wrong genetic makeup.
So that's my lecture for today. Get a set of dumbbells and start doing "something" with them. It doesn't really matter what. And if your name happens to be Rooyakkers and you don't have any dumbells, that can only be because your kids have all moved out of the house!!
Tomorrow a little about the calorie burning the hard way....with exercise.
Today I got back in the pool for the first time and I am excited to start on my new-new approach to swimming. I will focus exclusively on fixing my body position and stroke technique before I do any amount of continuous swimming.
Tomorrow I go for my first ever yoga class and that should be a hoot as well. I have no idea what to expect.
And after today's lecture I also promise that tomorrow I start back in the weight room....I am a convert!
I already learned one thing from my calorie counting exercise. Strawberries....they are amazingly low in calories and I actually enjoy them. It may the the only fruit that still tastes good to me.
(swim drills, ride 45 kms)
A lecture is an occasion when you numb one end to benefit the other."---John Gould
Love
Peter
Great info. Thank you for that. And yes weight with hypothyroid and being a woman is a tough battle to conquer and can be mastered with discipline.
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