I recently attended the NASM Optima Conference, where I took
a course on Biohacking Your Metabolism. Simply put, your metabolism is how your
body regulates itself from the inside out.
For an official definition, you can visit Google.com, which defines
‘metabolism’ as “the chemical processes that occur within a living organism to
maintain life,” or Dictionary.com, which defines ‘metabolism’ as “the complex
of physical and chemical processes occurring within a living cell or organism
that are necessary for the maintenance of life.” The two biggest factors which affect your
metabolism are your diet and exercise routines, however, simply changing these
things is not always enough. If you
exercise regularly and eat a nutritious diet, but are still suffering from a
lack of energy, excess weight, or any other metabolic issues, then you should
consider taking the time to biohack your metabolism. There are six different things you need to
consider when biohacking your metabolism - Sleep, Psychological
stress, Environment, Exercise, Diet, and Supplements. Think of the acronym SPEEDS to help you
remember.
Sleep
The most important factor to consider when looking at your
sleep is how much you get on a regular basis.
The average adult needs between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night, and
without proper sleep hygiene, your body will begin to resist the much needed
hormone insulin. Insulin resistance can
be temporary or increase to a more permanent state. You can get yourself out of
an insulance resistance state and getting enough sleep will play a factor in
that. Additionally, poor sleep hygiene
will alter the mental aspect of controlling your appetite. Appetite control is not just what you’re
feeling physically in your stomach, but also based upon what’s happening
mentally, and that comes directly from your sleep or lack of sleep. Far too often, people associate obesity
simply with diet and exercise, when in fact it has a lot to do with what’s going
on in your brain. We lead busy lives and
if we don’t put an emphasis on getting enough sleep then the reality is that we
just won’t get the amount needed for our bodies to function at their best. If
getting enough sleep is hard for you, work to make your sleep routine habitual
by Eliminating the use of tv, computers, and cell phones directly before
bed. While they may seem relaxing since
the physical effort to use them is very minimal, the screens on these objects
use a blue light which actually awakens part of our brain. You can also Incorporate relaxation
techniques, such as meditation or prayer, into your sleep routine or use the
supplements melatonin (start with 1-3 mg) and valerian root (450mg), which are
specifically for sleep. Your body will
absorb as much of these supplements as needed and excrete what it doesn’t need,
so you can start with the amounts above and increase a little at a time until
you find the right amount for you. Every
body is different, but making a few changes to your sleep routine can have a
bigger influence on your health than you realize.
Psychological
Stress
Psychological stress is linked directly to the chronic
hyperactivation (HPA) within our bodies.
Our bodies go through three different stages when dealing with Chronic
HPA. The first stage is our alarm reaction,
where our ‘fight or flight’ instincts kick in.
The second stage is resistance or adaptation. Our body tries to adapt to
the stress through hormone changes. You
may recognize this in the form of anxiety.
It’s important to know that even if you don’t outwardly recognize or
experience any symptoms, your body is still fighting to adapt to these changes
on the inside. The final stage in
Chronic HPA is exhaustion. This is when
your body decides that it cannot adapt anymore and is completely exhausted. When this happens, your immune function
becomes compromised because your resistance to stress is reduced. External factors will have a greater impact
upon you and are more susceptible to getting sick. Chronic HPA can cause visceral fat deposition
(the fat surrounding your organs), insulin resistance, impaired glucose
tolerance, altered lipid profiles and coronary artery disease. Psychological stress can affect you years
after the initial impact and it’s important to find ways to relieve and manage
this stress before it takes too much of a toll on your body. Activities such as meditation, prayer,
massages, acupuncture, and walking are all great and can be used to help your
body both during the stress as well as pre-emptively to combat the onset of psychological
stress.
Environment
Your environment refers to the products you use in and
around your home as well as on your skin.
Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are synthetic and can be found in
plastic, pesticides, antimicrobials, flame retardants, cleaning agents,
emulsifiers, and self care products such as lotions and makeup. It’s important to use items which are all
natural, or which use as little synthetic chemicals as possible. The Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org)
has created an App for your smartphone called Skin Deep, which rates products
to help you make informed decisions about using different brands and the
pros/cons associated with using it. This
app is convenient because it is simple to use and the research is already done
for you. Please don’t look around you
and suddenly stress out, thinking you need to replace everything you use with a
more natural alternative at once. Take
it little by little and assess one part of your life at a time. Think about your environment and keep this in
mind when purchasing new products.
Exercise
As a personal fitness trainer, I could talk about exercise
and the benefits it has on the body all day long, and often I do. (wink,
wink) I will keep this short, as
biohacking your metabolism is really intended for those who already have a
regular exercise routine going, and it’s just not enough. The one thing I want you to keep in mind when
exercising is your resting metabolic heart rate (RMR). Keeping this elevated, keeps things working,
and the best way to keep it up is through weight training. Cardio exercises will boost your RMR and keep
it up once you’re done exercising as well.
If you are not already lifting weights then you need to be. Get in touch with me and I can certainly get
you started lifting weights regardless of your fitness level.
Diet
As we examine how our diet affects our metabolism here, I
want you to think about the environment from which your food comes. Non Organic produce is treated with
pollutants and pesticides, which are poisons used to kill the bugs. These pesticides (or poisons) are
proinflammatory within your body, causing cell damage and producing free
radicals. Thin skinned produce will absorb the pesticides and pollutants more
than those with thick skin, so when you’re purchasing, think about the
thickness of skin on your purchase. If
able, refer to this list, known as the Dirty Dozen. These foods carry the highest amount of
pollutants and pesticides and should always be purchased organic: celery,
peaches, strawberries, apples, blueberries, nectarines, bell peppers, lettuce,
cherries, kale, potatoes, grapes. On the
other hand, the following produce is categorized as the Clean Fifteen and is
okay to purchase non organically: onions, avocados, corn, pineapples, mangos,
peas, asparagus, kiwi, cabbage, eggplant, cantaloupe, watermelon, grapefruit,
sweet potato, and honeydew melon.
Regardless of whether or not your produce has thick or thin skin, it’s
always important to wash your produce before consuming. Remember that even if you’re not eating the
skin, you will be cutting through it, and can cross contaminate your produce if
you don’t wash the pesticides off first.
If your current diet isn’t working for you, make sure that you are
getting enough macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) throughout
the day. You should have protein at each
meal or snack, as it is essential for the body and easily overlooked.
Supplements
There are several different supplements that you can take
daily to improve your metabolism. 200mg
prn of L-theanine, 400-500mg of green tea extract, and whey protein are three
supplements that I use personally. The
professor who taught at NASM also recommended 300-500 mg of Ashwagandha and 500
mg of berberine. It is always important
to do your own research on anything you are putting into or onto your body, but
I can definitely vouch for the three supplements that I use. You want to add
one or two into your diet at a time, so you know if it is or is not working
well and then you can add more or take away from there.
I can certainly understand that there is a lot of information provided here, but, the truth is that the body is a complex machine that works similarly with most but definitely not the same for all. Please, don’t hesitate to reach out if you have further questions. I want you to best understand your body so you can optimize your health and live life to it’s fullest!
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