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Power Up!
We all know what happens when there's an energy crisis: There's chaos. Think back to the long lines at the gas stations in the 1970s. Or a city-wide blackout. Or when just one Christmas light goes and the whole strand blows right along with it. One small problem, issue, or incident triggers a domino effect that has lasting effects.
That's really what's happening when you can't maintain your energy levels, which may eventually lead to a major short-circuiting of your energy system. These kinds of massive energy drops are ultimately an energy crisis in your body, much like having a blown fuse in your body that needs to be reset. The most common causes of lack of energy are commonly detected the old-fashioned way - and you can make the diagnosis with a little help but in the absence of denial: not enough sleep, too much food, too much saturated fat and sugary foods, too much stress, not enough fun and passion in life, and an infection or other chronic disease (even chronic sinusitis).
Once your resilience is gone, you're more prone to being attacked by bacteria, viruses, or fungi. Even the ensuing insomnia and stress that comes as a result of those attacks can wear down your adrenal glands, creating a vicious cycle where smaller and smaller problems cause progressively larger challenges until you experience a complete health shutdown.
The Metabolic Syndrome is a group of symptoms lined to poor metabolic health that include abdominal obesity, abnormal blood fats (high cholesterol and triglycerides and low HDL), elevated blood sugar and high blood pressure. Other problems include whole-body inflammation, poor blood vessel health, free radical damage and blood clotting abnormalities. Obesity and insulin resistance are an epidemic in America, and scientists are scrambling to determine the causes.
Lack of exercise and poor diet are obviously targets, but inadequate sleep is another candidate. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals - in a review of literature - concluded that poor sleep habits due to sleep apnea, sleep deprivation and shift work may contribute to the Metabolic Syndrome and insulin resistance. The link sets up a vicious cycle, wherein inadequate sleep promotes the Metabolic Syndrome, which makes sleep problems worse. Americans are hardworking people who don’t get enough sleep. More sleep might help us lose weight. (Experimental Physiology, 92: 67-68, 2007)
So what can be done to stop this metabolic slowdown caused by low calorie dieting and the dreaded fat loss plateau that follows? Here are 5 great tips!!
- Lose the pounds slowly.
Slow and steady wins in long term fat loss and maintenance every time. Rapid weight loss correlates strongly with weight relapse and loss of lean body mass. Aim for one to two pounds per week, or no more than 1% of total body weight (ie, 3 lbs per week if you weigh 300 lbs).
- Use a higher energy flux program.
If you are physically capable of exercise, then use weight training AND cardio to increase your calorie expenditure, so you can still have a calorie deficit, but at a higher food intake (also known as a “high energy flux” program, or as we like to say in Burn The Fat, “eat more, burn more.”)
- Use a conservative calorie deficit.
You must have a calorie deficit to lose fat, but your best bet is to keep the deficit small. This helps you avoid triggering the starvation response, which includes the increased appetite and potential to binge that comes along with starvation diets. I recommend a 20% deficit below your maintenance calories (TDEE), a 30% deficit at most for those with high body fat.
- Refeed.
Increase your calories (re-feed) for a full day periodically (once a week or so if you are heavy, twice a week if you are already lean), to restimulate metabolism. On the higher calorie day, take your calories to maintenance or even 10, 15, 20% above maintenance and add the extra calories in the form of carbs (carb cycling). The leaner you get, and the longer you’ve been on reduced calories, the more important the re-feeds will be.
- Take periodic diet breaks.
Take 1 week off your calorie restricted diet approximately every 12 weeks or so. During this period, take your calories back up to maintenance, but continue to eat healthy, “clean” foods. Alternately, going into a muscle building phase if increasing lean mass is one of your goals. This will bring metabolism and regulatory hormones back up to normal and keep lean body mass stable.
Why do some cultures live longer and healthier with lower rates of diseases like diabetes, cancer, and Alzheimer’s? The answer may simply be the foods they eat every day, so why not give them a try?
- Sweet Potato
The women of Okinawa, Japan (who also happen to be the world’s longest living ladies) enjoy a purple sweet potato they call Imo every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Rich in beta-carotene and boasting 150% more antioxidants than blueberries, this easy-to-make treat can be simply incorporated into an American diet. And, if you can’t find Imo specifically, our orange sweet potatoes pack a similarly healthful wallop.
- Turmeric Tea
You usually see the yellow spice turmeric in Indian curries, giving them their characteristic color. But those long-lived ladies of Okinawa slurp this spice in tea daily (and they have one-fifth the rate of breast cancer than their American counterparts). Studies have shown that turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant that can help fight cancer.
- Mangosteen
This sweet, tropical fruit originally from Indonesia has made its way onto supermarket shelves in the United States. Hidden inside a thick purple rind that you cut open, is a white, creamy flesh full of vitamins A and C as well as cancer-fighting antioxidants. If you can’t find the fruit, the juice of the mangosteen, which is more widely available, is the next best thing. This is also available in tea form.
- Mustard Greens
In Icaria, Greece, 1 in 3 people lives to the age of 90, making the Greek island one of the areas designated as a “blue zone,” where people enjoy superior longevity. There are also no cases Alzheimer’s disease reported there despite many people living to a ripe old age. One of the nourishing foods they enjoy are mustard greens. High in vitamin K (most Americans are deficient in this nutrient), the spicy greens are good for your blood and bone strength. Try them as the Icarians do: boil and then toss with a little virgin olive oil and lemon.
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5. Barramundi Fish
If the Barramundi fish were a human, he would be a tree-hugging, salad-loving vegetarian. The Barramundi, hailing from the coast of Australia, eschews his fellow fish, dining on plankton instead. That means he doesn’t load up on mercury-packed smaller fish and has extremely low levels of the toxin, which is especially important for pregnant women. Free of mercury, but full of heart- and brain-healthy omega-3s, the Barramundi, which is becoming more popular in the US, is a shoe-in for one of the top 5 superfoods. Bonus: the white meat is light, flaky and delicious.
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