Motion against entropy

Ragnar

Member
Posts: 7
I am coming up o 63 and 218 lbs. Both numbers are increasing. The first is inevitable, the second isn’t. Am on a quest to bring 218 down to 180 by June 30, 2025. Am doing “90 days of action”. Day 2 done.
 

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Damer

Administrator
DAREBEE Team
Warrior Monk from Terra
Pronouns: He/Him
Posts: 861
@Ragnar first of all welcome to The Hive :welcome:. Second, you're 100% correct. Just because we chronologically get older doesn't mean that biologically we also need to. Moving your body consistently and being patient are key to rolling back the biological clock. However, your target is extremely hard to reach for reasons I will explain here. You want to lose 38lbs in seven months (and Christmas is a really difficult time of the year to do that due to the social pressure to have more sweets, maybe more alcohol -if you drink- and they're all counterproductive to weight reduction). To lose that weight you need to consistently lose 5.42lbs per month.

Even if you consistently and accurately practiced calorie restriction in that time so that you were always in a calorie-deficit you wouldn't hit your target because your body would go into shock thinking that it's starving and your metabolism would slow down so even your calorie-restricted diet would make you add (or at best, maintain your weight). We have a guide to metabolism here.

The way you propose to do it you would also increase muscle. And since muscle is heavier than fat at the same volume the chances are that your metric of reaching a certain weight by a certain date would work against you, not for you. Basically you're asking your body to change composition which requires energy while at the same time losing fat at a rate which would make it feel like it's starving.

The problem is the ancient mechanism that runs us. It's just not geared for our modern calorie-rich environment.

This isn't to say there are no things you can do. There are three things that make us functionally young and in control of our body:

  • Strength
  • Range of motion
  • Cardiovascular and aerobic fitness

If we have these three things then age is just a number. We can do whatever the heck we want with our body. If we have these three things we also tend to be more active so our weight is optimized.

This should also give you the fitness protocol you need to follow:

  • Be consistent. Train every day regardless.
  • Be persistent. Work towards things you can't do by getting better at the things you can.
  • Be patient. It takes time to change our body. You need to be kind to it, and yourself.

If you follow these three things you must also provide:

  • Sufficient stimulus for change. Up your intensity every now and then, test your limits.
  • Sufficient food for energy and rebuilding. Muscles need energy to grow. The body only allocates energy for building strength and maintaining tissue when it feels it has enough energy to do that. Watch what you eat, reduce refined sugar and alcohol in your diet and, if possible, substitute meat and dairy with plant-based alternatives every now and again.
  • Sufficient rest. We only get stronger and our body only repairs its tissues, when we sleep. Making sure you get good quality sleep and on days when you're still recovering from a tough workout have a back-up: do a yoga-based one from our collection or stretching.

Don't give up, don't feel disheartened and please keep us informed of your progress if possible.

I hope this helps.
 

Ragnar

Member
Posts: 7
@Ragnar first of all welcome to The Hive :welcome:. Second, you're 100% correct. Just because we chronologically get older doesn't mean that biologically we also need to. Moving your body consistently and being patient are key to rolling back the biological clock. However, your target is extremely hard to reach for reasons I will explain here. You want to lose 38lbs in seven months (and Christmas is a really difficult time of the year to do that due to the social pressure to have more sweets, maybe more alcohol -if you drink- and they're all counterproductive to weight reduction). To lose that weight you need to consistently lose 5.42lbs per month.

Even if you consistently and accurately practiced calorie restriction in that time so that you were always in a calorie-deficit you wouldn't hit your target because your body would go into shock thinking that it's starving and your metabolism would slow down so even your calorie-restricted diet would make you add (or at best, maintain your weight). We have a guide to metabolism here.

The way you propose to do it you would also increase muscle. And since muscle is heavier than fat at the same volume the chances are that your metric of reaching a certain weight by a certain date would work against you, not for you. Basically you're asking your body to change composition which requires energy while at the same time losing fat at a rate which would make it feel like it's starving.

The problem is the ancient mechanism that runs us. It's just not geared for our modern calorie-rich environment.

This isn't to say there are no things you can do. There are three things that make us functionally young and in control of our body:

  • Strength
  • Range of motion
  • Cardiovascular and aerobic fitness

If we have these three things then age is just a number. We can do whatever the heck we want with our body. If we have these three things we also tend to be more active so our weight is optimized.

This should also give you the fitness protocol you need to follow:

  • Be consistent. Train every day regardless.
  • Be persistent. Work towards things you can't do by getting better at the things you can.
  • Be patient. It takes time to change our body. You need to be kind to it, and yourself.

If you follow these three things you must also provide:

  • Sufficient stimulus for change. Up your intensity every now and then, test your limits.
  • Sufficient food for energy and rebuilding. Muscles need energy to grow. The body only allocates energy for building strength and maintaining tissue when it feels it has enough energy to do that. Watch what you eat, reduce refined sugar and alcohol in your diet and, if possible, substitute meat and dairy with plant-based alternatives every now and again.
  • Sufficient rest. We only get stronger and our body only repairs its tissues, when we sleep. Making sure you get good quality sleep and on days when you're still recovering from a tough workout have a back-up: do a yoga-based one from our collection or stretching.

Don't give up, don't feel disheartened and please keep us informed of your progress if possible.

I hope this helps.
Wow, thank you for that wealth of knowledge and very tactfully conveyed. I tend toward unbridled optimism: you shoot for stars and hit reality… hard and with my mulish head. I will take in your very thoughtful advice.
 

Ragnar

Member
Posts: 7
Wow, thank you for that wealth of knowledge and very tactfully conveyed. I tend toward unbridled optimism: you shoot for stars and hit reality… hard and with my mulish head. I will take in your very thoughtful advice.
Wow, thank you for that wealth of knowledge and very tactfully conveyed. I tend toward unbridled optimism: you shoot for stars and hit reality… hard and with my mulish head. I will take in your very thoughtful advice.
Regarding diet, I am where I am weight-wise because I like to eat and I always could do so without packing on the pounds. That too has changed with age. Add to that, I am really bad at sleeping. You mentioned nudging my diet toward more plant-based eating. I have tried that and it makes me absolutely miserable. I feel weak, almost to the point of having to sit down when I do vegan. If on the other hand, I stick to a paleo/keto diet, I feel satiated and don't get cravings. I'm even considering a carnivorous stint. My real weakness is bread and boy, if I eat bread, it bypasses my digestive system and runs through the calorie multiplier next to the spleen and then deposits itself on my hips and gut.
 
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