It is time to get uncomfortable.
You are spoiled. You have it too easy. You have gotten soft. Today’s modern conveniences are great, but sometimes they may be doing more harm than we realize.
There are a million cliches out there, but anything you truly want to achieve, will not come
easy. Not only will it not come easy to you, the only way to get it is to get out of your comfort zone. You have to do things you won’t like doing. You may learn to like them eventually, but nothing will ever change if you are not willing to change.
Change is hard for many reasons. Mainly because as much as you may want something, we fear change more. Losing fat and getting in shape is relatively easy. But so is eating junk food and watching TV. In my experience, those that get uncomfortable more often and do things that scare them a little (or a lot) will always get the best results.
Sometimes we suffer from paralysis by analysis, where we have so many options or so much information, we can’t figure out what to do next. So I thought about this. This post is what came out of it. First you need to be uncomfortable. The more uncomfortable the better. When you do this consistently, things seem to happen.
For example, in the past I was terrified of public speaking. I was incredibly shy and couldn’t stand being in front of people talking. I quickly realized though, if I wanted to make a name for myself in the fitness industry, I would need to get over it. So I started working as a professor in the Exercise Science department at Miramar College. I just needed practice. Then I started working for Exercise Etc., where I would present education material to other fitness professionals. I eventually became the Director of Education and have been featured in articles on Shape.com, Women’s Health, and Prevention. Over coming this fear lead to opportunities I never would have had otherwise.
So here is what I want you to try. You should do 3 things every day for better health and better body composition. If you can’t do them every day then do it as many days of the week as you can. These are sweat, shiver, and be hungry.
This might sound weird, but these are 3 key components that you should try and integrate into your regular routine. I will start with the first two. Modern conveniences like heating and air conditioning may seem pleasant, but they may be screwing up our bodies. Before these inventions our body had to deal with the environments and learn to adapt. With moderate temperatures all year round (especially for us living in SD) our bodies do not have to work very hard. Let means less caloric expenditure, which means less fat loss.
Without getting into too much science, when you are cozy and comfortable your body doesn’t have to work very hard to maintain balance. When you are cold or hot your metabolism will have to kick it up to bring you back to balance. I’m not saying you have to join the polar bear club, but a little cold to make you shiver will go a long way.
Shiver
There is some evidence that when you shiver you are activating something called brown fat. Brown fat which is normally found in infants, is an incredibly metabolic tissue, meaning it burns white fat tissue (which is stuck to your hips and thighs). So by shivering you will burn that stubborn fat. Don’t run into the cold and expect to get ripped all of a sudden, but doing this on a regular basis will certainly help with a good diet and exercise plan.
Another benefit of shivering is that this will increase glucose usage and may lower your blood sugar levels. So if diabetes is a concern this may be a way to fight off the disease (again along with a proper diet and exercise plan).
So to get your shivers in you can get outside early in the morning when it is still chilly and hang out for 10-15 minutes. Strip down into your bare essentials if necessary. You could take a short cold shower, jump into a cold pool, or take a dip in the ocean. It doesn’t seem to matter how you do it but try and have some portion of your day covered in goose bumps.
Sweat
I am not going to spend too much time on sweating. This just means move so much you start sweating. You should be breaking a sweat most days of the week, preferably with an exercise program. This should be simple enough. If you need help here, contact me and we will get you in for a workout and show you what you need to do in order to sweat.
Be Hungry
And finally, be hungry. Yes you should feel hungry if you are trying to lose weight. If you are never hungry it probably means you are eating too much and your brain is not signaling you to eat any more. In order to lose weight you need to be in a caloric deficit, meaning you eat less calories than you burn.
You body will fight back when you do this and make you feel hungry. I always tell clients that complain about being hungry that it is a sign you are on the right path. Hunger levels will improve the longer you do this, but you always should have a point or two during the day in which you feel hungry.
When you have extra fat on your body your leptin levels will be higher. As you start to lose fat, leptin levels fall and a signal is sent to the brain to make you feel hungry. Then you eat more, gain the fat back and all is normal again.
So that hunger feeling you are getting is a sign that you are starting to burn fat off. Hunger is your body’s way to try and make you get back to your comfort zone and put that weight back one. So embrace your hunger. You are doing something right. Do not starve yourself so you binge at your next meal though. Simple get to the point of hungry and eat until satisfied, never full.
There you have it. Sweat, Shiver, and Be Hungry. It is a simple concept but harder to implement. Start with one and slowly add in more. If you can do those three things every day you are off to a great start.