M3:D85 Metabolism

 

What's on my mind today?

Today I went to see a holistic nutritionist. He ran some computerized metabolic tests on me.  I did a resting test and a moving test.  It was amazing to see how it works.

First, he hooked up a mask around my mouth and nose and hooked that up to a computer via a tube.  He had me sit and read for 12 minutes.  All the while the machine was measuring how many calories I burn at rest and where those calories come from.  I will tell you the results in a bit.

He then had me move to the treadmill and had me on there for 15 minutes.  At the end he had me go into a recovery period.  The computer recorded everything.

I got some awesome news about my RMR (resting metabolic rate).  He says I am awesome at burning fat while resting. In fact, as I sat down my body was burning mostly sugar.  He says this is due to the flight response—you are in a strange place and a mask is on you and you're hooked to a machine, so you want to run!  As I relaxed I quickly turned to burning fat.  It turns out that if I went into a coma I'd burn 1939 calories.  Add to that the normal activities in a day (minus exercise) and I burn 2481 calories a day just by being myself.  It turns out that my maintenance level of calories (when you include exercise into the equation) is 3108.  No wonder I wasn't gaining muscle as fast as I should at 3100 calories!

The bad news is that my body doesn't do as well when exercising.  Ideally I would want to burn fat around a heart rate of 135, but I start at around 105.  He says that is way too low and needs to be adjusted.  He has given me a plan to adjust that.  Over time my body will adjust and I will start burning fat at a higher heart rate, which is the desired effect.  The bad news is that he doesn't want me running at all until I get that number up higher.  The reason is that running will raise my heart rate to a level where I am burning sugar instead of fat and that is bad.  For now I am supposed to do 2 cardio sessions a week where I go for 60 minutes (at least) and keep my heart rate between 105 and 115.  I am then supposed to do 2 more cardio sessions where I do intervals, but in a very different way.  He wants me to bring my heart rate up to 145 and then go for 1 full minute at that level, then slow down for 5 minutes until I recover to 105—that's one interval.  I am to do this for a full 30 minutes.  All of this is supposed to bring my fat burning level up higher (to around 135 where it should be).

He tells me that my respiratory recovery isn't so great (and that's part of why I burn fat too soon), but my heart is in tip top shape (thank God for that!).  The really shocking news to me is that he says if I am going for optimal fat burn, I should take longer rest periods during my weight training because my heart rate gets up too high and I start burning sugar and not fat.  He suggests lifting very heavy (yay!) and then taking a 3 minute rest before doing the next set.  I'm not so sure about that right now, but I will decide that over time.  If the cardio can do it for me I will ignore the weight part.

The final news I got is that my stomach Ph is too base and not enough acid.  As a result of this situation, I am not utilizing the protein I am giving to my body.  This is also another reason why I am not gaining muscle the way I'd like.  He suggested that I get Betaine HCL and take one caplet with every meal. This will help my body digest the protein I give it.  I am going to run out tomorrow and get myself Betaine HCL and then start taking it with every meal. 

He has asked me to adjust some things with my diet.  He wants me to take in 2 grams of protein per pound of LBM and then .8 grams of carbs per pound of LBM.  This adjusts my numbers drastically.  I will be at a new ratio of 20/50/30 and you will see this represented on my Accountability Log below.

All of this was very educational and exciting to me.


Accountability
 
Find out what I'm doing to my body!

Deadlifts are king again today!  I realized that I was not supposed to rest 2 days in a row during the week, so I changed it up.  Check this out!  25 minutes total, broken into sets of 3 reps with 30 seconds rest in between.  I handled it as follows:

Set #1  - 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #2  - 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #3  - 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #4  - 295 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #5  - 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #6  - 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #7  - 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #8  - 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #9  - 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #10 - 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #11 - 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #12 - 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #13 - 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #14 - 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #15 - 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #16 - 285 lbs. x 3 (30 seconds rest)
Set #17 - 285 lbs. x 7

Adding up the volume, I pushed 15,675 pounds during this workout!

What an intense, pumped up, incredible, energy charged workout!  17 heavy sets of my absolute favorite exercise in the world!  I left the gym pumped up to say the least.
 
Exercise the brain with the Thought of the Day!

Just when you think you have all the answers, someone shows you that you don't know a darned thing.
 
Get a discussion started by answering the question!

What do you think is slowing down your fitness goals?  Comment this post to answer the question.
 
 
 

Mission 1, Day 85: Making the tough decisions

Until tomorrow...GET BACK TO LIFTING!

Posted by Michael Mahony at 8/5/2008 9:15 PM
Categories: Weightlifting Logs, Nutrition, Old Missions
 
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  • 8/6/2008 3:45 AM Larry wrote:
    Michael,
    This is absolutely fascinating. Who knew one could get all this information. Sounds like it will enable you to dial in your nutrition and exercise plan to achieve optimal results utilizing the most efficient strategies. It is pretty exciting. Good luck with it. It will be interesting to see the impact in your progress now.
    Reply to this
  • 8/6/2008 4:19 AM Mike Groom wrote:
    Mike the visit to the nutritionist sounds intriguing and very interesting! Looks like you found out a lot of great information about yourself.

    mate, you certainly put in another huge effort with those deadlifts! That is awesome. I can only imagine how pumped you were at the end of that workout.
    Reply to this
  • 8/6/2008 5:46 AM Lilla wrote:
    Very interesting! Looking forward to hearing more. I would love to find a nutritionist like that near me. Can you share his name? I might call his office for local NJ recommendations.

    Good luck Michael. Sounds like you got a lot of insightful information and advice!
    Reply to this
    1. 8/7/2008 2:29 PM Michael Mahony wrote:
      Lilla, just go to http://www.newleaffitness.com and put in your zip code and see if they have a practitioner in your area.  Great stuff!
      Reply to this
  • 8/6/2008 9:17 AM Diane wrote:
    Hi mike: That is a cool test you took...should look into doing it...acutally thinking of visitng a naturopathic nutritionist. That is some serious lifting...why this style of workout?
    Reply to this
  • 8/6/2008 9:19 AM Shari wrote:
    Wow! What great info today! I'm really impressed with what your nutritionist told you.
    Reply to this
  • 8/7/2008 12:37 AM Ron wrote:
    Very interesting, Michael. That metabolic stuff is some fancy stuff. I'm sure it will help you fine-tune your training and nutrition.
    Reply to this
  • 8/7/2008 3:33 AM yourgratefulcyberfriend, christy wrote:
    Wow! That is so interesting. What amazing data to have a your disposal in order to create your own perfect plan. I LOVE IT! Are you at liberty to post details about how you found this place? Do they have any in LA?
    Reply to this
    1. 8/7/2008 2:29 PM Michael Mahony wrote:
      Christy,

      Go to http://www.newleaffitness.com and they have a locator that will locate someone who can do the exact same thing in your area.
      Reply to this
  • 8/7/2008 12:48 PM Lynda wrote:
    That is all so amazing you finding out about your fat burning etc. Where did you find that guy? At least you finally did find him, and now will probably have some good successes. In the raw eating, they talk a lot about the acid in the stomach, and that many people don´t have enough, hence problems. Glad you found an answer to that one! Have a good weekend!
    Lynda
    Reply to this
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