The Magic Metabolism Boost (after it plummeted) When I Hit Forty-Four

My metabolism has dramatically staggered since hitting forty-four. I must admit I didn’t believe it would happen I thought was immune however it caught me too. I have also noticed a change in my personal confidence and keeping my body on track has been extremely difficult.  But not all is lost…

I’ll share in brief factual detail what I believe is my current body secret. This new b.body regime is proving to give a fulfilled healthy balance, true body love, maintained strength, bone health and happiness while ageing with confidence. 

Before we go forward – Let’s go back a few years to explain in raw reality – as an ex. female athlete training provided me with a natural and ‘some what’ high level of testosterone due to the amount of training being completed. Exercise is a natural booster of testosterone especially a consistent and intense resistance training regime. At this time my progesterone was also balanced and the pre forty-four production of estrogen was in a normal level. 

Add some years in age, two growing teens (negotiations daily- stress), less time (run off my feet meaning 4 am sessions), life experiences that come with age (a divorce), new thoughts of body love (because ‘I love me for who I am so who cares’; ‘I like my life alone’), the enjoyment of champagne and social events (dating), and the most compelling and often forgotten factor – zero amounts of clean sperm /testosterone from a partner (due to single life and more on this in coming PODCAST) … so let’s say the body has adapted in a way that surprised me. 

Due to these factors my body production of progesterone has decreased and my natural testosterone levels are becoming non-existent. Yet I knew there was a genuine way to overcome the muscle weakness caused,  the pre-menopause and high oestrogen belly and those feeling of … when I was under 40 .. sad face I feel like this… sigh!  I know many of you understand this feeling.  Therefore the seeking of the counter production began…

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All this being said the ‘sparking of a tame metabolism‘ is possible and the endless chase for many is as easy as making regular, consistent, high intensity training sessions daily to evoke a natural progesterone production and slowing the estrogen levels. The fact is a speedy metabolism depends on several things and unfortunately for women our metabolism tends to be a little lacklustre in comparison to men who cultivate a faster metabolism, even while resting. (Cue eye roll) While we can’t control it due to age, gender, genetics, life choices or the inability to find a lover or life partner – all is not lost as there are many ways to spark up our metabolism and boost our body composition.

Number ONE and most effective is: building muscle with an active resistance weights session. When we lift weights, microscopic damage occurs to the myofibrils within the muscle fibre. These micro tears stimulate the body’s repair response. The body delivers boosted nutrients within blood flow to stimulate the muscle cells to repair. The increased number of myofibrils causes a rapid kindle to the muscles increasing metabolic rate.  Therefore the resting metabolic rate is much higher in people who train with weights and expend blood to the muscle at a higher intensity rate. After a session of strength training, muscles are activated all over the body, raising our average daily metabolic. To maintain the boost switch it up by varying the weights routine as it will give the biggest metabolism improvement.

Aerobic exercise can also accelerate our metabolism. The key is to increase the intensity with speed variance. A high-intensity exercise delivers a rise in the resting metabolic rate as opposed to low or moderate workouts. To get the benefits, try a more intense walk with burst of running intervals.

I personally count my running steps in 2’s for 200 steps and then walk or try a gym class like a RPM (cycle class) this is a supportive intense aerobic alternative. I have recently swapped up my session to completing a walk and HITT session in the morning and a short sharp afternoon session of 40 minutes of resistance training.  I have added one session of class lead yoga and a massage every second week without fail.

In conjunction with exercise the flushing of toxins with hydration of clean water is key. If we are mildly dehydrated, our metabolism can slow down. To stay hydrated, drink a glass of water before and after every meal and snack.

A critical part of our metabolic expenditure is our food lifestyle – the most valuable part of every healthy body therefore avoiding highly processed foods is imperative. Avoid the YOLO (you only live once) indulgence mindset of eating (as it is shoved in your face through the media currently – remember it is not a healthy food or consumption lifestyle). As we are all aware in order to provide high energy and clean blood around the body the fuel placed into the system must be wholesome, eaten regular and allow the body to feel well after consumption.

Other metabolism helpers include introducing spice into the food regime, powering up with lean proteins in all meals and adding a black coffee to benefit the short-term rise in our metabolic rate. Try the recharge of drinking green tea or oolong tea as it also offers the combined benefits of caffeine and has proven to rev up the metabolism for a spark of time also.

Healthy testosterone levels are also important for women, along with other key hormones such as estrogen and progesterone. For women, hormone balance involves two key hormones: progesterone and estrogen. When both of these are in the body at adequate levels, the body will run optimally, however, it’s when estrogen becomes too high (or progesterone get’s too low), a woman will find herself in a state of ‘oestrogen dominance’, which can cause chaos on several bodily functions. One of which is the body’s ability to maintain its ideal weight. Everyone should take the necessary lifestyle steps to optimise these hormone levels. This will improve our health and body at the same time.  

I did use a bio nutrients – progesterone booster from Byron Compounding Chemist for a few months to aid in moving forward as I struggled to maintain normal levels of testosterone (as I could not produce it nor was benefited from a lover to maintain it) for hormone balance. Please see the team at Byron Compounding for more information.

With all these metabolism promoters initiated the first and best place to begin is an active resistance weights program and below are the 10 most essential 5-8kg hand weight program to provide that spark up!

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The Daily Body Metabolism Booster for over 40’s

Push up with plank row and climbers x 10

Walking lunges x 20

Squat press x15

Split Squats x10 each leg

Sumo squat x10 each leg

Wide leg taps x10

Abdominal toe taps x20

Core twist x20 

Step ups x 10 each leg

Flutter kicks x 30

For an even better ‘spark up’ complete the a 3-4 minute run & walk (set your timer) in between the set OR at the end of 3 rounds.

See B.Body Boost for full program – only $5.95 ebook

Healthy Reboot DEAL$9.90 – b.BODY BOOST and BIWABW ebooks

 

Health and Happiness,

b.x