Fixing A Geezers Metabolism

This topic contains 2 replies, has 2 voices, and was last updated by diverdog 6 years, 3 months ago.

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diverdog

11:13 pm
2 Sep 18
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No doubt that diet is the main driver for fat loss but the right kind of exercise is key in the long run. I’ve boosted my RMR Resting Metabolic rate 21% in 13 months via increased muscle from resistance exercise (measure via gas exchange). It is also possible that my mitochondria are healthier / more plentiful. So I get to eat 21% more calories just to maintain my weight. My scale weight is exactly the same (175 lbs) but DEXA says I gained 20 lbs of muscle and lost 20 lbs of fat! I’m also much stronger and very energetic.

Yes the exercise was hard work but it was really worth it! I averaged 3 weight and one HIIT workout a week. My blood chems all improved as well with a fasting glucose of 69 and APO B ( bad dense cholesterol) down to 79.

I experimented with a variety of eating plans and fasting. I found that time restricted eating (10 hours) with a quarterly 5 day water fast worked best for me. Lots of veggies, good fats and about 150 G of protein a day (IGF-1 did not increase). Minimal sugar, fruit and starchy carbs. I did eat some fruit and or potato/ rice after working out to recharge glycogen. Every other day water fasting was the worse for RMR, it went way down after 4 weeks of that! I also lost some muscle and of course fat.

I’m 67 years old and was taking part in a study that will be published. Other male and female participants that did the work had similar improvements in RMR, muscle gain, fat loss, strength increase and improved key health indicators. All where over 40 YO. No one else in the group fasted.

The key takeaways are that intense weight training supported by good nutrition can increase metabolism and strength while reducing fat mass and improving key health indicators in mature adults.

I’m continuing with the program and will be tested again in 6 months.

dykask

12:37 am
3 Sep 18
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I’ve found the fasting has enabled me to improve my workouts. However it did take a few months for my body to adjust to working out in the fasting state. I lean towards HIIT and strength building a couple times a week. (Depends on the weather a bit.)

@driverdog your fasting blood glucose is very low, are you using a ketogenic diet? It seems you would be having some issues at that level of blood glucose if you don’t have a good alternate source of energy.

My LDL is also 79 and my HDL is up to 76. Almost more HDL than LDL, not sure what that means. I would have to look up the other values but basically everything except HDL was on the low side.

I do enjoy being able to eat healthy amounts when I’m not fasting. I agree long-term muscle building exercise is key. A few years ago I was leaning towards cardio and that didn’t seem nearly as effective.

It is interesting we are about the same weight … I’m normally bouncing around 80kg (176 lbs). I’m currently following 5:2 with two 36 hour water fasts a week, although I often push the fasts a bit longer. On NFD my eating window is typically 11 hours.

So hard exercise tends to push up the weight (in a good way) but seems to have immense benefits. I really enjoying being able to eat more!

diverdog

3:45 pm
3 Sep 18
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DY, I’m not eating keto but my diet is relatively low carb. I eat most of my high GI carbs immediately after working out to recharge glycogen. I do tend to go into ketosis quickly and I think the fasting I’ve done has trained my body to switch to fat burning rapidly.

I’m not fasting at all during a normal week now but I do eat less on non workout days and practice time restricted eating. At the end of a 3 month cycle I take a one week break from intense exercise and do a 5 day water fast.

I believe most Dr. and researchers think your high HDL is a good thing. The LDL we measured in the test is the small dense kind that are causal for plaque build up so the lower the # the better.