EFR 540: Prioritizing Sleep, Diet, and Training for Fat Loss, How to Increase Satiety, and Male Metabolism and Testosterone Dips After 30
In this solo episode, Chase answers your questions from a recent Instagram Q&A. He discusses which is best to prioritize for fat lass; sleep, diet, or exercise? How can you increase your satiety to feel fuller longer? And what happens to males after the age of 30 regarding their metabolism and testosterone levels?
Tune in for detailed insight into managing your sleep, diet, exercise, and nutrition!
Follow Chase on Instagram @chase_chewning
How would you rank these in order of priority for Fat Loss: Sleep, Diet, Exercise?
In any case, sleep comes first. Then comes diet, followed by exercise.
Sleep - This is when your body is essentially recovering -- you are mending and creating new muscles, and your body undergoes a detoxifying cleanse of your bodily systems. Also, all your excess weight is exhaled out of your body in the form of CO2. So if you don't get complete restorative sleep, you would not be able to go through the sleep cycles that allow the rest of your body to pause and aid in the required inhalation and exhalation.
Diet - Before you begin any diet, it's important to ensure you're not under consuming calories. Consuming fewer calories makes it difficult to lose weight in the short run and has the potential to cause long-term metabolic damage. To avoid this, you could keep a food log to keep track of your calorie consumption.
Exercise - Exercise is an essential step in your weight loss journey. The afterburner effect of hitting the gym ensures your body and muscles are not done burning calories even after you're done exercising. Exercise also helps reduce stress levels in people.
“Chemically, when we are burning energy burning calories, burning fat, in particular, molecularly, what happens is it all breaks down and that excess weight technically, we exhale through the form of excess CO2. And if you're not getting a good quantity of sleep, imagine all of that exhalation that you're missing out on.”
What can you do or take to satisfy your hunger?
Ensure you're adequately hydrated and have the amount of fibre your body needs. If it doesn't work still, you might have to include more protein, change your macronutrient ratio, and incorporate more fats to help adjust the overall calories. Moreover, mindfulness is essential. You need to keep a check with your body and understand if it really is hungry or calorie-deficient.
"Beyond everything I just shared, I would encourage you to insert a pause, insert a moment of stillness in asking yourself, 'Am I full? Am I still hungry?'"
How does your metabolism change with age?
Post 30, some of our hormones begin to slow down. Also, because of the increased stress, a heightened cortisol level is triggered, and that causes our body to create and hold onto more fat. Increased strength and resistance training could help combat this. It would also help to keep your sleep cycle in check.
"Quite a few of our hormones begin to just slow down [in our 30s and beyond]. The production level [of hormones] slows down, particularly testosterone, between our 30s and 40s."
Key Highlights
When you sleep, most bodily processes other than inhalation and exhalation are on pause. Since your body exhales excess calories in the form of CO2, sleep is an essential element in your weight loss journey.
Under consumption of calories does more damage than good, even when it comes to losing weight.
"If you're under consuming, the body thinks that we're in a little bit of starvation." Under consuming calories in the long term also means your body will hold on to and create more fat or enlarge the fat cells that you already have.
The body often mistakes dehydration for hunger. So if you feel hungry more often, it might help to check your water intake.
Increased mental stress can lead to heightened cortisol levels in the body, which causes your body to hold on to or create more fat.
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