Determined To Succeed

Did you guys happen to see last night’s Stanley Cup game? Damn, I think my nerves are still shot (no pun intended) and my blood pressure is still through the roof. But what a series it was and what a final game. I am still jumping up and down for my Chicago Blackhawks! Woohoo! That was awesome! Congratulations, fellas! Well done and well-played. But also my hat’s off totally to the Philadelphia Flyers. They played great hockey (and were a far more aggressive team, especially in the third period) and I can see why they deserved to be in the Stanley Cup finals.

All that being said I am a tired wreck today. What am I, getting old? Used to be I’d get four hours of sleep a night (10:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m.) then get up to go to work at one of the three jobs I used to have – my “day job” of producer/board operator at WLS-AM Radio from 4:00 a.m. (or 3:30 a.m. depending on how much I had to do before the show I worked on started), my internship at 20th Century Fox from noon until 5:00 p.m., followed by my market research job from 5:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. I kept that insane schedule five days a week for a year. It was so horrendous that I, during that time, would only have one 24-hour period in my week where I didn’t have to wake up to go to work. I called it my “year of hell,” and thank God I was 22 when I did it. I’d fall over today, wave a white flag and surrender if I had to keep that schedule now.

That got this 39-year-old thinking lots about metabolism and how jealous I am of people who seem to have one. Why is it that I feel slower now at almost 40? Why am I so damned tired after just watching a game on TV (albeit an exciting-as-hell one)? And what the hell is metabolism, anyway?

Most of us think of metabolism as the rate at which we burn calories, but that only part of it. According to Christopher Newgard, director of the Sarah W. Stedman Nutrition and Metabolism Center at Duke University Medical School, “Metabolism is the breakdown of metabolic fuels we have in the diet. The primary nutrients in foods can be classified as fats, proteins or carbohydrates. Metabolism is the way the cells, organs and tissues in our bodies handle those kinds of fuels. In other words, it’s not just about burning up the food we eat, but about how the various nutrients from that food help us maintain a healthy body.”

OK, so then why do I just feel like I have to work so hard at losing and maintaining weight while some can eat whatever, whenever, and not have it affect them at all?  Bastards. So I wondered out loud – does metabolism really slow down as we get older (er, sorry – better) or do we?

Both (dammit). The slowing of metabolism is a real thing. Mitochondria, the little energy factories that convert nutrients to power in cells, slow down with age. And that’s not all. Barry Stein of Wake Forest University School of Medicine explains, “As we age, we are subject to sarcopenia—muscle wasting. Since muscle burns more energy than fat, this means the metabolic load goes down and metabolism reflects that.” That is, if you do nothing about your loss of muscle with age, it will take you longer to burn off a candy bar at age 60 than at 20.

I’d better start watching those good-tasting plain Hershey candy bars then, eh?

Also (and I knew this one), our bodies are built to store fat. When our bodies sense food is becoming nonexistent or scarce we have pathways that allow us to store what we need to be ready for those times. But, the more we eat, our bodies can’t burn that overload of calories and our bodies burn fat even less efficiently. Therefore, all the calories that aren’t used get converted to fat for storage—all in preparation for the famine that never comes because we keep consuming.

Then add to this the fact we tend to become less active as years go by (like not being able to function as we once did when we were, say, 22 and working three jobs), and we can see why the inches start to gather around your (and my) waist. So how does a well-meaning, late-thirty-something slow the slowing? Well, there are things we can do to keep our metabolisms efficient.

Start with Exercise.

“Exercise actually increases the number of mitochondria. And also increases their metabolic activity,” explains Newgard. Exercise also burns calories, especially cardio mixed with weight training. Cardio activity burns calories while you do it but tends to stop when you stop. Strength and weight training is great because it keeps burning long after you’ve put down the barbells because muscle burns more calories than fat while you’re at rest.

Eat balanced meals

It may sound simple and boring, but there’s good reason that balanced diets are what the nutrition experts always recommend. “Each of the primary food fuels has important individual contributions to make to the whole metabolic scheme,” Newgard says. Fatty acids are important in the synthesis of cell membranes. Carbs are a quick energy source and used for a whole plethora of biochemical reactions, including building DNA. Amino acids build protein—the structural basis of our cells. Again, all of this is part of metabolism—converting and using nutrients to maintain healthy cells, organs and tissues. Diets that eliminate an entire food group will take a toll on the body in the long run.

Don’t skip meals

When you skip meals your body gets smart and starts to conserve fat. Also, skipping meals can lead to overeating because you’re hungry and you binge. And the calories you do take in are extra calories when your body is starting to conserve and store.

Drink water and green tea

Drinking water helps with digestion and metabolism efficiency. Plus, when you are dehydrated, you feel lethargic and you move less. Water is also healthier than other drinks, like sodas.When it comes to green tea, on the other hand, drink up. Studies have indicated that drinking about five cups of green tea a day may increase metabolism slightly. Plus it’s a great source of antioxidants.

So you see? We can fight off the effects of aging, at least some of them. The wrinkles, bags, sags and other stuff may not go away but we can help ourselves ward off being overweight and boost these things we call metabolism. It’s like one of my old employers once told me when I was that young, energetic and cocky 22-year-old, “you get out of the job what you put into the job.”

And my friends,that is so true.  If we do take the time to work hard at it, knowing we are worth that hard work and energy, we, too, will win our weight loss battles and hoist a really cool, big and heavy cup over our heads in victory (figuratively speaking, of course)…

…unless you are one of the 2009/2010 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, that is.They got to do that for real. And I’m sure they burned a helluva lot of calories last night just partying afterward.

Say, do you think they might read this blog? Hmmmmmm….

OK, how sad is it that Gary Coleman has passed away at the age of 42? I have to admit I’m in a bit of shock. Not as much shock as when I heard Michael Jackson or Brittany Murphy died but a bit of shock, nonetheless. I remember growing up and tuning in to “Diff’rent Strokes” on whatever night of the week it was on. Me and my friends always, ALWAYS, used to imitate Coleman’s Arnold character saying “whatchoo talkin’ bout, Willis?” And it wasn’t just the comedic timing and incredible delivery of the line…it was those damn chubby cheeks, too.

I had chubby cheeks when I was a kid, too, but was neither as cute nor had a fan base that kept wanting me to repeat a line over and over again. I never had a catch phrase. I was just a fat kid, and my chubby cheeks were the result of me eating badly, eating often and not exercising. Hell, if anything my catch phrase was “you gonna eat that?”

OK, that made me chuckle just a bit.

I think the thing that strikes me most is the fact that Gary Coleman died at 42. I will turn 40 in December and think the best years of my life are ahead of me and here’s this cat who’s just died and he was only 2 years (two-and-a-half years) older than that. Wow. It blows me away. And why do I feel like the best years of my life are ahead of me? You guessed it. Because I lost weight, weight that was definitely holding me back from doing things. Weight that kept more of the “real” Bill from being seen. Weight that very well might have killed me at or around 40.

So today, I get up (late again, so sorry) to write before trying to start my Memorial Day weekend. There are things I need to do (well, try to do) and Coleman’s passing reminds us (OK, me) ever so gently to get out there, do these things and live life the best we can. As much as I sit and write about and discuss weight (yes, the seemingly ever-present “Battle of the Final Ten”) I know in my heart I’ve already gotten to that goal before and I will again. I beat this. I overcame the weight thing before and these last few pounds are just a revisit of endgame, nothing more. I will never go back to being 400 pounds. I have too much riding on the investment I’ve already made in myself and it has nothing to do with money or position or things. It has everything to do with just being able to wake up every day and have the ability to do these things. I want to skydive out of a plane (yes, a perfectly good plane), I want to climb a mountain, do a stunt for a movie, bungee off a bridge (yes, a perfectly good bridge), meet James Earl Jones and tell him I got into radio because of him. I also want to travel the world more, go scuba diving and so much more…all of which are now possible without weight in my way.

That’s what I’m talkin’ bout, Willis.

PS: I know my friends in the Philly area are not gomna like me too much for saying this but one of the things I want to see is every major Chicago team win a respective championship in my lifetime. I’ve seen the Monsters of the Midway, the Chicago Bears, win the Superbowl. I’ve seen the Chicago White Sox win the World Series. And no doubt everyone has seen the Bulls’ NBA trophies in the years of its dynasty led by Michael Jordan. And now, “Here Come The Hawks, ” The Chicago Blackhawks who play tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals. I am thrilled. The team has not won the Cup since 1961, the longest current cup drought in the NHL. At 49 years, it is the second longest Stanley Cup drought in NHL history. So let’s go Hawks…

…now as long as I can keep my healthy lifestyle going long enough to see my beloved Chicago Cubs win that ever-elusive World Series…