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I drive to the gym and I walk inside.

– Coolio (probably)

If you wish, you can grab the N.W.A. Newsletter Playlist on Spotify here, all of the songs that have been featured in the newsletter are on the playlist.

Happy Friday, Coach J here from Anyman Fitness – and welcome to the latest edition of The N.W.A. Newsletter.

Each week with the N.W.A. Newsletter, I give you the best Nutrition, Weightlifting, and/or Attitude advice for you to start to use in your life today.

Tens of thousands of people have used this exact newsletter to gain muscle, lose fat, and become a better version of themselves…

Without any further ado, let’s get started..

N.W.A. Tip Of The Week

When I was 18 years old, I would eat 3 dinners every weekend night.

I would eat dinner with my family.

I would then go out with my friends, and we would stop somewhere during the night and eat dinner #2.

Then, on my way home after hanging out with my friends, I would stop at a drive through and pick up dinner #3.

The amount I could eat was astounding.

I had to be packing away 3,000+ calories daily from my 3 dinners alone.

I also weighed 210 pounds at 6’8″. I was a string bean.

By the time I had graduated college, 210 pounds had become 250 pounds.

A few years after graduating college, 250 pounds had become nearly 300 pounds.

My metabolism shifted – BIG time.

These days, if I eat 3,000 calories for dinner, I will gain weight quickly.

I keep my daily intake for all my meals around 2,500 if I’m trying to lose fat, and a bit higher if I’m maintaining.

I’m not the only one who has had this experience.

Most of us have to eat less as we get older if we want to avoid weight gain.

But what’s happening in this scenario?

Is our metabolism declining as we age?

Is it something hormonal?

Environmental?

Why do we have to eat less as we get older?

Let’s break down the 4 main parts of your metabolism and take a look…

Part 1: Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

This is number of calories you burn just by existing.

If you laid in bed all day and didn’t move, the amount of energy required for your normal bodily functions is considered your Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR.

Part 2: Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT)

This is the number of calories you burn via intentional exercise.

If you go to the gym, play pickleball, go hiking, jog/run, perform HIIT sessions, etc., the number of calories you burn during this activity is your Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, or EAT.

Part 3: Thermal Effect Of Food (TEF)

This is the number of calories you burn due to the types of foods you eat.

All foods require energy to digest.

2-3% of the calories you eat from fat are burned in the digestion process.

10% of the calories you eat from carbohydrates are burned in the digestion process.

25% of the calories you burn from protein is burned in the digestion process.

Part 4: Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)

This is the number of calories you burn by activities you perform that isn’t considered “exercise”.

Stuff like walking around the grocery store. Running errands. Going on a walk. Cleaning your house. Driving your kids to their sports practices.

It’s not intentional exercise, but it’s still activity and it’s still burning calories…

So, which of these 4 parts of metabolism is impacted the most?

And how do we change this to improve our chances of getting lean?

Most people believe our Basal Metabolic Rate is what decreases significantly over time.

We think that naturally, we just stop burning as many calories as we did when we are younger.

We attribute this to our hormones.

Declining testosterone.

Pre-menopause, or menopause.

Thyroid conditions.

Perhaps toxins in our environments.

But is that true?

A study was done at Harvard with over 6,400 subjects and their metabolism was closely tracked.

Their results were surprising.

The Basal Metabolic Rate of the individuals studied was unchanged from the age of 20 to the age of 60.

This means, for your entire adult life, you burn about the same number of calories as a baseline (your BMR).

So, it’s not our Basal Metabolic Rate… then what is it?

The answer is quite simple…

When I was in high school and packing away 3,000 calories every night for dinner, you know what else I was doing?

I was on the varsity basketball and baseball teams.

Every day of the school year, I was conditioning, practicing, lifting, and exercising for 2 hours after school, minimum.

No wonder my appetite and metabolism was so damn fast…

Then, I got to college. I played baseball for my first 2 years.

Eventually, I hung up the spikes and continued on as a “normal” college kid… and that’s when 220 pounds shot up to 250 pounds in 3 years…

I was no longer practicing 2-3 hours daily.

Don’t get me wrong – I was still going to the university gym a few times per week – but an hour 3-4 times per week is minuscule compared to 2-3 hours of activity per day.

Then, I got out of college and started my teaching career.

I was no longer walking to and from classes every day.

I was no longer going out on a Friday night and dancing until the wee hours of the morning.

I was waking up, driving to school, teaching, coming home exhausted, and sitting on the couch.

And 250 pounds shot up to almost 300 pounds in the next 4 years…

My metabolism didn’t slow down, I slowed down.

When we’re kids, we’re constantly moving.

We’re running all over the place.

We’re always “on the go” and we rarely sit down.

We’re playing sports, we’re walking to and from our school classes, and we’re naturally getting lots of steps in.

As we age, we slow down.

We don’t walk as much.

Some of us have kids, and those little buggers exhaust us (even though we love ’em… usually…).

Our idea of a fun night out in our early 20’s is scarfing down some pizza with friends.

Followed by a night out dancing at the bar with friends until 2 am.

Our idea of a fun night out in our 40’s is a fancy dinner with wine.

Followed by a decadent slice of cheesecake for dessert.

And a night cap of a few more glasses of wine and Netflix on the couch.

In bed by 10 pm…

You can increase your BMR, but the only way you can do that is through gaining muscle, which isn’t very efficient (it takes a long time and doesn’t move the needle much).

You can increase your EAT, but the only way you can do that is by exercising more (not a bad idea, but most of us don’t have hours per day to devote to exercise).

You can increase your TEF, but the only way you can do that is to eat more protein (this is an excellent idea, and one you should take seriously).

But the one part of your metabolism that moves the needle big time is your NEAT – your non-exericse activity thermogenesis.

You need to simply move more throughout the day.

Studies show people with a high NEAT will burn double the “NEAT Calories” of someone with a low NEAT.

We’ve all met people who seem to be “on the go”.

They’re never sitting.

They’re always moving.

These people naturally burn a ton of calories just by going about their daily lives.

Contrast this to people who always seem to be sitting.

They’re rarely up and moving.

They walk to their cars and drive to work.

They get to work and sit at their desks.

They walk back to their cars and drive back home.

They get home, and sit in their recliners until bed time.

It’s like they’re stuck sitting on their butts, and never want to get up.

These people naturally burn very few calories due to their inactivity.

To summarize – our metabolism doesn’t slow as we age.

We slow as we age.

Your hormones don’t cause weight gain.

Your environment isn’t out to get you.

You’re simply moving less than you were when you were younger.

You need to be intentional and move more if you want to fix the problem.

———

Check out Brandon’s results from our coaching program.

50 pounds down in 8 months:

Full Access: Anyman Fitness unlocks all of our best training programs and custom nutrition for your goals.

It’s by far our most popular – and most affordable – coaching option.

Check out how we can help you here.

October-4-2024

N.W.A. Tip Of The Week

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