Body Science – Page 2 – Coach Chrystal's Eat Move Live

Snacking – Helps You Hold Onto Fat

Snacking is a habit for many people. Eating small bites of foods between meals, while at our desk at work or in the car while on the go is a norm. While snacking is not advisable in general, if you must snack, nutrient dense foods like fresh veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds, hard boiled eggs, nut butters, and hummus make for good options as do cheese sticks, fruit dried without added sugars and plain Greek yogurt. Ideally however, changing habits and stopping snacking all together should be the goal. The following explains why. Read more “Snacking – Helps You Hold Onto Fat” →

Body Science

A Good Night’s Sleep

I’ve already talked a bit about a good nights sleep and why it’s so important in terms of nutrition, weight gain and obesity. What I didn’t emphasize is how research proves that getting adequate amounts of natural sleep each night actually makes you live longer. So many of us have a hard time sleeping that over the counter sleep medications fly off the shelves and many of us are familiar with prescription sleeping pills too. Medical or drug induced sleep, if and when the medications actually work, does not offer the same quality of sleep nor the same life extending benefits as natural sleep. Sleep aids, just about all sleep aids, whether prescription, natural or over the counter, are sedatives. Read more “A Good Night’s Sleep” →

Body Science

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) & Total Daily Energy Expenditure…

Even when you are physically doing nothing, when you are at rest or fast asleep, your body still requires fuel. Breathing, digesting, circulating blood and oxygen, growing, healing, thinking even, all require energy. The amount of energy you need in order to sustain your life at its most fundamentally basic resting level is dependent on a number of different factors, and it varies from person to person. We discussed in detail what affects metabolic rates here. Read more “Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) & Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)” →

Body Science

Metabolic Rates – Speed Up or Slow Down the…

Muscle & Metabolic Rates

Before you read this, if you’re not really sure what your metabolism is you can read about it in a previous entry here.

Muscle is referred to as metabolically active. The more muscle you have, the more mitochondria (or energy producing powerhouses) you have. And as such, the more calories you burn – even while at rest. Muscle is the only tissue in the body that has the capacity to burn calories. As such, increasing muscle tissue by strength training is a surefire way to increase or speed up your metabolism. This is why people state that strength training helps you burn fat. It does. Read more “Metabolic Rates – Speed Up or Slow Down the Metabolism!” →

Body Science

Research on Sleep: Weight Gain & Obesity

Sleep is the foundation on which the two pillars of good health, fitness and nutrition stand.

Ineffective, inadequate sleep is a detriment to any and all nutrition and fitness efforts. In fact, sleep deprivation can kill you. Every major system, organ, tissue cell, and even DNA molecule in your body suffers for lack of sleep. The effects of sleep deprivation are so severe that the Guinness Book of World Records stopped recognizing attempts to break the sleep deprivation record. The evidence of detriment is so compelling they then went on to delete past records out of fear that Read more “Research on Sleep: Weight Gain & Obesity” →

Body Science

Set Point Theory

Homeostasis is the tendency towards a relatively stable equilibrium, or balance between interdependent elements, especially as maintained by physiological processes. Our bodies’ love and can in fact only thrive when in state of a balance. For example, your body temperature must be maintained at or around 98.6°F (37°C). If this temperature should rise too high or go too low, you will die. To prevent this, Read more “Set Point Theory” →

Body Science

You Are (and can do) What You Eat

Energy Systems

We may not be able to see energy, but we can certainly feel heat, its byproduct whenever we do physical activity. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the molecule within the body that holds energy. For this reason ATP is often referred to as the energy currency of the body. We get energy from the macronutrients we consume like carbohydrates, protein and fat. There’s also energy stored in any alcohol we consume, but we do not consider alcohol a macronutrient because Read more “You Are (and can do) What You Eat” →

Body Science

Metabolism

We’ve all heard someone blame their excessive weight on having a slow metabolism, or their ability to eat large amounts of food and not gain any weight on their fast metabolism. But what exactly is metabolism? Technically speaking the word metabolism is defined in biology as the chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life. When most people are discussing metabolism though, what they’re actually referring to are just a few of those chemical processes, specifically the ones that convert the macronutrients in the food and drinks we consume into energy or Calories, and then taking into consideration how long it takes for our bodies to use that energy. In this way, our food is our fuel. Read more “Metabolism” →

Body Science

Nervous Tissues

If I had to pick a favorite, nervous tissue would be my choice. Often underestimated and ignored in the world of sport and fitness, it’s that unassuming nervous tissue that controls everything you do, everything you are, and everything you perceive. It’s pretty powerful stuff, really.

Your body is riddled with nerve endings, each with the purpose of receiving information or giving instruction to other tissues. Through a series of chemical reactions information is received and converted into nerve action impulses, much like electrical signals. These electrical signals are sent to and through the spinal cord, and then to the brain. If the information is perceived as urgent by the spinal cord, the spinal cord sends immediate instructions back to the tissues before the nerve action potential reaches the brain for actual interpretation. This is when reflexes occur. Read more “Nervous Tissues” →

Body Science

Muscle

Muscular tissues are formed of elongated cells called muscle fibers. They use ATP, a chemical compound that is produced through cellular respiration (which we will likely cover at a later date in detail), to generate force. Muscular tissue produces movements, maintains posture, generates heat and provides protection. We have three different types of muscular tissue in our bodies, skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle. Read more “Muscle” →

Category: <span>Body Science</span>

Snacking – Helps You Hold Onto Fat

A Good Night’s Sleep

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) & Total Daily Energy Expenditure…

Metabolic Rates – Speed Up or Slow Down the…

Muscle & Metabolic Rates

Research on Sleep: Weight Gain & Obesity

Set Point Theory

You Are (and can do) What You Eat

Energy Systems

Metabolism

Nervous Tissues

Muscle

What are you waiting for?