The Official Blog of Tara Marie Segundo, M.A.
On the latest episode of my podcast, TARA MARIE LIVE, we broach a topic that reflects the concerns of so many of my listeners—a slow metabolism. People are frustrated because they believe that they are doing everything right, but the results are just wrong.
For this episode, I tapped one of my listener favorites, Dr. Patricia Pimentel Selassie.
People love Dr. Selassie because she gives practical advice that can be implemented easily. As a Naturopathic Physician, she treats patients with a wide variety of health concerns, and her philosophy is to treat the whole patient in such a way that allows the body to do what it does best—heal itself.
When I was growing up, I was taught information about fat loss that I now know to be false. In fact, much of what I was taught inadvertently slows metabolic rate, making fat loss even harder.
Many people believe that, with age, metabolism naturally slows and we must accept this as an unfortunate fact of life. This is untrue. I find (and science confirms) that it has more to do with what you do and what you stop doing as you age that creates a metabolic slow-down.
So, what is metabolism? Metabolism is any process occurring within a living cell or organism necessary for life. The majority of metabolic function has to do with converting food into energy. This process is called Thermogenesis.
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is your metabolic rate when you are inactive, creating energy to heal and breathe. This reflects your caloric burn in a 24 hour cycle to maintain basic physiologic function.
You may have also heard the term Resting Energy Expenditure (REE). BMR and REE measure roughly the same thing only BMR is measured using more restrictive conditions while REE is measured under less restrictive conditions. The main point to understand is that the majority of calories you burn in a 24 hour cycle are burned at rest.
There are many things that you may be doing that are slowing down your metabolic rate, but there are many more things that you can do to optimize it.
Season 2 of my podcast, TARA MARIE LIVE, kicked off last week with a fantastic Facebook LIVE event! As we pre-recorded the episode, we simulcast it on Facebook LIVE. We will be doing this for most episodes, and I will notify you each time so you can be sure to take part in these fun and interactive events. For email notification of these and other events, sign up for my Mailing List.
My Season 2 Premier featured a guest who is a listener favorite, Dr. Patricia Pimentel Selassie. She is a Naturopathic Physician who is always on the cutting edge of natural medicine.
We talked about a topic that, in most circles, is considered new and perhaps even controversial: CBD oil, or cannabidiol oil.
The controversy and confusion stems from the fact that people think that anything that comes from the cannabis plant must be pot, weed, marijuana, Mary Jane, or whatever name you use.
Marijuana comes from the cannabis family, and it is grown to have high levels of THC, which is a chemical compound that has both medicinal and psychoactive properties and will get someone high. This is the source of both recreational and medicinal marijuana.
Conversely, CBD oil is sourced from hemp, which also comes from the cannabis family, but CBD is not psychoactive. CBD has medicinal properties. Farmers are now growing strains of cannabis plants with very high CBD and virtually no THC.
To summarize, THC has psychoactive properties, is pain-relieving, can stimulate the appetite, and can stop nausea. Its side effects are anxiety and paranoia.
CBD is not psychoactive. CBD, or cannabidiol, is a plant medicine like echinacea, goldenseal, dandelion, or olive leaf. It is pain-relieving, anticonvulsant, antipsychotic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and has immunomodulatory effects. It has no side effects.
The most fascinating thing that I learned on this show is that we humans have an endocannabinoid system. This system contains neurotransmitters that we make from fat that bind to cannabinoid receptors, just as we have estrogens that bind to estrogen receptors or serotonin that binds to serotonin receptors. This system plays a role in the health of your brain, and reproductive, endocrine, and immune systems.
I often get emails from well-meaning people who want to do the best thing for their families when it comes to buying nutritious food—but as is the case for so many of us, the best choice is often cost-prohibitive. When it comes to fruits and veggies, we know that eating fresh, organic fare is the optimal choice. Since buying organic can more than double your food bill, it helps to know if there are items for which buying conventionally grown (not organic) is safe, from the standpoint of not being laden with a high number of pesticide residues.
According to the Environmental Working Group, their Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce ranks pesticide contamination on 48 popular fruits and vegetables. EWG’s analysis is based on the results of more than 35,200 samples tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Administration. It’s important to know that these pesticide residues remain on produce even after items are washed and, in some cases, peeled. Recent studies of insecticides used on some fruits and vegetables found that children exposed to high levels were at a greater risk of impaired intelligence and ADHD.
Each year, the Environmental Working Group releases a list of fruits and vegetables called, “The Dirty Dozen.” The Dirty Dozen lists the fruits and veggies that have been contaminated by multiple pesticides and have higher concentrations of pesticides. This year, strawberries ranked at the top of the list for detectable pesticide residues.
We all set goals and we all want the best for our lives. Many of us fall prey to self-sabotage and become our own worst enemies. Why? What are the barriers that hold us back, and how can we break free? These barriers lie between your life right now and the life you want.
If you missed Barrier #1, click here to read Break Through the Barrier of Fear!
If you lack self-worth, at some point in your life someone taught you that you are not worthy. As a child, we believe that which we are told by others. Many of us were given messages that we are not worthy and have less value than others. We internalize the idea and buy into the lie. The good news is that anything that can be learned also can be unlearned.
You were put on this earth to be great and to make a contribution to the world. No one is here just taking up space. Bishop T.D. Jakes says that we have to step out of our HISTORY and into our DESTINY. You have a gift, and your duty is to identify your gift and do something good in the world with it.
Barrier #2: Feeling Unworthy
If the subconscious self-limiting belief that holds you back is lack of self-worth, only YOU can fix this. This is the tricky part. No one else can make you feel worthy or give you self-esteem, as both come from the self.
We all have goals and dreams for our lives. In order to live the life that you really want, you have to break through your self-imposed barriers. We each are where we are today because of what we believe about ourselves to be true and what we tell ourselves about ourselves and life. This is our STORY. We repeat it over and over and brain wash ourselves into believing that we can’t have better because of who we are or what has happened to us. The truth is that we can be whatever we decide to be, but in order to change our external environment, first we have to shift our internal environment. You were put on this earth to be great and to make a contribution to the world. No one is here just taking up space. You have a gift and your duty is to identify your gift and do something good in the world with it. The great Bishop T.D. Jakes says that we have to step out of our HISTORY and into our DESTINY.
We all set goals and we all want the best for our lives. Many of us fall prey to self-sabotage and become our own worst enemies. Why? What are the barriers that hold us back and how can we break through? What lies between your life now and the life you wish you had?
Dear Tara Marie,
I really need some inspiration. I’m having a tough time getting to the gym regularly and eating well. I don’t know what’s wrong with me but I am feeling really unmotivated, and I just hate what’s happening to my body after all of the hard work that I put in to get where I am now. I really need some inspiration. Can you help me?
Thanks, Carolyn, New York City
Dear Carolyn,
I have gone through what you are describing many times, especially after a knee surgery, serious injury or an illness that takes me out of my usual routine for an extended period.
Two things are happening: 1) you are physically out of shape and not where you want to be, and 2) you are mentally out of shape and not where you need to be to make a shift in your life.
There is a mind-set that you had when you were at your physical peak, and you need to get this back, as well as get your training on track.
We want to slowly get your body moving toward your goal and, at the same time, get you mentally in the game of consistent training and conscious eating.
Try my 3-week jump start plan to course-correct fast!
Last week I posted a blog that focused on two of the many ways to increase strength training intensity: increasing the total load and decreasing the amount of time between sets. If you missed that newsletter, check out my blog post, “Two Simple Ways to Increase Strength Training Intensity.”
This week I want to highlight two other ways to ratchet up the efficacy of your strength training.There’s a very specific recipe to build muscle: work the muscle; feed the muscle; rest the muscle. Within this recipe are many variables, and depending on how they are manipulated, you will either mitigate or enhance your results.
I’m often asked how to increase the intensity of a strength training workout to maximize results. It’s important to understand that intensity is relative, as what may be hard for you will be easy for someone else. Often when I advise clients to do high-intensity strength training, they remind me that they’re not very strong. Regardless of your current level of strength, you can make your training high-intensity relative to your abilities. If you’re going to make time for a workout, make the time work for you—meaning, if you’re disciplined enough to exercise, do so in such a way that will maximize your results.
With respect to strength training, the important thing to remember is to manipulate different variables that will force your body to work with greater loads. Strength gains occur when you require your muscles to adapt progressively to a higher level of resistance. This occurs when you increase the intensity. If you never increase the intensity of your training, your muscles adapt to the routine and you will eventually cease to progress.
Let’s look at two effective ways to increase the intensity of a strength training session. Remember, strength training can mean weight training with barbells and dumbbells, exercising with bands and tubing, or even cleverly using your own body weight. All of these forms of training can and will increase muscular strength, if done properly. Again, muscles gain strength when you require them to adapt—they will only adapt when you give them a challenge.
As someone who struggled greatly to mold myself into the person I wanted to become, I’ve had a life-long fascination with high-achievers and people who seem to effortlessly succeed. My fascination led me to study people I admire in an attempt to raise the bar in my own life. I do believe that we’re here to constantly learn, improve, and teach what we know to others. In this sense, we’re never done—we can never stop learning or striving to improve, as the point of being here is to do something with our lives that contributes to the world in a positive way.
As part of my study of people who achieve and attain the highest level success, I also had to focus my attention on those who don’t. In this category of people, I identified two distinct groups: those who try and fail and eventually give up, and those who never try in the first place. People in the latter group confound me, yet fascinate me, the most. What would make anyone choose to sit on the sidelines of life while the rest of us are out on the field playing the game?
I’ve had conversations with private clients recently that made me want to address this in greater detail.
