february book club

Ready for a Metabolic Makeover?

If you’re like me, you’re probably cursing out the groundhog right about now for his pessimistic prognostications. Maybe you’re wishing you could curl up and hibernate for six weeks. Or maybe you’re still reeling from the revelation that groundhogs and woodchucks are actually the SAME ANIMAL! 🤯(Marmota monax, for you Latin-speakers out there). (Thanks, Nature Girl Jane!)

Well, here’s some much-needed good news: there’s daylight at the end of this tunnel. Specifically, those of us in the Northern Hemisphere gain an hour of daylight, more or less, during the course of February. Let’s face it: commuting in the dark is a drag, and the last thing you want to do when you get home these days is head out to the gym.

That’s why for this month’s book club, I’m looking for motivation in the pages of one of my old favorites, 15 Minutes to Fitness by Vincent “Ben” Bocchicchio, PhD. It seems like just the ticket for a bit of February re-beginning.

the metabolic milieu

Although it looks and sounds like a traditional diet book, 15 Minutes also gives a very readable and user-friendly overview of what metabolism really is all about — the hormonal signals and pathways that make up the body’s “metabolic milieu” (aka “chemical soup”) — and how to change these signals to your advantage.

“I know many people believe that they are born with a certain metabolism; some feel ‘cursed’ by theirs, but all is certainly not lost. If you don’t think you can change metabolism, consider these events: puberty, pregnancy, holiday seasons, divorce, death, menstrual periods, and on and on. When these situations occur, something in your chemistry changes, and the result can be manifested in significant fluctuations in weight, body composition, mood, and a host of other alterations.”

Dr. Ben goes on to show how a controlled-carb diet and high-intensity exercise are “the most potent signal-changing behaviors” that we can use to change our metabolism to fit our goals in his “Five-Week Metabolic Makeover” plan.

So throughout Feb I’ll be trying and writing about different aspects of the plan, and on Wednesday, March 1st at 6:30 PM Eastern, Dr. Ben himself will join us for a LIVE Q&A via Zoom! Mark your calendar now, and feel free to comment below with your questions about exercise and fitness. With nearly 50 years in the gym and in the science lab, Dr. Ben will most assuredly have the answer.

groundhogs vs beavers

Rereading the book this week, a Dr. Ben-ism really stuck out to me this time: the metaphor of chopping down a tree.

“One day you determine that that sucker is coming down, no matter what! Then every day you focus on doing what you can to make a dent in that thing. Some days, you wake up and it looks like it grew back again, but you stay focused and keep chopping.”

This month, instead of worrying so much about the groundhog — that lazy lummox who lumbers out of his hidey-hole for just a few seconds before hitting the snooze and heading back to sleep — consider instead the noble beaver.

On a hike over the summer, Judy and I came across a big tree that a beaver had put in some serious time on. You can see it in the pic below. (For scale, that big divot is about as high as my knee):

It was pretty amazing, and it made me wonder how many days it would take before that sucker came down. Definitely a good model of persistence! My goal this month is two of Dr. Ben’s 15-minute SMaRT workouts per week, plus two 30-minute “Zone 1-2” cardio sessions. (Actually, that’s my goal for every month this year). Not super ambitious, I know, but if consistency is the name of the game — getting out and chopping that tree more days than not — I wanted to make sure I chose a goal that I could do on my least-energized, least-motivated days.

I managed to hit my numbers in January, and I’m determined to hit them again in Feb. I’ll keep you posted as we go — so far Week 1 was right on the money. Like a woodchuck, I’m just gonna keep on chuckin’ that wood. My question for you is: how much wood would you chuck?

Click here to buy the book on Bookshop.org or on Amazon.com and join in the fun!