We have been taught to look at our weight as a measurement of health; thus the bathroom scale is common in most homes. Although the scale gives you a small indication of what is going on in your body, the measurement is far from telling you the important information that is needed – especially as we age.
Most men and women lose muscle mass and bone, gain fat, and increase inflammation as they enter their 40s and beyond. All the while, the scale may not change!
Personally, I have had the scale go down, showing weight loss when I actually lost muscle mass and gained fat weight! This is especially important to look into as you pass 40 years old and easily lose muscle mass.
The scale alone can vary by 10-15 pounds in some people within 24 hours due to inflammation, hydration, constipation, food intake, strength workouts, and more.
This is why looking at body composition is far more effective in measuring your weight.
What is Body Composition?
Body composition refers to the percentage of fat, muscle, water, and bone in the human body.
As you age, the tendency is to lose muscle and bone and gain fat, inflammation, and extracellular water, and to lose intracellular water.
Measuring Body Composition
Body composition is not something that can be measured using regular bathroom scales.
You may also have seen “body composition bathroom scales” for sale in the stores. In my opinion, you are better off booking a session with a professional body scan technician.
Heather Hiniker, CEO of the Newport Beach based industry leader in regenerative health technologies, Ascent Adaption, says:
“In my opinion, the InBody 770 is one of the most comprehensive body composition analysis one can obtain. Not your typical body composition test….the Inbody 770 is a bioelectrical impedance analysis device (BIA). Not only does it compare muscle versus fat, but we are able to measure inflammation at a systemic level and cellular integrity/permeability… AKA phase angle. This measurement indicates levels of health and biological age at the cellular level.”
The Three Body Types of Body Composition
- Ectomorph. Ectomorphs are characterized as long and lean with little body fat and little muscle. They have a hard time gaining weight.
- Endomorph. Endomorphs have lots of body fat and lots of muscle and gain weight easily.
- Mesomorph. Mesomorphs are characterized as athletic, solid, and strong. They tend to be able to eat what they want without worrying about it; they gain and lose weight easily.
Regardless of your natural body composition genetics and your age, there are ways to change your body composition.
Reasons Your Weight Increases on the Scales
Intracellular Water. You can be “dehydrated” at the cellular level, and the scale will show weight loss; if your cells become properly hydrated with the proper balance of sodium, potassium and other minerals and electrolytes, the scale can actually show an increase in weight while improving overall health.
Weight Lifting. When you strength train, muscles and tissues are temporarily inflamed and may retain excess water for healing. This can show up on the scale as “weight gain”.
Eating the Wrong “Healthy” Foods. If you gain more than a pound in a day, it usually is your body telling you that you may have a food intolerance to something you ate the day before. This feedback is positive in teaching you about your own body. Typically foods containing Sulfur, Oxalates, Lectins, too much fat, or amyloid proteins are “healthy” foods that could trigger bloat, constipation, swelling, water retention, and poor digestion.
Extracellular water. Extracellular water is water in the body not found inside the cells. This can increase from inflammation in the body, damage to the tissues, or edema. Extracellular water can easily increase the number on the scale while not reflecting fat or muscle gain.
Weather Change. The barometric pressure shifting can actually cause inflammation in the body, causing water retention.
Full Moon and New Moon. Just like the moon moves the tides of the oceans, it can cause the body to retain water and even be constipated. This can shift the scale without reflecting fat and muscle change.
Constipation. By not having regular bowel movements, constipation can lead to the scale going up and not.
How to Change Body Composition After 40
Most people would like to lose body fat while increasing muscle mass, increasing body density, increasing intracellular water and decreasing extracellular water. Unfortunately, most diets may help you lose weight, but that weight is composed of fat and muscle, while lowering the metabolism. As a result most people gain the weight back, due to a slower metabolism, and the weight gain is usually mostly fat and not muscle.
Ascent Diet Cleanse
The Ascent Diet Cleanse is designed to increase muscle mass, decrease unwanted body fat, reduce extracellular water, increase intracellular water, increase bone density, increase metabolism, increase mood and physical energy, and eliminate bloat and constipation.
The following supplements are included in the Ascent Diet Cleanse.
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Accelerated Fast®™
Accelerated Fast®™ turns your body into ketosis or “fat-burning mode” within 30 minutes as it taps into your body’s own fat stores for energy right away.
Taking Accelerated Fast®™ is the quickest way to start burning excess body fat, and suppressing the appetite while maintaining muscle mass, bone density, and high levels of stable energy.
When the body is in ketosis, triggered by the Accelerated Fast®™, the body naturally drops excess water weight, burns excess body fat, and increases energy.
Furthermore, the additional ingredients in the Accelerated Fast®™ break down saturated fats into unsaturated fats; this will help burn the dangerous visceral fat around the belly and the liver fat that accumulates more easily after the age of 40.
The more a person’s liver is defatted and unclogged, the easier it is for the liver to break down fat molecules into usable energy and burn the belly fat. Essentially, the body is able to burn body fat and increase metabolism as it did during the 20s and 30s.
The liver is also where the thyroid hormone converts from T4 to T3, and as the liver function becomes better, the thyroid works better as well, increasing metabolism, mitochondrial function, and energy. As we age, the thyroid tends to slow down, leading to a slower metabolism; this reverses that trend. And, it is known when the thyroid isn’t functioning, digestion suffers and unexplained weight gain occurs.
Accelerated Fast®™ also includes a compound known as HMB which prevents muscle wasting – which is common in men and women over the age of 40.
With more healthy muscle tissue, more mitochondria with increased ATP are sustained and more fat loss is achieved.
Directions: Take 3-4 capsules in the morning and intermittent fast until you are hungry.
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Acceleradine®
Acceleradine® increases ATP, or cellular energy, by 18 TIMES, which increases intracellular water, metabolism, caloric burn, brain function, physical performance, wound healing, fat burning, and healthy apoptosis (destruction of diseased cells) – all factors that may move the scale up or down without reflecting improved body composition. When ATP increases, energy and fat oxidation increase.
Acceleradine® also helps speed up the metabolism and increase physical energy which will encourage you to exercise more, gain muscle and lose body fat. As the thyroid is functioning optimally and the ATP is maximized, body composition goals will be achieved much faster.
Directions: Start with 3 drops in water 3 times per day at least 15 minutes away from food or supplements. Increase the dose by one drop per dose per day until you reach 25 drops three times per day. Stay on that dosage for optimal thyroid health, detoxification, and overall health.
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Accelerated Thyroid™
Accelerated Thyroid™ combines powerful Ayurvedic herbs with advanced glandular therapy on top of adding supplementary ingredients to enhance not just thyroid health but overall physical and mental health. Lastly, it is enhanced with Scalar frequencies with our proprietary Scalar Field technology to imbue specific healing patterns that ultimately improve mental and physical energy, fat burning, and lean muscle gains.
The Scalar frequencies included do the following:
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- Enhances the general health of the thyroid and helps reverse thyroid disease
- Neutralizes toxins found in the thyroid that cause fat gain and slow metabolism; these include chlorine, fluorine, mercury, and other metals
- Neutralizes radiation and nuclear fallout that may contribute to fat gain, lack of energy, and mood disorders.
Directions: Take 3-4 capsules in the morning. Can be taken with Accelerated Fast® and other supplements. You may add 1-2 more at noon if need be.
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Accelerated Cellular Detox® Powder
Accelerated Cellular Detox® Powder organic formula coats the stomach and intestinal lining reduces inflammation, helps with bloat and regularity, and alleviates issues like Crohn’s disease and Colitis. It also soaks up all of the toxins throughout the day that can cause unexplained weight gain. As inflammation is decreased, absorption of nutrients is improved and the excess bloat and water retention are minimized. All of these factors contribute to improved body composition
Directions: Take 1-3 tsp at night in water or juice.
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Accelerated Silver®
Accelerated Silver® enhances your immune system’s ability to devitalize foreign pathogens including those that contribute to slow metabolism, fat accumulation, autoimmune disease, and fatigue. By keeping the immune system strong, the body engages in anti-inflammatory processes, leading to optimal health, which encourages improved body composition and weight loss mechanisms.
Directions: Take 1-3 tsp, 3 to 5 times a day. Leave it in your mouth for a minute and then swallow.
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QuintEssential 0.9
QuintEssential 0.9 supplement supports homeostasis, rehydration, and normal digestion while eliminating excess water retention. All of these factors lead to a leaner and healthier gut and metabolic health. It is the same consistency as the blood plasma and consists of all the needed electrolytes and minerals. This 0.9 concentration can help replenish mineral and trace element levels, gently detoxify, support sleep, relaxation, and digestion.
Directions: Take 1-6 packets throughout the day. Leave it in your mouth for a minute and then swallow.
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Liver Flush Cleanse
The supplements in the Accelerated Health Products Liver Flush Cleanse soften liver stones and prep the liver to release those stones into the toilet! As a result, detoxification improves fat burning increases, protein utilization improves, and metabolic rate increases. A liver flush 3-4 times a year is needed for optimal liver function, thyroid function, metabolism, and fat burning. With hundreds of stones sitting in your liver, it isn’t able to break down fats for usable energy, to detox the body of toxins that cause bloat and weight gain.
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Laxa Comfort
Laxa Comfort gently and naturally stimulates bowel movements. Regardless of how constipated you are, this can make having 2-3 movements a day occur consistently. Constipation can inhibit weight loss and fat burning.
Directions: Start with 1 capsule at night and increase until you achieve 2-3 bowel movements a day.
Leaky Gut Bundle
A healthy body begins with a healthy gut, and a staggering 80 – 90% of people have leaky gut.
Addressing gut health first makes changing body composition much easier.
The Leaky Gut Bundle is designed to heal the leaky gut and start you on a journey of health transformation.
Supplements in the bundle include:
MegaSporeBiotic : This unique probiotic blend aims to recondition the gut instead of reseeding with probiotic strains that cannot survive digestion or colonize the gut. Healthy gut bacteria is connected directly to fat burning and protein utilization for lean muscle mass.
MegaSporeBiotic helps control the “bad” bacteria that lead to bloat and dysbiosis, and grow the “good” bacteria. It has been shown to help with E. Coli, Salmonella, H. Pylori and more.
Directions: Take 1-2 capsules with or without food
MegaPre. This reinforces the beneficial microbial changes created by MegaSporeBiotic™ to promote a strong and diverse microbiome.
Directions: Put 1-2 scoops in your drinks any time of day.
MegaMucosa. The mucosal system is essential for nutritional absorption, weight management, and the immune system. MegaMucosa™ is formulated to support a healthy mucosal barrier and heal the tight junctions associated with a Leaky Gut and unexplained weight gain.
Directions: Put 1-3 scoops in your drinks any time of day.
Other Supplements to Help Change Body Composition
Liquid Biocell Collagen
It is also important to include a high-quality collagen supplement. Collagen is a protein that is needed for hair, skin, nails, and tendons and to heal the soft tissues in between muscle fibers, but not necessarily for muscle building. It is needed to repair muscle and improve bone density. It will also help heal Leaky Gut and reduce inflammation throughout the body.
Directions: Take 1-2 servings twice daily.
MyVitalC
MyVitalC is Carbon 60, a potent antioxidant that has been shown to not only extend lifespan by 90 percent but also to help weight management, improve sleep, improve wrinkles, strengthen bones, improve athletic performance, improve libido, and more.
Directions: Take 1-2 tsp daily with or without food.
Accelerated Ancient Salt®
A lack of sodium and potassium may actually lead to water retention. A lack of proper salt intake can cause additional issues with the sodium-potassium pump in the cells; the pump’s job is to bring nutrients into the cells and remove toxins from them. Most salts are stripped of all minerals except for sodium in addition to containing toxic microplastics. Those salts can lead to dehydration, toxicity, and bloat. Using a complete salt like Accelerated Ancient Salt®, with over 62 minerals, will help rehydrate the body, improve energy, improve bioelectrical function, and decrease bloat. When you put a little Accelerated Ancient Salt on your tongue, you can experience a boost of energy, a lowering of blood sugar, and a decrease in appetite.
Directions: Put a pinch on your tongue to suppress your appetite, alleviate nausea, or hydrate the body at the cellular level. Use liberally on your food for added minerals and amazing flavor.
Additional Ways to Change Body Composition
Stem Cell Activation Patches
X49 Patch. The X49 is a patch that may reduce body fat, increase energy and recovery after exercise, improve cardiovascular function and focus, increase muscle tone and strength, increase lean body mass, and strengthen bone density. The X49 is enhancing the weight loss results when combined with the Ascent Diet Cleanse and Leaky Gut Bundle.
Directions: Wear during the day for 12 hours two inches below the belly button.
Energy Enhancer Patches. These patches enhance caloric burn, fat loss, and metabolic rate.
They do this by increasing ATP production in the mitochondria, increasing heart rate variability, improving the bioelectrical measurement or “phase angle” or integrity of the cell walls, reducing inflammation, and increasing endurance. Furthermore, it increases beta-oxidation which is the fastest way to increase fat burning and cellular energy.
As a plus, the Energy Enhancer Patches increase fat burning and muscle growth. They work synergistically with the Accelerated Fast® in your fat burning and tapping into an endless supply of fuel sources on your body. All of these factors work synergistically with the Ascent Diet Cleanse to increase the benefits. Additionally, adding these patches to the protocol improve digestion and circulation which are essential for nutrient absorption that leads to a healthier gut and improved body composition.
Directions: Wear white on right, brown on left; on the bottom of the feet, on the inside of the wrists or on the inside of the shoulders. Wear during the day for 12 hours.
X39 Stem Cell Activation Patches. These patches increase your own stem cell production and reset over 4,000 genes to a younger state, including the genes responsible for fat oxidation, lean muscle repair, inflammation reduction, bone density, and healing the Gut. As a result, it helps repair collagen in all tissues, heals Leaky Gut, activates stem cell production, encourages apoptosis of cancer and diseased cells, and discourages metastatic cancer cells. It improves the overall energy of the body, organ balance, and symmetry distribution of energy. While using X39, weight loss and gut health results from the Ascent Diet Cleanse will be enhanced.
Directions: Wear at the base of the neck for 12 hours during the day or night.
Carnosine Patches. The Carnosine Patches will enhance energy and endurance, which will quicken the fat loss and muscle gain results from the Ascent Diet Cleanse.
In clinical studies, carnosine has also been shown to improve flexibility, strength, balance, and endurance. For athletes, carnosine has been shown to blunt the lactic acid effect that slows muscle and endurance progress. All of these factors may enhance the desired benefits from exercise and improving body composition.
Carnosine is a naturally occurring antioxidant in the body, of which production declines with age. Studies on carnosine show that it plays a vital role in overall health, neuroprotection, and anti-aging.
Directions: Wear in the middle of the chest, behind the right ear, or on the back of the neck for 12 hours during the day or night.
Eat Wild Animal Protein
Consuming 1-1.2 grams of protein per pound of optimal lean body mass from wild animal protein and wild fish can satisfy your appetite, build lean muscle mass, eliminate bloat, heal the Gut, and keep you in fat-burning mode.
Animal protein including lamb, bison, deer, grass-fed beef, elk, wild salmon, arctic char, and other wild fish are complete proteins that include essential amino acids, high omega 3 fatty acids, collagen, and the essential vitamins like Vitamin D, E, and Vitamin B’s that are needed for muscle growth. They also have the essential amino acids that trigger a hormone called CCK in the gut that tells the brain to suppress the appetite. Not only are these meats less acidic than pork and conventional beef and are easier to digest, but the wild meats don’t contain the amyloid proteins that poultry and conventional beef do.
Amyloid proteins disrupt gut pathogens, increase the risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia, and are less bioavailable for the body to utilize. Chicken, conventional beef, turkey, and pork may actually lead to inflammation, water retention, fat gain, and muscle wasting.
Eliminate Oxalates
Oxalates are plant poisons found in foods like spinach, kale, almonds, chocolate, berries, and turmeric that can lead to chronic diseases including gout, kidney stones, hypothyroidism, Hashimoto’s, arthritis, joint pain and more. Oxalates also can disrupt the detox pathways, leading to fat gain, water retention, and osteoporosis– all factors that are not reflected accurately on the bathroom scale.
Eliminate Sulfur
Sulfur foods can back up the liver, leading to increased toxicity, slow metabolism, hypothyroid, increased estrogens in the body, water retention, and fat gain. These foods include garlic, onions, egg yolks, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and kale.
Eliminate Excess Fat
The seed oils create inflammation in the body that can last over a year, leading to excess water retention, fat gain, and slow metabolism. The bad oils include canola oil, rice bran oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, safflower oil, grapeseed oil, and peanut oil. Sunflower and safflower oil can be healthy if they are cold-pressed. I recommend using organic cold-pressed olive oil, butter, ghee, avocado oil, duck fat, and coconut oil.
Lift Heavy Weights
Lifting heavy weights increases lean muscle tone, burns body fat, strengthens bone density, and helps with water retention as well. While cardio burns more calories during exercise, lifting heavy weights increases caloric burn in the hours following the exercise.
Directions: Incorporate 3-4 days of strength training per week.
Sleep
Sleep is the time the body recovers, reduces inflammation, builds lean muscle and bone, and burns body fat. There is a strong correlation between a lack of sleep and fat gain.
Directions: Prioritize 7-9 hours of sleep daily. This is the cornerstone of your health.
Sara Banta
Sara Banta is a Stanford University Graduate with a Degree in Economics and Psychology, and a certified Natural Supplement Expert & Graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Sara is the Founder of Accelerated Health Products and host of the health & wellness podcast, Accelerated Health Radio.