Have you heard of the term Metabolic Supersaver? Probably not, because, as far as I know, I coined the term. 

For the sake of my own official typing reduction act, I’ll refer to them as MSS from here on.

What is a MSS, you ask? Great question! This is a person who is genetically, environmentally, and psychologically predisposed to gaining fat, avoiding exercise, eating comfort foods, and living life exerting the least amount of energy possible.

Most people aren’t the extreme version of this, but they do exist, and the group as a whole is growing each year exponentially, since the 2020 COVID shutdowns and lockins.

MSS have been around before 2020, but were rare, and usually not noticed much, as they were generally extreme introverts who stayed away from other people for the most part. 

Most MSS are on a spectrum of severity, but here is an example of an extreme MSS, named Sammy:

• Sammy grew up in a home with busy (or inattentive) parents, so he learned to entertain himself with screens, video games, computers, social media, etc. 
• Sammy sits 90% of his day in a thermostat-controlled house, on comfortable furniture. Sammy loves being comfortable and has a very small comfort zone.
• Sammy eats whenever he wants, whatever he wants, with as little food prep as possible. He loves food out of bags and boxes. He prefers foods and drinks that are ready-made and don’t require cooking, but if he must, he will use the microwave. 
• Sammy only knows how to use the fridge and microwave. The other kitchen appliances are a mystery to him and, frankly, intimidating. 
• Sammy loves sweets, but also loves savory foods. He drinks lots of flavored sweet drinks and sweet or salty food.
• Sammy only does the things he feels good at, or are easy to learn. 
• Sammy often goes more than a day without leaving the house. Even the food delivery guy doesn’t require Sammy to step outside his front door. 
• Sammy loves starchy carbs and fatty foods. 
• Sammy eats 3-4 meals a day, with many snacks in between. He gets hungry within a couple of hours, even after bigger meals. 
• Sammy is rarely thirsty, but when he is, a sweet drink is perfect. 
• Sammy drinks alcohol at night to calm himself down. Sammy occasionally smokes weed – also to calm down. He doesn’t know why he has anxiety, but it is almost always present. 
• Sammy has very few close friends, but has many virtual (online) acquaintances and social media “friends.”
• Sammy is generally dissatisfied and unfulfilled because what gives humans satisfaction is doing things that are at least a little bit difficult, so they feel a sense of achievement.
• Exercise is not even on Sammy’s radar. He does envy the body of those who do exercise but is repulsed at very the idea of it. He has tried once or twice but finds it simply miserable and when he does exert himself, he must take a nap or relax long enough to more than make up for the energy he expended, so the net result is a negative.
• When Sammy goes on vacation (rarely), things are even worse. He food binges and drinks in excess because he is “on vacation” and can “cut loose.” He loves lying on the beach in the shade and sleeping off his hangovers.

Sammy Supersaver’s typical day (go to work version – if he has a job):

• Wake up in a comfy bed, in a thermostat-controlled room.
• Check the phone for messages, texts, tweets, alerts, etc.
• Go to the bathroom while surfing the phone for news.
• Eat cereal while watching TV, or being on the phone, a tablet, or computer.
• Coffee is ready, from the automatic coffee maker.
• Poop while surfing phone.
• Maybe shower in nice hot water.
• Maybe brush teeth with an electric automatic toothbrush.
• Maybe shave with electric shaver.
• Get dressed.
• Take the elevator to the car (or the work from home version below).
• Drive to work but stopping at the drive-through for coffee and pastries.
• Pull into the parking lot at work and find the closest parking spot to the front door.
• Elevator up to work floor (even if it’s just 1-2 floors).
• Walk to desk while looking for snacks and soda/energy drink along the way.
• Sit at desk and plug away.
• Bathroom trip, finding snacks and soda/energy drink on the way back.
• Work at desk.
• Lunch at the cafeteria, somewhere nearby, or order delivery food.
• Bathroom trip, finding snacks and soda/energy drink.
• Work at desk.
• Go to a meeting with coworkers and sit in meeting, eating provided snacks and sodas.
• Work at desk.
• Bathroom trip, finding snacks and soda/energy drink.
• Elevator down to car.
• Drive home.
• Elevator up to resident floor.
• Check social and news.
• Play video games.
• Order food delivery.
• Desert.
• More video games.
• More social media and news.
• Watch a movie/Netflix on the couch with snacks and a nightcap and/or weed.
• Back to bed (if he didn’t fall asleep on the couch). 

Work from home version: 

• Wake up in a comfy bed, in a thermostat-controlled room.
• Check the phone for messages, texts, tweets, alerts, etc.
• Go to the bathroom while surfing the phone for news.
• Cereal while watching TV, checking phone or computer for news, social media, feeds, emails.
• More screens.
• Coffee with lots of sugar, cream, and flavorings.
• Poop while surfing phone.
• Maybe shower in nice hot water (but probably just wet his hair to make it look like he showered).
• Sometimes brush teeth, but not usually.
• Mabe get dressed (pajamas from the waist down).
• More social media time.
• Sit at desk and plug away.
• Bathroom trip, finding snacks and soda/energy drink.
• Work at desk.
• Order delivery food for lunch.
• Bathroom trip, finding snacks and soda/energy drink.
• Work at desk.
• Zoom meeting with coworkers with soda/energy drink.
• Work at desk.
• Bathroom trip, finding snacks and soda/energy drink.
• Check social and news.
• Play video games.
• Order food delivery.
• More video games.
• More social and news.
• Watch a movie/Netflix on the couch with snacks and a nightcap and/or weed.
• Back to bed (if he didn’t fall asleep on the couch). 

If Sammy gets desperate and miserable enough (or develops an interest in dating), he will join a gym. He will likely quit after the first visit.

Several months later, and even more miserable, Sammy may look into getting a personal trainer (group training is not an option because he is such an extreme introvert). MSS need trainers more than anyone bc they won’t push themselves otherwise

Sammy can get results with a trainer but at a slower pace because he will be fighting his own brain, habits, patterns, and genetics.

Sammy’s best solution is a trainer who truly cares and utilizes PJ’s Brain Type Test to hack Sammy’s habits and patterns to help him solve his struggles and roadblocks.

With enough time and brain training, Sammy can break out of being a MSS and even change his genetics (through epigenetics), so his offspring are blessed with higher metabolisms and more willpower. As dismal as Sammy seems, there is still hope!

If Sammy doesn’t change however, how do you think he’s going to feel in his 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, and later (if he lives past his 60’s that is)?

Now for contrast, here is the other side of the spectrum, Spencer Super Spender:

• Spencer grew up in a home with attentive parents who facilitated his active lifestyle of playing outside with friends, enrolling him in sports, and limiting his time with screens, video games, computers, social media, etc. 
• Spencer sits 20% of his day in a 65 deg. house, mostly standing, stretching, and doing short, quick activities to stay warm (because he knows what a great metabolism hack that is).
• Spencer skips breakfast, eats a big lunch, then (rarely) a snack, then a small dinner, prepping all his own meals (knowing how to use all the appliances in his kitchen).
• He loves organic food and rarely eats food out of bags and boxes. 
• His drinks are free of sugar (but no artificial sweeteners).
• Spencer does things that challenge his mind, especially new things he has to learn from scratch.
• Spencer loves green veggies, wild meat, free-range eggs, and other organic foods, low in carbs, but high in fiber and healthy fat.
• Spencer leaves the house 2-3 times a day to go for walks, hikes on the weekend, and to run errands, mostly on his bike, if possible.
• Spencer loves protein and fatty foods (good fats – never vegetable oils). 
• Spencer eats 2 meals a day, with maybe one snack in between. He never gets “hangry,” eats an early dinner (5 pm-sh) and goes to bed with a relatively empty stomach.
• Spencer is often thirsty, and when he is, filtered water tastes amazing.
• Spencer never acquired a taste for alcohol, so he prefers water and other hydrating beverages. 
• Spencer has no need for alcohol, weed, or any other aid to calm down.
• Spencer has many good friends, but few acquaintances and even fewer social media “friends,” as he spends very little time on social apps. 
• Exercise is a huge part of Spencer’s life. He has the body everyone wants and finds it easy to train often.
• Spencer has a huge comfort zone and tries to get out of it as often as possible to stretch it even larger. He actually finds comfort in being uncomfortable because he knows he is changing and getting better and stronger when he is outside his comfort zone.
• Spencer craves exertion and new experiences at home and on vacations. Lying on the beach or doing the same routines is uncomfortable for him. He has “inverted” his comfort zones and finds excitement and accomplishment in growth and change. Spencer eats the same on vacation as he does at home because he craves those foods and has no desire to “cheat” with anything else, which seems disgusting to him anyway. He seeks out fun, active, adventurous stuff to do, and is even more active than at home. 

Spencer’s go-to-work version:

• 6 am: Wake up.
• Go pee. 
• Drink 12 oz. water (always filtered).
• Take vitamins and key supplements.
• Put on a pot of hot water for decaf coffee and/or green tea (always organic beverages).
• 5+ min meditation.
• Drink decaf coffee and/or tea.
• Poop.
• 21 min infrared sauna (or walk outside if the sun is up).
• 21-minute X Gym workout.
• 1 min cold shower, then turn to warm and finish.
• Brush and floss teeth while standing in front of his red light therapy lamp.
• Affirmations in the mirror.
• Get dressed.
• Packs water and lunch (notice no breakfast because he does intermittent fasting).
• Drink green tea (usually takes it with him in the car).
• Stairs down to car (or work-from-home version below).
• Drive to work (or bike if he’s within 10 miles, so he doesn’t get sweaty, or longer if there are showers at work).
• Finds the furthest parking spot from the front door.
• Stairs up to work floor (even if it’s just 1-2 floors).
• Walk to desk – easily walking past all snacks and soda/energy drink options along the way.
• Gets to his stand-up desk and plugs away, taking 1 min breaks to stretch over his Swiss ball for proper posture work.
• Bathroom trip, ignoring snacks and drinks along the way (unless there is a good water filter system at work).
• Back to desk, with 15 min, interval timer to remind to drink/change posture/stretch/lower desk.
• Lunch outside in the sun with packed lunch from home.
• Bathroom trip, ignoring snacks and drinks.
• Work at desk with 15 min timer.
• Go to a meeting with coworkers, sit in meetings, drink water, and ignore snacks and sodas
• Work at desk w/15 min timer.
• Bathroom trip, ignoring snacks and sodas.
• Stairs down to car.
• Drive home (or bike).
• Stairs up to resident floor.
• Early dinner – handmade, using the conscious eating technique.
• Go for a 15 min walk listening, smelling, noticing, and appreciating the great outdoors.
• Prepare tomorrow’s lunch.
• Read a real book.
• 15+ min yoga.
• Appreciates someone (sends them a note or text). 
• Researches health and fitness ideas/concepts to learn more. 
• Gratitude meditation and journaling about it.
• 9 pm bed.

Sammy’s work-from-home version: 

• 6 am: Wake up.
• Go pee.
• Drink 12 oz. water.
• Take vitamins and key supplements.
• Put on a pot of hot water for decaf coffee and green tea.
• 5 min meditation.
• Drink decaf coffee.
• Poop.
• 21 min IR sauna (or walk outside if sun is up).
• 21 minute X Gym workout.
• 1 min cold shower, then turn to warm and finish.
• Affirmations in the mirror.
• Brush and floss teeth while standing in front of his red light therapy lamp.
• Get dressed (including real pants). 
• Starts his 1 MPH treadmill desk and plugs away.
• Bathroom trip (because he drinks a ton of filtered water).
• Stretches back over Swiss ball.
• Back to desk with 15 min timer
• Break for homemade lunch.
• Bathroom trip.
• Back to desk with 15 min timer.
• Zoom meeting with coworkers with water.
• Back to desk with 15 min timer.
• Early dinner – handmade, conscious eating.
• Go for a 15 min walk listening, smelling, noticing, and appreciating nature. 
• Prepare tomorrow’s lunch.
• Read a real book.
• 15+ min yoga.
• Appreciates someone (sends them a note or text). 
• Researches health and fitness ideas/concepts to learn more. 
• Gratitude meditation and journaling about it.
• 9 pm bed.

Where are you on the Sammy/Spencer spectrum? What are you going to do about it and how soon will you start? Decide now because your life depends on it. Quite literally.