It was a rather discouraging week. My diet was fairly good and my aerobic exercise was plentiful, but my weight went up. I know weight is not a good indicator of how healthy I am, but the weight fluctuations during the week did not boost my morale.

I believe these ups and down have to do with my body becoming used to exercise and then finding a plateau. I talked to a doctor friend who said that the body will get used to exercise and then try to find a balance. In order to increase weight loss, a person must constantly increase the amount and intensity of exercise. This makes sense to me, and would seem, in my perspective, to be the logic behind interval training.

The decrease in smoking has helped, but by the end of the week, I felt a cold coming on. By Friday I did not feel well. I fear for the next week.

I am at notch four on my favorite belt, whereas I was at notch one when I began the Four Get Fit program. Friends have noticed the difference and I am generally pleased with my progress.

Bruce

Sharon’s Reply
Hi Bruce,

You averaged about 50 fat grams a day this week, but I don’t think this is the real story. Perhaps because of your increased exercise, you have increased hunger. I notice that you are eating two chicken breasts, and two sandwiches, or a foot-long sub, even though you do select the lower fat foods. In general, your portions of good food are getting larger.

Your weight fluctuation can be due to the high sodium in a restaurant meal, or to other fluid fluctuations due to the exercise. You should weigh yourself under the same conditions each week for accuracy.

Although it hasn’t been very long, you may also be building some muscle weight and losing some fat weight (a good thing) and so the scale is not too reliable. The belt buckle is, however. That is an indicator that you are losing abdominal fat, which is the most unhealthy and unsightly. Don’t let the scale ruin your mood. You’re taking better care of your health and getting leaner.

Keep a lid on the alcohol, watch the portion size and be aware of sodium and fluid effects on your weight.

Sharon
Armand’s Reply

Bruce,

It looks like you had a terrific week of aerobic exercise. If you have to prioritize, cardiovascular work is definitely the way to go. However, I know you realize the importance of resistance exercise as well. Next week, see if you can get back to weight training. By doing at least one session per week you can at least maintain your muscular fitness.

As far as your weight fluctuation, that can be attributed to several different factors, such as water retention, additional lean body weight (muscle), and an excess intake of calories.

As I’ve said before, your goal should be to lose body fat and not be so concerned about the weight itself. If your belt size is getting smaller, that’s a much better indication of fat loss than the scale.

Regarding your doctor’s comments about the plateau, there is some validity to what he says. It comes down to mixing up your activities to integrate the different muscle groups and motor patterns, and, most importantly, burning calories. As long as you are expending more energy than you are taking in as calories, you will lose body fat.

The key to the balancing act is exercising consistently while avoiding roller-coaster eating. I know you can do it, Bruce. Good luck.

Armand

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