Measuring Up

Chest: 47"
Waist: 45"
Hips:   45"
Upper Arm: 15"
Thigh:   26"
Calf:  16"
Neck:  17"
Weight: 229

That waist size is bad bad bad.  I am one of those men that carries most of his excess weight in his belly.  If you don't know, that is a very dangerous, bad correlate to a host of health problems.  I don't have any idea if any of those other measurements are bad or good or nothing in particular.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that I need to do more than I am doing right now.  I must be subconciously sabatogueing my weight loss efforts by eating more food than I used to eat before I started weight lifting.  I do purposefully eat a snack after each workout that incorporates some simple carbohydrates (chocolate milk, for instance) as well as something a little more substantial (like almonds) to give my body some fuel to build more muscle - perhaps it is just these extra snacks that are offsetting whatever increase I might have made to my metabolism.  For whatever reason, I am not loosing any weight.  The weight lifting is starting to pay dividends - I can lift more weight than I could when I started, and those parts of my body that aren't covered by fat are showing tone and definition, but that weight number, it hasn't budged.  Oh, some days it's a couple pounds lower but other days it is higher.  I am about ready to start dieting seriously.

My plan all along has been to gradually incorporate the elements of fitness into my own life and by doing so, make them permanent healthy habits that I can follow.  Weight lifting as primary exercise was my first habit goal, and in that respect my plan has succeeded.  Still, I expected that I would have lost a little bit of weight by now, so the loss of no weight has been disappointing.  The other two main physical healthy habits that I want to achieve are fitting in regular cardio workouts (right now I rarely do cardio, which I know I need to do for optimal health and fitness) and to revamp my dietary habits.  Revamping the diet is going to be by far the most difficult thing to do.  I have years of sloppy eating habits to overcome, and I am dreading the process a little.

We (Jessie and I) might do the South Beach Diet.  Other than the initial two week period, the diet is pretty much an ideal all of the time sort of healthy diet, that would help me not only lose weight but develop the sort of healthy habits I can use for the rest of my life.  We might even do it with my mom.  I think we're starting on Monday - wish me luck!

Comments

[Ariel]

I think cardio is key. It's definitely a more efficient way to burn calories. Check out a site like caloriesperhour.com. You will burn ~150 calories in 30 minutes of moderate weight lifting, vs. 400 calories in 30 minutes on a stairmaster, or 260 calories for brisk walking, or 364 calories for moderate biking. From what I understand, the metabolic boost of weight lifting is really minimal, not enough to burn significant calories. (Runner's World recently did a long article about this, but unfortunately it's not online -- both the post-lifting "boost" and the metabolic effect of having the extra muscle added up to maybe 30 or 50? extra calories burned per day.)

Could you possibly walk to and from the gym to supplement your weightlifting? Or maybe get on the train or bus a few stops down to sneak in 15 minutes of walking each way? I guess the weather will make this a challenge soon.

Good luck with the SB. I am a carb and sugar addict and the thought of breaking my bad habits appeals to me -- I should take the plunge.

[Geoff North]

Thanks for the comment Ariel - it is very interesting to me. Do you know what issue of Runner's World this article was in? My neighbors downstairs have a subscription to Runner's World and might still have the issue kicking around. I'd love to read it, because what you described above runs contrary to what I've read over and over about the benefits of weight training. Do a google search on weight training metabolic effect and you will find thousands of pages extolling the virtues of weight training and the effect it has on metabolism. The figure I've read is that each pound you add will burn 30-50 extra calories each day. If you can put on save five pounds, you can end up using a lot more energy just doing what you usually do. Could all those sites be wrong? I'm sure it's a possibility, but it seems unlikely to me (I've also read about these benefits in magazines and books by serious health and fitness guru's). Still, I would love to have more information, or at least to hear Runner's World's take on it.

I love weight lifting - I'm not giving it up. My plan right now is to mix in a couple of intense cardio sessions a week, meaning I'm going to the gym five days a week. I've been doing this the last two weeks, and it seems to be working well so far.

[Ariel]

I poked around some more and found the article online: http://tinyurl.com/9h8e9

(Incidentally, that whole series of "Enduring Questions" articles is quite interesting.)

And of course I would never suggest you give up weight training -- it's great for lots of reasons -- just that you add more cardio, which it sounds like you're doing.

[Lyn Petty]

Pertaining to the weight issue, surely you understand that as you replace fatty tissue with muscle, you will not lose weight, but may even gain a pound or two. Fat weighs considerably less!

[Matt Carter]

Truly believe that weight training is the key here. Sure, cardio is a vital component in transforming your body shape and size, and you can further capitalize on that with a targeted weight training program like the one in this link.

There's wealth of research out there showing that more muscle translates to a greater energy requirement for the body. So, as your muscle mass increases, your body quite simply taxes you for more energy throughout the day just to keep going. Whereas the benefits of cardio just by itself tend not to pervade quite so far beyond the duration of time you are actually training.

Hope that makes sense. There's a whole load more details surrounding the issue if you want to delve deeper. You can get a fresh perspective, if you like, by taking a look at the link or the URL.

Very best of luck to you,

Matt Carter
http://www.honestmusclegain.com