Progress (II)

Days on 1500 Calorie Diet: 23
Days on Power 90: 15
Weight / Pounds Lost: 215.0 / 7.0
Body Fat / Percentage Down: 28 / 2
Mental Clarity: Maximum
Energy: Through the roof!

I’ve never used anything other than diet as a means of reducing my weight. I’ve tried almost every diet you can think of — from Atkins to the Zone — but this is the first time I’ve paired a reduction in calories with an increase in exercise. Frankly? I’m surprised at the results.

If you check my stats, you’ll see that my weight loss this past week wasn’t significant: I dropped a whole half-pound. Initially, that really disappointed me. With Atkins, I lost as many as five pounds a week. (Of course, I gained all that weight back — and then some — once the diet ended.)

You’ll also notice my body fat percentage, as measured by our scale at home, actually increased one percentage point. (Yikes!)

The lack of a dramatic weight loss made me consider dropping to 1300 calories, until Clyde noted that, as we’re working out, we’re losing fat, but gaining muscle. If I understand this right, muscle weighs more.

In the past, I’ve lost weight more dramatically because I was eliminating fat and water. Now, my weight loss appears slower because I’m adding muscle as I burn fat. (If any of you readers have experience that supports this, please drop me a line or post a comment here.)

Meanwhile: the scales don’t tell the whole story:

– I no longer suffer from permanent stiffness and soreness in my neck and upper back. This alone is worth thirty minutes a day doing push-ups, leg lifts, aerobics, weights, and jumping jacks.

– My flexibility and range of motion continues to increase. I keep surprising myself here. The other day, I bent over to pick up a pair of shoes — and noticed, with some shock, just how easily I could do so now. My gut, though still present, is visibly smaller; there’s less of me in the middle, so bending over is worlds easier.

– I’m starting to see some definition, especially in my chest and stomach. My calves are better defined, and my thighs are less flabby. Before, my gut was so big, I couldn’t even suck it in … now, with some effort, I can look almost human again.

– My face is visibly thinner. My double chin is receeding, and my jawline is becoming more prominent. I like what I see in the mirror, and it’s getting better every day.

– This business of eating smaller meals and incorporating snacks mid-morning and mid-afternoon helps me stop gorging myself. Historically, I’ve been incapable of snacking — instead, given the opportunity for a snack, I’d eat and eat and eat until I was uncomfortably full of chips, cookies, candy, etc. (I’d do the same at every meal.) In just three weeks, the way I feel about food is evolving. I’ve remembered that the point of a meal or a snack isn’t to come away swollen and gravid. Now, I’m able to have just enough … and stop.

– My mind gets faster and faster. Because I tend to live and work in my head, I have long imagined my body as little more than a vehicle for moving my brain from place to place. I’ve learned now that my physical health directly impacts my mental state. As my endurance increases, my memory, reasoning ability, and mental clarity are being restored. I’m recovering quickness and acuity that, just months ago, I was convinced were lost due to the aging process.

So: despite the slower weight loss, I’m seeing huge returns on a relatively small investment of time and effort. I still won’t say look forward to any of the exericses I’m doing. I’m not sure I ever will. I am, however, seeing a level of benefit that keeps me interested in the program and motivated to continue.

For now, I’m sticking with it.