More Calories, Less Fat

If there’s one thing I learned from my participation in the Bodybuilding.com 2013 Transformation Challenge Sponsored by Dymatize that stands out from the rest it’s that when one eats is sometimes as important as what one eats.

In an effort to find an eating plan — I’m not even sure “plan” is the right word, it’s more of a lifestyle thing — that works for me, I’ve been steadily upping my calories since the Challenge ended. Whereas, the 3,040 calories I consumed on Feb. 28 was my highest total during the seven-week Challenge, lately I’ve been averaging more calories than that.

Yet, I’ve gained a grand total of 0.1 pounds since I took my Final pictures two weeks ago.

Frankly, my goal after the Challenge was to gain weight by “bulking” a bit, as I thought that might be a great way to allow me some extra calories. Now, I’m not sure what I should do. I’m OK at the calorie level I’m at — not hungry and, in fact, often full — but I want to have some goals in the gym besides working hard… and I’m still very, very nervous about quitting my cardio program altogether.

My thinking is: Why “bulk up” with fat? Right now, I’m maintaining my present weight and losing fat; that strikes me as a whole lot better than gaining weight and having to trim a ton of fat later on (been there, done that, didn’t care for it).

All things considered, it’s a good problem to have (it sure beats the alternative). I’m thinking that maybe I should set some strength goals since I go back and forth between strength- and size-building exercises anyway.

In the meantime, I think I’ll get something to eat.

The Secret to Weight Loss

I have found the secret to weight loss (at least for me)… and it's not eating/avoiding certain types of foods, snacking incessantly or any of the other stuff one typically hears.

It all boils down to ramping up one's metabolism. How that is achieved is up to the individual. For me, the combination of a good fat burner and slightly more intense (than I would like) cardio has done the trick.

When I started the Bodybuilding.com 2013 Transformation Challenge, I had a simple, tried-and-true diet in place. I would eat 6-8 times a day, mixing protein and complex carbs into my meals and snacks and I would lose weight and gain/retain muscle…

It didn’t work. My weight stayed more or less the same.

Undeterred, I decided that, perhaps, I was taking in too many calories and fat each day. So I revamped my diet and starting tracking everything I ate. I thought 2,000-2,300 calories per day would do the trick — beach body here I come!

It didn’t work. Sure, I lost more weight than before, but it was coming off very slowly.

Next, I decided to cut my daily calorie intake. Instead of 2,000-2,300 calories per day, I opted for 1,800-2,000 (mind you, my twin brother, who is naturally 30 pounds lighter than me, was losing weight with a much less stringent diet). But, hey, if fewer calories is what it took to get mean and lean, so be it.

It didn’t work. Again, I was losing weight, just at a glacial pace.

Then came my breakthrough. I noticed that, when I was walking on the treadmill (I’d maintain a pace of about 3.4-3.6 MPH at an 8-9 percent incline), my heart rate was generally in the 116-123 beats-per-minute range. Although I’ve heard that 60-70 percent of one’s maximum heart rate — crudely determined by subtracting one’s age from 220 — is ideal, I wondered if my body was resistant to that theory.

I decided to work in some interval training and quicken the pace of my workouts to get my heart rate up.

It worked. Now, when I get on the treadmill, my heart rate is immediately in the 130-135 beats-per-minute range and I’ve started losing weight — and, more importantly, fat — at a greatly accelerated rate.

So much for theories. I guess it's true: Practice makes perfect.

To Those About to Sweat, I Salute You

Every once in a while it’s nice to get some positive feedback — from non-family members. Today, I received just that at the gym when not one, but two, people asked me for training tips. Now, granted, they might just as easily have asked me for advice on how to eat an entire pecan pie in 30 minutes or less — I still have a lot of weight to lose — but at least it’s nice to know that I have a few things going for me.

Of course, I know for some — those that have even more weight to shed than I — having others notice and comment on their progress is unlikely. Sadly, among its other negative properties, excessive body fat has a way of obscuring the positive changes one is undertaking (and sometimes the scale is a willing accomplice).

So, to those who toil in anonymity, I salute you. Anybody who works hard has my respect and admiration — especially you nuts running on the treadmill as though you’re being chased by a pack of rabid dogs.

Frustration Building

Although it’s only been a couple of days, this has already been a tough week. I learned a while back that I was losing a long-term client to the tough economy (the financial newsletter I’ve compiled since 2007 will be no longer as of the end of this month). Well, as of this week, I haven’t had a single response to the dozens of resumes and cover letters I’ve sent out.

It’s frustrating because, when the newspaper I once worked for also folded — do you think there might be a trend here? — I had all sorts of responses. In fact, I had a job with the ill-fated financial newsletter before the ink had dried on my final newspaper column. 

Add to that continuing impatience with my fat loss in general and the “sleep number zero” consistency of my stomach and you have an idea why it’s been a bad week. Yeah, I see potential — there’s muscle under the flab — but I just wish I could speed up the weight loss/fitness process. As it is, I’m now spending 2-3 hours at the gym every day.

I understand that one can’t really target fat loss, but I wish I could just get blasted in the midsection by a laser... preferably one mounted on the head of a shark.