Weight Control

Month two and progress has slowed. I've come to a stand still. Talk about frustrating!?!! I was expecting this routine to have miraculous results. No one ever told me that I would hit a wall half way through.

The good news is, I think I figured out why.

First of all, when you are near you body's ideal weight it is really challenging to lose weight. Well, unless you're anorexic or something but that's not me. The last 5-10lbs are the hardest to lose.

Before starting this I was already really active and at a pretty stable weight. My goal is to break past the point where I was at and go from healthy to fit. In body fat percentages, that means going from roughly 30% to 24%.

Lifting builds muscle. Muscle burns calories over a longer sustained period of time. Essentially, building muscle burns calories and burns fat. However, for me to achieve the results I'm aiming for I've realized that there are three things that are necessary.

First of all, to develop the lean musle, weight lifting. Like I've said, I'm very consistent with this. 4 days a week, 45 mins, full body workout. I've already noticed muscle development and fat loss. This is good. But it's not enough by itself.

Secondly, a healthy diet with calorie control. With this I'm more lenient because it's just so hard to control. I do give in on occasion but for the most part I am sticking to lean protein and veggies. I've mostly eliminated bread from my diet because refined carbs aren't a necessity. My favorite part about this is that I just feel so much better. It's hard to explain but I plan to have a post in the near future to elaborate.

Lastly, and simply, cardio! Last month I regularly did at least one day of cardio. I also lost a few pounds last month. Already half way through this month I haven't noticed nearly the same results. And this month I haven't done much cardio. Just this one element is making a huge difference in my weight control.

With four days a week of weights it's been tough to fit in another day of exercise just for cardio. Especially, because I don't do cardio on the days I lift weights. This is because cardio increases cortisol levels which break down muscle, counteracting my primary goal of developing lean muscle.

One positive aspect of the change in weather is that I won't be as distracted by summer activities so I'll have more time for exercise.

Over the next two weeks I'm going to add another day of cardio. I'll keep you posted on the results!