Moving Forward

Made it to Peak really late on Thursday and Friday. I still have this really bad chest congestion. On Thursday slowed down and went for more time, more calories, but I also ran one session at level 10. On Friday I think my energy was so depleted by the time I got there that I just couldn't go long. But I did get in a 10 and a 10.6.  Watching the calorie intake today, but no extra exercise. Tomorrow will be difficult since I'll have a guest. 

Saving the Goal

Well, I'm there again: one hundred eighty five pounds. I have 13 lbs to lose in the next month - at this point 30 days to Jan 1. Time to focus and save this goal.

A goal is a promise we make to ourselves. Too often we allow ourselves to break those promises. After all, who will be affected? But these are some of the most important promises we make and some of the most important to be kept. The old saying is that promises are made to be broken. I can think of a number of promises that should never be broken and among those are the promises we make to ourselves to make our lives better.

My BMR is 1700 calories daily for 175 lbs. I'm shooting for 1000 calories a day. That gives a 700 calorie deficit every day, that's 1 lb every 5 days and that's a total of about 6 lbs loss by Jan 1. The rest will have to come from a  forced calorie deficit.

There is no weight loss without good nutrition, exercise and, importantly, calories deficits.

The goals remain: 172 lbs by Jan 1, complete 1 round of P90X by April 4th (Easter) and finish a second round by July 4th.

Here's to pulling this one out of the fire.

Which 50% Are You?

During the Thanksgiving break I heard a news broadcast that related appetite and exercise. Their report was on research indicating that exercise would increase appetite and was therefore suspect as a means of weight control. This took me totally back since my experience has been totally the opposite. This went report went on for awhile making this point about how questionable the value was of exercise for weight control. Finally toward the end of the report I caught the line that this was only true for 50% of the population.


Well, I guess I'm in the other 50%. I find that with exercise I can really ramp down my appetite. It’s when I don't exercise that I problems. And specifically, it is cardio that helps me to best control my appetite. A lot of the fitness people out there will rag on cardio as ineffective at worst or inefficient at best when it comes to burning fat. That may very well be the case. For me, cardio exercise has two other benefits that make it an important part of my weight loss regimen. First, I find it mentally helpful. Completing a good cardio or HIIT session gives me a sense of well being or positive mind set. I can stay in a much more positive mindset about my program when I'm doing cardio. So, if for no other reason than that, cardio (HIITs) would continue to be a part of my overall exercise program.

The second reason is that I find my appetite bumped down when I am doing cardio. If I skip my HIITs, if I stop doing any kind of cardio exercise my appetite begins to go ballistic! I mean, seriously, food starts calling my name. I get amazed at the students I teach when we have snacks of some kind. Some of them can eat a cookie or two and be totally satisfied. How can they just let it go? I want the cookies, all the cookies, and some more cookies. I want cookies until my stomach hurts. Then I want some more. I think I know what it must be like to be an addict or alcoholic. The best way to control those urges is to keep up a regular cardio program. I can do a much better job of avoiding binge eating if I just keep up my HIITs.

If it’s a 50/50 break down, I sure am glad that I'm on the half of the population whose appetite is helped by exercise. I still recommend that everyone try it. If you're having trouble controlling your appetite, find a level of cardio that is sufficient to keep cravings curbed.

Sometimes the talking heads just don't seem to want personal drive to work. Drive yourself to health anyway.

In Pursuit of Intensity

One of the guidelines of doing effective exercise/weight resistance is doing it with intensity. Running a slow jog day after day teaches your body how not to burn too many calories. Using the same weights and never attempting to push heavier weight will not give you muscle. But what does it mean to exercise with intensity?

Dennis Hardy gave a good definition. In one of his latest emails Hardy said, "If you are applying the proper intensity to your workouts, at some point during the workout, you should seriously doubt if you can complete it."

That's what I have thought about intensity meaning, I only wish I could have said it as well.

To do my HIITs with intensity means at least once I must push my speed to such a level that I do not think I could possibly complete the 30 second run. To do my resistance with intensity means that in at least one set I must be struggling to get the weight up, using every bit of my fortitude to finish.

That brings up the other aspect of intensity. It is attitude. Without the attitude to give the workout 100% or even 110%, intensity will not happen. Intensity begins in the mind, in the will, to go beyond limits.

A nice jog is enjoyable, no matter what some of the folks say about "mind numbing cardio". I find it anything but that. But is it effective for the building of a better body. Nope. Admittedly, it can actually undermine your struggle for a better body if done too much. You will simply train your body to conserve as many calories as possible when doing cardio. Your body will look for the path of most efficient caloric expenditure.

But pushing your routines to the level of intensity, to the place where you think you may jeopardize your ability to complete the exercise, will bring results you can see, results that make a real difference. Then you begin to experience "intensity".