Muscles, Fat & Bologna

This week's weight loss (or rather lack thereof) definitely has me a little frustrated. Of course, the knee-jerk reaction to not liking what one sees on the scale is to go with the old, "Well, you know, muscle weighs more than fat..."

Did you ever notice that no one mentions this when they've actually lost weight? "Gee, Bill, you must have really converted a lot of muscles into fat to post that kind of loss." Doesn't happen. You know why? The whole thing is a bunch of balderdash.

Does a pound of muscle weigh more than a pound of fat? I'm pretty sure I was asked a similar riddle in the second grade involving feathers and lead. I knew the answer then, still do. A pound is a pound. Muscle doesn't "weigh" more than fat. Muscle is more dense than fat. A pound of muscle will take up much less room than a pound of fat, but they will weigh the same.

Beyond the inaccurate phrasing of the statement, "muscle weighs more than fat," there is a deeper meaning, the ultimate fitness excuse. The idea here is that I could build up X amount of muscle and burn Y amount of fat, and the different in their densities would offset one another. Isn't that a comforting thought? Just because the scale doesn't move doesn't mean that I'm not getting slimmer? The thing is, though, I don't buy it.

Along with being denser, muscles require more calories of support from your body than do fat cells. In other words, by adding muscle we burn more calories, even during periods of rest. This is a pretty good argument for doing strength training as a part of your weight loss regiment. It also makes me think that it's not very likely that I could add much muscle without seeing a drop in weight on the scale.

I'm not looking to make excuses for my failure to lose weight. Excuses are what got me heavy in the first place. Excuses don't burn any calories. My answer to this week's weigh in is going to be to stay the course. I know that if I keep working and keep making healthy decisions, it will catch up with me.

Weekly Weighin: Are you kidding me?

It's Friday, and that means stepping onto the Summit scale for the first time in a week. I don't mind telling you that this is the first week that I haven't felt dread over the proposition. Between last week's zero lose and the fact that I really brought it this week, I knew I was in for a big number. Of course, I was wrong.

Last week I was frustrated by not having lost more weight, but I knew I could only blame myself. I hadn't put in the time at the gym (just two real workouts), and my diet was far from a priority. Bouncing back from that experience, I worked my butt off this week (unfortunately, not literally). Monday and Tuesday I got up early and worked out to the Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga (it may sound funny but it's not...it's torture). Then, for the first time in about twelve years, I put in three consecutive swim workouts Wednesday, Thursday and this morning. What's more, these weren't wimpy swims. I wasn't just floating for 40 minutes. I was really pushing. I did a number of sprints as part of interval training, and I timed myself on longer distances.

Approaching that scale this morning I felt great. I felt deserving. Then I stepped aboard...and I felt like I'd been kicked in the pants. I lost weight, but it was definitely in decimal form. For the last two weeks I'd weighed in at 206.8 pounds. This morning, the scale read 206.2. For those of you whose calculators don't have room for a decimal (and who didn't excel in middle school math), that means I've only lost one half of a pound in the last week. HALF A POUND!

This puts my weight loss to date at 15 pounds after 10 weeks of working out. I know I should be focusing on that 15, but I can't help but feel the 10 in marrow of my bones.

How does that happen? I worked out. I watch my calories like they were invading enemy forces. I did all the things I was supposed to do. I feel like I got gypped. I know, I know, I should be grateful that I lost something or that I didn't gain weight. I'm not grateful, though, I'm frustrated. How am I supposed to get my lazy butt out of bed at 5:45 to workout, when it hasn't really paid off recently? Wouldn't it just be easier to stay fat and just hang out with my wife and baby?

Don't worry. I haven't given up. I'll be back to work this week. I just hope that next Friday the scale is a little friendlier.

As Fat as Texas

Over the last two months of trying to lose weight and get fit, I've been doing a lot of thinking about my little girl, Sydney. She is so perfect and (thank God) healthy, and I want to make sure that I provide her with a good example of a healthy, active lifestyle. A recent report has me thinking that this is more important than ever.

A group called Trust for America's Health at HealthyAmericans.org recently published this report, tracking the weight statistics of residents of each of the 50 states. They found that Texas ranked 14th for the highest percentage of obese adults (27.9%) and, more tragically, 20th for the highest percentage of overweight or obese children (32.2%).

I don't know what's more horrifying here, that nearly one in three of our kids is overweight to obese, or that that statistic still puts us ahead of thirty other states! The kids tested for this study were aged 10 to 17. In my mind, this is the time in a child's life that they are establishing the habits and behaviors that will follow them most of their lives. Keeping in mind that poor diet and physical inactivity are one of the leading causes of preventable death in America (right behind smoking), we're killing our kids.

To be clear, I don't blame video games, the Internet or "the rap music," for this problem. I blame...us, parents. It's our job to make sure that our kids are being active and eating well. Lord knows, my mom had to use the jaws of life to get me to eat my vegetables, but she did it (most of the time). I wasn't on my knees begging my parents to sign me up for little league, but they did. Way more importantly than that, my parents did a great job of modelling healthy decision making. I can remember my dad jogging at night and promising that I could join him once I was able to run in place for an hour (two episodes of The Cosby Show). Likewise, I have fond memories of my sisters and I Sweatin' to the Oldies alongside my mom (Trust me, it was cool at the time.).

That's the dad I want to be to Sydney, one who doesn't just push her to be healthy, but makes her want to be healthy. I don't know what I can do about the other two out of three Texas kids, but I'm going to make sure she's one of the healthy ones.

I'm proud to say that Temple Parks & Leisure Services has made keeping Temple kids healthy a major priority. The Department offers regular programs to keep kids of all ages active and healthy. Moreover, as part of its expansion, the Summit Family Fitness Center has added a state-of-the-art youth fitness room. I've gotten to go in there a few times, and I have to say, it's pretty awesome. There are stationary bikes that let the kids race with eachother over a connect network, a huge video game dancing program, and an activity wall that challenges kids to hit or throw things at targets as they light up. All of these neat toys combine for a great workout that most kids won't even realize they're getting.

LivingStrong, EatingStrong

So, I've never claimed to be an especially bright guy, but today I made a discovery that really had me slapping myself over the forehead.

At the suggestion of fellow Fit to Tell blogger, Cora, I've been using LiveStrong.com's My Plate for a few weeks now, and only today did I figure out how its suggested calorie feature really works. You see, once you create a free account on the site, you can input your age, height and current weight. Then, given your usual activity level and weight loss goals, the site calculates a suggested daily calorie limit. For instance, I'm 27 years old, I'm about 5 feet, 11 inches tall, and I currently weigh 206 pounds. I'd like to be losing 3 pounds a week (I realize this is a little ambitious, but last week was a real kick in the pants for me.), and I'd describe my daily activity level as being moderately active. With this in mind, LiveStrong suggests that I try and get 1,596 calories a day...not to be too specific.

The thing is, the My Plate tool also lets you track your workouts. I've been inputting my daily workouts this whole time. What I never realized until this morning, though, is that by working out, you increase the number of calories you're allowed to consume. For example, today I swam 2000 yards in about 45 minutes. The system gives me credit for burning 927 calories along the way. That means that today I'm allowed to consume 2,523 calories. That's about 900 more calories that I have been consuming in weeks past. That's a lot!

Hopefully making this discovery will help me to better fuel my body and keep my metabolism turning on the days when I work out. I hope that all translates into some weight loss this week.

How a Bad Friday Lead to a Bad Weekend

Let me start by saying that Friday wasn't actually bad at all. It was a wonderful day in almost every regard. It was a day off of work, which is always nice. My wife and I celebrated five awesome years of marriage. That was great. Really the only thing about Friday that wasn't perfect was that morning's weigh in. The scale showed no loss from last week. It was a downer, and it didn't lead to a weekend of healthy decisions.

Somewhere between the frustration of failing to lose weight and the giddiness of celebrating my anniversary...my diet fell short of being a priority. I didn't bother looking for low calorie champagne at the super market, and I didn't bother limiting my portions of the stuff. Likewise, I partook of plenty of restaurant food this weekend, and I didn't count any of the calories. On the contrary, I think some part of my mind was shooting for a high score. What's more, not only did I not do any working out, I made every effort to avoid doing anything approaching active.

Some weekends I like to see if I can go a day without leaving the house. This was one of those weekends.

Why is it that I couldn't see that 206 on the scale Friday and be galvanized? How come it didn't turn me into the William Wallace of workouts? Instead, I plummeted into a state of culinary denial. "Three day weekend calories don't count, right?"

I'm shaping up this week. I'm planning on swimming at least three times, and I don't plan to miss out on any morning workouts in the living room, either. This way, if the scale says something I don't like on Friday, at least I won't be able to say I didn't try. In that case, clearly the scale is just broken, right?

Weekly Weighin: A few days late

Friday was both a holiday from work and my fifth anniversary (You hear that, Middle School Bully, I've been married to a totally hot lady for five years!), but I still dragged my over-sized butt to the Summit. After all, I've got an embarrassing web journal to keep.

I hopped in the pool and, after a quick warm up, decided to time myself on a 1000 yards. Once again I used the 300 on - 50 or 100 easy method, focusing on a steady pace. My time was just over 14 minutes. Assuming I could keep that pace, which I think I can, I'm on track for a 25 minute mile. I'd really like to be closer to 20 minutes for the relay, but there's still time.

After my swim, as is the painful custom of this blog, I stepped aboard the Summit's scale...and did not smile. I really wanted to be under 205 pounds. That would have made me an official light heavyweight as opposed to my current heavyweight status. Alas, it was not meant to be this week. The scale read 206 pounds, the same as last week. That's zero pounds lost. Here are some possible explanations:

1.) Clearly the scale is broken (This is not the case. It started at zero and didn't move until I stepped on it.)

2.) Surely I've just swapped muscle for fat, and one of those weighs more. (I don't feel all that much stronger.)

3.) Maybe I was still wet with pounds of water from the pool. (No can do. I towelled off with the scale in mind.)

4.) Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I only got in two good workouts (I did a measly 20 minutes of aerobics Thursday.) all week and I wasn't paying vigilant attention to my calories.

That last explanation has the painful burning sensation of truth. I got complacent last week. I think I was so accustomed to seeing the weight drop that I forgot how I had gotten it moving in the first place. This week I'm on it. I'm going hardcore, and the scale is going to reflect it come Friday morning.

Body Mass Madness

I have to admit, I've been feeling pretty good about my progress these last few weeks. I'm finally seeing a little bit of a difference from the weight loss, and dropping a pant size felt a lot like success. Today, however, I read an article on the range of healthy Body Mass Indexes (BMI), and after some quick calculations I learned that I am still a far cry from what the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers healthy.

You BMI can be calculated based your height in inches and your weight in pounds. Being a proud nerd and self-proclaimed Excel black belt, I've created a spreadsheet that will automatically determine your current BMI and show you the healthy range of weights. You can download it here.

After two months and fifteen pounds of weight loss, my current BMI is 28.7. According to the CDC a healthy BMI should be between 18.5 and 24.9. For me that means a weight of 133 to 179 pounds. 133 pounds? Who knew the CDC was such a chuckle factory? Heck, even the high end of that range is still 27 pounds away!

To be fair, as an indicator of healthiness, the BMI isn't perfect. Well trained athletes who have lots of heavy muscles and very little body fat could still be labelled overweight by this system. Of course, I don't fall into that category. No, I'm just regular old, vanilla overweight. At least I have a goal now.