Chris Berry On The Net

When I stepped on my scale this morning I was tantalizingly close to a weight below 200 pounds for the first time in at least 15 years. Since September, I’ve lost nearly 35 pounds, or 15% of my total body weight. I still have a long way to go to reach my ultimate goal of 175, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. If I continue losing weight at my present rate, I should reach my goal by my 48th birthday at the end of October. By then I hope to have lost 60 pounds, or nearly 25% of my original body weight.

Five months may seem like a long time to lose 25 pounds, but I’m finding the slow and steady approach is far more effective for me. In the past I’ve been able to lose as much as 4 or 5 pounds a week in short bursts, but I’ve never been able to stick with a program like that for very long. I’ve also found that the weight tends to come back as quickly as it comes off. I’ve been losing about a pound a week steadily since September, and I feel confident that the lifestyle changes I’m making are something that I can stick with for the long haul.

One of the frustrating things about weight loss is that the pounds don’t come off in a linear progression. I weigh myself first thing every morning, and some days I seem to be taking giant steps backwards. A lot depends on fluid retention from one day to the next, or what I ate at what time the night before. The important thing to remember is that the long-term trend line is moving downward. If I had the discipline to only weigh myself once a week I could see that more clearly.

Another reason that my progress seems slow is that I am building substantial muscle mass at the same time I’m burning fat. Even though I’ve taken nearly 4 inches off my waist so far, my chest, shoulders, arms and legs are all substantially larger than when I started. Given my age and sorry physical condition, I would not have believed it was possible to achieve the results I’ve seen so far. I will be in far better shape at 48 than I was at 28.

It’s hard to go for a day without hearing some reference to the number of obese and overweight people in the U.S. population. While there is no question that there are way too many fat people among us, I’m beginning to doubt the numbers. The statistics are based on Body Mass Index, which is a simple formula that divides a person’s weight by the square of their height. It does not take muscle mass or bone density into consideration, so it produces misleading results for anyone with above average muscle development. At my current height and weight, I am still considered borderline obese based on BMI alone, and even when I reach my target weight of 175, I will still be considered overweight. Neither of these results paints an accurate picture of my true physical condition. Body fat percentage is a far more reliable indicator.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of my improved physical condition is the change in my personality. I’ve always been an introvert, and I still prefer to spend the majority of my time alone. I’m finding that as my body changes, so too does my ability to tolerate social situations. Maybe I’m less self-conscious, or perhaps the exercise has activated some long dormant sociability hormone. I know I will never be a social butterfly, but if I stick with the program at least I will be slightly less reclusive.