M
Martin W. Smith
Guest
No weight loss. That was the desired outcome. Since the last report, I have been trying to do two
things. First, I have been trying to increase my carb intake and decrease my fat intake so as to
stop weight loss while avoiding weight gain. This is relatively easy to do, especially with the
added variable of a vigorous exercise program to help enhance calorie burning when needed. Second, I
have been trying to convert some of the remaining fat to muscle. I don't mean convert directly (I
don't think fat can be converted to muscle), but I mean I want to continue to burn off fat while
building some extra muscle.
On the first point, I have succeeded in stopping the weight loss (no big problem there), and I have
avoided any weight gain. However, the volitility of the system is higher than I expected. I must
monitor my weight daily, and I must monitor my intake of carbs and fat, and I must monitor my
exercise program. All of these are important tools to use to dampen and control the net gain/loss to
keep it near 0. What I have noticed is that my weight can easily vary by up to 2+ kilos in a single
day. Since my last report my weight has bounced around between 86 and
88.5 kilos. I sweat like a horse when I train, and I train almost every day. I am certain that this
1 to 2+ kilo fluctuation is all glycogen/water, because whenever it gets put on, I always burn it
off again during the next day's workout. If that workout is light, then the weight migh not come
off until the second day's workout, in which case I must reduce my intake of food as well.
This tells me that if I were to stop exercising as much as I do for some days or weeks, I would
have to reduce my food intake to avoid weight gain. I haven't verified this, however. The reason I
think it is important to verify it is that I don't know how much glycogen/water I can actually
carry before my body begins to store fat again. And I don't know how long it will take to store
some measurable fat. It might be the case that there would be a "grace period" of several days in
which the fat storage system reasserts itself. I don't intend to let this happen, however. I enjoy
all the exercise, and I am confident that with the Atkins diet I can easily restrict my food intake
without increasing hunger and craving. But it is surprising to me how quickly the extra carbs put
back that 2+ kilos. I suppose that my system is more efficient in that regard, since I train hard
almost every day.
On the second point, converting fat to muscle, I believe I have also had considerable success. To
accomplish this, I have increased the strength component of my training, not by adding heavy lifting
but by adding a step/weights combination class, a high pulse kick boxing class, and more high
intensity spinners and aerobics classes. I have also added an interval set during my swim, which is
rather high intensity. A month ago, when I measured my body fat, it was 19%. Yesterday, when I
measured it on the same machine at the same time of day (well hydrated) my body fat registered as
16%. No doubt some of that must be accounted for by machine error or differences in hydration, but
3% at that level is a big drop, so a significant part of it must be real. Besides that, the mirror
test is kind to me. I think I look leaner, if not beefier (which I don't want anyway), and I do feel
stronger during training sessions. I also do well on the corrugated road test.
martin
--
Wesley Clark for President www.AmericansForClark.com
Martin Smith email: [email protected]
things. First, I have been trying to increase my carb intake and decrease my fat intake so as to
stop weight loss while avoiding weight gain. This is relatively easy to do, especially with the
added variable of a vigorous exercise program to help enhance calorie burning when needed. Second, I
have been trying to convert some of the remaining fat to muscle. I don't mean convert directly (I
don't think fat can be converted to muscle), but I mean I want to continue to burn off fat while
building some extra muscle.
On the first point, I have succeeded in stopping the weight loss (no big problem there), and I have
avoided any weight gain. However, the volitility of the system is higher than I expected. I must
monitor my weight daily, and I must monitor my intake of carbs and fat, and I must monitor my
exercise program. All of these are important tools to use to dampen and control the net gain/loss to
keep it near 0. What I have noticed is that my weight can easily vary by up to 2+ kilos in a single
day. Since my last report my weight has bounced around between 86 and
88.5 kilos. I sweat like a horse when I train, and I train almost every day. I am certain that this
1 to 2+ kilo fluctuation is all glycogen/water, because whenever it gets put on, I always burn it
off again during the next day's workout. If that workout is light, then the weight migh not come
off until the second day's workout, in which case I must reduce my intake of food as well.
This tells me that if I were to stop exercising as much as I do for some days or weeks, I would
have to reduce my food intake to avoid weight gain. I haven't verified this, however. The reason I
think it is important to verify it is that I don't know how much glycogen/water I can actually
carry before my body begins to store fat again. And I don't know how long it will take to store
some measurable fat. It might be the case that there would be a "grace period" of several days in
which the fat storage system reasserts itself. I don't intend to let this happen, however. I enjoy
all the exercise, and I am confident that with the Atkins diet I can easily restrict my food intake
without increasing hunger and craving. But it is surprising to me how quickly the extra carbs put
back that 2+ kilos. I suppose that my system is more efficient in that regard, since I train hard
almost every day.
On the second point, converting fat to muscle, I believe I have also had considerable success. To
accomplish this, I have increased the strength component of my training, not by adding heavy lifting
but by adding a step/weights combination class, a high pulse kick boxing class, and more high
intensity spinners and aerobics classes. I have also added an interval set during my swim, which is
rather high intensity. A month ago, when I measured my body fat, it was 19%. Yesterday, when I
measured it on the same machine at the same time of day (well hydrated) my body fat registered as
16%. No doubt some of that must be accounted for by machine error or differences in hydration, but
3% at that level is a big drop, so a significant part of it must be real. Besides that, the mirror
test is kind to me. I think I look leaner, if not beefier (which I don't want anyway), and I do feel
stronger during training sessions. I also do well on the corrugated road test.
martin
--
Wesley Clark for President www.AmericansForClark.com
Martin Smith email: [email protected]