Every author, however modest, keeps a most outrageous vanity chained like a madman in the padded cell of his breast. ~Logan Pearsall SmithSo it turns out that for every pound of lean muscle mass I gain, I burn an extra 90 calories a day. Which is great, because according to my assessment, I am to gain approximately 7-8 pounds of said mass. All while getting rid of about an equal or so amount of, well, less than solid mass. I refer to it as goosh. You may call it chub, flab, or excess flesh.
The great thing about gaining the muscle mass is it will actually be a lot more helpful in keeping weight off and helping me look good (I'm all about the vanity). And since I'll be constantly burning about 630 extra calories a day, I won't have to worry quite so much about gaining said goosh/chub/flab/excess flesh going forward. The bad news is, in order to get this lean muscle mass I have to work out. Hard. We're talking heavy weights and fatigued muscles 3-4 times a week.
Now don't get me wrong - I actually love working out. If I had more time in my schedule I'd be at the gym every day of the week doing something. But the initial period of re-starting weight training is a huge OUCH. My muscles are revolting. I've broken my workouts down to segments that I do over 3 days: arms/shoulders, legs/abs, chest/back. Then I throw in 1-2 yoga workouts per week and hopefully a good ole cardio workout as well.
I've gone through one cycle of the weight workouts and holy crap! I'm pretty sure there isn't a muscle left in me that isn't sore. If this doesn't work, there's a good chance nothing will.
I'm also trying to eat clean - which means no processed foods, no sugar (outside of what's in fruit, etc), 6 meals day and protein with each meal. The clean eating will likely be a gradual shift. I need to meal plan and buy groceries.
On the plus side of my assessment, my fitness level was above average and my blood pressure was 96/60 and my resting pulse rate was 59. All good stuff. So all I really need to concentrate on is building the lean muscle mass and revamping the eating habits to make that an easier target to hit.
I'll keep you updated on my progress. Provided I can still use my arms.
1 comment:
I was looking for a new blog post but this one is GREAT! If I hadn't gone to Canyon Ranch I would never have known about the Dexa scan and understood how I had to change my entire thinking and eat clean plus eat more to maintain the muscle mass I have.
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