Do I really want to know how fat I am?

Yes, I do. Because I keep track of my body fat percentage, more so than my weight, I can tell if I'm gaining muscle, which is my goal. If my weight is up, and my body fat is staying the same, this is good, because it means I'm most likely gaining muscle. The more muscle my body carries, the more active my metabolism. The more quality food I eat and use, the more energy I'll have, and ultimately the more strength and endurance I'll have. My goal is greater health and vitality.

A Plan to Gain Five/Lose Five

If you want to gain five pounds of muscle and lose five pounds of fat. Here's a plan to accomplish this goal:

First follow a schedule of weight training three times a week (full body routine), and bike riding (or other aerobic activity), 20 minutes every other day (or at least four times a week). It may take awhile to work up to the 20 minute bike ride. Start at your beginning. I've started as low as 5 to 10 minutes the first week or two. This strategy has worked for me in the past, and I know it will work for you too, so even though it is a slow start, the long-term results are what we're after, right?

Once you reach that first short-term goal, you'll have established the habit of exercise and continue it indefinately. This isn't something to do only for a short while until you reach a goal, and then whoosh, right back to your old habits that got you in trouble in the first place. That approach practically guarantees you'll eventually fail.

Body fat analysis gives you a gauge you can use for future check ups. Get your body fat checked every few months or buy a home monitor and check it monthly. If it has barely moved, consider whether you stayed true to your plan, or whether you deviated, and if you did deviate, to what extent? Perhaps you are happy with the result, even though it isn't as fast as you might like. If you did stick to your plan and didn't see the result you wanted, you may need to adjust your plan.

If you gained weight, but your body fat level is the same, or has gone down, this is an excellent result! You are gaining muscle, and losing fat. The tiny day-to-day changes happening inside your body are not always obvious to the eye or the scale. Let change happen, and do not under any circumstances let a machine dictate whether you decide to continue. If you feel excellent, then you're doing great and should continue, no matter what the scale shows.

Regarding weight, consider that on another planet, things are different. There the higher your weight, the smaller your size, so answer me this: Would you rather weigh 300 lbs and be a size 10 or would you prefer to weigh 98 lbs and be a size 22? Truthfully, what would you want? Does weight really matter or is it size and level of health you are after?

You must choose to what extent you are willing to go to obtain the result you are after. Just like a business person must decide how many hours to devote to work and how many to home and family, you must decide how far you are willing to go. You can eat more, exercise less, and be larger, or the opposite. It's just a choice. It's not life and death. Some people choose to be competitive athletes, some choose to be spectators. Those working as competitors must keep a more strict diet and exercise lifestyle than the spectators. Neither is good or bad, they are just different goals and different outcomes.

It's only satisfying to reach your body shape goals if they are truly your own goals. So first choose your path and then follow it.

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