Having just completed by third month on the Medifast diet plan, yesterday I did the InBody Scan at the Medifast Center. This simple, fast body scan gives me great insight into how my body is changing on Medifast. It shows my levels of fat, lean muscle and water.
It’s pretty cool.
Here are some highlights:
- The scale says that I lost 11.5 pounds over the past month
- But, I lost 14.5 pounds of fat
- During that same time, I gained 1.0 pounds of muscle
- My water weight went up by 2.0 pounds
So my results are better than what I could have seen with just the scale and I know my exercise program is working.
My total body fat mass is 85.3 pounds. Just doing some back of napkin type calculations, if I want a 10% body fat composition and I end up around 200 pounds, that’s 20 pounds of fat. So, I need to lose another 65.3 pounds to get there! Wow – that seems a long way off and a little overwhelming. I have a feeling my fat loss will be slowing down from 14.5 per month. Even at 14.5 pounds/month, I’ll make it in a little more than 4 more months and if it averages going down to 11 pounds/month it will take more than 6 months!
I think I’m better off just thinking about getting a new goal – getting down 60 pounds by my birthday – April 29 and not worrying about anything beyond that.
So, that’s my new goal – down 60 pounds (total) on Medifast by April 29. I have 3 weeks to go and 4.5 pounds – I should make it easy.
When I first started Medifast, I thought I would be losing muscle mass on such a low calorie diet.
This concerned me because muscle burns fat and losing muscle lowers your metabolism. What I’ve found is the exact opposite. With a good exercise program, I have gained muscle on Medifast. Most of my exercise ideas have come from Clarence Bass and his AMAZING fitness, health and longevity web site. Nobody knows more about being lean and fit than Mr. Bass. If you aren’t an exercise fanatic, don’t be intimidated – when you start to read the articles, you’ll find them inviting, informative and motivating.
Here is my program:
- Every Thursday, I do a slow motion workout with a trainer at the Perfect Workout. This is a form of HIT (High Intensity Training) that is also very safe. Safety is very important because I’ve had to stop lifting when I was younger because of different injuries from poor form or questionable attempts to set new personal records. I want lifting to be a permanent part of my ongoing fitness so I need something I can do injury free. Since it’s so intense, you only have to do it once or twice a week. I’m finding that I’m getting stronger and making progress every workout. I decided to use a trainer because – especially early on – I could use the accountability of having a scheduled appointment. Long-term, I’m not sure what I will do, but if I can continue to afford it, I will use all the help I can get.
- Every Saturday, I go on a hike. When I first started, I couldn’t complete even relatively easy hikes but lately, I’ve been getting much stronger and doing longer and longer hikes. This past Saturday, I climbed to the top of Mount Woodson starting from Poway Lake. It’s a 8.2 mile trek with about 2300 feet up and down in elevation. Since I’m still carrying about 70 extra pounds, it was plenty challenging! My goal is to complete Rabbit Peak when I have lost 100 pounds. That would be something!
- I spend Sunday with my son and so this is more of a physical activity day than an exercise day. We’ll do a hike or walk around the zoo or play basketball or go swimming. Something like that. What’s great is I’m actually doing these things with him. I wasn’t before I started exercising and losing weight on Medifast.
- On Monday, I do a Tabata Protocol kettlebell swing workout. This is SUPER INTENSE and I’ve only done it for about 5 weeks. I’ve noticed that when I hike I can go much faster with less effort since I started doing them. I believe this is the very best (and fastest) way to get in shape, but also one of the most difficult from a mental perspective. It’s really hard.
- On the other days, I go walking for anywhere from 25 to 80 minutes. I do this more to get the blood flowing and to move than for any specific health benefit. I go slow and easy.
So there you have it – my exercise program.
The results speak for themselves. For example, the last time I got measured, I was down about 5 inches across my waist but my thighs are basically the same size from the weight lifting and hiking I’ve been doing. Clearly, that indicates I’m building muscle. Also, I am hiking further and faster practically every week. My energy is through the roof.
I did it. I reached my goal of being down 50 pounds by April 1st!!!
After my cheating episode, I wasn’t sure I would make it and even at weigh in at the Medifast Center, there was a bit of drama.
When I first stepped on the scale, it showed I was down 49.9 pounds. Damn! So close… For a second, I even thought of peeing to get to 50, but thought better of it. My goals are more long-range.
I had accepted that I was going to miss by just a tiny bit when I was told the scale was calibrated the previous week and found to be off by a pound. So, my original weight was really 313, not 312.
So… this meant that I was really down 50.9 pounds since my start on Medifast Jan 6th.
Cool. I really did do it. Amazing… feels great.
Bummer. I’m sure my cheating on Friday hurt and some of the weight gain might be related to what I was wearing or how much water is in my system, but this sucks.
A week ago, I was CERTAIN I would reach my goal and be down 50 pounds on Medifast by April 1. Now, it seems unlikely. I’m going to do my best this week and we will see on Thursday.
On the other hand, my fitness is improving by leaps and bounds. I did a couple of hikes this weekend and I noticed how much stronger and fit I feel. I even did some running yesterday, which would have been impossible just a short time ago. Every week, when I lift weights, I’m stronger and adding weights. I’m noticing my cloths fitting differently – looser in the waist but the scale says something different.
I’ll have a good week – stick to the Medifast plan, drink tons of water, get plenty of sleep and not worry about this sticking point.