Monthly Mass-check

(As opposed to, weekly weigh-in)

Well, it's time for me to hop on the scales again and see just what all my exercising and steadfast refusal to stick to any planned diet (but to keep an eye on how much in general I'm consuming), have achieved.

And the answer is...

**drumroll**

I've actually gained a kilogram. (2lb for those stuck in the past)

But, I seem to have lost 2cm around the waist. (About an inch, see above).

I have heard that muscle is denser than fat and that sometimes when you go on an exercise regime that muscle gain can offset the weight of the fat that is lost so that the scales don't change, but the waist and other indicators do. I don't know if that is what is happening with me or not, but I certainly would like to think so, especially given the progress that I've made over the last year or so with pretty much the same approach (if anything, I'm doing more exercise now).

I heard recently that calorie counting often results in reaching a plateau because after a while the body's metabolism slows to compensate for the lower amounts of fuel coming in, so it burns food and fat more slowly than before. I've focussed not on cutting or counting calories but on raising the metabolism through exercising (I've heard that weights exercise is a good way of doing that).

I think the thing that really matters is that I continue to feel stronger, fitter and healthier as I continue with my regime, and that was always the main purpose. But those feelings are insubstantial. I measure my waist and my weight because they are, well, measurable. It gives me something to point to and say to myself, "this is proof that it's working". Of course, when the weight number goes up, that doesn't work so well, but this month I pin the burden of that on my waist measurement instead.