Friday, September 11, 2009

"Eat More Calories !"

Yep, not often you hear a trainer say that. But that is indeed what my trainer, Dr. Ellington Darden, told me today.

Ya see, I don't want to go into detail and get too personal, but life has been kind of hectic around my house lately. My wife's parents aren't doing well, and that's meant she's gone a lot. Which leaves me trying to pick up the slack. "Mr. Mom", they call me. LOL Doing a lot of "school runs" with the girls, homework help, keeping the business going, and getting less sleep than I'd like. So, Ellington's guess is that my system is stressed and in a bit of "Survival mode" right now. ( Hey, I READILY admit, I've got it easy, next to my poor wife... I wouldn't trade positions with her for anything!)

Our bodies don't like stress. So, they tend to shut down fat burning, and hold onto the fat. For me, that means right around the mid section. This is real life, not a Hollywood movie... we go through stuff, and it affects our bodies. Weight loss... or "getting into shape", as I refer to it, isn't a straight line. There will be ups and downs. So, I'm UP to 171 lbs and right about 14% bodyfat now... the most I've been in six months or so. Yikes! Glad we took the caliper readings today. That's important to do regularly, for just this reason.

So, Ellington's remedy for this is for me to "de-stress" my body... get more sleep, relax ( ha! I'll try), and eat more calories. 300 more per day, actually. That'll put me at 2100. Also, eat some steak every once in awhile, I believe were his exact instructions.

Gotta love training advice like that! Everything else he's said has worked like a charm, so I'm sure this will too. I'll keep you posted!

...Keelan