I actually have two questions:
I am finishing week 4 of the get lean program, and I am making good progress, keeping up with the program and am actually able to add some weight to some of the exercises. My problem/question: I have gained a couple of pounds, not lost them! I have been pretty good about adhering to the Zone diet, and feel great, but the scales bum me out. My son told me to forget the scales for awhile, which I have, but why no weight loss? I need to lose about 60 lbs.

Second question: What is your opinion of the accuracy of the body fat percentage calculation method presented in the Zone Diet book (waist - dominant wrist measurement, cross reference this in a table of constants with your weight to get %BF)?

I am really stoked about your site, and have told several of my friends about it. Thanks!

I am asked this question all the time. What it really comes down to is that exercise by itself does not burn enough calories to create a significant amount of weight loss. And, if the majority of your exercise comes from weight training then you may actually gain a pound or two during the first few months of your program. This is simply from the development of muscle tissue. Which, ultimately is great because the more muscle tissue you have the faster you metabolism will be. One pound of muscle will burn 75-100 calories in a 24 hour period regardless if you exercise or not. But for those that are really motivated by the scale this weight gain is not a good thing!

So, in order to hasten the weight loss process a larger reduction in daily caloric levels must occur. Eating less is the key in the early stages of the weight loss process. The exercise is vital for the latter stages of this process because it keeps the metabolism working at a faster rate, which helps dramatically in keeping the weight off! Keep exercising hard but really look at your diet. Be truthful to yourself about what you are eating. It can help to write down what you eat. Many people underestimate how much food they actually eat during the day! Also, don’t cheat during the week. I am sure you have heard that having a cheat meal once per week is ok and, it is, but not until you have lost your first ten pounds!

To answer your question on the accuracy of the Zone’s bodyfat calculation method I will say that is relatively accurate although I feel it tends to over estimate the bodyfat percentage.

Here is another response I think you might find interesting. A person that also did not feel they were losing weight fast enough sent it in. Thanks for your questions and for recommending Fitrex to your friends. It really helps!

Response:
Congratulations on your hard work the last five months! It takes a lot of determination to stick with a demanding workout program. Sometimes the body fat never seems to come off fast enough! Actually, I am sure you have lost fat weight and gained muscle weight. So, the scale is not showing any change but your body fat levels will be lower. This explains the “firmer” feel you are experiencing.

Now, as for the actual effects that your body is experiencing let me try to explain. As a person begins to exercise they expect to lose “weight” from putting in all that work burning extra calories! This is a very reasonable assumption. However there are other factors to consider.

Let me give you a basic example that would apply to many people.

If you trained hard for an hour you would burn approximately 300-400 calories. Now, if you did this 7 days per week you would burn roughly 2,100 to 2,800 calories. This is still not enough to burn 1 pound of fat (which is 3,500 calories). So, although there was a lot of exercising going on the actual scale weight is not going to change very quickly especially when you factor in that you probably have increased your muscle weight (which is good!).

Now, you will eventually reach your goal just by exercising alone as long as you don’t increase your caloric intake. But, this obviously can take a long time. You can increase the rate at which you lose body fat by just slightly changing your diet. I know this is where everybody groans! But it has to be looked at if you want to achieve a different look in a shorter amount of time. Check out our nutrition section at

http://www.fitrex.com/nutrition.shtml.

This will give you some great fundamentals on how to get the most out of your nutrition program. From a supplement standpoint, there are many out there that can provide a boost in your quest to losing bodyfat and ultimately body size. Just remember that you can't get thinner from simply taking a pill. You must also put in a lot of hard work. The supplements can help to curb your appetite and provide a small boost to your body's metabolism speed!

Try to be patient and learn how to exercise and eat healthy. Remember, it won't do you any good if you starve yourself and frantically exercise to lose weight if you don't learn how to keep it off in the long run. Think about this, it probably took you at least a few years to gain the weight and get out of shape. Give yourself at least a few months to start taking it off! Make a long-term lifestyle change and you will be much happier and healthier with what you can accomplish.