Richard Ha writes:

Two weeks ago I concluded that I need to do more than just exercise in order to keep losing weight, and I said I was going to devise a routine to control my calorie intake. But before I put this plan into effect, I got sidetracked.

Then last week I realized that it was after I stopped loading the delivery van four times per week, with several hundred boxes each time, that I started having a hard time losing weight. Since I like to exercise more than I like dieting, I decided to increase my exercise volume and intensity instead of making a calorie intake plan.

And that brings us to this week. My weight is 196.2 now, and I lost the half pound I wanted to lose this week. But I am now exercising six days per week and losing much less weight than expected.

On four days, I exercise 30 minutes twice a day at a low heart rate of 110 or so. On the other three days, I do 30 minute sessions. On one of those days, I do three or four intervals of 150 beats per minute, and the other two sessions are done at 130 beats per minute or so.

This is improving my resting heart rate, which is now 53 beats per minute. When I’m not exercising regularly and am out of shape, my resting heart rate is usually in the mid-70’s. A low resting heart rate is an indication of an efficient cardiovascular system—a strong heart takes fewer strokes to move a given volume of blood around. I am trying to lower my resting heart rate below 50 beats per minute.

Several days ago, when I was sitting in the doctor’s office waiting for a flu shot, it was 57. This is pretty good since I usually can’t relax enough at the doctor’s office to get my heart rate down below 60.

But for the amount of time I spend exercising, I am losing very little weight. So I am going to try a routine that Leslie is finding successful. Her routine involves eating a reasonable breakfast and a reasonable lunch. Then, around 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. or so, she allows herself a pre-planned snack. After a reasonable-sized dinner she brushes her teeth and doesn’t eat anything more that day. “Not a grape,” she told me. It is working very well for her and makes a lot of sense to me.

I plan to maintain my exercise program and copy Leslie’s eating plan. I need to figure out the amounts I can eat on that plan to accomplish my goals.