At this point in episode 78 I’m focusing a lot on building muscle mass, which is a good part of an overall health plan I think. It can be overdone, as my cardiologist has repeatedly told me. It’s a slow process, and I think the keys are to get enough protein and overall calories and just work out every single day, or most days, for a long time. The bulking-and-cutting process I briefly refer to… well I never really got to that point, but I think my idea of just trying to maintain a steady weight while changing my body composition was right on target. If you’re a bodybuilder and your high bodyfat number is 10-15, bulking may make sense. But I’ve never broken 20. And bulking is hard for me to control.

A key point in this episode is that it had become difficult to eat a big meal. I was in this mode of eating a bunch of small meals instead of 2 or 3 larger ones. That’s an advantage of the 6-meal-a-day plan that I hadn’t thought of before. I’ve kind of debunked the myth about burning more calories that way due to metabolism rate change, or the stomach burning muscles all day because it is working. But there still are advantages, including the one about not being able to eat a large meal, because for me that’s often how I get off the track. And I don’t feel hungry perhaps, though if I’m expecting a meal every two hours, my body may send me a hungry signal if I skip one. Need more data on that one.

Photo by The Lazy Artist Gallery