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Losing Weight by Gaining Muscle

I'm down to a weight I never thought I'd see again. It's not because I was trying to lose weight, but trying to gain muscle. After a couple of months of lifting weights for two one-hour sessions a week at home, I'm down five pounds and I've had to start wearing a belt.

Not me--but those look like the 15-pound weights I curl. Photo from Pexels.com.

This is a pleasant side effect of working to maintain strength and bone density instead of becoming weaker as I age. Body composition is something Dr. Davis and others have begun hammering home. A large portion of weight lost on a diet is from muscle--some of it in your heart and organs. 

I've been using the weight training method described in the book The Resistance Training Revolution by Sal Di Stefano. (If you're an Inner Circle member, you can watch a meetup with Di Stefano on the site.) What I love about his method is that I don't feel exhausted and beaten up during or after workouts, even though I use heavy free weights. Di Stefano has a YouTube channel called Mind Pump TV showing exercises, workouts and proper form. 

I've also added a new YouTube channel here called High Intensity Health. Functional medicine consultant Mike Mutzel reads studies about exercise, nutrition and other health topics. During the pandemic, he was one of the few who urged people to get outside and improve their health and fitness. (If you're getting this message by email, you can see his videos on my blog; you might have to click the three lines at the top right and scroll down.)

It's true that you can't outrun a bad diet, but you can't diet your way to being fit and strong. 

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