What Gives? Skeptical Me.

The more I exercise, the more I weigh.

It's a bit troubling.

Mind you, I tend to stop and eat a burrito after running 12 miles.

But still--damn, it's 12 miles!

I worked up to this slowly, truth be told.

It's mostly the pleasure of exercise, plus listening to music while I run.

I know it sounds crazy, but after 45 minutes, it's sheer pleasure. Probably the brain flooded with endorphins.

But back to my "problem."

At my tiniest I was nearly 135# at 5'7". Now I'm up to 147. But I must be healthier, yes? I mean I can run 12 miles in two hours. It's not extraordinarily fast, but it's reasonable.

My scale is no longer reliable about telling me how much fat I'm wearing. If it ever was reliable. Anyway, it used to go downward as I dieted and exercised. Now it tells me "Err 4"--which is not so helpful. I can't stomach the thought of plunking down for another--or more for a 'better' one.

Recently I looked at a chart of heart rates and whatnot. It seems that by keeping my heart at 130-145 beats per minute (BPM), I'm not working hard enough--vis-a-vis the maximum for a 44-year-old man.

So earlier this week I ran for two hours with my heart from 140-155. Then yesterday I kept it from 150-160. That was much harder. Basically, I had to run nonstop for 15 minutes before I could say sprint to get it higher then walk to relax a bit--which is what I prefer.

But you know, my body looks thinner. I think my tummy's a little flatter.

Jeans don't fit any better (when freshly washed). These are jeans with a 29-inch waist so I ought not to complain. Like that ever stopped anyone.

I would like to think my leg and butt muscles are getting so strong that it makes me weigh more.

145 pounds for a man of 5'7" is not really too big.

But skeptical me would like some evidence of improvement. (Is running further and faster not enough?)

--E. R. O'Neill