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Catherine Gacad

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The Burning Bulge

I gained some weight while I was at Burning Man. I swear I don’t do well in all-you-can-eat environments like the Commissary where we ate our meals.

Yesterday I decided to do something about it. I limited myself to 1200 calories. Everything I ate (like those packaged meals from Trader Joe’s) had a calorie count so I knew exactly how much I was eating. After work, I went to the gym and ran two miles. Mind you, I don’t run unless it’s race time. Then I spent at least 30 minutes laid up in the steam room.

The next day, I kid you not, I had gained almost a pound. Gained! It couldn’t have been muscle either because I don’t pump iron. I hate it when people say, “Oh that’s muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat.” Where do people come up with these blanket statements?

It has always been counter-intuitive for me. Gaining weight when I eat less and exercise more.

I swear to God I lose weight when I don’t exercise which is why you don’t ever see me “training.” I don’t do that crap anymore. It doesn’t help. I think it’s because our bodies naturally know how to take care of ourselves. If we start messing that up via extreme exercise, then we get hungrier, and our bodies retaliate by refusing to metabolize all that food we eat. Maybe not so counter-intuitive after all.

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09.13.11

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Welcome to my site, derived from an advice column I wrote while getting my MBA. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I give helpful, opinionated advice based on my own experience and from the expertise of my extensive network. For more, click here.

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