Smarter Exercise

After following the plan so well yesterday, including a good session of cardio last night, I expected to see a big drop on the scale this morning.  Sadly, that didn't happen.  Looking online for an explanation I found one plausible solution:

"[Weight gain after cardio sessions can be due to] muscle soreness (DOMS) , your body sends fluid to your muscles to protect and defend the area. A little bit of swelling that could be unnoticed. Happens even if you are not sore.  This causes people to become discouraged and quit their workout but dont!!! It is temporary."http://www.city-data.com/forum/exercise-fitness/616228-cardio-weight-gain.html

So the answer is to not get discouraged . . .

Also, I am using weights as an important part of my weight loss.  I found several sources that advise weight lifting should come before cardio, not after.  Interesting.  There is more than one reason for this.

Related to weight loss:

"So here’s how it plays out. Studies have shown that it can take as much as 29 minutes of cardio to burn your glycogen stores. So if you start your workout off with 30 minutes of cardio, not only did you burn fat for a whopping one minute, but you also depleted your body of the fuel it needs (glycogen) to do your resistance training. Now, in order to manufacture glucose (glycogen) during your weight training session, your body may actually break down muscle tissue to use certain amino acids as your fuel. You could end up losing muscle instead of gaining.
To make things simple, if you do your weight training first, you can use your glycogen stores as fuel. Then, when you move over to your cardio, you’re right where you want to be… with depleted glycogen stores, giving your body the opportunity to burn fat as a fuel source."http://www.shapeyou.com/old/weights_first.html

 

Related to diabetes:

"People with diabetes may have better blood sugar control during workouts if they lift weights before doing cardio exercise, according to a new study by Canadian researchers."  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46704108/ns/health-diabetes/#.T2H5rUrXzU0

Additionally, The doctor tells me I need to understand a rule of minimum exercise, as well.  Every day should include a minimum of 15 minutes of activity--walking, jogging, gardening, even heavy housework.  Three days per week should be a bigger session of weights and cardio.

What I've learned today will help me exercise smarter.  First, I will make sure to have 15 active minutes per day.  Second, when I go to the gym I will follow a new pattern of exercise:  a lap to warm up, a session of weights (about 30 minutes), a session of cardio (30-45 minutes), and then some stretching.  

P.S.  Maybe I shouldn't look at the scale so often.