Day 18: The skinny

Day 18

  • Weight: 124.6 lbs.
  • No workout today
  • Total inches: 117.1
  • Protein: 139 g (21 g over target)
  • Calories: 2,625

Mike has known me a long time and has been guardedly supportive of this crazy scheme.

“You could stand to add a few pounds,” he says.

I have to remind him that my body fat percentage is already too high. I’m glad I checked, because before Aug. 30, I had no idea.

This is one of the minor annoyances of being skinny: People tell you how you should actually be; they tease thinking it is harmless. (I can only imagine the real pain that overweight people endure day in and day out.)

For me, this is about only one goal: gaining muscle. I’ve never made a concerted effort before, so I’d like to see if this approach works. It might take more than 30 days. It might take 60 days, or 365 days, or 5 years. Who knows?

He had, at one point, even suggested anabolic steroids. To me, that is no more of a solution to me than liposuction or implants or any other artificial shortcut. I simply won’t do it. I want to be healthier, not just more muscular. Muscles will improve my body fat percentage. Working out will improve my strength and stamina.

It is weird to try to explain that my experiment involves only two actions: eating and working out (three, if you count tracking numbers). It is even weirder in a state such as Alabama, one of the fattest states in America. Just today, a new report said that 62.6 percent of adults here would be obese by 2030, double that of 2011.

That breaks my heart. As a champion of local food, real food and balance in life, I want to see me and others live longer, healthier lives.

So gaining 10 pounds of fat within 30 days would be far from triumph for me. How is that so difficult to grasp?