[legion]

I had been steadlily gaining weight since college. I was 195 when I graduated, and hit a high of 245. (I've also gone from bench pressing 200 lbs. to 315 (reps, not max) in the same time period, so it's not all fat.) I'm at about 240 and declining right now, but I'm very optimistic for the future.

What's my secret? I've cut back big time on the exercise.

After work I used to do about 1000 calories worth of cardio a day 4-5 days a week, then immediatley go on to 1-2 hours of very intense weight lifting. I'd been completely exhausted, and I'd come home and eat, and eat, and eat. Even when I was full, I had trouble stopping. And even though I was exhausted, I had trouble falling asleep. My body wanted 10-12 hours of sleep a night, and at best, all I could manage was 6. (Despite the fact that I was in bed for 8 hours.) I would wake up tired and exhausted the next day, and repeat the cycle. I started drinking coffee to keep me awake in the morning, and it only made things worse.

After Christmas, I decided to cut back on exercise. I'm only doing 400-500 calories worth of cardio, and doing about 30 mins. of weight lifting afterwords. I've noticed that my appetite has decreased. I can stop eating well before being full. I fall asleep much faster and get a much more restful night of sleep. I wake up refreshed and ready to take on the day. I've switched to drinking decaf.

Who knew that there was a such thing as exercising too much? I really think the last five years have been an extended experiment in sleep deprivation and exhaustion...