After my last diatribe on not losing weight even though I’ve been working out, one of my good friends suggested the Testosterone Advantage Plan. I was a bit wary, but because my friend had gotten such good results with it, and because we are remarkably similar for people who aren’t related, I ordered the book. It turned out to be better-researched (and better-written) than I’d expected, so I decided to give the plan a shot. It combines a modified mediterranian diet (higher in good fats and protien) with weight training, and according to their research has produced excellent results with the men who have tried it out. Additionally, it’s a progressive thing, so if I miss a workout or have a slice of cheesecake, I should see only slightly worse results — it doesn’t rely on putting your metabolism into starvation mode by denying it certain nutrients like Atkins does.

The first surprise: shopping for a week’s worth of food yesterday took quite a while, and pretty much filled a grocery cart. There’s a lot of food on this diet — and I’m on the 2,000 calorie/week, lose weight plan. People who are trying to maintain their weight or increase it actually get more!. And though I’ve had some temptation to cheat, the temptation has actually been to skip food I’m supposed to be eating. “Holy cow, that sandwich is huge! And didn’t I just eat?”

I also started on the workout today, and felt like a big old dork looking back and forth between my book and the machines in the gym, trying to figure out what was what. I think I’ve got the hang of the exercises now, though, so I should be able to make do with my Xerox sheets and a pencil next time around. (At least for two weeks — after that the workouts change. Fortunately, I won’t have to worry about it, as by then, my stomach will have popped from all this food.)