Variables

In continuing with my science and math theme from a few days ago, I'm talking variables today. Variables are those things in an equation that are not numbers. They are usually represented by letters such as x, y, a or b. When the variables in an equation change, the outcome of the equation changes.
One good practice in scientific processes is that you never change more than one variable in an experiment at a time. If you do change more than one variable at a time, then you don't know which variable had the greater impact on the outcome, or if they both equally shared in changing the outcome. This is a no-no if you want to truly understand how each variable affects the outcome.

Had enough science yet?

The same applies to the 'this or that' that I was talking about last week. There were a lot of variables I wanted to tweak to see if I could increase my weight loss (outcome). The problem was that I did a little of all of them, and my results were pretty good this week.
1. I tried to eat more protein and less carbs. Was I perfect, eating a 3g protein to 1g carb ratio? No. It was more like 2:1. But still, more than I had done before.
2. Exercise at a lower heart rate. Instead of pushing it up to 148 - 158 bpm, I kept it 130-140 bpm. Did it help? IDK. I still felt like I got a good workout. I know I didn't burn as many calories overall, but maybe there is something to this 'fat burning zone'. BTW - I still have yet to buy my HRM.
3. Drugs. Yes, I take medication to help me lose weight. I take Phentramine. I truly think, that in 2008 when I lost so much weight, it was the phentramine doing most of the heavy lifting. I think my body is used to it now, and so it is not as effective. So what did I do. I upped my dosage to what it was in 2008 before I quit taking it. 1.5 pills per day instead of 1. This is likely the largest factor for my success this week, but who knows for sure. Eventually I'd like to get away from this stuff.

So, changing which variable made them most difference? Again, I don't know. This is why you should only change one thing at a time. And even then, the human body is so complex that it still may throw you for a loop.

Well, another week, another little bit of me gone.

Numbers for this week:
Weight: 352.5 Down 4.5lbs this week. Down 37.5lbs overall in 11 weeks.
Body Fat%: 37.7% Down 0.6 this week. Down 4% overall in 11 weeks.