What I was thinking about on the Stairclimber this morning
By my estimation, I am 25 pounds overweight. (If we're looking at the Army figures, I am actually about 40 pounds over their expectation for my height, age, etc.) By that reckoning, I need to burn 90,000 calories more than I take in to get myself back into shape. No pressure...
45 minutes on the stair climber becomes almost exactly 1000 calories. (It was actually 999 today. I am such a slacker.) I have tried to do other things in my spare time, but there is no other exercise machine that I enjoy more. Second place is the elliptical trainer, because there are more arm movements. But I can incorporate arms into my workout routine by pushing up on the side rails of the stair climber.
Anyway, my point is, it's hard to lose weight. I have tried many fad diets, all failed. Not that I have no self-control or willpower, because I do. But the standards set by Atkins, South Beach, Slim-Fast, etc., are just unsustainable. And, in my opinion, unhealthy. So I have taken to a calorie log, because, at the end of the day, it's just that you have to burn more calories than you take in.