First of all, a little update.
Since my last post half a year ago (don't worry, things were still happening), I am down another 20+ pounds, weighing in this morning at 234.2 (at my last post my best was 256.6). The month of March and the first couple weeks of April was my most successful period in dieting since last September when I gave up booze for a month and dropped 19 pounds. I did not cheat a lick until early April, and by mid-April I had hit a new best of 243.6 - 17 pounds in a month and a half. The whole time I was lifting, throwing, and running a bit, but it was truly the discipline with eating that helped me reach the low 240's. But this is also when things started to come unglued significantly.
April was littered with special events that all involved alcohol, carbs, and overeating. So, despite my best efforts during this time to still lose weight by dieting during the work week, the best I could do was maintain. It wasn't until mid-May that I cracked the 230's, and at this point it was because I put my foot down one day and decided to drink way, way less and start running longer distances regularly, in my own neighborhood instead of the gym. If you'll recall, my goal was 230 for June. Well, I came damn close; by the time we left on June 11 for my cousin's wedding in Helsinki, I had reached 231.8 - just shy of the long-term goal I'd made for myself months ago. I was very happy with this. For this success, I attribute regained discipline and focus more than anything. Even though I did drink a bit, for the final month of this goal period, I was able to knock myself down 12 pounds (although I do think some of this was fluctuation weight that had been previously earned, but that's not really the point now, is it?).
After this, I fell off the bandwagon. In mid-June, my family and I journeyed to Finland and then Germany, a 2-week vacation full of beer and delicious food, and actually a wonderful amount of walking that offset much of that. But by the time we returned, I had gained 5 pounds. I tried to get myself together after this, but every other day I found a reason to cheat, and even though I was now taking long runs 3-4 times a week, I was not able to shed any weight. Then came the dreaded month of July.
Anyone who lives in New England knows that, while the temperature rarely exceeds 90ยบ F, the humidity can make things worse than, say, living in the desert. And usually there will be a full month of this crap at the very least, before summer lets up and starts to get reasonably dry again. Anyway, the point is, July was exactly this, and because of it, I stopped running. In addition, I had recently lost my beloved grandmother, and was currently coping by overeating and drinking nightly - a thing I thought I was done with. The entire month was like this, until my second vacation to Michigan for the first 2 weeks of August.
Now, these annual vacations were usually the death of me (last year it was the reason I reached 300 pounds), but this year I sought a different result. I actually maintained ketosis for 4 or 5 days before the food floodgates opened. The dieting was not losing me any weight, and I knew it, and that was okay. But just a few days in, just as I started eating and drinking to my heart's desire, I resolved to exercise off everything that I consumed. This did not work to a T exactly, but I will say that on my return, I had only probably gained a single pound. This left me with a real sense of accomplishment, but it still wasn't enough to get me back on the weight loss bandwagon.
The remainder of August was a familiar story: eating low carb, but drinking almost every day. Well, finally, this week I think I have it figured out again. Unfortunately, I am unemployed at the moment (a voluntary choice I made in order to focus on finding a more rewarding career path), and I get little exercise sitting on my computer sending out my resume all day. This makes dieting very difficult - you just want to get up and go to the fridge, but you know you can't. So I've been drinking over a gallon of water every day for the past few days, and despite the frequent bathroom breaks, I forgot how great it makes you feel. I've also realized that because I weigh so much less now than I did last year, I have to eat a ton less if I want to lose just half the weight. I think that's a sign that I've succeeded thus far, but still makes things tough. Even when I was 300 pounds and just starting low-carb, I had a job that required me to walk around all day, and this gave me some more breathing room in calorie consumption.
Which is what I am currently focusing on: offsetting calories with exercise. Before this month, I hadn't had to think about exercise, because even if I wasn't going to the gym, I was still burning significant calories at my job just by walking around. But now I face the challenge of not actually having any physical obligations every day, and I have set my calorie goal so low that it will be hard to make it through the day successfully by merely not eating very much. I know I cannot succeed without exercise.
The daily goal starts at 1308, which is a very low number for someone my size (this is about 150 calories above my absolute minimum, as the keto calculator has informed me), but whatever calories I burn, I get to eat - so after running a 5k, that number jumps up to about 1900. That is a much fairer calorie limit. Supposedly, this will have me losing about 10 pounds per month, but after the next 10-15 pounds are gone, I will have to increase my intake so as not to lose muscle, so the weight loss will slow a bit. Disappointingly, this probably means that getting under 200 this year will not be possible. But according to my body fat percentage, assuming the measuring device was correct, even getting close to 200 should leave me pretty darn thin. I guess we'll see.
ANYWAY, the thing I came here to post is a piece of advice that everyone dieter should be able to utilize, and everyone serious about losing weight over the long-term: find your niche!!! I realized yesterday that even though sometimes weight loss can be maddening, for the most part I find it very fun! For me, weight loss is a numbers game, and a daily obsession. I love playing around with numbers and thinking about how I can pull things off most efficiently. I love calorie counting, especially using My Fitness Pal, because it seems to validate everything I have done at the end of the day. I love recording my weight every single day, even knowing that half the time it won't be a rewarding experience at all. It is said by many that, more than anything, weight loss should be a change of lifestyle. And while I think this is true, as much as the numbers game is probably not sustainable, it is the reason I've had greater periods of success when I've had them. It keeps my eyes on the prize, and it is very important not to lose sight of that.
That is me. But anyone anywhere can take this piece of advice: find a way to make weight loss fun. Find a niche; I promise it will help you reach your goals. That is how I am getting back on the bandwagon.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Monday, March 4, 2013
Awesomeness
So it's been a couple weeks. I apologize about that.
Things have been happening, though, I promise. For instance, I've dropped about 5 pounds since my last post - which means, I'm currently in the high 250's!!! Time for champagne and caviar, right? WRONG!!! This is just the beginning! Well, not the beginning, really, but somewhere in the middle. The point is, this was a minor goal in the grand scheme of things.
I weighed in with my gym a few days ago and, because of this sudden surge in weight loss, I had to drink about a quart of water before my weigh-in to compensate. What, it's not cheating! Anyway, my "before" weight for the challenge is 260.4, which I think is entirely reasonable and not much inflated. My new low weight is 256.6, measured last Thursday, and it seems that every day now I am around 257-259, which pretty much means I'm out of the 260's.
That was the first development. But what really makes the awesomeness so awesome is the second development: the assessment with my gym.
The first assessment I had, at the end of November, was after about 30 pounds weight loss, so I was feeling pretty good about myself - and this was before Keeley and I decided to incorporate exercise. I had weighed in at 274 (with shoes etc), with a body fat percentage of 28.6%. So despite all the weight loss, I was still obese. And that was okay with me - I honestly didn't think I was going to get under that line at the time. Well, this time around, I was 257.8 and 24.7% body fat - a loss of almost 4%! On top of that, now that I am under 25%, I am no longer obese! I was thrilled at this news. I even scored a lot better on my cardio (not surprising), bench (really not surprising), sit and reach (mildly unsurprising), and a smidge better on my sit ups.
This was all great news. I honestly did not think I had come so far with my body fat, but that just goes to show that sticking to it really does pay off.
And now the bad news: I had overestimated my body fat percentage, and couldn't remember what it was from the fitness score in November, so my macronutrient ratios from the keto calculator were totally off. I was getting enough protein to maintain muscle, but not build it. And while I clearly have gotten stronger anyway, this is an important piece to the evolving puzzle of how I should eat. At this point, my minimum will be 200g protein (about 1g per pound of lean body mass), up from 170-180, and this will only be on rest days. On lift days, I need to take in at least 233g, observing the required 1.2g per pound of lean body mass. This is a ridiculous amount of protein.
Oh, that's the other thing - lean body mass, as I've discovered, equals your weight minus fat content. I am about 25% fat, so my lean body mass is around 193 pounds. This is a crucial learning.
This also raises my minimum caloric intake from 1100 to 1400, but currently I do not plan on going lower than 1900 anyway, even on rest days (lift days I aim for 2300), for fear I might lose muscle. Essentially, even though I was fairly accurate about my diet, I still had to make some changes to account for extra protein intake.
I am also a little surprised that 193 is my lean body mass. That means that, unless I lose muscle, there is basically no way I can get down to 200 pounds, unless I want to be a bodybuilder (which I don't). Ultimately, I think 12-15% body fat would be wonderful. Were I to reach this level, which is considered extremely fit, I would be somewhere between 215 and 225 pounds. My goal for June has been 230, and it will remain just that.
30 pounds over the next 3 months. Shouldn't be too hard.........
I also went throwing a couple days ago, for the first time since September. Here's a look at how that went (I'll give you a hint: not very well).
Things have been happening, though, I promise. For instance, I've dropped about 5 pounds since my last post - which means, I'm currently in the high 250's!!! Time for champagne and caviar, right? WRONG!!! This is just the beginning! Well, not the beginning, really, but somewhere in the middle. The point is, this was a minor goal in the grand scheme of things.
I weighed in with my gym a few days ago and, because of this sudden surge in weight loss, I had to drink about a quart of water before my weigh-in to compensate. What, it's not cheating! Anyway, my "before" weight for the challenge is 260.4, which I think is entirely reasonable and not much inflated. My new low weight is 256.6, measured last Thursday, and it seems that every day now I am around 257-259, which pretty much means I'm out of the 260's.
That was the first development. But what really makes the awesomeness so awesome is the second development: the assessment with my gym.
The first assessment I had, at the end of November, was after about 30 pounds weight loss, so I was feeling pretty good about myself - and this was before Keeley and I decided to incorporate exercise. I had weighed in at 274 (with shoes etc), with a body fat percentage of 28.6%. So despite all the weight loss, I was still obese. And that was okay with me - I honestly didn't think I was going to get under that line at the time. Well, this time around, I was 257.8 and 24.7% body fat - a loss of almost 4%! On top of that, now that I am under 25%, I am no longer obese! I was thrilled at this news. I even scored a lot better on my cardio (not surprising), bench (really not surprising), sit and reach (mildly unsurprising), and a smidge better on my sit ups.
This was all great news. I honestly did not think I had come so far with my body fat, but that just goes to show that sticking to it really does pay off.
And now the bad news: I had overestimated my body fat percentage, and couldn't remember what it was from the fitness score in November, so my macronutrient ratios from the keto calculator were totally off. I was getting enough protein to maintain muscle, but not build it. And while I clearly have gotten stronger anyway, this is an important piece to the evolving puzzle of how I should eat. At this point, my minimum will be 200g protein (about 1g per pound of lean body mass), up from 170-180, and this will only be on rest days. On lift days, I need to take in at least 233g, observing the required 1.2g per pound of lean body mass. This is a ridiculous amount of protein.
Oh, that's the other thing - lean body mass, as I've discovered, equals your weight minus fat content. I am about 25% fat, so my lean body mass is around 193 pounds. This is a crucial learning.
This also raises my minimum caloric intake from 1100 to 1400, but currently I do not plan on going lower than 1900 anyway, even on rest days (lift days I aim for 2300), for fear I might lose muscle. Essentially, even though I was fairly accurate about my diet, I still had to make some changes to account for extra protein intake.
I am also a little surprised that 193 is my lean body mass. That means that, unless I lose muscle, there is basically no way I can get down to 200 pounds, unless I want to be a bodybuilder (which I don't). Ultimately, I think 12-15% body fat would be wonderful. Were I to reach this level, which is considered extremely fit, I would be somewhere between 215 and 225 pounds. My goal for June has been 230, and it will remain just that.
30 pounds over the next 3 months. Shouldn't be too hard.........
I also went throwing a couple days ago, for the first time since September. Here's a look at how that went (I'll give you a hint: not very well).
Monday, February 18, 2013
The Challenge
I'm a bit down right now because, even after that little spark a few days ago where I was down 2 pounds, I immediately went back up to 264-265 and have stayed there for the past few days. The thing is, I do feel like trimming down every day, it may just be that all the working out has negated any weight loss. OR it could be that my first low-carb stint was done with so few calories that the weight I lost was partly muscle. There's no way to be sure, but one thing I can confide in is the fact that I am eating right, getting plenty of fat, and taking in sufficient protein every day. Just writing it like this, I'm feeling better already.
What's different this time around (vs. September) is that I'm probably taking in 50% more calories on a daily basis, if not more, and much more protein... Also the fact that I'm working out 5-6 days a week. I'm doing what is necessary to make sure I don't start burning muscles (we don't want that).
In about 2 weeks, Keeley and I will be embarking on a weight loss challenge with our gym - whoever loses the most weight by percentage between March 4 and April 15 will win something. Nationally, the top ten prizes are anywhere from $200-$5,000 plus a bunch of supplements... Locally, if we do well at our own gym, we could walk away with a couple months worth of free membership. At first, when I saw this, I thought, "hey, no problem! I'm an expert at this already." But I did not take into account two important factors: that my water weight is gone already, and that I also have to be concerned about gaining muscle.
No matter.
It's true, I am good at what I do in the diet department. Maybe not the best, but I feel at this point that I have more willpower than most. I have that to my advantage. I'm hoping to do a period assessment with my gym in the next few days (we get one every 2 months that tests cardio, body fat percentage, flexibility, etc.), so that we can see how much body fat I actually get rid of in the next couple months. That will be the real victory for me - but I'd love to win some money, too.
There are, of course, ways to cheat the scale, for instance, leaving heavy items in your pockets, getting your weight with extra clothes (particularly shoes), ingesting a dense meal with LOTS of water just prior... I haven't decided yet if I'm going to do any of these things. If anything, I'm going to drink lots of water. They can't get mad at you for that.
In the meantime, I do want to see if I can get out of this stagnant period. To do such, I have actually upped my caloric intake from what is was - down to 1,500 from 2,000 starting 3 days ago - back up to 1,900, starting yesterday, but the real hat trick will be my new carb limit: 15g. Of course, this will be very difficult given an almost daily ingestion of the protein powder I'm currently using only to get rid of, which is 7g per day (when that runs out I have some 1g stuff I can happily transition to). After my 11sies today, I'm up to 6g already. So basically, I only have 2g left to spend after my workout today. I might fail.
Whatever, the key thing here is the consumption of fewer carbs in general, and there were a few days last week where I was close to 30g, if not over (let's not talk about that one night at the bar... well, it was under 50g, I can tell you that). Even 10 less will benefit me greatly.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, Snap Fitness, challenge accepted!
What's different this time around (vs. September) is that I'm probably taking in 50% more calories on a daily basis, if not more, and much more protein... Also the fact that I'm working out 5-6 days a week. I'm doing what is necessary to make sure I don't start burning muscles (we don't want that).
In about 2 weeks, Keeley and I will be embarking on a weight loss challenge with our gym - whoever loses the most weight by percentage between March 4 and April 15 will win something. Nationally, the top ten prizes are anywhere from $200-$5,000 plus a bunch of supplements... Locally, if we do well at our own gym, we could walk away with a couple months worth of free membership. At first, when I saw this, I thought, "hey, no problem! I'm an expert at this already." But I did not take into account two important factors: that my water weight is gone already, and that I also have to be concerned about gaining muscle.
No matter.
It's true, I am good at what I do in the diet department. Maybe not the best, but I feel at this point that I have more willpower than most. I have that to my advantage. I'm hoping to do a period assessment with my gym in the next few days (we get one every 2 months that tests cardio, body fat percentage, flexibility, etc.), so that we can see how much body fat I actually get rid of in the next couple months. That will be the real victory for me - but I'd love to win some money, too.
There are, of course, ways to cheat the scale, for instance, leaving heavy items in your pockets, getting your weight with extra clothes (particularly shoes), ingesting a dense meal with LOTS of water just prior... I haven't decided yet if I'm going to do any of these things. If anything, I'm going to drink lots of water. They can't get mad at you for that.
In the meantime, I do want to see if I can get out of this stagnant period. To do such, I have actually upped my caloric intake from what is was - down to 1,500 from 2,000 starting 3 days ago - back up to 1,900, starting yesterday, but the real hat trick will be my new carb limit: 15g. Of course, this will be very difficult given an almost daily ingestion of the protein powder I'm currently using only to get rid of, which is 7g per day (when that runs out I have some 1g stuff I can happily transition to). After my 11sies today, I'm up to 6g already. So basically, I only have 2g left to spend after my workout today. I might fail.
Whatever, the key thing here is the consumption of fewer carbs in general, and there were a few days last week where I was close to 30g, if not over (let's not talk about that one night at the bar... well, it was under 50g, I can tell you that). Even 10 less will benefit me greatly.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, Snap Fitness, challenge accepted!
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Cheap & Simple! Cabbage Edition
Lately, I've been really into cabbage, but not so much for its nutritional value (although it's pretty decent) as for taste and texture. That, and it's reaaaally cheap! A pound of cabbage is around 69¢, which is about as cheap as anything comes in Connecticut. But the value in terms of a keto diet is amazing. I use cabbage like noodles in soups and just stirred with some delicious meats like hot Italian sausage, as pictured here:
I now wish I had taken this right as it was done - this is about half the yield, refrigerated. All you need is a head of cabbage, 5 sausage links, and some butter and salt (of course, I used garlic powder too because that just makes sense). I cut the cabbage into quarters and braised it in butter and water, with some salt added, for 10-15 minutes (longer will probably give it a softer texture which is nice). Because there was so much cabbage, I had to do two halves separate, so it took a little longer than expected. But the yield was so great, I don't even care. I cooked the squeezed-out sausage excrement separately and just mixed it all together when the cabbage was finished. So far I've had 3 or 4 small meals of this, and there's still a little left - for about $6 total!
A word of warning about sausage - there are usually around 3 carbs per link, and these were no exception. The incorporation of the cabbage, though, really makes me not care so much. This dish is fairly high in carbs (around 10g per serving), so it should be enjoyed in moderation, and with a close eye to details (apparently that's where the devil is).
A word of warning about sausage - there are usually around 3 carbs per link, and these were no exception. The incorporation of the cabbage, though, really makes me not care so much. This dish is fairly high in carbs (around 10g per serving), so it should be enjoyed in moderation, and with a close eye to details (apparently that's where the devil is).
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
38 Pounds Ago...
I'm not embarrassed of my physique; I know I'm a fatty, and now that I'm committed to losing weight, I don't care so much what people think of my physical appearance (maybe that's why I haven't shaved in 6 days). So that's not the reason I haven't posted any "before" pictures, I guess I just forgot. So here you go:
These next few were during the "last straw" vacation at 300+ pounds, just prior to the start of weight loss.
I'm not going to give progress pics yet... I might do that in a few weeks, or once I'm down to 250 (I also reserve the right to post them whenever the hell I want). People who see me regularly know my progress, but for everyone else (myself included), it will be nice to see such a sharp contrast rather than a slow examination week to week, or what have you. Enjoy these sexy images of myself, it's all you're gonna get for a while.
These first few were about 10 pounds into the diet.
These next few were during the "last straw" vacation at 300+ pounds, just prior to the start of weight loss.
Breakthrough
It's been almost a week since I started logging food and
intentionally eating high fat, and 2 weeks since I last shed any weight.
Well, guess what! IT WORKED.
262 pounds today!
That's 2.2 down from my last low 2 weeks ago. Am I finally in ketosis? Signs point to yes! This is a huge victory for me because historically, I've been a scale man. Meaning, prior to the past 2 weeks, I've weighed myself every day and taken 2-4 day plateaus to mean I was doing it wrong. Well, I still weigh myself every day, but the last 2 weeks taught me to care more about precisely what I was ingesting rather than precisely how much weight I was losing.
It's been particularly difficult in that, being on a heavy weight lifting regimen, I've had to get LOTS more protein than I would normally, and I've also had to balance that with lots of fat. The result has typically been that, by dinner time, I've had a huge imbalance between protein and fat, and have had to specialize my meal to be heavily weighted in either category. But I've managed to figure it out thus far. The point is, it's hard to put on muscle and lose fat at the same time - but it can be done!!
I know it's only 2 pounds in 2 weeks, but I really don't care. In fact, I'm ecstatic that the scale actually moved for once! The weight should start coming off faster from now on, if all goes well. This has been an exercise in discipline, and I have learned much along the way.
262 pounds today!
That's 2.2 down from my last low 2 weeks ago. Am I finally in ketosis? Signs point to yes! This is a huge victory for me because historically, I've been a scale man. Meaning, prior to the past 2 weeks, I've weighed myself every day and taken 2-4 day plateaus to mean I was doing it wrong. Well, I still weigh myself every day, but the last 2 weeks taught me to care more about precisely what I was ingesting rather than precisely how much weight I was losing.
It's been particularly difficult in that, being on a heavy weight lifting regimen, I've had to get LOTS more protein than I would normally, and I've also had to balance that with lots of fat. The result has typically been that, by dinner time, I've had a huge imbalance between protein and fat, and have had to specialize my meal to be heavily weighted in either category. But I've managed to figure it out thus far. The point is, it's hard to put on muscle and lose fat at the same time - but it can be done!!
I know it's only 2 pounds in 2 weeks, but I really don't care. In fact, I'm ecstatic that the scale actually moved for once! The weight should start coming off faster from now on, if all goes well. This has been an exercise in discipline, and I have learned much along the way.
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