12 Weeks Report -- Halfway!

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Heywood Mogroot - 08 May 2004 21:34 GMT

Just finished week 12 of my diet regimen.

6' 1", guy, started at ~232 lbs Feb 15. 44" waistline at start.

I'm eating, basically:

1 Bowl cold cereal w/ 1% milk for breakfast
1 oz smokehouse almonds for lunch
Reduced portion but otherwise normal dinner

I do not normally otherwise snack, although occasionally I supplement
with apples & cheese, half an orange, etc.

I take a multivitamin supplement with breakfast, an anti-oxidant
supplement with the almonds, and fish oil and a b-complex supplement
with dinner.

I've bit the bullet and started daily exercise of bike riding around
town (literally). 1-3 hrs, 12-30+ miles. In the late 80's and late
90's I cycled a lot, and I'm getting closer to that level of fitness
now, and the stamina improvements are quite noticeable with each
session.

I don't track/limit carbs (other than not ever drinking any soda pop,
candy, etc) and don't believe this is a ketogenic diet.

My nominal daily deficit goal is 1000 kcal/day.

Weekly results:

Week 1: -2.0 lb
Week 2: -2.0
Week 3: -2.6
Week 4: -1.6
Week 5: -2.7
Week 6: -2.2
Week 7: -0.2
Week 8: -3.3
Week 9: -2.4
Week 10: -1.3
Week 11: -2.4
Week 12: -0.8

Total loss: 23.4 lbs (0.6lbs behind target loss goal) Waistline
measures 40", my goal is 34", and I'm not stopping the regimen until I
meet that.

So far, alas, I've blown off the diet one day, when I went to a
friend's BBQ last week. I had exercised double the week before, and
skipped the pizza night (substituting a salad) the night before, but I
still managed to eat way too much (2 hot dogs, a cheeseburger, and a
chicken breast over 6hrs) to cause a gain of 1lb.

Not entirely sure the price of pleasure (nuking 4 days of progress)
was worth it, but I just wanted to see what effect 'normal'
over-eating would have.

The next exercise step is joining a gym, unless someone can direct me
to good upper-body workouts I can do at home...

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Steve - 08 May 2004 22:22 GMT

> Just finished week 12 of my diet regimen.
>
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> 1 oz smokehouse almonds for lunch
> Reduced portion but otherwise normal dinner

<snip>

> My nominal daily deficit goal is 1000 kcal/day.

That reads like a crash diet.

I've read in a zillion places over the last 20 years that the results
from crash diets are rarely permanent and that people who limit their
weight loss to a pound a week have the best chance of keeping the weight
off permanently.

If you are eating that little your system is going to feeding off of
muscle more then it would otherwise.

This will end up in your metabolism being lower( fatter off of less food
eaten ) and your body being flabby, albeit temporarily thinner.

You should limit your caloric deficit to 500 calories a day......eat 250
calories less and exercise about 250 calories off. This will pull a
pound a week off of your frame.

If it doesn't, increase your activity as you can handle it.

Go to the gym now. Take up lifting weights. This will minimize muscle
loss while you are dieting down and will do other things to help you
lose weight.

Steve

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Ignoramus26392 - 08 May 2004 23:07 GMT

>> Just finished week 12 of my diet regimen.
>>
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
> If you are eating that little your system is going to feeding off of
> muscle more then it would otherwise.

My guess is that he is eating a big dinner. Otherwise it is hard to
see how his calorie deficit is only 1000 calories per day.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@ @ @ Please forgive my typos as my right hand is injured. @ @ @
char*p="char*p=%c%s%c;main(){printf(p,34,p,34);}";main(){printf(p,34,p,34);}
"It's never too late to have a happy childhood."

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Heywood Mogroot - 09 May 2004 02:39 GMT

> > Just finished week 12 of my diet regimen.
> >
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> weight loss to a pound a week have the best chance of keeping the weight
> off permanently.

Yes. I've read that 2lbs/week is the maximum for "safe" dieting
(though of course muscle mass will be lost with any extreme non-atkins
diet like this).

> If you are eating that little your system is going to feeding off of
> muscle more then it would otherwise.

It's tough, though, since I'm never really hungry any more. I would
like to know how to best get nutrition around my exercise sessions to
avoid losing muscle. I'm not doing the exercise to burn fat, more like
to strengthen my legs for further long-distance riding, improve my
general cardio, and heighten my metabolism for the rest of the day
(which includes dinner, I ride in the late afternoon).

I eat a protein-carb mix after riding, to help rebuild muscles, and I
usually take a weak gatorade mix (40oz, about 200 kcal, to keep my BG
up during the ride).

> This will end up in your metabolism being lower( fatter off of less food
> eaten ) and your body being flabby, albeit temporarily thinner.

Yes. I've upped my exercise this past month. My main fat loss target
is the spare tire at this point, which I figure 2-3hr bikerides at
moderate exertion target most effectively.

> You should limit your caloric deficit to 500 calories a day......eat 250
> calories less and exercise about 250 calories off. This will pull a
> pound a week off of your frame.
>
> If it doesn't, increase your activity as you can handle it.

Well, I'm never ravenous after my long bike rides, so I think a strong
sort of loss is happening. Whether it is all coming off my chest and
back muscles is the issue, of course.

> Go to the gym now. Take up lifting weights. This will minimize muscle
> loss while you are dieting down and will do other things to help you
> lose weight.

Good advice, of course.

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Ignoramus26392 - 08 May 2004 23:06 GMT

you sound like a person who, first, knows what he is doing, and
second, is quite determined. I am a bit surprised that at your size,
weight, activity level, and food intake, your daily deficit is only
1000 calories.

Congrats on your progress.

i

> Just finished week 12 of my diet regimen.
>
[quoted text clipped - 55 lines]
> The next exercise step is joining a gym, unless someone can direct me
> to good upper-body workouts I can do at home...

Signature

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@ @ @ Please forgive my typos as my right hand is injured. @ @ @
char*p="char*p=%c%s%c;main(){printf(p,34,p,34);}";main(){printf(p,34,p,34);}
"It's never too late to have a happy childhood."

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KrystalNJeff - 09 May 2004 03:53 GMT

Good for you and continued success in your diet. It's DAMN hard, and it forces
us fallible human beings to actually "get right with ourselves" (if not with
the Lord).

What you are doing will have a lifetime of rewards. Folks like you are VERY few
and far between. Again, keep at it. You have many folks pulling for you.

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