From >450 to <160 lb by 2022

I was working on pull-ups when covid closed the gyms down... It's kind of hard to progress without the assistence of a machine or the big girl bands, but... I guess I could give it a go with excentrics, hanging from the side of my bed. Thanks for the idea!
 
Thanks guys, I appreciate your encouragement.

Lama, I've found doing incline pull-ups has helped me get closer to a standard pull-up (hands facing forward though):
inverted.jpg


Weekend update of my trailing weekly averages:

Week _________ Weight _Navy BF_BIA BF_Calories
Nov 29 -Dec 05: __ 256.8 __ 33.3% __ 36.2% __1624
Dec 06 -Dec 12: __ 253.6 __ 33.2% __ 35.2% __1687
Dec 13 -Dec 19: __ 251.6 __ 33.0% __ 34.0% __1685
Dec 20 -Dec 26: __ 249.4 __ 32.1% __ 32.9% __1691
Dec 27 - Jan 02: __ 245.9 __ 31.3% __ 32.3% __1780

1 week average of 1.4% weight loss, 0.8% Navy body fat loss, & 0.6% BIA BF loss
2 week average of 2.3% weight loss, 1.7% Navy body fat loss, & 1.7% BIA BF loss
3 week average of 3.1% weight loss, 1.9% Navy body fat loss, & 2.9% BIA BF loss
4 week average of 4.3% weight loss, 2.0% Navy body fat loss, & 3.9% BIA BF loss

Timed mile run:
Nov 15: 11:20
Nov 21: 11:13
Nov 28: 10:42
Dec 06: 10:18
Dec 12: 10:35
Dec 20: 09:59
Dec 26: 10:25

Timed 3 mile run:
Dec 08:
38:39
Dec 10: 38:40
Dec 14: 37:20
Dec 16: 37:25
Dec 18: 33:47
Dec 22: 37:07
Dec 24: 36:06
Dec 28: 32:48
Dec 30: 34:25

Everything looks good to me so no changes are planned to my diet. I have my VO2 max test on Wednesday and I'm a little sore from snowshoeing yesterday so I'll probably go easy on the running this week. Can't wait to compare the new DEXA scan against the old...
 
I do the incline pullups, they are supposed to be good for my shoulder. When I was young I did some snowshoeing, it is slow hard work. I found cross country skiing faster and less work.
 
I completely forgot about those; used to do them somewhat regularly. Thanks for the tip! I'm curious about the new DEXA results, although I fully expect them to align with your graphs.
 
When I was young I did some snowshoeing, it is slow hard work. I found cross country skiing faster and less work.

I like cross country skiing on gentle slopes, but don't care for it on really steep terrain. I had kind of hoped to take a picture at the top of the local peak every time I lost 25 lbs, but given how I felt the day after snowshoeing 5.5 miles on flat ground I don't think I'd enjoy 20 miles (roundtrip) up and down a mountain. In the winter most people do the summit in 3 days which I could probably do now, but I wouldn't want to go alone nor do I want to go with others in covid times. Maybe in late March after losing another 25 lbs and (hopefully) getting a vaccine (plus there is much less avalanche danger later in the season)...
 
I like cross country skiing on gentle slopes, but don't care for it on really steep terrain.
Not that I could do it today but when I was in my 20s I had a good set of mountaineering skis, Bonna wood metal edged.IMG_2065 (002).jpg
Today they hang from my ceiling (by the TV, as you can see), a nice memory of days gone by. Just ornaments never to be used again. Back then I could take on most any steep rugged terrain, as steep as any downhill skier, but both up and downhill and without the grooming or established trails. I used them with heavy hiking boots, the bindings could either be hinged for cross county skiing or attached for more like downhill. Probably a lot more dangerous than today's bindings.

You are wise not to take on the mountaineering alone, either on snowshoe or ski. Have fun, but be safe!
 
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I did my Dexa scan today and am pleased with the changes over these past 12 weeks:

20210106_160824-1.jpg

40 lb of fat loss with zero loss of lean mass!!!
20210106_143441-1.jpg

I've been averaging about 31.5% BF lately on both NAVY and BIA. The Navy measurements have varied from ~30-32% and the *morning* BIA measurements have varied from 30.5-33.0% (although post exercise post shower BIAs have gotten as low as 27.0). Last time the Dexa scan was dead-on with the Navy method so it surprised me when it said 28.6%! That translates to a body fat loss of 0.9% per week (0.5% is my goal):
20210106_180342.jpg
Also note that I'm nearly out of the "high risk" category for visceral adipose (fat) tissue! Only 40 more lb to go to be "healthy"

I'm even more over the "natty limit" than last time (a fat free mass index over 25 supposedly means steroids/PED use - obviously wrong...)
20210106_180640.jpg


The DXA scan's metabolism estimate says I should be burning 195 more calories a day now. According to my own calculations my metabolism has been pretty steady around 2550 over the last 3 months - and that is with about 1 hour/day of exercise (i.e. not Sedentary). Either I'm just like everyone else and underestimating my meticulously weighted & measured calories by 20% or I've had some pretty substantial metabolic adaptation (or perhaps a combination of both):
20210106_175531.jpg


And finally my VO2 max results. I was expecting over 4 Liters of air per minute, but came up a little short. Excuses to flow after the image, but before that I'd also like to point out that my peak power went up 62.5% at the same time my (absolute - L/min) VO2 max went up 18% - all while maintaining a pretty severe calorie deficit:
20210106_143256-1.jpg


Excuses for not doing better: I legitimately feel I had a >4 L/min VO2 max in the bag (4 being what I consider exceptional for my age - if I had a Vo2 max of 4 L/min and weighed 135 like a serious cyclist that would mean a VO2 max of 65 mL/kg/min with 50+ being excellent and 75+ being pro endurance athlete). The thing is, a VO2 max test is supposed to take 10, maybe 15 minutes. Mine took 30!
Screenshot 2021-01-06 at 19.13.45.png

The reason my test took so long is because they set the resistance progression at +20 watts every 2 minutes - the same as last time. This was reasonable since most people don't improve their VO2 max - and power - as dramatically I have these last 12 weeks. Unfortunately for my test, my leg muscles were fatiguing towards the end yet I still had a little lung left in reserve (note that I hit 180bpm last time vs just 172 this time). So I'm confident my actual VO2 max is somewhere north of 4 rather than 3.93, but again I'm the only person in the world who cares...

Fitbit continues to overestimate my VO2 max. It was saying 29-33 when I was at 26 ml/kg/min and now it is saying 37-41 when I'm at 35 (or 36). But its heart rate was pretty much dead on with the fancy university's equipment...

Anyway, I'm still a long way away from doing an Ironman, but I'm celebrating the progress made so far...
 
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Your changes are incredible. Even if I just looked at the first two pictures I'd be astounded to find out that change happened in only 12 weeks. Your hard work is really paying off!
 
Very impressive Err, both your progress and your analysis! Losing weight without losing muscle is a real accomplishment! And you know what really happened. I have always just assumed that I lost muscle, and I think that happened, however that is nothing more than a gut feeling, you my friend really know!
 
2nd week of 2021 check-in. These are weekly averages:

Week___Weight_NavyBF_BIA BF_Calories
DEC 04-10: 253.6__33.2%__35.2%__1687
DEC 11-17: 251.6__33.0%__34.0%__1685
DEC 18-24: 249.4__32.1%__32.9%__1691
DEC 25-31: 247.0__31.6%__32.3%__1724
--- JAN 06 Dexa scan: 28.6% body fat ---
JAN 01-07: 244.5__30.9%__31.9%__1811
JAN 08-14: 239.9__28.8%__32.6%__2191

My average calories went up drastically last week because I'd tested positive for Covid and didn't want to be at a caloric deficit while fighting it (I tested negative twice shortly after, never had symptoms, and suspect a false positive). I'm back to ~1800 calories now...
 
Must have been scary stuff testing covid positive. You did the right thing by setting things up to fight it. I'm pleased that you tested negative afterwards a couple of times.
 
My average calories went up drastically last week because I'd tested positive for Covid and didn't want to be at a caloric deficit while fighting it (I tested negative twice shortly after, never had symptoms, and suspect a false positive). I'm back to ~1800 calories now...
Good news! :)
 
I got tested for the IgG covid antibody and the test came back negative. It can sometimes take longer than 14 days for some people to produce antibodies, so I won't know for sure that my covid test was a false positive until I donate blood on the 1st and they run it for antibodies...
 
Timed mile run:
Nov 15: 11:20
Nov 21: 11:13
Nov 28: 10:42
Dec 06: 10:18
Dec 12: 10:35
Dec 20: 09:59
Dec 26: 10:25
Jan 03: 09:24
Jan 16: 09:52

Timed 3 mile run:
Dec 08:
38:39
Dec 10: 38:40
Dec 14: 37:20
Dec 16: 37:25
Dec 18: 33:47
Dec 22: 37:07
Dec 24: 36:06
Dec 28: 32:48
Dec 30: 34:25
Jan 07: 41:47
Jan 19: 31:52
 
So your mile pace during a 3 mile run is now quite a bit faster than it used to be during a 1 mile run? Awesome work!
 
3rd week of 2021 check-in. These are weekly averages:

Week___Weight_NavyBF_BIA BF_Calories
DEC 04-10: 253.6__33.2%__35.2%__1687
DEC 11-17: 251.6__33.0%__34.0%__1685
DEC 18-24: 249.4__32.1%__32.9%__1691
DEC 25-31: 247.0__31.6%__32.3%__1724
JAN 01-07: 244.5__30.9%__31.9%__1811
-- JAN 06 Dexa scan: 28.6% body fat --
JAN 08-14: 239.9__28.8%__32.6%__2191
JAN 15-21: 236.3__27.4%__31.9%__1833-ish

Timed 3 mile run:
Dec 08:
38:39
Dec 10: 38:40
Dec 14: 37:20
Dec 16: 37:25
Dec 18: 33:47
Dec 22: 37:07
Dec 24: 36:06
Dec 28: 32:48
Dec 30: 34:25
Jan 07: 41:47
Jan 19: 31:52
Jan 21: 29:17
I need to run a 28:52 3-mile to be on pace for a <30 min 5K, so I'm within sight of my goal of being able to do that by February; in fact, I could probably do it now if I had someone setting that exact pace for me. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to do a pull up by February, which is very frustrating since it has been a goal since November (30+ lb ago). At least I can do a chin up with good form pretty much on demand now.​
 
I'm bumping up my calories again, this time to 1850. The exciting news, if you can call it that, is that my macro goals will become 45% carbs, 35% protein, & 20% fat which now fall within the "Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range" of 45-65% carbs, 10-35% protein, & 20-35% fat. Fiber will be increasing from 30 to 35g too, though I've already been hitting that 9 out of 10 days anyway.

On the disappointing side, I've resigned myself to taking blood pressure medicine again. I had 3 weeks of good BP without any meds at all, but the last two weeks it has been elevated and that's too long to keep sticking my head in the sand. Hopefully I'll be able to come off them for good after further weight loss.
 
Yay for more calories! I guess I´m a glutton but it makes me happy to see people have enough daily calories for a bit of flexibility. Also: if I´m remembering correctly you´re planning to lose another 50 lbs or so, right? That should definitely further impact your bp. Having it perfect already could mean it gets unpleasantly low later.
 
Nice to see your continued great progress in so many areas Err. Awesome run time improvement, being able to do a chin up, losing weight without losing muscle mass...all sounds great! Too bad about having to go back on bp meds, but hopefully with time that will change too.
Keep up the great work!
 
Timed mile run:
Nov 15: 11:20
Nov 21: 11:13
Nov 28: 10:42
Dec 06: 10:18
Dec 12: 10:35
Dec 20: 09:59
Dec 26: 10:25
Jan 03: 09:24
Jan 16: 09:52
Jan 25: 09:00

New (adult) best mile time (and I have a little room to set a faster pace on the first half):
Screenshot 2021-01-25 at 15.45.38.png




I also got a chance to let the dogs off leash and be dogs. They enjoyed it:

Screenshot 2021-01-25 at 15.27.41.pngScreenshot 2021-01-25 at 15.24.56.pngScreenshot 2021-01-25 at 15.28.48.png
 
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