A record of the journey.

B

BigBob

New member
Well, having got off to such a positive start - as written up in my Newcomer post - I seem to have hit my first sticky patch.

Last weekend we went away, to a nice hotel and of course had 'nice' food. Now, I didn't always choose the "diet" option from the menu - but neither did I over do it (in my opinion).

But, it's now Wednesday Morning - and my weight has increased by 1.7Kg (4lbs) Since Saturday (4 days).

Now, 4lbs = 14,000 calories and there is no way I ate an additional 14,000 calories over the weekend.

AARRGGHHHH

I'm not sure if I'm disappointed or frustrated.

All I can do is keep an accurate record of what I eat - keep it within my target range - and hope the numbers reflect my efforts soon.

Unless anyone has any other suggestions.
 
Hi Bob,

Human bodies are complex. From my personal experience (and hours of research and reading), I have come to understand that you must not just depend on what the scales tell you. You have said it yourself, there's no way you could have eaten 14,000 calories.

What the scale tells me affects me too. But I have also found that by measuring body parts (waist, chest, thighs, tummy, calves, neck), you may get a more accurate result. I have been trying this for the last one week, and have seen some positive results.

And you are absolutely right- get your workouts done, eating withing your calorie limits and the numbers will start decreasing. that is what I tell myself, and it has worked so far.

Good luck!
 
The numbers have caught up.

Phew.

Thanks for the reply.

Was away again this weekend but only camping - so couldn't count every calorie but kept it "reasonable".

And at last the numbers have 'caught up' and it looks like I'm off the plateau of the last couple of weeks.

I have considered taking measurements - the most important one being my neck circumference as that's driving the sleep apnea which is where this journey began really. There have been improvements in that area, as I'm begining to remember dreams again - which would imply I'm sleeping deeper and better.

However, the easiest, for a guy at least, is waist size. This weekend the belt went in another notch, only one hole left now and it'll be a new belt - that will be a milestone to celebrate. I really need to buy new trousers, as am still in my originals, but am reluctant to spend money on this size, when hopefully in a month or so I'll no longer be this size. Maybe someone should open a clothing library, where you can borrow sizes for a month or two, then take them back and swap them for the next size down :)

But for me - it's the graph on the wii that is really driving my motivation - and when it plateaus - it's tough. Now it's falling again - my motivation has lifted - the next week should go ok now.
 
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Hey, Bob.

Good that things seem to have turned around for you.

One thing to keep in mind: when we eat food that we didn't cook ourselves, particularly any kind of restaurant food, it tends to be high (often extremely high) in sodium.
Sodium makes us retain water, which makes us weigh heavier. This is how you can eat one or two meals that didn't seem to be super high in calories, and suddenly put on a bunch of weight.

Go back to regular, healthy eating, drink a lot of water, and watch that weight go away.
 
Ah Salt !! (and Tomato Juice)

Well it's interesting you mention Salt.

Because, I had a theory.....

Basically, I "discovered" that Tomato Juice is about half the calories of Orange Juice. Now, I LOVE tomato juice and over the course of the previous weekend, I drank close to 2 litres of it !!!

THEN - I noticed, that whilst 200ml was like 2% of your Daily Calorie Allowance, it was 17% of your Daily Salt Allowance. Which meant a litre was practically a whole days worth of salt !!!

So, I had wondered if - drinking that amount of Tomato Juice was the cause of the numbers going in the wrong direction.

Your comments would seem to point out that the Tomato Juice could well have been a factor.

Needless to say - I've cut out the tomato juice !!

Thanks for the information.
 
Log for Monday 5th October

Monday 5th October

Statistics
Weight 17st 9lbs (247 lbs)(112K)
BMI 36.60
BMR 2125 x 1.2 = 2550

Meals.
B/Fast 09:30 Cereal + Milk = 300
Lunch 12:15 : Salad with Tuna(130) and Salmon(130) + Ryvitas(100) = 400
Tea : 15:45 : Salmon(70) and cucumber Sandwich(200) = 270
Dinner : 20:30 Slimmers Chicken Curry(400) + Rice(200) + Bread(80) = 680


Snacks
Orange : 45
Clementinesx2 : 30



Drinks:
Green Tea
Water


Max Calories: 2050
Min Calories: 1250
Estimated Calories: 1725

Exercise :
Treadmill 20 mins level 8 192 Cals
Cross Trainer 20 mins level 8 160 cals
Bike 20 mins level 6 140 cals
Total 492 Calories
 
A comment about my Goals.

Seen lots of threads on here where people have goals expressed in the form:
"I want to be xxxlbs on dd/mm/yyyy"

Personally, I do it a different way, which I thought I might share as others might find it helpful.

I am weighing myself on the wii fit each morning - that gives me my BMI and my weight.

I take my weight that day and plug it into a spreadsheet. My spreadsheet has my starting date and starting weight, so each day, it calculates how many days have elapsed and how many lbs I've lost - it then calculates my rate of loss in "lbs/week".

I then have several additional columns, each with a target goal - for me in UK, it's the Stone milestones - 17, 16, 15 etc -but it could be lbs or kilos.

The spreadsheet then calculates the date upon which I should hit each of those milestones. I've even plotted them as a graph which I have on my wall.

So - I can see, at my present rate of loss - I should hit my next milestone (17 Stone/238lbs) on 30th October.

For me, as it's the date that is moving - it means I don't have a fixed date in mind when I "should" be 17stone. Which means, I won't have to face a day when I "missed" my goal.

If this approach appeals to anyone, I'd be happy to share the formula/spreadsheet if that would help.
 
The descent feels good.

I'm off the 18St plateau for sure as the wii dipped below 17St 7lbs(245lbs) for the first time since records began. And as the song says - "don't it feel good".

Went through my wardrobe yesterday and sent a load of big trousers to the charity shop - hated them from the start - feels great to see the back of them - and, going through the wardrobe, what did I find.... that had gotton way to small...... yup - you guessed it - my 1999 England Rugby top. WOW putting that back on felt terrific.

Finally decided to spend some dosh on new trousers - just a couple of pairs to tied me over - went to my usual "big man's" website - didn't really see anything that grabbed me - so thought I'd take a look at a "normal" clothing website WOW I am back into "normal" sizes - I have a much greater choice. So, have picked out some new pants and will get 'em ordered as soon as the credit card comes back - long story, it's been "cloned" and someone in Mumbai has had a whale of a time with it !

So, in case you've not worked it out - motivation is pretty high right now. Rate of weight loss is at 1.18%/Week Next big milestone 17st 0 (238lb) is on the horizon for 25th Oct - just 2 weeks.

How good will that feel ?
 
Is this exercise worthwhile ?

For about a month now, I've been visiting the gym about 3 times a week and using the elliptical trainer, treadmill and stationary bike to get all hot and sweaty, as an aid to the diet.

I've read about aerobic exercise and how you should aim for the "aerobic zone" which lies between 70% and 80% of your MRH.

So, I've invested in an HRM Belt and watch, that "talks" to the kit at the gym and displays my heart rate.

Well !

Can I get to 70% HRM !!

I can not.

For me 70% HRM begins at 120bpm.
I can get to and sustain 118 ok - but try as I might, I seem unable to get above 118/119. Last night, I achieve 122 for a short while but there was no way I could sustain that for very long and in fact did the last 10mins of my 20min on the elliptical trainer at around 105.

So, can anyone advice me - is working at 118 doing me any good ?
How hard should I strive for 120 ?
Is 2 mins at 120 followed by 10 mins at 105 better than 15mins at 118 ?
Will I ever get to 120 for 15+mins ?

Any advice appreciated.
PS. Until last month, I've not done any real physical activity since leaving school 30+yrs ago.
 
New Year New Start

Well, early December, I achieved a "record low" weight.

Then I took my eye off the ball - I thought I'd made enough fundamental changes to my diet that I could be less "careful" and still loose weight.

But alas it was not to be. Basically December was a platau. Hit a "low weight" at the start of the month and just oscillated up and down a little but without getting down to a new record low.

Was becoming disheartened.

Then we had Christmas and New Year - now in previous years, I've always increased my weight at Christmas (who doesn't) but then stayed at the new weight and increased a little more through out the following year.

So, I decided not to worry about the "diet" (Not that I am "on a diet") - but I would be "sensible" over Christmas and pick up again in the New Year.

I've read how you body can become accustomed to "restricted" calories - so having a month of "un-restricted" calories was probably not a bad thing.

So. Mon 4th Jan - started back on the old regime. Measuring portions, recording what I've eaten - tracking the calories - and the numbers are moving in the right direction.

I'm not yet back to my previous "record low" - but I'm not far off and it's only Jan the 7th :)

Last night had a really good session at the gym - burnt over 600 calories (according to HRM)

So, all in all - it's good to be back.
Breaking the BMI 34 barrier is the next target - could be there in a week if all goes well.
 
Looks like it is worthwhile.

Just got back from the gym and sat and read my own diary.

I've never kept a diary before and whilst the purists might argue this isn't much of a diary, it's quite interesting to see a progression and to see what I was thinking in the past.

The bit about exercise popped out - so I thought it worth recording an update, especially in the light of this evening session at the gym.

Basically, I've broken the 118 barrier - I break it regularly and quite easily.

Where I was going wrong before was in trying to "force" my heart rate up by a short - unsustainable - burst of activity. What I've learned is that my heart rate increases steadily till it's at the "right" level for the level of activity I'm doing. So a short burst - whilst it knocks the stuffing out of me -is too short a time for the HR (or maybe the HRM) to respond.

The way I like to structure my exercise now is :
Start on the treadmill - walking at 2.3% incline 4.5mph for 4 mins.
I then "jog" at 5.5mph. Initially I was jogging for 1 min - but I'm slowly increasing the jogging time and so reducing the walking time between jogs.
I then drop back to walking at 4.3 - 4.5 mph for 4 mins.
Then I'll jog for another minute at 5.5.
I repeat this, till I've been on the treadmill for 25 minutes.
(If I need to, I do a minute walking at 3.8 mph straight after the jog)
Finishing with the 5 min "cool down" period built into the machine.

I'm cautious about jogging too much at my weight, don't want to damage the knees - I've ordered a proper pair of running shoes, when they arrive I will try to push out the time I spend jogging as opposed to walking, as I see the difference it makes to my HR and Kcals burnt to go that little bit faster. But I'm in this for the long haul, so not I'm not desperate to run before I can walk :) (Who knows, one day I might try and prepare for a 5k fun run - that would shock a few folks)

So, using the "technique" above - my HR now gets much higher than 118 -
I've seen it hit 131 - without me feeling like I was about to throw up or die or both.

I take a different approach on the cross trainer. On this kit - my HR climbs more slowly over the whole duration I'm on the thing.

Chatting with the trainers at the gym, I've learned that trying to increase my speed is actually more effective than trying to increase the resistance of the machine.

So finally - I'll record this evenings numbers here - so I can look back on them in a few months and see some progress (hopefully)

Treadmill - Duration 28 mins. Avg HR 114 Max HR 128 Kcal 240. 8 mins above 120.

Eliptical - Duration 36 mins. Avg HR 120 Max HR 130 Kcal 345. 27 mins above 120.

Whilst I am still a long way short of even the loosest interpretation of being "fit" - I know that I am fitter than I've ever been in my life. Just a shame I had to get to 48 to start doing this - Well done those of you on here in your 20's and 30's. You won't regret it.

So, to answer my own question - Is it worthwhile ? - clearly the evidence would seem to point to the fact that it is.
 
Good job so far on becoming fitter! It doesn't matter if you started later on in life than you would have liked because at least you started! Now because of this, you'll add years to your life along with improving the quality of life you'll have. That's just awesome!

When the weather is nicer, you could always go to an outdoor track (or go to an indoor one now, if it's available where you live) and run there. The material those are less harsh on the joints than running on the street or sidewalk.
 
More new toys

Well another new toy arrived yesterday. My Omron Body Fat Analyser.
Wish I'd had it before I started - but it's been a journey and I didn't even know they existed when I started out.

Never mind got one now and I can see what my numbers are. Not only does it calculate Body Fat Percentage, but your BMI too. Maybe the wii will be relegated !!

It provides a whole new set of targets and goals and hence is a fresh source of "achievements" to be experienced.

Last couple of days have been good in terms of calorie input. I've really improved my "diet tracker" spreadsheet. My sis gave me a great book for xmas. Which I've basically "transferred" into a spreadsheet - I suspect it's a bit like "fitday" that I've read about on here - in that I now record specific items of food and the quantity I eat and my s/sheet shows me the calories and a breakdown of the Protein, Carbohydrates and Fat.

What's really good about this is that I "prepare" the meal in the spreadsheet first - see how the numbers come out - then adjust the ingredients to improve the numbers, so generally making it healthier. Amazing how you can make relatively small changes - that in terms of taste etc are almost irrelevant, but have a big impact on the numbers, and hence on your well being. The more I learn about food and health the more it seems I want to know - never expected that when I set out to simply "loose some weight".

Went to the gym last night and it was closed - we've had a lot of snow here last few days - but I was really disappointed. Which just shows how far I've come on my journey so far.

So, with all these tools I have now - I really must get those numbers moving again !
 
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That sounds like an awesome way to keep track of calories and build meals ahead of time.

I was using Fitday and I should start using it again. I also have a program on my iPhone I was using, which was better than Fitday only because it is portable! I just have to remember to use it!
 
On the move again.

Re Meal Planning.
Yeh, Ease of access is vital.

It's great to be in control of my "input" to the level of detail that I am now.

When I think about how much I've learnt about diet and nutrition, from this and other sites - it's criminal really that people are allowed to eat in ignorance.

I just used to eat what I wanted when I wanted - feeling hungry - was to be avoided at all cost, food was to be enjoyed - in fact a "good meal" was often the highlight of the day.

In those days "good" was defined in terms of only two criteria - Flavour and Quantity. I must not go back to that.

Re: Progress
Well, yesterday my new trainers arrived - unfortunately they were too small, so had to drive into town and change them - should have done that in the first place - but never mind.

So, off to the gym it was, shiny new trainers all ready and onto the treadmill.

A little background is required here :
When I started at the gym, I was walking for 20 mins on the treadmill at 3.8Mph, sweating and puffing like a good 'un but feeling very proud of myself. I mentioned it in passing to the attendants at the gym, expecting them to be impressed - but - instead there was a look that said "that's all!!" and the advice that I should aim to be walking at between 4 and 4.5mph.

Well it's always good to have a target !!

So, I gradually I started increasing my speed - even jogging for short periods as I think I recorded in an earlier entry.

Well - with the new trainers I feel I have the right footwear to safely begin a little "high impact" aerobic exercise.

So, for the record, I :
  • Walked at 4.5mph for 4 mins
  • Jogged at 5.6 mph for 2 mins
  • Walked at 4.3 mph for 3 mins
  • Jogged at 5.6mph for 2 mins
  • Walked at 4.3mph for 3 mins
  • Jogged at 5.6mph for 2 mins
  • Walked at 4.3mph for 3 mins
  • Jogged at 5.6mph for 2 mins
  • Walked at 4.3mph for 3 mins
  • Jogged at 6.0mph for 1 min.

So that's 25mins, level 6 (gradient 2.3%) and 9 mins actually jogging. Will stick at this for a week or so before increasing the jogging to achieve a 50/50 split.

So, what's all this doing to the numbers ?

Well, it seems taking December off has done me the world of good - it's like I've started again as I am experiencing that initial "burst" of weight loss that occurred way back last August when it all began.

In the last 11 days, I've had 6 Green Days (Weight at a 'record low') 2 Amber days (weight the same, or less than previous day but higher than 'record low') and only 3 Red days (weight up on previous day). Compared to December, when I only had 1 Green day in the whole month(4th Dec - 230.4), 16 Amber days, 7 Red Days and 7 Days when I didn't get on the scales at all (knowing they'd be red)

I'm now down to (drum roll please) 227.9Lbs (103.4Kg) Do you realise, that's close to being down to double digit KGs !!!!!!! That will be a milestone to celebrate, but I don't think I'll repeat the Pork Pie celebration that I had at 17St - it took a week to get the numbers dropping again after that !!

Any suggestions for a sub 100Kg celebration ?
 
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Sometimes a little break is good for the body, as you've discovered. As long as it isn't permanent like mine was... lol. Good job on the running/walking, that's how I learned to run a year and a half ago and it worked really well. If the weather keeps staying the way it is (not snowing) then I'm going to start running again.
 
Heading for a blip.

Re: Running
Our snow has all gone now.

I like to think of my Walk/Jog/Walk program as "High Intensity Interval Training" for beginners :)

Re: Progress
Not sure to rejoice or weep.

I've been tracking my calorie input and output really tightly and I can see that over the last few days I've been running at a deficit of about 750 Cals per day - mainly because of the exercise I'm doing as opposed to not eating enough. Yesterday, I consumed circa 1800 calories for example.

Yet, my weight has dropped 5lbs in the last 4 days.
There is no way I've been 17500 calories short in the last 4 days.

Which means it's going to blip back up or at best plateau for a bit - and I know either of those are hard on the mind if they last too long.

Coupled with that my schedule means the next 3 weeks I'm away from home, living in hotels - so that means little control over diet and no access to the scales.

So - looks like I'm gonna have to pick things up in Feb and see what damage has been done in the interim.
Shame, 'cause I'm so close to a couple of big milestones.
1) Dropping out of 16St (ie below 224lbs). It must be circa 20yrs since my weight was 15st xxlbs.
2) Dropping into double digit Kg (ie below 100Kg) ( I didn't know what a Kg was 20yrs ago :) )

Still, I know I can do this stuff, so guess I just have to try to do the best I can for the next 3 weeks and accept I'll have to undo any damage when I get back in Feb. Aaaarrgghhhh.
 
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When you're away from home do you stay in hotels with an exercise room? If so, you can offset the lack of diet control with some exercise. If you don't have an exercise room there, you could do you're "beginnier's interval training" (by the way, I love that, lol) outside if there's no snow. You could even do exercises just in your room like squats, lunges, pushups, situps... things like that... it's better than nothing right?

Good luck!
 
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