By the Numbers

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Day 50. HRV!! Off the charts. First a 3, then a 1 on the parasympathetic side - then a 4 on the Sympathetic side. Polar oposite ends of the scale. BP: 105/68 -59, 104.4 Kg, 8.5 hrs sleep.

I didn't believe the first HRV reading so tried again. The actual values of variability were better than usual but varied from my normals more than typical. What was truly bizarre was the swing from one end of the continuum to the other where the middle is optimum. I decided that I felt up for it and did a repeat of my last cardio triple and added 2 push-ups and 4 sit-ups to the sets. I couldn't get past 10 per side by 35 lbs curl to press on the first set but managed 11 on the second. I'm tempted to drop the weight a bit and pound repetitions to build more endurance. Bird dog remains at 2 sets of 10 sec per side and I've added a cat - camel stretch before and after sets. In the last 3 or 4 days I've been getting some tightness in my upper right rear neck area.

The cardio today ran over 600 kcal at average/max rates of 148/164 with an HRR improved over my last poorer number back to 58. Not great, but at least not indicative of over training. Given that the scale seems a bit stuck, I thought it made sense to see what happened if I ignored Harvey and just went for it.

Breakfast was my oatmeal blueberry concoction with the flax seed substituted by a whey protein powder.

Tonight will be a pizza might dropping in on grandson and family.
 
Turns out it was a pizza "might" after all. They bailed and we had more pizza than reasonable.
 
Day 51. HRV: 2, BP: 109/69 - 52; 103.8 Kg, 8 Hrs sleep.

I took two HRV readings this morning and both were a solid two with no variance. The reading I do takes 2.5 minutes and the numbers were essentially identical, really low on the sympathetic side. The message that goes with the reading is:

Compared to your personal baseline your Sympathetic activity is abnormally high. To avoid over training or over stressing it is highly recommended to prioritize rest. Good activities include: HRV Guided Breathing, walking and light mobility work.

The weather here continues on the colder side of enjoyable outdoor activity and the first day forecast to be over freezing as a day time high won't be until just about the first day of spring. My Garmin Vivoactive counts steps and it shows every day short of its calculated goal derived from my actual steps. In fact, the only days I have gone over is when the steps during racquetball are counted. The 4 week average count including those days is only 2612. I rely heavily on getting in some cardio in order to have any reasonable amount of activity.

I sneezed a number of times yesterday and this morning suggesting that I've got some reason for the low HRV reading that may not relate to exercise fatigue but still indicates a need for rest. With regret, I skipped the workout this morning. According to the inflexible part of my plan, I will workout tomorrow regardless of the reading, but it it continues to be low, I'll turn it into a low intensity activity. Notwithstanding the HRV reading, I decided to do a set of 12 push-ups and have started practicing body weight squats at multiple various times of day. I'm trying to get the form down and checking flexibility. My knees are be capable of dropping all the way but it's difficult to keep my feet from rolling on to the balls. I'm now thinking lightly loaded goblet squats are a good way to get started with this next week.

Lunch was grilled Swiss cheese multigrain sandwiches with fresh green pea soup with added whole edamame beans and a bit of parmesan and garlic. In addition to the Granny Smith apple pieces on the side, there were several thin pieces in the toast. In addition to the depicted, I had another half bowl of soup.
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Pizza night failed over some miscommunication. We had placed an order to a large and 2 medium pizzas as well as some honey garlic wings and wound up taking the lot home. The two mediums went into the freezer and Spice and I had about 70% of the large ham and pineapple pizza and I had 3 of the wings as well. I had more than my fill but it turns out the scale nudged in the right direction anyway. I had suspected the last two readings were a bit over what they should be and I choose to believe that this morning's reading reflected that.

Just to keep myself motivated and on target, I've decided to upload a before/in progress photo. The before was taken the week of my 60th birthday near the time my weight peaked near 273 lbs or 124 kg and the more recent picture was from last week at about 106 Kg.
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You look so much slimmer and healthier already! (Also happier/kinder, but that may just be the lack of weather in the second pic.) Of course 18 kg IS a huge amount to lose. Well done Hale!
 
Thanks LaMa and Cate. The outside picture was taken in San Francisco near the end of June 2015 on a cool foggy morning when the Golden Gate bridge was shrouded in fog. Spice and I took a road trip down the west coast to LA and her pictures brought me to the realization that something needed to change.
 
Jenni/Sunflower/Cowboy - As shucks, thanks; this is an interim result. Currently BMI is still over 30 so still obese by that metric.
 
Day 52. HRV: 9, BP: 109/72 - 49, 103.4 Kg, 8.5 Hrs sleep.

Harvey gave me the all clear so a regular workout with 52 minutes of cardio and a couple sets of resistance. Cardio heart rates were 151/165 average and max with a 64 HRR. Yesterday I spent about an hour wandering aisles shopping indoors so managed some extra steps.

Lunch was an apple with 5 of the rice samosas Spice cooked up last week with an apple and dinner was left over cauliflower rice, which I guess is just shredded cauliflower with more leftovers in the form of Brussel sprouts, cranberries and walnuts.
 
Goblet squat can be a great way to get started, especially if you aren't confident in your form.
 
Hana: I like all manner of foods including a really broad variety of quite healthy foods. It makes healthy and varied eating much easier.

Cory: My plan is to make tbe goblet squats part of my routine when I start week 9 after Sunday. It's later than I had initially planned but I'm gradually getting more satisfied that my back will manage.

Day 53. HRV: 9, BP: 109/68 - 52, 103.4 Kg, 8 Hrs sleep.

Worked out in the afternoon but ran out of gas for the elliptical so I cut the pace to 65 and skipped the intervals on it but completed the 20 minutes on it. I also split my curl/press into 3 sets for the target total. Heart rate was average/max 145/156 with HRR 52 for 595 calories. I was running low energy perhaps because I hadn't eaten in 6 hours though it seems I can usually get through it before breakfast oddly enough.

Dinner last night was 5/8ths of the medium tomato/pepperoni pizza we picked up Tuesday and it was surprisingly good reheated out of the freezer.

After an early banana, Spice and I went out for breakfast and I ordered liver and onions with rice and mixed vegetables.
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We had company over for dinner and Spice boiled and then grilled some pork ribs with quinoa and Brussel sprouts wirh walnuts and cranberries.
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Mm, quinoa. It's caught on in the UK (FINALLY) and is very popular now. I love it.. especially with grilled halloumi and roasted veggies.

Love how committed you seem to your exercise - I'm lacking that at the moment. I always find an excuse.. I already get up for work at 6am and don't get home til 19:00 some evenings and I find myself unwilling to lose any of my evening to working out.. need to make more of an effort.
 
Love how committed you seem to your exercise...

I should be committed to finding worthwhile employment but the absence of that does allow me greater flexibility in exercise. I don't have adequate resources to retire just yet but don't need a perfect job to survive reasonably well. At my last employment, I worked 25 Km from home and turned that into a 10 Km drive with a bike on the rack and then 15 Km back and forth on the bike, rain shine or snow. That's pretty much the before picture time. There was a shower at work and I spent an hour and a half on my bike over mixed terrain for over a year. I'd love to find a job that gave me some built in activity.

Jenni/LaMa - It was all excellent and tasty. I'm spoiled.
 
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