TomO
0
Thanks RJ. Writeup on my data keeping . . . hmmm, I'll have to think about that. It might REALLY convince people I'm nuts!
Fit by 60! - TomO's Pledge
- Thread starter TomO
- Start date
Thanks RJ. Writeup on my data keeping . . . hmmm, I'll have to think about that. It might REALLY convince people I'm nuts!
TomO
0
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Weight: 234.0 -
Food yesterday: 2,397 calories:
Fat: 72 gm, 27%; 15 gm saturated
Carbs: 304 gm, 48%; 28 gm fiber
Protein: 112 gm, 19%
Alcohol: 0
I was a little light on the protein yesterday. I'll try to remedy that this weekend. I find it hard to meet my protein goals when I eat oatmeal for breakfast, while still keeping in my calorie goals. I like fruit and veggies a lot, and they add to the carbs. Even my protein shake has 27 gm of carbs, compared to 13 gm of protein.
With my NARM of 2,360 calories, plus 1,000 calories from exercise, I ended up the day with a 963 calorie deficit, and an accumulated deficit of 5,516 calories so far this month.
I didn't add "Plateau # 3, Day #28" to the weight entry above. I'm hoping this is not just another instance of the scale gods taunting me. But if I'm still here on Monday, I'm going to declare victory over #3 and move on to #4.
Weight: 234.0 -
Food yesterday: 2,397 calories:
Fat: 72 gm, 27%; 15 gm saturated
Carbs: 304 gm, 48%; 28 gm fiber
Protein: 112 gm, 19%
Alcohol: 0
I was a little light on the protein yesterday. I'll try to remedy that this weekend. I find it hard to meet my protein goals when I eat oatmeal for breakfast, while still keeping in my calorie goals. I like fruit and veggies a lot, and they add to the carbs. Even my protein shake has 27 gm of carbs, compared to 13 gm of protein.
With my NARM of 2,360 calories, plus 1,000 calories from exercise, I ended up the day with a 963 calorie deficit, and an accumulated deficit of 5,516 calories so far this month.
I didn't add "Plateau # 3, Day #28" to the weight entry above. I'm hoping this is not just another instance of the scale gods taunting me. But if I'm still here on Monday, I'm going to declare victory over #3 and move on to #4.
TomO
0
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Weight 234.8 - Plateu #3, Day 28?? I just don't know. But if I'm still under 235 on Monday, I'll declare victory of this plateau.
Yesterday we took my 96 year old mom, along with my daughter and wife, out for Mother's Day - a day early, because today we're driving to south San Diego for the big family buffet, and that's too far for my mom. I was doing great until my dear daughter ordered calamari. ARGGHH! I ate about 8 of the little buggers, adding 300 calories of scruptious bad food. However, I had mahi mahi with brown rice for the main course, so that saved the day. I ate carefully the rest of the day, too, so I ended up with pretty much a maintenance level of 2,703 calories for the day:
Fat: 92 gm, 30%; 23 gm saturated, 7%
Carbs: 250 gm, 35%; 28 gm fiber
Protein: 180 gm, 27%
Alcohol: 24 gm, 6%
Yes, I admit it, I had a glass of single malt scotch at night.
I did some gardening for a couple of hours in the afternoon, so I figured that used up around 320 calories. That, plus my NARM of 2,356 calories, left me with a measly surplus of 27 calories for the day, and an accumulated month to date surplus of 5, 489 calories.
Took measurements all over the body this morning - absolutely no change. Part of that's a good thing: my calves aren't receding the way they were before, meaning at least I'm not losing muscle there.
Happy Mother's Day!
Weight 234.8 - Plateu #3, Day 28?? I just don't know. But if I'm still under 235 on Monday, I'll declare victory of this plateau.
Yesterday we took my 96 year old mom, along with my daughter and wife, out for Mother's Day - a day early, because today we're driving to south San Diego for the big family buffet, and that's too far for my mom. I was doing great until my dear daughter ordered calamari. ARGGHH! I ate about 8 of the little buggers, adding 300 calories of scruptious bad food. However, I had mahi mahi with brown rice for the main course, so that saved the day. I ate carefully the rest of the day, too, so I ended up with pretty much a maintenance level of 2,703 calories for the day:
Fat: 92 gm, 30%; 23 gm saturated, 7%
Carbs: 250 gm, 35%; 28 gm fiber
Protein: 180 gm, 27%
Alcohol: 24 gm, 6%
Yes, I admit it, I had a glass of single malt scotch at night.
I did some gardening for a couple of hours in the afternoon, so I figured that used up around 320 calories. That, plus my NARM of 2,356 calories, left me with a measly surplus of 27 calories for the day, and an accumulated month to date surplus of 5, 489 calories.
Took measurements all over the body this morning - absolutely no change. Part of that's a good thing: my calves aren't receding the way they were before, meaning at least I'm not losing muscle there.
Happy Mother's Day!
TomO
0
What I Measure - for RJ
RJ had asked me about all the things I measure.
I'm a bit hesitant, because I'm quite a bit of a data freak. I'm definitely NOT suggesting that others do this. It's just something that works for me, and perhaps me alone.
Daily measurements:
============
Weight
Fat Percentage
Resting Pulse
Blood Pressure
Calories from food & drink
Macronutrients - fat, carb, protein, alcohol, vitamins, etc.
Exercise Calories
Surplus or Deficit Calories
Food Quality (subjective judgement, scale of 1 to 5, 5=best)
Weight Day Measurements
================
Reps & sets for each exercise
Weight
Degree of Difficulty (subjective judgement, scale of 1 to 4, 4=failure)
Time for session
Calories expended
Cardio Day Measurements
=================
Time for session
Maximum HR attained
Average HR attained
Intervals & HIIT - speed, level, resistance, HR on all intervals
Weekly Measurements:
==============
Abs (at belly button) in inches
Waist, at narrowest point
Chest
Neck
Biceps
Forearm
Thigh
Calves
Toes [just kidding, wanted to see if you're still reading ]
Monthly Measurements:
===============
Weight Loss/Gain
Change in Fat Percentage
Averages for all the above daily measurements
How Do I Keep Track?
==============
Actually, it's not as difficult as it might seem, and takes less than 10 minutes a day. I use FitDay to track all my food intake. I've set up a lot of custom meals -- stuff that I eat very frequently -- so recording calories takes just a few minutes a day. The hard part is when we go to a new restaurant, and there are ingredients I'm not familiar with.
The rest of the measurements are recorded on an Excel spreadsheet. I have a typical morning ritual: get my weight on my Tanita scale, take my blood pressure and resting pulse, and then measure my body fat with my Omron monitor. Review my results for the previous day. Record the results and write up my journal entry for the day, which I also store in FitDay (you never know what can happen with a web site).
All of this takes about 10 minutes.
I've got my spreadsheet set up so it automatically calculates surplus/deficit calories, once I put in calories for exercise and food/drink. I do this by naming a cell "NARM", which contains the current number of calories per pound of body weight for my normal activity rate of metabolism. Currently that number is 10.0. This way, as I lose weight, my NARM is recalculated automatically.
Averages and totals for the month are also calculated automatically after each entry, as are all of my fancy graphs.
After each workout, I spend a couple of minutes recording the results. Again, everything is set up in a spreadsheet, so it's no big deal.
At the end of each month, I review all the results, compare them to my goals set on the first day of the month, and formulate new goals. As you may have seen, I tend to have a LOT of goals, and it's fairly typical that I fail on some of them. The nice thing is, though, that I succeed on a lot of them too, so it's not an "all or nothing" result.
I use a couple of very subjective scales which have turned out to be quite useful or me. One is food quality, on a scale of 1 to 5. If all my macronutrients are in order, I give it a "5". This is rare. That would mean nothing junky at all the whole day, at least 175 gm of protein, and low levels of saturated fat. There are only about 5 days in the month that rate a "5". If I've had a minor transgression on the macronutrient side, I give it a "4". This could be from eating higher fat meat, or a bad carb/protein ratio. If I have anything like a cookie, even one, I automatically rate it a "3". My average score for last month was 3.4 and my average for this month is 3.6, so you can see about where things end up. If I have something like fried food, or a bigger dessert, I give it a "2". And if I just lose control, the day gets a "1". The last "1" day I had was on January 26th, when I ate gobs of fried food and ended up with a 1200 calorie surplus for the day.
The other subjective scale I use is for degree of difficulty in weights. If the weight is just too easy, I give it a 1. If it's just about right, I give it a 2. If I'm struggling on the last set, I give it a 3. And if I fail on the last set, it's a 4. If I rate something a 1, or have a couple of 2's in a row, I increase the weight. It helps me, because otherwise I forget how fatigued I was on a particular exercise, and that way I only increase the weight when I'm ready for it.
This is not to say that the "non-subjective" measurements are totally objective. Every measurement has a degree of "noise" in it -- no matter how accurate the instrument doing the measurement. Take your blood pressure three different times, and you'll get three different readings, sometimes very different. On top of that, your body fluctuates from day to day. That's why trends are really what's important. However, the more individual data points you have, the more you can rely on the trend, at least that's usually the case.
More than you ever wanted to know, right?
Let me reiterate -- this is a system that works for ME. It probably would drive most people absolutely bonkers. In my previous 8 failures, I kept track of nothing. I scoffed at this sort of stuff. But ultimately, I failed. I can't say it was because I didn't measure things. This time around, though, measurements are certainly an important part of my arsenal.
RJ had asked me about all the things I measure.
I'm a bit hesitant, because I'm quite a bit of a data freak. I'm definitely NOT suggesting that others do this. It's just something that works for me, and perhaps me alone.
Daily measurements:
============
Weight
Fat Percentage
Resting Pulse
Blood Pressure
Calories from food & drink
Macronutrients - fat, carb, protein, alcohol, vitamins, etc.
Exercise Calories
Surplus or Deficit Calories
Food Quality (subjective judgement, scale of 1 to 5, 5=best)
Weight Day Measurements
================
Reps & sets for each exercise
Weight
Degree of Difficulty (subjective judgement, scale of 1 to 4, 4=failure)
Time for session
Calories expended
Cardio Day Measurements
=================
Time for session
Maximum HR attained
Average HR attained
Intervals & HIIT - speed, level, resistance, HR on all intervals
Weekly Measurements:
==============
Abs (at belly button) in inches
Waist, at narrowest point
Chest
Neck
Biceps
Forearm
Thigh
Calves
Toes [just kidding, wanted to see if you're still reading
]Monthly Measurements:
===============
Weight Loss/Gain
Change in Fat Percentage
Averages for all the above daily measurements
How Do I Keep Track?
==============
Actually, it's not as difficult as it might seem, and takes less than 10 minutes a day. I use FitDay to track all my food intake. I've set up a lot of custom meals -- stuff that I eat very frequently -- so recording calories takes just a few minutes a day. The hard part is when we go to a new restaurant, and there are ingredients I'm not familiar with.
The rest of the measurements are recorded on an Excel spreadsheet. I have a typical morning ritual: get my weight on my Tanita scale, take my blood pressure and resting pulse, and then measure my body fat with my Omron monitor. Review my results for the previous day. Record the results and write up my journal entry for the day, which I also store in FitDay (you never know what can happen with a web site).
All of this takes about 10 minutes.
I've got my spreadsheet set up so it automatically calculates surplus/deficit calories, once I put in calories for exercise and food/drink. I do this by naming a cell "NARM", which contains the current number of calories per pound of body weight for my normal activity rate of metabolism. Currently that number is 10.0. This way, as I lose weight, my NARM is recalculated automatically.
Averages and totals for the month are also calculated automatically after each entry, as are all of my fancy graphs.
After each workout, I spend a couple of minutes recording the results. Again, everything is set up in a spreadsheet, so it's no big deal.
At the end of each month, I review all the results, compare them to my goals set on the first day of the month, and formulate new goals. As you may have seen, I tend to have a LOT of goals, and it's fairly typical that I fail on some of them. The nice thing is, though, that I succeed on a lot of them too, so it's not an "all or nothing" result.
I use a couple of very subjective scales which have turned out to be quite useful or me. One is food quality, on a scale of 1 to 5. If all my macronutrients are in order, I give it a "5". This is rare. That would mean nothing junky at all the whole day, at least 175 gm of protein, and low levels of saturated fat. There are only about 5 days in the month that rate a "5". If I've had a minor transgression on the macronutrient side, I give it a "4". This could be from eating higher fat meat, or a bad carb/protein ratio. If I have anything like a cookie, even one, I automatically rate it a "3". My average score for last month was 3.4 and my average for this month is 3.6, so you can see about where things end up. If I have something like fried food, or a bigger dessert, I give it a "2". And if I just lose control, the day gets a "1". The last "1" day I had was on January 26th, when I ate gobs of fried food and ended up with a 1200 calorie surplus for the day.
The other subjective scale I use is for degree of difficulty in weights. If the weight is just too easy, I give it a 1. If it's just about right, I give it a 2. If I'm struggling on the last set, I give it a 3. And if I fail on the last set, it's a 4. If I rate something a 1, or have a couple of 2's in a row, I increase the weight. It helps me, because otherwise I forget how fatigued I was on a particular exercise, and that way I only increase the weight when I'm ready for it.
This is not to say that the "non-subjective" measurements are totally objective. Every measurement has a degree of "noise" in it -- no matter how accurate the instrument doing the measurement. Take your blood pressure three different times, and you'll get three different readings, sometimes very different. On top of that, your body fluctuates from day to day. That's why trends are really what's important. However, the more individual data points you have, the more you can rely on the trend, at least that's usually the case.
More than you ever wanted to know, right?
Let me reiterate -- this is a system that works for ME. It probably would drive most people absolutely bonkers. In my previous 8 failures, I kept track of nothing. I scoffed at this sort of stuff. But ultimately, I failed. I can't say it was because I didn't measure things. This time around, though, measurements are certainly an important part of my arsenal.
I love your measurements....possibly because I measure quite a few of the same things (plus a few more on the days I run), Aside from fitday, I use a neat little on-line program that's well worth the 14 bucks a month they charge...I just plug in the numbers and they provide me with all kinds of neat little charts and graphs - I think you either just naturally love that kind of mundane stuff and it's super helpful....or you hate it so much it's counter-productive.
And I'm jealous of your calamari. I would happily spend 300 calories any day of the week on calamari (and justify it as protein)....only no place really does it well enough in my area (tender on the inside, crispy on the outside but not greasy, a little firm without being rubbery).
And I'm jealous of your calamari. I would happily spend 300 calories any day of the week on calamari (and justify it as protein)....only no place really does it well enough in my area (tender on the inside, crispy on the outside but not greasy, a little firm without being rubbery).
wishes
Coffee Addict
wow what a workout of the mind there reading your post Tom lol.
Man i never have time, though i do weigh myself most days, and sometimes at night. Thats about it. In fact i dont think ive even updated my ticker in a while .. ill try and remember to do that tomorrow with my weigh in :/
i do update fitday from time to time also - usually every 4-5lb loss rather than every single day.
Measuring gets done only when im buying clothes online lol - but yeah i have a memory for numbers and i recall them all offhand
Man i never have time, though i do weigh myself most days, and sometimes at night. Thats about it. In fact i dont think ive even updated my ticker in a while .. ill try and remember to do that tomorrow with my weigh in :/
i do update fitday from time to time also - usually every 4-5lb loss rather than every single day.
Measuring gets done only when im buying clothes online lol - but yeah i have a memory for numbers and i recall them all offhand
TomO
0
Workout Log - 5/13/2007
Weights A
Time: 53 minutes
635 Calories
View attachment 3420
I had a nice experience today at the gym. A young man in his 30's walked up to me in between my working squat sets. He told me, "You know, you have the best squat form of anyone I've ever seen here in the gym." I thanked him, and practically fell over on the next set because my head was swelled up so huge. But that sure was nice of him to say that.
I soon deflated, however, as I learned that you can't up your weights on every single exercise and expect to complete all the set. I went up 5 lbs. on the squats to 205 lbs. and was fine. Then I upped the bench press to 155 lbs., and that was still OK, though a bit harder. Then came the pullups at one level less, and it was even harder still. Then came the standing military press at 105 lbs., and by the 4th set, I was really struggling. On the 4th rep of the 5th set, I failed totally -- just couldn't lift that bar any higher.
Gravity will teach you your place every time!
Still, I felt pretty darn good about the workout.
Not only that, but I felt GREAT about the Mother's Day buffet this morning. I got out of there with NO serious damage. I ate only good food, and didn't even taste my wife's chocolate mousse cake. I found it's easier at these things if you just resolve not to even taste the bad stuff; then you can almost push it out of your mind. I did have some prime rib, but I'm still well within my nutrition goals for the day.
Weights A
Time: 53 minutes
635 Calories
View attachment 3420
I had a nice experience today at the gym. A young man in his 30's walked up to me in between my working squat sets. He told me, "You know, you have the best squat form of anyone I've ever seen here in the gym." I thanked him, and practically fell over on the next set because my head was swelled up so huge. But that sure was nice of him to say that.
I soon deflated, however, as I learned that you can't up your weights on every single exercise and expect to complete all the set. I went up 5 lbs. on the squats to 205 lbs. and was fine. Then I upped the bench press to 155 lbs., and that was still OK, though a bit harder. Then came the pullups at one level less, and it was even harder still. Then came the standing military press at 105 lbs., and by the 4th set, I was really struggling. On the 4th rep of the 5th set, I failed totally -- just couldn't lift that bar any higher.
Gravity will teach you your place every time!
Still, I felt pretty darn good about the workout.
Not only that, but I felt GREAT about the Mother's Day buffet this morning. I got out of there with NO serious damage. I ate only good food, and didn't even taste my wife's chocolate mousse cake. I found it's easier at these things if you just resolve not to even taste the bad stuff; then you can almost push it out of your mind. I did have some prime rib, but I'm still well within my nutrition goals for the day.
Attachments
Cannon 2006
New member
Great news all around Tom. You really have made a science out of this thing and you really give us some great info to think about.
TomO
0
wow what a workout of the mind there reading your post Tom lol.
Man i never have time, though i do weigh myself most days, and sometimes at night. Thats about it. In fact i dont think ive even updated my ticker in a while .. ill try and remember to do that tomorrow with my weigh in :/
i do update fitday from time to time also - usually every 4-5lb loss rather than every single day.
Measuring gets done only when im buying clothes online lol - but yeah i have a memory for numbers and i recall them all offhand
Haha, like I say, I'm a bit on the obsessive side. Way overboard for most people, probably.
Thanks, Cannon. If all this helps just one other person, then I feel it's worth it. Well, it's worth it for me, no matter what!
TomO
0
Monday, May 14, 2007
Weight: 232.6 - OK, I'm declaring victory over plateau #3! On to Round 4. This is the lowest weight I've had in 17 years!
Food was pretty darned good, considering all the temptations yesterday - 2,542 calories. It was a bit high on the saturated fat, because of all the prime rib, but protein was way up there, too.
Fat: 122 gm, 43%; 38 gm saturated
Carbs: 175 gm, 26%; 36 gm fiber
Protein: 193 gm, 31%
Alcohol: 0
With my NARM of 2,352 calories, plus 635 calories from my weight training, I ended the day with a 445 calorie deficit, and an accumulated month to date deficit of 5,764 calories, ahead of every month except March.
A funny thing is happening to me. Previously when I had lost weight, and people would comment on it to me, I was somewhat embarrassed. Yesterday, all my brothers and sisters in law commented on how good I looked, and I was proud of it. Marlene thinks this is because for the first time I'm not doing some "magic" diet. I KNOW why the weight is coming off.
Also, I'm beginning to develope a different body image. Before when I lost weight, I felt like a fat person inside a skinnier body. Now I actually feel like I could and will be a fit persion inside a fit body. This will probably sound very weird to anyone who has never been fat, I guess.
Weight: 232.6 - OK, I'm declaring victory over plateau #3! On to Round 4. This is the lowest weight I've had in 17 years!
Food was pretty darned good, considering all the temptations yesterday - 2,542 calories. It was a bit high on the saturated fat, because of all the prime rib, but protein was way up there, too.
Fat: 122 gm, 43%; 38 gm saturated
Carbs: 175 gm, 26%; 36 gm fiber
Protein: 193 gm, 31%
Alcohol: 0
With my NARM of 2,352 calories, plus 635 calories from my weight training, I ended the day with a 445 calorie deficit, and an accumulated month to date deficit of 5,764 calories, ahead of every month except March.
A funny thing is happening to me. Previously when I had lost weight, and people would comment on it to me, I was somewhat embarrassed. Yesterday, all my brothers and sisters in law commented on how good I looked, and I was proud of it. Marlene thinks this is because for the first time I'm not doing some "magic" diet. I KNOW why the weight is coming off.
Also, I'm beginning to develope a different body image. Before when I lost weight, I felt like a fat person inside a skinnier body. Now I actually feel like I could and will be a fit persion inside a fit body. This will probably sound very weird to anyone who has never been fat, I guess.
TomO
0
232.6! Awesome! You should feel very proud of yourself
Thanks, Rachie. Yes, I was very happy this morning!
That's a bigger accomplishment than the 236 number
way to go..
felici
Well-known member
Oh I love this post. How positive can you get!Weight: 232.6 - OK, I'm declaring victory over plateau #3! On to Round 4. This is the lowest weight I've had in 17 years!
Food was pretty darned good, considering all the temptations yesterday - 2,542 calories. It was a bit high on the saturated fat, because of all the prime rib, but protein was way up there, too.
Fat: 122 gm, 43%; 38 gm saturated
Carbs: 175 gm, 26%; 36 gm fiber
Protein: 193 gm, 31%
Alcohol: 0
With my NARM of 2,352 calories, plus 635 calories from my weight training, I ended the day with a 445 calorie deficit, and an accumulated month to date deficit of 5,764 calories, ahead of every month except March.
A funny thing is happening to me. Previously when I had lost weight, and people would comment on it to me, I was somewhat embarrassed. Yesterday, all my brothers and sisters in law commented on how good I looked, and I was proud of it. Marlene thinks this is because for the first time I'm not doing some "magic" diet. I KNOW why the weight is coming off.
Also, I'm beginning to develope a different body image. Before when I lost weight, I felt like a fat person inside a skinnier body. Now I actually feel like I could and will be a fit persion inside a fit body. This will probably sound very weird to anyone who has never been fat, I guess.
I am really happy for you Tom. It must feel great to have developed the additional confidence you have now and to be seeing yourself becoming the way you want to be.
(You know I never have perceived you as a "fat" person to be honest - I just see all those weights and think you must be strong! But that's an aside I guess.)
It is a victory to come away from a banquet buffet with no hurt and no regrets... and...
Congratulations on moving those pounds too! That is wonderful!!
TomO
0
Thanks, Steve. LOL, I've been thinking about it for more than a second, that's for sure!
That's a bigger accomplishment than the 236 number
You're right -- we tend to focus on a number, but the hardest thing of all is changing the mental image of yourself.
Oh I love this post. How positive can you get!
I am really happy for you Tom. It must feel great to have developed the additional confidence you have now and to be seeing yourself becoming the way you want to be.
(You know I never have perceived you as a "fat" person to be honest - I just see all those weights and think you must be strong! But that's an aside I guess.)
It is a victory to come away from a banquet buffet with no hurt and no regrets... and...
Congratulations on moving those pounds too! That is wonderful!!
Thanks, Felici. LOL, my wife has never called me "fat" either, just "strong".
But I knew it was really just fat. I think the weight training is an important part of changing my mental image of myself, though. If I weren't doing it, I would just look at the weight I'm losing. But I get just as much satisfaction, maybe more, from the strength I'm gaining.
TomO
0
Thanks, cym. Yeah -- I was 41 years old then! I rode a bike 25 to 30 miles a day, every day. I got my weight down to 180 lbs., but I did no weight training at all. So I was "skinny", but had no strength.
This time, I have no intention of getting to 180, unless that's where 13% body fat indicates I should be. However, right now it's indicating my goal should be 200 lbs., so I'm sticking with that.
Because of the strength training, I actually feel better than I did when I was 41. In fact, I'm feeling almost the best I've felt since I've been a teenager.