Fit by 60! - TomO's Pledge

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Weight 236.4, BP fantastic. Yesterday was my off day, so I took some time off to arrange some sacrifices to the scale gods. Nothing dramatic, no animals or anything -- just some incense, bowing and scraping, the usual incantations, etc. It seems to have worked, because I'm back in the 236's, which just blows my mind.

Yesterday was fairly good food wise, with 2,172 calories - 107 gm fat, 31 gm saturated, 44%; 210 gm carbs, 42 gm fiber, 36%; 113 gm protein, 20%; and no alcohol. With a NARM (Normal Activity Metabolic Rate) of 9.7 calories, I used 2,299 calories, for a small deficit of 127 calories for the day, and 2,341 calories for the month.

I'm wondering about my NARM calculations. I've intentionally put them on the low side, and until this month, my actual weight loss and my calculations were totally in sync. But this month I've dropped weight far beyond my expectations (yes, a couple of pounds more than I expected is "far" at my age :) ). If that continues into May, I may adjust my NARM upward to around 10 calories per pound.

I use NARM on my spreadsheet as a "constant", so that as my weight changes, it always adjusts to that. A lot of people forget that as they drop 10 or 20 pounds, their metabolism no longer requires as many calories, so they plateau. I prefer to get my plateaus from more gnarly, inexplicable causes, thank you.

Today is HIIT day, day #10 in my regimen. I have to say I'm not feeling fully up to par, since I'm fighting off a cold, but I'm going to give it my all. As long as the cold isn't in my chest, I keep exercising. If it goes there, I back off a bit.
 
Exercise Log, April 18, 2007

Today was Day 10 in my 18 day program - HIIT.

I clearly wasn't up to snuff today, kind of fighting off a cold and not feeling really strong.

The soundtrack I use has a 6 minute warmup, followed by a 30 second sprint and a 1 minute "rest", repeated 20 times. After that, there is a 5 minute cooldown.

I did each sprint at level 12 on the elliptical at 250 rpm. Max heart rate was 155. However, after the 12th sprint, I was pooped, and couldn't go on.

Burned 450 calories in 31 minutes.

Not great, but I'll do better when I'm back to 100% health.
 
Thursday, April 19, 2007

Weight 237.0 - BP at 115/73. Haven't had bp readings like that since I was in my 20's! I attribute that to weight loss, but especially to heavy interval training and HIIT.

OK, I appear to be on a little plateau now around the 237 mark, where I've been for the past 7 days. As I said before, I'm not that worried about it anymore. I think I know what it will take to bust it -- just build up an accumulated deficit of around 12,000 calories, and the weight will probably drop 2 or 3 pounds within a single week. At least that's what it's done 2 times before. I only have a deficit of 2,904 calories now, so I've got a ways to go.

On the intake side, food quality was good (4 out of 5) with 2,179 calories:

Fat: 85 gm - 34%; 17 gm saturated
Carbs: 216 gm - 37%; 36 gm fiber
Protein: 138 gm - 25%
Alcohol: 10 gm - 3%

With my NARM (Normal Activity Rate of Metabolism) of 2,291 calories, plus 450 calories from HIIT, I ended up with a deficit for the day of 562 calories, just about exactly where I wanted to be.

Still fighting off this cold a bit. No heavy cardio today -- it's weights day.
 
Plateau schmato. Surely you 're undaunted by them now.

I figured out I have to adjust my intake down as I lose, but only by about 20 calories at a time. I have put my scale away, more or less and am changing my ticker once a month on May 1.
 
Hi Kelly. Yes, you're right - plateaus don't scare me nearly as much any more; I have a pretty good idea what it takes to get through them, and a strategy to do it.

I'm one of those people who needs to weigh themselves every day. It works for some of us, and not for others. I think you just have to do what you're most comfortable with.
 
I'm sorry to hear you still feel a bit below par. It's fantastic to see that blood pressure reading though - clearly it wasn't just the blood gift that did it or it would have jumped up again. Your body is really saying thank you for all the care you've given it. What a nice thank you gift! :)
 
I'm with you on your mentality. I've been hovering around 138-141 for a few weeks and I'm not one bit worried--well the period in the middle kind of affected that, but anyway--yes I need to weigh myself everyday too.

GREAT BLOOD PRESSURE! Good grief!! Congradulations!!

Cold wll be gone. I did weights today too! Cheers to LSD (just kidding!)
 
Hi Felici & Valerie. I think I'm beating off this cold. Felt better today, and hopefully tomorrow will be up to par.

Today was Weights "B" day. 50 minutes long, 575 calories.

BB Squat
1 x 5 - bar
2 x 4 - 95 lbs.
1 x 3 - 145 lbs.
5 x 5 - 170 lbs.
Diff = 2
Up 5 lbs. from last week.

Incline DB Bench Press
5 x 5 - 120 lbs.
Diff = 3
No increase from last week; still felt pretty heavy

Deadlift
1 x 5 - bar
1 x 4 - 95 lbs.
1 x 3 - 145 lbs.
4 x 5 - 170 lbs.
Diff = 2
Up 5 lbs. from last week

BB Row
5 x 5 - 75 lbs.
Diff = 1
Ready to increase this to 80 lbs. next time

Chinup, assisted
4 x 5, level 16
Diff = 2
Felt easier than it did last week

Reverse Crunch
2 x 10
1 x 5
Diff = 4
Crapped out on the last set
 
Yo Tom! Get this cold out of your system!!

Just got back from a gnarly leg workout. Deep squats with elevated heels rock. Blew my quads to pieces.

Glad to see you are still rocking the workout. :)
 
Hey Steve, never tried that stuff with the elevated heels. Doesn't that throw you forward?

I'm hoping to be able to squat and deadlift my body weight 5 x 5 by my 60th birthday, if not before.
 
Friday, April 20, 2007

Weight: 235.8 - a new low. Funny, because last night I was looking down at my stomach, and it looked bigger somehow. I mentally prepared myself for a nasty suprise at the altar this morning, only to be surprised in an opposite way. OK, I can live with that!

Food yesterday was a 4 out of 5 in quality - 2,221 calories total:
Fat: 79 gm., 31%; saturated 19 gm, 8%
Carbs: 207 gm, 35%, fiber 27gm
Protein: 131 gm, 24%
Alcohol: 29 gm, 9%

Yes, I went to a reception last night and had 3 glasses of wine.

With my NARM of 2,297 + 575 calories form weight lifting, I ended up with a 651 calorie deficit for the day, and a deficit of 3,554 calories for the month.

This means I should have dropped a pound. Well, on April 1, I was at 239.5, so I've dropped 3.7 lbs., or a total of 12,950 calories. Interesting. Using the same methods, in February and March, it seemed I had to accumulate this whopping deficit for my metabolism to catch up; now it seems my metabolism is ahead of my deficit.

I tell you, anyone who claims they've got the human metabolism perfectly figured out is just a damned liar.
 
TomO said:
Weight: 235.8 - a new low. Funny, because last night I was looking down at my stomach, and it looked bigger somehow. I mentally prepared myself for a nasty suprise at the altar this morning, only to be surprised in an opposite way. OK, I can live with that!.....I tell you, anyone who claims they've got the human metabolism perfectly figured out is just a damned liar.
Click to expand...

Wow I didn't know men thought like that too! I feel the same way sometimes--and sometimes when I'm bloated or whatever, and the scale reads high, I think, "Nah, I don't look like I'd weigh that," and I usually lose that, too. AND YES--damn liars! Losing weight just doesn't make sense sometimes. I was just in Tylie's diary musing that it is possible that our bodies are quite slow to react, and maybe they lose fat from our hard efforts weeks before(?) I have no idea:(
 
Hey Tom! Great numbers! The BP is something I track too....I was borderline hypertensive some time back and my dr was making me take it every day and send him the results. When I took it a couple of weeks ago, it was 116/74! That number is as important to me as the lower weight. :)

Hope ya knock the cold....and have a good weekend!
 
Curvie Girlie said:
Wow I didn't know men thought like that too! I feel the same way sometimes--and sometimes when I'm bloated or whatever, and the scale reads high, I think, "Nah, I don't look like I'd weigh that," and I usually lose that, too. AND YES--damn liars! Losing weight just doesn't make sense sometimes. I was just in Tylie's diary musing that it is possible that our bodies are quite slow to react, and maybe they lose fat from our hard efforts weeks before(?) I have no idea
Click to expand...

I'm beginning to think my metabolism has a mind of it's own. Marlene keeps telling me that it doesn't trust me, because I've yo-yo'd so many times before. So before it agrees to drop a pound, it wants to make really, really sure I'm serious this time. You know, I'm starting to see how the ancients believed in all those different gods. I already have the scale god; now I have to add the god of metabolism. Pretty soon, I'll spend the entire day in an incense filled room.

bethann1156 said:
Hey Tom! Great numbers! The BP is something I track too....I was borderline hypertensive some time back and my dr was making me take it every day and send him the results. When I took it a couple of weeks ago, it was 116/74! That number is as important to me as the lower weight.

Hope ya knock the cold....and have a good weekend!
Click to expand...

Thanks, Beth. I have to say, I get as much pleasure from the BP numbers as I do from the weight, too. After all, that was one of the things that motivated (read, scared) me to do it right this time.
 
Hey Tom, I'm sure I'm mangling and strangling this explaination:) because I read about it a long time ago and forgot the specifics but....it goes something like this....one of the by-products produced by the fat burning process is water which can temporarily fill the fat cell after the "fat" is burned...for different reasns, some people tend to retain fluid longer than others, so we may have actually lost fat but until the water is emptied from the cells as well there might not be a significant drop in scale weight or appearance....so basically we can be plugging along losing fat but may not "know" it until the body decides to empty out the water as well. Like I said, this is the short bus explaination, but, in just case your scale gods and metabolism gods get lonely you can introduce them to the "water retaining fat cell" gods.:D
 
cym said:
Hey Tom, I'm sure I'm mangling and strangling this explaination:) because I read about it a long time ago and forgot the specifics but....it goes something like this....one of the by-products produced by the fat burning process is water which can temporarily fill the fat cell after the "fat" is burned...for different reasns, some people tend to retain fluid longer than others, so we may have actually lost fat but until the water is emptied from the cells as well there might not be a significant drop in scale weight or appearance....so basically we can be plugging along losing fat but may not "know" it until the body decides to empty out the water as well. Like I said, this is the short bus explaination, but, in just case your scale gods and metabolism gods get lonely you can introduce them to the "water retaining fat cell" gods.:D
Click to expand...

Geez, Cym, I just finished my incense purchase for the week, and now you go and introduce another god to me. I see I'm going to have to start buying my incense in bulk at Costco from now on.

That does make some sense, though. It's easy to forget how much water is distributed throughout your body.
 
TomO said:
I'm beginning to think my metabolism has a mind of it's own. Marlene keeps telling me that it doesn't trust me, because I've yo-yo'd so many times before. So before it agrees to drop a pound, it wants to make really, really sure I'm serious this time. You know, I'm starting to see how the ancients believed in all those different gods. I already have the scale god; now I have to add the god of metabolism. Pretty soon, I'll spend the entire day in an incense filled room.
Click to expand...

Har har, I think I worship Nike, the spirit of victory, during the week to help me reach my goal, and Dionyisus on the weekends, the god of wine, and excessive partying ;)
 
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