Looking to lose an extra human I apparently picked up along the way

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The only pressure to post a shirtless pic is from you Vee. No pressure at all from me anyway. I like my comfort zone & you have done well so far with sharing, without pushing your boundaries too much. Just saying.
Are you going to join Mandy's November challenge? Mine is no alcohol! :eek: I can do it!
 
cate said:
The only pressure to post a shirtless pic is from you Vee
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I know, that was kind of the point. It was to motivate myself to work hard on everything this month, and I have (had one or two less than perfect days, but no real bad ones).

Haven't yet joined Many's challenge, but I might. Trying to think of what I could give up. Dating? :D
 
178 this morning after a rather strange Halloween. Off to the mountain and then I'll take pics when I get back.
 
As Cate mentioned, I know nobody asked for this, but for some reason I felt it was important to do this for myself.

The "shirtless" stuff isn't really about today's pic. When I first decided to fix my weight, I took a picture that day (July 1, 2012) of myself. You've seen it on here before. However when I've showed it here before, it was cropped to only be a head shot. The pic is actually me shirtless in a pair of jeans. I was 375 pounds and a year prior had a botched gallbladder surgery with left me with a nifty looking scar. Anyway it was not a glamor shot. Consider yourself warned in case you want to go no further.

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So here is the comparison pic of me on July 1, 2012 (375 lbs) and today (178 lbs):

View attachment 22395

Back during the start of this, the first couple of pics I said "you know I can't see too much difference." Then it sort of became an ironic joke months later. Well, for posterity's sake:

"I really can't see much of a difference."
 
Amazing! I just don't know if you have any more weight left to lose. Looks like you might be done?
 
Well now I can say confidently that I really think you have lost enough weight. Any more & you will too skinny! I really hope that you are very proud of yourself Vee. You sure should be. That other Mr Vee has gone, the bad things that happened to you are history & now it's time for your life to get better & better. You have done it, through sheer determination & hard work. Bloody AWESOME! xo Cate
 
Wow! If I hadn't witnessed the change myself I would have a hard time believing that was the same person. Awesome muscle definition! Starting to see abs. The loose skin isn't nearly what I expected. That makes me hopeful. I agree with Red and Cate. Nothing left to lose. You need to fire up that exercise thread. Super job Vee!
 
I appreciate it guys. 179 this morning.

My best estimate of my body fat right now is around 18.5%. My waist size is 31.8 (1 inch above the navel).

The only way to lose the fat is to lose more weight, combined with strength training. As I envision things long term, I think I'd be more than happy to eventually settle in around the 175 pound range, which is where I'm almost at right now. The problem is to get my body composition where I want it to (12 to 15% body fat), it seems like the best way to do that is to go significantly lower than that (like around 160), and then putting weight back on after. At least that's what I'm reading when I read up on the subject.

If I can scare up the money, I'm going to go in for another DEXA scan to make sure I'm in the right ballpark when it comes to bodyfat%.
 
"Holy shit"... Those are the words that sum up my response to the comparison pic. I agree with the others... I don't see where you are going to lose anymore weight from. Great job, Vee! :)
 
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Getting a "real" number for your fat percentage sounds like a good idea to me, especially if that number is important enough for you to let your diet and selfconfidence depend on it (that probably sounds awful, but it does read a bit like it). Shame it´s expensive! Have you asked any doctors lately? But no matter how you decide: looking good, hard to imagine those two men are one and the same.
 
What do you get if you use your old DEXA percentage and calculate the new bodyfat based on an assumed linear rate of loss adjusted to your current weight?

My guess would be that you are likely doing better than a linear fat loss as your large proportion of muscle (low BF) likely means more fat lost per pound than the rate when you had the measurement done.
 
I appreciate all the kind words guys. It really has been a remarkable journey.

The DXA Scan from about a year ago was 66.6 pounds of fat with a total weight of 220.5 for a body fat of 30.2%. If we figure me at 178.5, that's 42 pounds lost since then. Here's what the corresponding body fat percentages would be varying the percentage of those 42 pounds that came from fat:

100% fat loss: 13.8% current body fat
85% fat loss: 17.3%
75% fat loss (this is what a lot of folks use as the standard rate): 19.7%
67% fat loss: 21.6%
50% fat loss: 25.6%

My guess of 18.5% current body fat is based on a formula that uses height, weight and waist measurement (which was dead on back when I had the DXA) would mean that 80% of those 42 pounds lost were fat.

If I can find my old workout book, I'd like to see what my strength was like back then and see if I can do a comparison to now. Strength and lean body mass aren't necessarily the same thing though.

I know that it sounds like I'm being ungrateful for my progress, but really I'm not. I'm overjoyed with how far I've come. But my current diet and exercise program is not the sort of thing that is making me miserable right now, so why not push myself to lower my body fat provided it's safe and reasonable to do so. The DXA scan would be a good way to assess that.
 
Nothing wrong with trying to improve yourself no matter where you are health/weight wise. From how you look I don't know if you can lose much weight without losing a lot of lean body mass. Your waist measure is 8.2 inches below the elevated health risk. You are well within the normal body fat percentage as per Gallagher et al. Am J Clin Nut 2000; 72:694-701. I realize you can lower your body fat percentage and still be in the healthy BF% range, but I wonder if gaining lean body mass through increase in calories and weight training might be more effective and easier than trying to lose more weight. I think the DEXA scan would be helpful. Speaking with someone more knowledgeable than me would illuminate your options and help you to make an informed decision.

Like you said "the only way to lose the fat is to lose more weight", but you can decrease your BF% through increasing your lean bodyweight. You may not be to that point yet, but you look like you are to me. Massive disclaimer: I've never been a healthy weight in my life.
 
Vee, I read your "not good enough" posts as being goal-focused, not ungrateful. But don't get so wrapped up in losing that last couple pounds that you start losing out on other positive aspects of your life. You've done incredible work, truly, and that work should go towards enjoying other aspects of your life, too!

Then again, maybe you have been, I've only recently started following your thread again, haven't done too much backtracking.
 
178.5 this morning, though the BF% monitor registered a new low of 17.7%.

My last two personal training appointments are this week, and then I'm on my own. Wednesday and Friday are the days. It's a little sad after having done this for two and a half years, but it was expensive and I now think I have what it takes to continue on my own. I just need to be more forceful in asking for a spot when I need one. Of the things I'm going to be doing a lot of, bench press is the only one where a spotter is absolutely critical.

Cardio this afternoon. Think I'll have tacos for dinner tonight.

Opening up all the windows in my apartment. For the next month or so, the weather will be absolutely glorious. It actually gets a touch chilly by mid December, especially at night, but from now until then it's pretty much perfect.
 
Wow that's low! Sweet!

PT $ could be put towards the DEXA fund.

I bench pressed in a power rack with the safeties set to where I would contact my chest with it arched out for the press, but I could exhale and pull my shoulders back and it would hit the safeties. I pressed like this for a couple years. A guy that really knows powerlifting and didn't know me. Said he could tell I pressed without a spotter as I arched my press toward the catches instead of straight up. Not great for getting a lot out of your lift. If you ask random gym dude for a spot just be very explicit.

I would say politely: I want help with the lift off. Please don't touch the bar after lift off unless I need help. I don't need help until the bar moves back towards me or a call for it.

Of course these are my preferences. Some people don't like help with liftoff or don't mind assistance to finish reps. I've still had goobers that would answer there phone or start talking to someone midset. If you are a gym regular you will get to know other regulars and see how they spot. Swapping spots with reliable regulars is where it's at if you don't have a partner or hired hand.
 
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