Looking to lose an extra human I apparently picked up along the way
- Thread starter MrVee
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MrVee
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No, you were right, Cate. That didn't have anything to do with my absence.
Though to an extent it's a a balancing act. When I screw up (which I did and have done since), I do feel what's best for me is to hold myself accountable and to remind myself that I'm not living up to the standards I've set for myself. I have goals and dreams, and when I do things that get me further from them, I should give myself a mild talking to and try and right the ship, so to speak.
But you're right, at the same time I need to be a little bit less harsh on myself from time to time. I can't be freakin' Superman and always be perfect at everything I do. Berating myself every time one of my imperfections crops up is not helpful.
So the goal is still to work very hard at being the best version of myself I can be, in as many different ways as I think that applies. But even though I feel like there's still a lot of work to be done, it's helpful to remind myself that the current version of me ain't all that bad. And when I don't, you're there to remind me and I thank you sincerely for that, Cate.
Probably going to Tempe tonight to see some music. Tempe is the location of Arizona State University one of the larger colleges in the country, and so it's very much a college town, should be fun. Hopefully no one will mistake me for one of their professors.
MrVee
New member
Okay 172 this morning with 14.7% on the BF% monitor.
Killed it on my pull workout today by hitting the magic 12 reps on everything except the underhand pulldown. More weight on all of those next time (trying to work in 8-12 rep range, and increase the range when I hit a solid 12 reps). This is a good sign.
Tomorrow is my yearly bloodwork where I get all my cholesterol and stuff tested. After last year's results, I am not even in the slightest bit concerned as I'm almost certainly in better shape now than then (I weigh about 10 pounds less and have dropped additional body fat as well).
Killed it on my pull workout today by hitting the magic 12 reps on everything except the underhand pulldown. More weight on all of those next time (trying to work in 8-12 rep range, and increase the range when I hit a solid 12 reps). This is a good sign.
Tomorrow is my yearly bloodwork where I get all my cholesterol and stuff tested. After last year's results, I am not even in the slightest bit concerned as I'm almost certainly in better shape now than then (I weigh about 10 pounds less and have dropped additional body fat as well).
Quercus
New member
You're getting stout Vee! Not beating yourself up, but getting a motivational fire going is tricky. I've figured out that I can do whatever I want (still mostly vegan) diet wise and maintain my weight as long as I keep the runstreak going. That has to be my motivation to get to my goal. That also means I haven't wasted my time not losing weight because I learned something valuable while becoming a stronger runner. Silver lining Yada Yada.... Keep kicking ass!
MrVee
New member
This year's bloodwork is in! Anyway, here's the main stuff: It's the cholesterol readings. I decided to post my entire history since I started doing this back in 2012. Below is the table of the year by year results, as well as my approximate weight on the day the test was taken (this year was the only year I don't have an official weight written down for that day):
The range is the suggested "healthy" range for that particular test. "<" means the result needs to be lower than that number, ">" means it should be higher.
And well, I think the importance of losing extra weight in terms of your health indicators is pretty apparent here. I had actually lost over 50 pounds before that first test and my HDL was just barely low and my LDL and Triglycerides were high. By 2013 everything was now in the normal range and my HDL was now a healthy 60, after losing close to 100 pounds between the two tests. In 2014 as I was down to 182, my doctor referred to my cholesterol results as "admirable." I had cut my triglycerides by over 100 and CHol/HDL ratio had now been cut in half. VLDL down to 12, LDL down to 72, and a total non-HDL cholesterol of 84.
And so we come to this year. That weight is about right for that day. As it turns out, every single cholesterol marker improved from my "admirable" test in 2014. My HDL was up to a now truly impressive 85. Trygltcerides now down to 39, VLDL in the single digits and a Cholesterol to HDL ratio below 2.
Recently studies have shown the best indicator for developing coronary artery disease was triglyceride to HDL ratio. Ideally you'd want that ratio to be under 2.0, above 4.0 is considered too high and above 6.0 is considered way too high. Mine has gone from 4.41 to a good 1.95 to a really good 0.78 to a stupid good 0.46.
My dad had a heart attack at 47 years old (1989) and he was no more than 220 pounds at the time. And it was the big one. They hit him with the paddles three times and thankfully he came back. He's had multiple minor heart attacks since then and has a stent in his heart, but is otherwise now doing well due to quitting smoking and generally trying to take care of himself. So that's 26 years of bonus time so far that i'm grateful for.
Point being, I have a history of heart disease in my family from the family member most responsible for such a history: a parent of the same gender. On top of that, I have a mitral valve prolapse which gives me a slight heart murmur. At 375 I was likely heading toward the end of the line, and maybe sooner rather than later. I told my dad my HDL yesterday and he went "jeez, that's really high." I suppose I could still have a heart attack, but if the above numbers are any indicator, I've absolutely uber-slashed the chances of that happening.
tl;dr - My cholesterol numbers this year were stupid good. I appear to be in very good health right now. So now it's all about the six pack
Code:
Test 2012 2013 2014 2015 Range
Cholesterol 169 168 164 164 <200
Triglyceride 172 117 62 39 <150
Chol/HDL Ratio 4.3 2.8 2.1 1.9 <5
HDL Cholesterol 39 60 80 85 >39
VLDL Cholesterol 34 23 12 8 <30
LDL Cholesterol 96 85 72 71 <130
Non-HDL Cholesterol 130 108 84 79 <160
Weight 322.5 225 182 173 <179The range is the suggested "healthy" range for that particular test. "<" means the result needs to be lower than that number, ">" means it should be higher.
And well, I think the importance of losing extra weight in terms of your health indicators is pretty apparent here. I had actually lost over 50 pounds before that first test and my HDL was just barely low and my LDL and Triglycerides were high. By 2013 everything was now in the normal range and my HDL was now a healthy 60, after losing close to 100 pounds between the two tests. In 2014 as I was down to 182, my doctor referred to my cholesterol results as "admirable." I had cut my triglycerides by over 100 and CHol/HDL ratio had now been cut in half. VLDL down to 12, LDL down to 72, and a total non-HDL cholesterol of 84.
And so we come to this year. That weight is about right for that day. As it turns out, every single cholesterol marker improved from my "admirable" test in 2014. My HDL was up to a now truly impressive 85. Trygltcerides now down to 39, VLDL in the single digits and a Cholesterol to HDL ratio below 2.
Recently studies have shown the best indicator for developing coronary artery disease was triglyceride to HDL ratio. Ideally you'd want that ratio to be under 2.0, above 4.0 is considered too high and above 6.0 is considered way too high. Mine has gone from 4.41 to a good 1.95 to a really good 0.78 to a stupid good 0.46.
My dad had a heart attack at 47 years old (1989) and he was no more than 220 pounds at the time. And it was the big one. They hit him with the paddles three times and thankfully he came back. He's had multiple minor heart attacks since then and has a stent in his heart, but is otherwise now doing well due to quitting smoking and generally trying to take care of himself. So that's 26 years of bonus time so far that i'm grateful for.
Point being, I have a history of heart disease in my family from the family member most responsible for such a history: a parent of the same gender. On top of that, I have a mitral valve prolapse which gives me a slight heart murmur. At 375 I was likely heading toward the end of the line, and maybe sooner rather than later. I told my dad my HDL yesterday and he went "jeez, that's really high." I suppose I could still have a heart attack, but if the above numbers are any indicator, I've absolutely uber-slashed the chances of that happening.
tl;dr - My cholesterol numbers this year were stupid good. I appear to be in very good health right now. So now it's all about the six pack
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MrVee
New member
Thanks guys. 173.5 this morning. 30.8 inches on the natural waist. 15.0% on the BF% monitor.
Went to my first ballroom dance lesson on Friday night. That night was the foxtrot. I've never watched foxes trot, but I assume it is at least somewhat similar. Anyhow, I think I did okay, though obviously there's much work to be done on my technique. The women who invited me ("you have a dancer's build") were not there that evening, so I just kinda had to mingle with strangers.
I have begun drinking coffee in the morning and stopped with the caffeinated sodas. To be honest, it's a financial decision more than anything, more caffeine bang for your buck in the java. And man am I wired during and after my workouts. I'm still kinda wired right now.
Going to have to get my XMas tree up in the next few days. My window lights are already up.
Went to my first ballroom dance lesson on Friday night. That night was the foxtrot. I've never watched foxes trot, but I assume it is at least somewhat similar. Anyhow, I think I did okay, though obviously there's much work to be done on my technique. The women who invited me ("you have a dancer's build") were not there that evening, so I just kinda had to mingle with strangers.
I have begun drinking coffee in the morning and stopped with the caffeinated sodas. To be honest, it's a financial decision more than anything, more caffeine bang for your buck in the java. And man am I wired during and after my workouts. I'm still kinda wired right now.
Going to have to get my XMas tree up in the next few days. My window lights are already up.
WorkoutAnywhere
New member
How's everyone doing? There's been a lot of activity on here since I was last on.
WorkoutAnywhere
New member
How's your nutrition MrVee?
MrVee
New member
173 this morning. 30.7 inches on the waist. 14.8% on the ol' BF% monitor.
Cardio day today. Probably treadmill work.
My XMas tree is up and has lights and a tree top. Picking up some ornaments from my parents this weekend and will decorate Sunday night. It's a little weird having this big tree next to my desk as I type this, even if it's a fake one.
EDIT: this coffee stuff is a miracle drug. I'm bouncing all over the place.
Cardio day today. Probably treadmill work.
My XMas tree is up and has lights and a tree top. Picking up some ornaments from my parents this weekend and will decorate Sunday night. It's a little weird having this big tree next to my desk as I type this, even if it's a fake one.
EDIT: this coffee stuff is a miracle drug. I'm bouncing all over the place.
Last edited:
Cate
Long term member
I'm decorating our pot plants this year as I gave away our plastic tree. We have quite a few indoor plants. I'm going to put the littlies to work tomorrow. Coffee is indeed a miracle drug. I love a short black (or 2.... or 3) in the morning & then don't have another for the rest of the day. 30.7" waist Vee? Jealous! 173lbs? You really must be very trim!
Ah, the joy of indoor trees... You just reminded me of the fact that I´ll be home for Christmas for the first time ever so I could actually decorate and enjoy it! Then again: dust. Extra things taking up space. Removing everything afterwards and bringing it back into the scary cellars 
MrVee
New member
ogre50,
I started off, at 375, setting a goal of losing 2 pounds a week for the first year. What that meant was losing more than that the first half of the year, and less the second half.
What actually happened was that I lost at a greater rate than that: 120 pounds over a year which is about 2.3 pounds a week. Ultimately the rate at which you lose should probably be dictated bu how much you currently weigh and also how generally overweight/fat you are. The leaner you get, the lower the rate should probably be.
If you've got a bunch to lose, 2 pounds a week is probably fine. If you only want to lose 15 to 20 pounds, then maybe just one pound a week makes a little more sense.
I would also note that if you make a sudden reduction in your calories (like from 3000 a day to 2000), you're going to drop several pounds over a few days. This happens because generally you're going to be cutting a bunch of carbohydrates and that will cause your body to store a lot less fluid/water.
Way back in the day I posted this a bunch of times, but I'll post it here again for anyone who is relatively new. For the first few years this was my guide on how I was trying to lose weight:
http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-topics/weight-control/body-weight-planner/Pages/bwp.aspx
It's from the US National Institute of Health and gives you a rundown on planning your weight loss. It held relatively true for me for the most part over the first few years.
I started off, at 375, setting a goal of losing 2 pounds a week for the first year. What that meant was losing more than that the first half of the year, and less the second half.
What actually happened was that I lost at a greater rate than that: 120 pounds over a year which is about 2.3 pounds a week. Ultimately the rate at which you lose should probably be dictated bu how much you currently weigh and also how generally overweight/fat you are. The leaner you get, the lower the rate should probably be.
If you've got a bunch to lose, 2 pounds a week is probably fine. If you only want to lose 15 to 20 pounds, then maybe just one pound a week makes a little more sense.
I would also note that if you make a sudden reduction in your calories (like from 3000 a day to 2000), you're going to drop several pounds over a few days. This happens because generally you're going to be cutting a bunch of carbohydrates and that will cause your body to store a lot less fluid/water.
Way back in the day I posted this a bunch of times, but I'll post it here again for anyone who is relatively new. For the first few years this was my guide on how I was trying to lose weight:
http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-topics/weight-control/body-weight-planner/Pages/bwp.aspx
It's from the US National Institute of Health and gives you a rundown on planning your weight loss. It held relatively true for me for the most part over the first few years.
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