Rob's Diary

[Llama]

Or you could look at your weightloss and say that a kilo a week is the upper limit of what you ought to be losing and anything more (after the first week or two) is a sign you're running on empty and may need more food to sustain your existence plus exercise. Either way can work, and there are probably more ways still.

 

[bensanon]

Here are my week 5 summaries and a summary of all weeks so far at the end. Some interesting observations now after week 5 lol. Weight loss per week has been on average 4.4 pounds per week (yes!! and wow! and oh no!).

 

[bensanon]

Thank you, guys. I'm grateful for your input.

Honestly, I'm so happy with this rate of weight loss. The binges are just 2 data points and I don't want to jump to conclusions. I have a complicated history with binge eating and this process is so much more influenced by my mood and any stress I'm experiencing in my life. I know this really well. I have struggled with it my whole life. In this case, my best estimate is that the binges are about 20% influenced by the aggressive low cal/high energy expenditure plan and 80% influenced by this move. In fact if you look at the data above, there's not a huge reason that I can see in the weeks leading up to week 5 but that's when the move was. This is a mental game for me. Today, I got back on the treadmill and had a fantastic run. It literally flipped my mood 180 but I pushed myself. I think the solution is that I should have been better prepared and anticipated the higher level of stress and upped my calories per day. I'm lost in this new environment. I can't find stuff cause it's still in boxes and I'm waking up in a new bed and I'm lost with my routine except for when I get back out on the treadmill. Things come together after that and it's such a wonderful experience for me. So, again, I really appreciate it and I'd like to see what happens moving forward from here. I will try to up my calories to help get me through the rest of this for sure but I'm not so sure with the exercise. Anyway, I'm reset for now and hopefully the scale tomorrow will be forgiving and allow me to pick back up where I left off.

 

[Cate]

Moving house is one of the most stressful things we can experience. I'm sure as you get settled you will be able to pick yourself up again. You can do this Rob.

 

[Llama]

As long as you know what you´re doing I´m sure it´ll work out fine. And if the exercise helps you with the stress upping your calories sounds like the best solution anyway

 

[bensanon]

Thanks cate!

6-4-19 sleep: 6hr 22min

6-5-19 weight: 233.4 pounds

6-5-19 breakfast:
- avocado on sprouted bread
- decaf coffee
Total kcal: 197

6-5-19 lunch:
- grilled chicken
- grilled salmon
Total kcal: 510

6-5-19 dinner:
- caprese salad with chicken (Coolgreens)
- southwest spicy salad with chicken (Coolgreens)
Total kcal: 1,330

Total kcal consumed for 6-5-19: 2037

6-5-19 exercise:
- 6 mile run (5.47 mph pace)
- 2.5 miles incline walking (3.49 pace, 576 feet climbed)
Total steps: 22,912

6-5-19 Fitbit total kcal burned: 4,566

Less detail on the food and including Fitbit kcal estimates only.

 

[bensanon]

As long as you know what you´re doing I´m sure it´ll work out fine. And if the exercise helps you with the stress upping your calories sounds like the best solution anyway

Well, I've never done this before lol. I am confident about what I can take on with exercising. Usually, I don't stick with it or get bogged down by the mental. I think a lot of the battle is consistency and seeing it through.

 

[PLB]

You know yourself best, so always stick with what works for you! Input that you receive on here is just suggestions. There isn't a single "right" way to go about this and in reality it takes a long time to learn all the skills needed to successfully manage your relationship with food and exercise. There will be many ups and downs along the way!

 

[bensanon]

6-5-19 sleep: 4hr 23min

6-6-19 weight: 232.2 pounds

6-6-19 breakfast:
- yogurt with blackberries and blueberries
- eggs
- decaf coffee
- multivitamin
Total kcal: 357

6-6-19 lunch:
- mediterranean salad trio bowl with chicken (Zoe's Kitchen)
Total kcal: 690

6-6-19 snacks:
- quinoa salad (Zoe's Kitchen)

6-6-19 dinner:
- grilled chicken breasts
- grilled salmon
- dates
- grape tomatoes and cucumbers
- sprouted bread
Total kcal: 758

Total kcal consumed for 6-6-19: 2052

6-6-19 exercise:
- 6 mile run (5.37 mph pace)
- 2 miles incline walking (3.47 pace, 375 feet climbed)
Total steps: 23,123

6-6-19 Fitbit total kcal burned: 4,668

 

[bensanon]

These numbers are from the head of sports nutrition at the AIS (Professor Louise Burke OAM, PhD, B Sc, Grad Dip Diet)

percentages are not very good when it comes to meeting minimum nutritional needs, a person on a low calorie diet and basing nutrition on percentages is likely to be not meeting minimum nutritional targets, just because somebody needs less calories over all does not mean they need less than minimum protein, this is at its worst for those who have a low calorie intake normally like many smaller ladies (not your situation)

There are also other factors influencing protein intake needs, I shared an article about a month ago which in part looked at the increased protein needs of people looking to loose fat.

The Metabolic Adaptation Manual: Problems, Solutions, & Life After Dieting take a look at the scientific papers referred to in this portion of the article regarding protein intake. However the whole article is worth a read, as it covers a lot of factors in weight loss and explains the hormonal aspects very well.

I think the suggestion in the article of "2.3-3.1g/kg of FFM scaled upwards with severity of caloric restriction and leanness." is not necessarily a good match for many on this forum as the study was done on lean athletes rather than the mostly sedentary general population but aiming for the higher end of the ranges I first posted would still be a good idea.



your right, Electronic impedance is not very accurate but are ok for tracking progress if measurements are done under the same conditions each day. Morning before eating but after emptying your bladder is a good time to get the best results, hydration levels can have a big effect on the readings.

This (The Metabolic Adaptation Manual: Problems, Solutions, & Life After Dieting) is a A LOT of information. I'm still working my way through it. I will have questions for Trusylver but I'm waiting until I've made more progress. Some things to note are "refeeding". When I do overeat (not planning on it again but if it happens) I should probably limit it to just carbs.

Refeeds and diet breaks appear to have the capacity to attenuate metabolic adaptation to some extent, but they also dramatically extend the timeline of the diet. As a result, there is a cost-to-benefit ratio that must be considered when determining the frequency and duration of refeeds or diet breaks.
If you’re keeping your caloric intake within a reasonable range (i.e., not dramatically overeating), a once-weekly refeed probably isn’t going to be enough to make a meaningful effect.

Not sure I've sorted through the whole "lean mass" issue. I'm not a body builder so trying to figure out, for me, the goal of maintaining lean mass while I drop weight. I'll keep reading this because I haven't fully digested.

 

[Llama]

Not sure I've sorted through the whole "lean mass" issue. I'm not a body builder so trying to figure out, for me, the goal of maintaining lean mass while I drop weight.

The more lean mass you keep, the more calories you´ll be burning and the more you can eat without regaining the weight. Fat mass burns a lot less calories than muscle mass. Apart from the fact that muscles are nice things to have. Build your muscles now and you´re a LOT more likely to have enough of them when you get older and have a better chance of staying mobile/independent.

 

[bensanon]

6-6-19 sleep: 4hr 23min

6-7-19 weight: 232.2 pounds

6-7-19 breakfast:
- yogurt with blackberries and blueberries
- eggs
- decaf coffee
- multivitamin
Total kcal: 386

6-7-19 lunch:
- southwest spicy wrap with chicken (Coolgreens)
Total kcal: 1002

6-7-19 snacks:
- dates
Total kcal: 140

6-7-19 dinner:
- grilled chicken breasts
- grilled salmon
- dates
- grape tomatoes
Total kcal: 656

Total kcal consumed for 6-7-19: 2184

6-7-19 exercise:
- 5.5 mile run (5.3 mph pace)
- 1 mile incline walking (3.6 pace, 139 feet climbed)
- chest press - 50lb 12, 12, 8
- bicep curl - 20lb 12, 12, 11
Total steps: 18,927

6-7-19 Fitbit total kcal burned: 4,195

I was a little less active yesterday but not by much. That was the third running day in a row and I felt a little runners fatigue. I will walk today.

 

[bensanon]

Forgot to add weight training exercise I did on 6-5-19.

6-5-19 additional exercise:
- pulldown - 55lb 12x3
- shoulder press - 50lb 12, 10, 7

 

[bensanon]

My weight and sleep are wrong for the above post. I can't edit it now.

6-6-19 sleep: 5hr 16min
6-7-19 weight: 232.0 pounds
_____________________________________

So far today:

6-7-19 sleep: 6hr 44min

6-8-19 weight: 229.8 pounds

6-8-19 breakfast:
- yogurt with almonds and walnuts
- eggs
- decaf coffee
- multivitamin
Total kcal: 592

 

[Llama]

Listening to your body, nourishing yourself? I like it.

 

[bensanon]

6-8-19 lunch:
- turkey burger on sprouted bread with Swiss cheese, red onion, and mustard
- grilled chicken breasts
Total kcal: 716

6-8-19 dinner:
- southwest spicy salad with chicken (Coolgreens)
- sweet kale bowl (Coolgreens)
Total kcal: 830

6-8-19 total kcal consumed: 2138

6-8-19 exercise:
- 7 mile walk (15:58 min/mile pace)

6-8-19 total steps: 17,940

6-8-19 Fitbit total kcal burned: 3,777

 

[alligatorob]

Hey Rob, I have been skimming through your diary, it looks like you are doing pretty well, great weight loss.

I am impressed by your high tech approach, maybe I am too old for that. I have no apps (I think maybe my wife does), and don't know what a fit bit is or how to calculate a calorie deficit. Seems like its working for you.

 

[bensanon]

Hey Rob, I have been skimming through your diary, it looks like you are doing pretty well, great weight loss.

I am impressed by your high tech approach, maybe I am too old for that. I have no apps (I think maybe my wife does), and don't know what a fit bit is or how to calculate a calorie deficit. Seems like its working for you.

Hi Rob, I’ve found the apps to be a lot of help. I’m able to get a more complete picture. I definitely don’t think you can be too old to use them except if you have trouble reading things on your phone. How’s your weight loss journey going?

 

[bensanon]

6-8-19 sleep: 4hr 46min (This sucks! I've never had worse sleep in my life. The medication really messed me up.)

6-9-19 weight: 230.0 pounds

6-9-19 meditation: 10min

6-9-19 breakfast:
- yogurt with raspberries and blueberries
- eggs
- decaf coffee
- multivitamin
Total kcal: 398

6-9-19 lunch:
- chicken kabobs with harissa sauce, roasted vegetables and marinated slaw (Zoe's Kitchen)
- grilled chicken breasts
Total kcal: 880

6-9-19 dinner:
- grilled chicken sandwich on sprouted bread with Swiss cheese, red onion, an dmustard
- grilled chicken
Total kcal: 526

6-9-19 total kcal consumed: 1803

6-9-19 exercise:
- 4 mile run (5.37 mph speed)
- 0.5 mile incline walking (3.6 mph speed, 51 feet climbed)

6-9-19 total steps: 15,132

6-9-19 Fitbit total kcal burned: 3,595

Today was not good. I think I'm still recovering from the most recent binge. I was sluggish and tired all day. I'm still somewhat out of sorts after the move. Meditation was great. I need to do more of that. I think it's top priority to help me maintain things for a bit. Glad my weight is back on track. It's only been 5 weeks so far on this plan. I want to and need to talk about the day to day but need to remember not to let it sway me too much. Like the 2 overeating episodes I had. No reason for me to change things up until I'm clear on if and what I need to change. Overall, things are going really well and progress continues.

 

[bensanon]

Forgot to log weight training again.

6-9-19 additional exercise:
- pulldown - 55lb 12x3
- shoulder press - 50lb 12, 10, 8