Rob's Diary

[bensanon]

Felt pretty good today. Starting to get a little caught up and over-focused so I’m trying to stay on top of that by staying loose and flexible.

I tried my first cycling class tonight. It was embarrassing bc I wasn’t familiar with the bike and I walked in 5 minutes late so another guy and the instructor helped me initially while class was ongoing. I honestly didn’t care though. I thought it was funny. I had to keep adjusting throughout and I was looking over at everybody else trying to determine if I was doing it right. All the running has put me in really good shape so I was confident except being really confused by the bike. I think I’ll go again. This is the first group exercise I’ve done recently and I kind of liked it.

Had eggs and yogurt with strawberries and banana this morning. For lunch it was salsa chicken and fried egg Asian salad. For dinner I had a chicken salad from a local healthy food restaurant. For snacks I had seaweed snacks and some pistachios tonight. The seaweed snacks are new for me and they’re interesting. I’m not sure I really like them but I don’t dislike them so I might eat occasionally for the health benefits. Total calories were 2028. 146g protein or 27% of my total calories.

I walked 3 miles and ran 3 too in addition to the 50 minute cycling class. Total steps were 20,244.

I quickly got out of the habit of not entering my numbers into my computer so I caught up today. Note to self: stay on top of it no less than weekly!

 

[bensanon]

Was going to mention also, my resting heart rate is back down to 52 now. It shot up to 57 after the binge days bc of the food I ate.

Also my loose skin is more prominent now. I think it’s only going to get worse. The skin around my belly is starting to hang. Oh well, I don’t really care now that I’m here. It’d be nice to have tighter skin but its not all that important compared with all the wonderful changes I’ve accomplished so far.

 

[aiminglow]

What is there to learn in cycling class? I thought it would be just hop on and pedal! (I am very ignorant of many things!)

 

[Trusylver]

Was going to mention also, my resting heart rate is back down to 52 now. It shot up to 57 after the binge days bc of the food I ate.

A change in your resting HR of more than 4 beats away from your long term average is a strong indicator of over training. I don't have a study link for you but it is something we were examining at uni this week.

 

[bensanon]

What is there to learn in cycling class? I thought it would be just hop on and pedal! (I am very ignorant of many things!)

Yeah, pretty much. I’m always worried my form is wrong and I don’t know how to set my seat so I get the max benefits.

 

[bensanon]

A change in your resting HR of more than 4 beats away from your long term average is a strong indicator of over training. I don't have a study link for you but it is something we were examining at uni this week.

Ok, thanks, good to know. This was definitely the three days of junk food I ate last week. High salt, high refined sugar, high saturated fat, maybe even some trans fat in there. My weight went up by 10 pounds but has come back down too.

 

[Marsia]

One of the things they talk about in intermittent fasting is that for some reason it helps with loose skin. What do normal non-IF dieters do about lose skin though? Does it go back to normal on it's own eventually? It's great you lost so much that your skin is loose though - that must be an amazing feeling!!! I know on tv they have people get skin tucks, but that must be very expensive. I hope there is an inexpensive solution you can do!

 

[aiminglow]

Thanks for replying about the cycling. I'm thinking about hauling out my old bike, which won't be soon because it's stored elsewhere, and getting it overhauled, and starting to actually use it.

 

[Cate]

Just popping into your diary to say, hi & to ask how you are going?

 

[bensanon]

Just popping into your diary to say, hi & to ask how you are going?

I'm struggling today. I cannot get the exercise/calorie balance right. I ate about 5200 calories yesterday. I will eat more since I'm exercising more but often I don't always feel a need to and it's hard to know how much I should be eating. Sometimes the meals are too big or too dense and I don't need to eat anymore too. The stir fries I've had have been 4-5 servings in one meal. The exercise is not about purging but it creates a huge caloric need and I can't get it right when one day I run 10 miles and the next I have a rest day. I don't feel the impact for at least a couple days and it's hard to spot other symptoms. I know when it's coming on because mentally I am sluggish but by then it's already too late. My computer is being repaired so I can't post my numbers but I think I should be getting around 15k calories a week so I can still lose weight but get my needs met. I don't know. Frustrating. But this has been more of a problem since I've gotten closer to my goal weight so it's mental too. I'm about 15 pounds from my goal weight now.

 

[Cate]

Being close to your goal weight is the hardest time. Can you slow down your exercise to something that's not so demanding on your body? Do you use an app to track your food an exercise? Trusylver uses Cronometer, which seems to be a lot more accurate than My Fitness Pal, which I use. I have used it for years & have so many meals & recipes saved that I find it easier for me. I have my fitbit synced to it. It gives you a rough guide at least to what your body needs.
15 lbs from your goal weight is a wonderful thing. Try not to stress about it all. You are doing a great job

 

[bensanon]

That’s a good point. I don’t know why I haven’t been relying more on my Fitbit estimate. I looked at it before and it was about 10% off but I haven’t looked at it recently and I have more data now. I just got a new Fitbit yesterday. I’ll look at trying to keep my calorie deficit estimated from my Fitbit within a certain range. The day I ran 10 miles, the deficit was over 2600.

I’m not willing to slow down. I love it so much and it’s SO helpful and beneficial to me. I don’t think it’s that intense compared to what some people do. But it has been a big complicating factor during this weight loss period. The calories are hard to estimate and recovery is hard to figure out sometimes. It changes what I need to do for weight training too.

 

[bensanon]

Being close to your goal weight is the hardest time. Can you slow down your exercise to something that's not so demanding on your body? Do you use an app to track your food an exercise? Trusylver uses Cronometer, which seems to be a lot more accurate than My Fitness Pal, which I use. I have used it for years & have so many meals & recipes saved that I find it easier for me. I have my fitbit synced to it. It gives you a rough guide at least to what your body needs.
15 lbs from your goal weight is a wonderful thing. Try not to stress about it all. You are doing a great job

Thanks a lot, Cate. I've looked at Cronometer and I may switch at some point. I don't go by the nutrient estimates in MFP but it might be something I'll want to do on maintenance. I think Cronometer uses averages that can be helpful too.

I've been stressing about this for awhile and have been frustrated by it all as I my exercise has gone up and my weight has gone down. I think I'm caught in binge-purge cycles but not really and then the calorie intake is not what I should be paying attention to and I haven't had time to read and research more about it all, etc. I get stressed easily and I just want to be across the finish line which adds to the stress.

 

[bensanon]

One of the things they talk about in intermittent fasting is that for some reason it helps with loose skin. What do normal non-IF dieters do about lose skin though? Does it go back to normal on it's own eventually? It's great you lost so much that your skin is loose though - that must be an amazing feeling!!! I know on tv they have people get skin tucks, but that must be very expensive. I hope there is an inexpensive solution you can do!

I haven't heard about that with IF. I'll have to look into it. I suspect it'll decrease but not fully go away until the rest of my skin around there starts to wrinkle lol.

 

[Marsia]

I get stressed easily and I just want to be across the finish line which adds to the stress.

I have this, too. But the "finish line" is just another number, and for me what is important is what weight and fitness level do I want to rest at for now and how do I maintain that? Like I am not losing weight, but I am firming up, so I know that the number isn't the whole picture. It's more about how I want to feel and how I want to live next. So for me it is getting to be a soft finish line, maybe like a line in the sand that is maybe just for inspiration, not necessarily for some pre- and post- comparison, if that makes sense.

 

[bensanon]

I have this, too. But the "finish line" is just another number, and for me what is important is what weight and fitness level do I want to rest at for now and how do I maintain that? Like I am not losing weight, but I am firming up, so I know that the number isn't the whole picture. It's more about how I want to feel and how I want to live next. So for me it is getting to be a soft finish line, maybe like a line in the sand that is maybe just for inspiration, not necessarily for some pre- and post- comparison, if that makes sense.

Yeah, I'm trying not to focus on the number so much but I have in mind so many things I want to do when I get there. I have a whole new wardrobe to buy. My clothes now are baggy and sloppy and I want to feel good in new clothes. I have ideas about meditating, meal planning, meal recipes, other tools I'll use while on maintenance, things I can research more thoroughly, weight training to build muscles in certain areas. Lots of things I'm looking forward to that I think will help me with who I want to be and how I want to feel about myself. I'm probably piling a little too much on for when I get there but I'm really excited about it. I'm just trying to avoid self-sabotage because I have a history of doing that but I have also given myself every opportunity and a lot of time to make it so I'll get there one way or another. It's been unbelievably long and difficult journey and it's about so much more than that number on the scale.

 

[Marsia]

Wow, that all sounds so positive! Can you sneak in starting a few of those goals ahead of time, so there isn't so much anticipation and all that? I feel really excited for you - this must have been some journey!!!

 

[Llama]

Starting to use at least some of the recipes/activities you want to use for maintenance would be excellent.

 

[Trusylver]

Thanks a lot, Cate. I've looked at Cronometer and I may switch at some point.

Cronometer is great but it does require a fair bit of customising to work exactly the way that is perfect for each person, MFP has a lot of entries for foods added by random people that are are terribly wrong, Chronometer doesn't allow foods to be added for others to use unless the data is verified by them, of course you can still add your own data for your own use only without it being verified.

My nutrient targets are highly customised and I make use of the option to track net carbs rather than total carbs which make cronometer great for those who are keto.

 

[bensanon]

Gosh, Cate, I really appreciate your reply the other night about using my Fitbit as a rough estimate. I was feeling a little hopeless that I couldn't figure out all the ups and downs but if I follow my Fitbit calorie estimate as a rough guide since I do so much exercising, I think that'll work well. I was focused on all the wrong things and tied to a certain number for my total calories but knew the exercise was having such a huge impact on me and didn't quite know how to compensate and couldn't see what would be a good solution for some reason. Now I still keep big deficits but they'll be a lot more consistent and I can work with that. Thanks again.

So today, I was slow to get going but tonight after my run, I feel great. I went for about 5 miles and walked another 5. Total steps 25k, Fitbit calories 4136. Total calorie intake 2298. Deficit according to my Fitbit, 1838. There's some error in there, probably a couple hundred calories, but that's about where I want to be with my deficits. Could go higher or lower depending on how I feel.

Yogurt and blueberries for breakfast. Blueberries are going. Had an avocado on sprouted bread too. Avocado never really ripened. Lunch was chicken and black beans with a dollop of yogurt. Dinner was a Mediterranean bowl from Zoe's Kitchen and then I had nuts, leftovers, and yogurt as snacks to bring my calorie total up to compensate for the running.

I was 203 this morning. 14 away from my goal weight. 3 away from the 100s - that'll be a cool accomplishment when I make it there and I'm so close!