The Ferret Returns!

Noooo Wolfy isn't the dogster type of dog - all of those little fluffy things with bows in their fur and designer doggy beds etc... Wolfy is going through his teenage rebel years at the moment - always trying to be 'the Daddy' of the house (unsuccessfully) ;)

I settled with Fitday eventually. I finally took Wishes advice - put down my lifestyle level as strenuous (construction), and I don't add any occupational work as activities. Its actually a very flawed idea - but its free... I was hoping to do this calorie counting thing very scientifically - 20% calorie deficit - but now I realise that its almost impossible for most people to accurately work out daily calories burnt - and I think that Fitday does it particularly badly. I'm consuming a daily average of 2133 calories, and presently losing about three pounds per week - a little too quickly perhaps - so maybe I do burn a high number of calories?

Daily Fitday Stats.

Calories burnt: 3077
Calories consumed: 1917

Only exercise: that 2 mile bike ride with Wolfy on the springer - a bit of a cheat really, as he does a lot of pulling - husky-powered cycling!

I felt a little concerned today - people keep saying that I'm getting too thin. I saw the scales tip just under 10 stone today (I really shouldn't keep weighing myself). I might have to stop cutting again soon.
 
Daily Fitday Stats.

Calories burnt: 3305
Calories consumed: 2067

50 minutes in gym - warm ups, then with dumbbells and bench: shoulder presses, inclined bench press, flat bench press, dumbbell flies, hammer curls.
Quick bike ride but powered by husky...
 
I need to record this somewhere before I lose it....

Based on calculations combined with my recent weight loss rate, I believe that with my lifestyle, and rate of activity, that I need:

3200 calories per day to maintain a steady weight.

To lose 2 pounds per week = 2200 calories

To gain 0.5 pound per week = 3450 calories

recorded!

EDIT.

I might have to revise those statistics upwards - I'm losing weight faster than that. I'm losing weight too fast, so I'm going to start returning to a stable weight by slowing down the diet. I'm raising my daily calorific allowance to a target of 2,500 starting today.
 
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Daily Fitday Stats.

Calories burnt: 3702
Calories consumed: 2288

Exercise: I took Wolfy for an in the Forest for two hours. Great adventure, beautiful spring weather already! Only mishap was when Wolfy broke his harness !

I'm trying to increase calorie consumption to a target of 2,500 per day.
 
Daily Fitday Stats.

Calories burnt: 3327
Calories consumed: 2513

Exercise: 50 minutes strength training including warm ups. Lat pulls, dips, assisted pull ups, cables.

Dog walk - 2 miles.

I did well to fit the exercise in today, as I'm stuck on a row of four 12 hour night shifts.
 
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Chewing the Fat

Daily Fitday Stats.

Calories burnt: 3146
Calories consumed: 2468

Exercise: Still on 12 hour nightshifts, so not a lot

2.5 mile dog-walk
2.5 mile dog-cycle.

The Dog-bike ride was fun. I fitted Wolfy onto the 'springer' bicycle attachment, and off we went! I don't have to pedal hard, as he does some of the work - but I have to watch out for cats and wild-life!

I've been looking at the balance of macronutrients in my diet, and I'm going to try to increase carbs a little - especially starch, by adding some wholemeal pasta to the plate, and maybe a little more brown rice. I'm going to cap protein a little; its been taking up around 26% of my diet.

Fats apparently I have sorted! I do eat lean animal protein - poultry white meat, lots of fish, low fat dairy etc, and I do make sure that I consume some good fats each day. I like oils as dressing over my meals - but only a tablespoon full per day when I'm trying to lose weight, as they are such high cal. Oils that I use include: walnut oil, extra virgin olive oil, and flax oil (high in omega 3). I don't often stir fry, but if I do, then I use groundnut oil, and a little sesame oil. I also eat some nuts or seeds each day - walnuts, pine nuts, almonds, brazil nuts, hazel nuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds - but again, not too many if I want to cut cals. Finally, theres oily fish. I love it! I probably eat too many (have to watch out for the pollutants) - herring, tuna, salmon, sardines, sild, mackerel, etc.
 
Daily Fitday Stats.

Calories burnt: 3114
Calories consumed: 2226

Last 12 hour nightshift!
Exercise: Not a lot today. Quick dog walk, and a 3.2 mile bike ride with Wolfy.

Ohh failed to consume enough today! Ok, I have been reading around, and seeking advice, and the short is that my macronutrient 'balance' is already pretty good - I just have to increase my calories when I am ready to start building again - and improve my weight training techniques!
 
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Daily Fitday Stats.

Calories burnt: 3051
Calories consumed: 2662

I finally finished those long night shifts - only on the last morning, my relief didn't turn up - so I had to wait an extra two hours until I could go home. I had to take the car out for its service later, so it meant that I didn't get time to have any sleep today. I'm very tired now, and I'm going to bed...
 
Thank you Mal, I slept 'like a log'.... :)

Daily Fitday Stats.

Calories burnt: 3272
Calories consumed: 2586

Exercise: 1 hour strength training at the gym - squats, cleans, deadlifts - a good workout, its the first time that I have tried cleans - they give a good thorough workout.
2.5 mile dog-bike ride.
2 mile dog-walk.

Food of the day: Low fat yoghurt. While I was cutting calories, I restricted myself to those little pots of low cal sweetened yoghurts. Now that I have started increasing calories, I have returned to buying big tubs of low fat yoghurt. I had some poured over mixed nuts and forest berries. Beautiful evening treat.
 
Daily Fitday Stats.

Calories burnt: 3070
Calories consumed: 2599

Exercise: Rest day, just a .

Not a bad day, I baked a couple of chicken breasts to take to work, also had a lettuce, some berries, some spinach, an apple, etc. I'm gradually stepping up food as I head towards the end of the month. I'm looking more seriously at strength training these days, and I'm taking care to get plenty of good protein, and good fats - as well as lots of healthy carbs. I'm planning to continue tracking my calories and macronutrients after I stop weight loss.

One of the big questions is 'how much booze' will I allow myself to drink in future. I have been a drinker since about the age of 15. Its become a part of me, but weight loss has taught me that I can make choices and engineer my own lifestyle. I don't consider myself an alcoholic, although looking back, I can see one or two low points where I skirted the boundaries. That was over ten years ago. Until last year, I didn't drink secretly, every day, etc - but I did drink more than was good for my health, and I did binge drink - down the pub, then onto a club - can't remember what I did, but my mates usually laughed about it. I had bad habits of sitting at home on other nights in front of the pooter, playing games and downing cans of extra strong beer, or a bottle of port wine.

I cut back on the grog last year to aid weight loss and improve fitness. This month, I decided to go totally on the wagon. Despite a number of invites to meet mates at pubs - I've gone running or walking the dog instead. I've been utterly sober for nearly four weeks - a record. I do feel better, honestly, I really do think that abstaining has helped my fitness level. But when February is over, I think that I'm going to choose to drink less often - especially at home. Well... ok, maybe now and then I'll party ;)

Food of the day? Shrimps. I love seafood, really love it. I bought a bag of tiny brown peeled shrimps the other day, snacking on some - saving others for my meal. I then checked out their nutritional values - wow, whopping protein!
 
I read through your diary and usually leave jaw-dropped. I say to myself "I still have faith I can be like him someday". Even if I never do, you're the one I'll always aim to be in ambition and application.

You rock TF !!

Cheers :cool:
 
T2 - I only had 56 pounds to lose to get to this point - I'm in the shade compared with you weight loss super heroes on here! You are one of those inspiring others - I see it on the newcomers section everyday

I'm one of those all or nothing obsessives. Over the years I have had lots of 'passions' - amateur radio, archaeology, political activism, motorcycling, fishing, you name it. Fitness however, I scoffed at - I wouldn't eat as much as an apple and 'supersize' was my middle name.

Then 'boom' 12 months ago I made changes - overnight, painlessly. I lost the majority of my excess weight in less than four months, and it went along so easily that I could hardly believe it myself. Its become an obsession, that I'm perfectly aware of, I'm obsessing about my nutrition and exercise programmes - but at least this obsession has probably added years to my life. Its a sad fact that at the age of 44 I'm now probably fitter than I have been since I was a small boy.

The point is - I am lucky, it was a lot easier for me than it is for many people on here who are bravely struggling to fight obesity. If my obsession can act as inspiration to others, then thats just great. I'm not going back to the bad old days, I'm not going to be the 'big man' in the pub again. This feeling is great - feeling a structure in my face, feeling bones and muscles instead of fat, being able to run up the stairs of the boiler house, not suffering agonising heartburn every night, feeling more confident about the way that I look - I walk better, I dress better.

You have all of the makings of being one of the 5%. The Slimming Diet is a lie. Understanding what your body needs. and then changing the way that you live to give it those requisites is the only long term solution. Obesity hit the USA first, but it is spreading around the Globe to become an international phenomena. The UK has the highest levels of obesity in Europe - we are catching up, followed by the rest. I believe that we simply live our life's to far removed from the conditions that we evolved to meet.

There has been a revolutionary change in the types of foods that we eat - from the diet of leafs, roots, berries, nuts, seeds and lean wild meats that we survived on for the vast sum of our existence, to grain and dairy a mere 6,000 years ago, to refined breads and sugars a few hundred years ago, and now to a very changed diet consisting of high levels of refined sugars, corn syrup, trans-fats, palm oil, e-numbers, stabilisers, and saturated fats today.

We are also supposed to be active - we haven't yet evolved a remote control on our hands, or wheels on our butts. People have never before been so sedentary. We are supposed to run, swim, jump, climb or do whatever we can with what limbs we can use (my son Edward cannot use his legs and cannot walk - but he gets wherever in the house that he wants - he uses his arms, his back, even his head. Maybe one day he will be able to control and power his own wheelchair.).

Its no good people going onto the latest fad diet, shredding calories with poor nutrition, buying some type of liquid goo meal, or super dooper low cal low fat protein bar, wasting away for several weeks, emerging as a malnourished victor, then returning to the eating habits (at a reduced metabolism!) that created the problem in the first place. I've never appreciated food before like I do now. I never appreciated life before.

You are already one of the winners.

Daily Fitday Stats.

Calories burnt: 3272
Calories consumed: 2505

Exercise: strength training at gym 55 minutes: bench press, inclined bench press, dumbbell flies, started shoulder presses but arthritic shoulder twinged.
2.5 mile dog-bike ride. I must be careful, Wolfy nearly pulled me into the side of a van :)
 
Daily Fitday Stats.

Calories burnt: 3039
Calories consumed: 2511

Average Calories for the past two weeks:

grams cals %total
Total: 2315
Fat: 68 616 28%
Sat: 18 161 7%
Poly: 16 144 6%
Mono: 19 174 8%
Carbs: 293 1001 45%
Fiber: 42
Protein: 152 607 27%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

Exercise: Just a 2.5 mile bike ride with Wolfy. My muscles have been pretty sore this week from weight lifting, so a little extra rest is just the ticket.

Food of the day: Berries. I love berries - blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc. Full of antioxidants and good nutrition, they are a wholesome natural food, just the sort of carb that we should be getting more of. To save money, I often buy trays of frozen berries.
 
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Daily Fitday Stats.

Calories burnt: 3124
Calories consumed: 2597

No real exercise, other than a 2.2 mile bike ride with Wolfy harnessed.

Mushy peas with a little mint sauce, at a mushy pea stall on Norwich Market went down very nice on this miserable wet day. Some very nice lean New Zealand lamb escallops went down well during the evening accompanied by raw spinach, walnut oil, and wholewheat pasta.
 
Yesterday's Daily Fitday Stats.

Calories burnt: 3362
Calories consumed: 2787

Exercise: Strength training at gym 55 minutes: pull ups, assisted pull ups, wide and narrow lat pulls, hammer curls.
2 mile walk.
4 mile bike ride with Wolfy - included some husky speed trail riding.
 
Thanks Stuco :) Yeah, I guess that I have again (my last target was 148 pounds), but with one goal completed, I set myself another... My next goal will be to improve my strength training programme, and after a period of stabilising my present weight, start to increase calories further and hopefully muscle. My target is to look as good as an ugly bald 44 year old father of three, can look by the summer ;)
 
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