History of my Weight Loss April 2019

It is amazing, that today is May 1, 2019. 121 days of body composition data tracking, 259 days of BG number tracking, and more charts and calculated data than I ever imagined. All of which provides me with feedback and motivation, for the express purpose of putting my Type 2 Diabetes into remission. It's a journey, not a destination. So, what's new?

Let's start with numbers.

Progress is modeled linear, but reality is more variant. These are the pounds of me numbers, month to month. During March, I hit a plateau / lost discipline / became complacent. During April, weight loss restarted / discipline improved / became annoyed. Progress. Still trading 2 parts fat for each part lean.

Now, a look at that diabetes thing ...

The last med I'm on is Lantus. I take about 1 unit less per week, and given the trend, I'll be off it in 6 months. I use it to control my blood glucose levels. I wish there were better ways and means to control my food intake portal. Again, that journey / destination stuff. The older I get, the less relevant are my BG numbers. Next lab blood work in early August.

Macros matter, as does my energy storage and use balance.

A 21 day moving average is used, because the data is extremely noisy, and I still need to see trends, not detail.

I seriously need to get more protein and fewer carbs, which is why I replaced the plant protein powder in favor of whey. No carbs. I'll be hitting whey more of that in May.

Exercise matters somewhat too.

Fun's fun, but sometimes these beat me up pretty good. Combine that with the fasting patterns, and I simply take more rest days. The water row Tabata 30 second / 15 second drills are amazingly demanding, and makes for more work that the weight lifting. Which is saying a lot.

There should be more sunny warmer non-windy days, so the road bike work will displace a few rest days and water row 3x2500 sessions.

I'm giving some thought to eliminating the weight lifting entirely, in favor of long slow rides and rows. I'm reluctant to do that, because it might accelerate the muscle mass loss. No bueno. But the metabolic improvement I get from long rows is very attractive. And the water row work builds visible muscle and vascularity. Can't yet see my abs, but some of my veins pop. 

Intent is to work my protein intake, continue to read studies, and see if I can find a clue.

Fasting matters as well.

I restarted the daily duration tracking in April. The days of no data are days of no eating. I am blessed to have work that allows me the opportunity to not eat dinner twice a week. I'm in hour 41 now, and thinking of not breaking fast until tomorrow. That'll be a record for me.

I believe what I'm doing to lose fat is working, although I'd prefer a faster rate, pun intended. I don't have much more muscle mass to give away, so I'll need an alternative fat loss plan. I'll jump off that bridge when I get to it.

Be well.