Intermonth History of my weight loss, Mid-January, 2020
Today seems a good day for an intermediate report. My body composition scale has miraculously reconnected to my phone, and only a day later, I get feedback from tech support about how to fix it. I have historic numbers to share, and some insights into how that happened and what to do about it.
First, some numbers to look at. Black numbers are weight loss, red, weight gain.
The column "NOW" shows me at 161.4 pounds, this morning. Probably decades since I weighed that. The body fat %, 20.3, is an all time low, maybe a lifetime low for me. For the month of January, 2020, to date, I'm down 6.2 pounds body weight, of which my scale says 2.8 pounds is fat free body weight, and 3.6 pounds is body fat. Rounding, and imprecision, happen. Another way, I lose 1.46 pounds of fat for every 1 pound of not fat.
Given I'm close to 160 pounds, and my lean to fat loss ratio is so low, it's time to stop losing weight.
Rant on: Weight loss is, always and everywhere, a matter of "calories in versus calories out". Always. No exceptions ever. All of the fasting techniques effectively reduce consumed calories. Hunger is real, and influenced by what you eat. But, for kCalories, it isn't what you eat, it's how much. Now, measuring "calories in" and "calories out" has profound issues. But it's functional for my purposes. As Metallica says, nothing else matters. Rant off.
My personal complication is that I'm T2D. As a consequence, my body is a Very Excellent fat making machine. Look at the red numbers in the table. Here's an example...
Gained 0.6 pounds, 0.2 fat free, 0.5 fat. When I've gained weight, I ALWAYS have gained more fat than lean. Each time. When I lose, I lose more fat than non fat. Weight change is always and everywhere a balancing act between calories in versus out. So, somewhere in the range of calories I take in over the months, is the point where I don't gain or lose fat weight. I'm not arithmetically convinced I know that number, but I'd guess it's around 1850 - 2000 kCal daily.
Suppose that is my balance point for calories. How the hell do I either gain fat free weight, or lose fat? If it were easy, we could all be body models, but it isn't. And, we aren't. Look around ...
Let's review the list of suspects.
1) Exercise "more", increase frequency, use heavier loads, more time under tension.
2) Macronutrient adjustments (grams carbs, fats, proteins, alcohols). The Legendary Macros.
3) Supplements. Someday, I'll write about what I take. I find it fascinating. YMMV.
I have increased my exercise daily frequency, to the extent I can. Life, and sore shoulders and knees, limit to that. I'm close to there. Heavier loads, and sets of reps to failure, increase the risk of injury, but I do them anyway. I load the heavy exercises progressively more, and do more reps. Water rowing, especially 3 x 2500 meters, is a good, solid 45 plus minutes of work, especially when I can bring some intensity to bear.
Macros - what should and does go in my face - is always fun. Find yours here. Down one path is starvation, or the polite cousin, calorie restriction. Works for reducing weight, but otherwise, not sustainable. T2D implies fewer carbs, possibly forever. Adjusting kCalorie intake, therefore, implies manipulating fats and protein. Only 2 rules: hit your protein numbers and stay under your carb numbers.
Yeah, right, well, here's a chart ...
The goal for carbs is under 30 grams. Something that I've managed exactly ZERO times on a 21 day average. And of the 408 daily measurements that make up the data set for this chart, only 102 times at/under 30. Yes, only 25% of the days. I'm certainly not perfect, but I'm pretty f'ing disciplined. Grumpy about it, too.
Here's another chart ...
Side note: There's religious war between measuring via kCalories versus grams. I suspect it has to do with the detail that it's easier to own and use a kitchen scale, versus the lab conditions needed to use a calorimeter setup. There's that engineering thing again.
My goal for protein is 1 gram per pound of body weight. That's doable for me. Note that the RDA is Way Less than that (The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is a modest 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. That's .8 grams per 2.2 pounds, or .36 grams per pound. Thank God I have an engineering degree). For people without prior specific pathologies, there is no obvious issues, or upper limit, or other bodily assault, from eating as much protein as possible.
Supplements are a continuing thing, that I tinker with at every opportunity. What's newish that might be helping here: berberine, increased doses of ALA and vanadyl sulfite, electrolyte drink in the morning (to wash down pills).
In last month's summary I had 3 things to do: fewer carbs (see above); change exercise pattern (check, see above); fast / TRF "more". I don't want to do longer fasts, and my 16:8 pattern is pretty well set.
So, path forward: Keep the exercise and TRF efforts going. Target kCalories in the 1850-2000 range daily, to maintain current weight and fat ratio. Repress carbs, and eat more protein. Keep playing with supplements. Be happier.
Peace out ...
First, some numbers to look at. Black numbers are weight loss, red, weight gain.
Given I'm close to 160 pounds, and my lean to fat loss ratio is so low, it's time to stop losing weight.
Rant on: Weight loss is, always and everywhere, a matter of "calories in versus calories out". Always. No exceptions ever. All of the fasting techniques effectively reduce consumed calories. Hunger is real, and influenced by what you eat. But, for kCalories, it isn't what you eat, it's how much. Now, measuring "calories in" and "calories out" has profound issues. But it's functional for my purposes. As Metallica says, nothing else matters. Rant off.
My personal complication is that I'm T2D. As a consequence, my body is a Very Excellent fat making machine. Look at the red numbers in the table. Here's an example...
Suppose that is my balance point for calories. How the hell do I either gain fat free weight, or lose fat? If it were easy, we could all be body models, but it isn't. And, we aren't. Look around ...
Let's review the list of suspects.
1) Exercise "more", increase frequency, use heavier loads, more time under tension.
2) Macronutrient adjustments (grams carbs, fats, proteins, alcohols). The Legendary Macros.
3) Supplements. Someday, I'll write about what I take. I find it fascinating. YMMV.
I have increased my exercise daily frequency, to the extent I can. Life, and sore shoulders and knees, limit to that. I'm close to there. Heavier loads, and sets of reps to failure, increase the risk of injury, but I do them anyway. I load the heavy exercises progressively more, and do more reps. Water rowing, especially 3 x 2500 meters, is a good, solid 45 plus minutes of work, especially when I can bring some intensity to bear.
Macros - what should and does go in my face - is always fun. Find yours here. Down one path is starvation, or the polite cousin, calorie restriction. Works for reducing weight, but otherwise, not sustainable. T2D implies fewer carbs, possibly forever. Adjusting kCalorie intake, therefore, implies manipulating fats and protein. Only 2 rules: hit your protein numbers and stay under your carb numbers.
Yeah, right, well, here's a chart ...
Here's another chart ...
My goal for protein is 1 gram per pound of body weight. That's doable for me. Note that the RDA is Way Less than that (The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is a modest 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. That's .8 grams per 2.2 pounds, or .36 grams per pound. Thank God I have an engineering degree). For people without prior specific pathologies, there is no obvious issues, or upper limit, or other bodily assault, from eating as much protein as possible.
Supplements are a continuing thing, that I tinker with at every opportunity. What's newish that might be helping here: berberine, increased doses of ALA and vanadyl sulfite, electrolyte drink in the morning (to wash down pills).
In last month's summary I had 3 things to do: fewer carbs (see above); change exercise pattern (check, see above); fast / TRF "more". I don't want to do longer fasts, and my 16:8 pattern is pretty well set.
So, path forward: Keep the exercise and TRF efforts going. Target kCalories in the 1850-2000 range daily, to maintain current weight and fat ratio. Repress carbs, and eat more protein. Keep playing with supplements. Be happier.
Peace out ...
Comments