Musing on my Waistline

I've been overweight my entire life. I've always known how to loose weight, the mechanics of it, yet every time something just got in the way. Loosing weight is not complicated and it's certainly not rocket science. Loosing weight is as simply as making sure that you eat fewer calories then you use. I would be shocked if anyone did not know this.

Yet as I walk through the grocery store what do I find? Isles filled with weight loss aides, pills, bottles, shakes, any product under the sun to try and circumvent that simple mathematical truth. Calories in < Calories out = Weight loss.

I've tried to loose weight at least a dozen times. I've tried Weight Watchers, I've tried food replacement, I've tried a medically managed wight loss program and I'm tried to just "eat better". I'm still fat. I'm currently using FitDay and It's slowly working.

Let's look at our options shall we?

Weight Watchers: When I was on Weight Watchers I lost weight. However, once I was off weight watchers I gained it right back. Weight Watchers programs run off Points, these Points add a layer of abstraction on what should be a trivial subject. Points hide the fact that fiber and protein are good, carbs and sugars not so good. Weight Watchers doesn't really teach you to be cognizant of what your eating and why. However, Weight Watchers works for some people, a lot of people, just not me.

Weight Watchers makes that simple equation above more complicated then it needs to be.

Food Replacement/Medically Managed Weight loss: I'm going to keep this section brief as in a lot of ways it mirrors my concerns with Weight Watchers adding of course the huge cost of involving a doctor in anything. Food replacement is worse then Weight Watchers as it doesn't even give you the understanding of the protein/fiber good carbs/sugar bad that Weight Watchers gives you. Medically managed weight loss is a scam.

Just "eating better": this diet, also known as the "Watching what I'm eating" and "I'm exercising more" diet is the most common. It also simply does not work. Without a fundamental understanding of what is going in your mouth you can not eat better. It's just not possible. Eating five chicken nuggets instead of ten is a start but it's hardly going to turn you into the hard bodied god you so long to be.

So what do we do? What, in my opinion, works?

Simple, uncomplicated, calorie counting.

I first started to go down this route when The Missus was diagnosed with high blood pressure. She had to start watching her sodium. Everything I picked up off the store shelves had to be scrutinized, every label, every can, bag, parcel, Everything. It was not a quick process. We slowly adapted to a low sodium lifestyle. But something more important had occurred. I had begun looking, really looking, at what I was eating. What I saw bothered me. I did not think I was eating poorly, I was exercising, yet I was still slowly gaining weight.

So, I looked for help. What help I found was FitDay.com it's nothing fancy, and best of all it's free. All the site does is count calories. I was forced to look at what I was eating, impartially, as a column of numbers. If that column of numbers added up to a higher total then I was burning in a day I knew I was going to gain weight. if that column added up to less then what I burned I knew I was going to loose weight. It wasn't complicated, no points to track, just the simple uncomplicated mathematical truth of calories in calories out = weight loss.

Now, it doesn't have to be FitDay. The Missus is using a journal, simple pen and paper, and for her that works. I prefer the website. At the end of the day were both loosing weight, and as opposed to Weight Watchers, Medical programs, food replacement, and all the rest I know know what is going into my mouth. I'm looking for alternatives and day by day I'm loosing weight.

Week One....

Well, I've been dieting for a week. I'm down ten pounds, I know it's mostly water weight but it's still a good feeling. I've been on a fairly severe caloric restriction. According to FitDay.com my base metabolic rate puts me at ~3400 calories a day, they recommend I cut 1400 calories to loose weight. This would mean eating roughly 2000 calories a day. I've been trying to stick to 1700-1900. It seem to be working really well. Also, as an unintended bonus on the days I do "splurge" a 2100 calorie day feels like a lot of food.

It Has Begun

I have begun dieting.

I currently weight 309.2 lbs, with 28-30% body fat. I lift weights, I play Judo, I'm looking to get back into BJJ, I want to start running again. I'm just sick of being fat.

I'm looking to get down to 220 first, then possibly down to 200 but I do not think I can do that without loosing muscle, something I'm simply not willing to do.

I'm using FitDay.com to track my calories and am currently shooting for 2100 with out exercise and an appropriate caloric increase on days I exercise.

I'm also trying to swing away from carbohydrates and increase my protein intake. Currently roughly half to two thirds of my calories come from carbohydrates. This I am told is bad.

Add to the the fact that I'm pre-diabetic and need to be mindful of my blood sugar makes this all the more fun.

My resting heart rate is 61 bpm and my blood pressure hovers around 125/65.

Dear lord what have I started....

Good Luck to the Missus!

My Missus has an interview today. It's for Petco down the road and I wish her luck. She took the Rochester City Police Exam a few months back and were still waiting on the results so this job, if she gets it, is really just a place holder for the short term but it's a good place holder. Aside from the fact that she loves working with animals Petco offers health benefits to part time employees which is a huge plus.

On top of all this she has also really gotten into working out, she needs tom pass certain physical fitness requirements for the RPD, one of which is a mile and a half run. While it doesn't seem like much running for any distance just sucks for people like the missus and myself. Were just not built for it but she has gone out, and dragged me along, day after day to run or walk or lift and just in general get into shape. I'm proud of her, even if she does insure that I end up sore and achy every night.

Were going to get into shape even if it kills us!

The Shape of Things

Current Weight: 298lbs.

Target Weight: 220lbs.

Weight to loose: 78lbs.

% of body mass to loose: ~26%

So, given the above data, if all goes well I will be walking around at ~5% body fat, at a fantastic competition weight.

Now, dropping almost 80lbs of mass is not going to be easy, so my intermediate goals are as follows:

November 1st: 290lbs.
December 1st: 280lbs.
....
June 1st: 220lbs.

8 months, 8olbs, 10lbs/month.

Better get running!

Reshaping Myself

I've always been heavy. Husky is what they called it when I was younger. A politically correct term for a big gut and short legs. Now, I'm just heavy.

My diet is good, the fiancee has to eat no/low sodium so my blood pressure is really low, and my diet consists of a large amount of vegetables. Not that I mind. However, I am still heavy.

I train in Judo, I have taken a week and a half off due to having too much to do and too little time. My club, Bushido Kai Judo, is a decent sized not for profit Judo club in Penfield N.Y. a suburb of Rochester.

On top of my Judo training I've been using the Stronglifts 5x5 weight training program to help build muscle and loose weight.

Still, I am heavy.

So, the plan.

- Judo 3xWeek
- Stronglifts T/Th/Su

As far this is what I have been doing. Notice anything missing?

As a new addition in the battle against my waistline I'm going to start running with the missus. Either a H.I.I.T. style workout or slow-go cardio. Once I decide I'm going to weigh myself, set goals, and go to it.

Here's to hoping!

And no, round is not a shape.