Category: Uncategorized

goals, health, Uncategorized

Eating More to Drop Weight


Day 16 of 63, Thursday May 16 – 2.5 lbs lost

  1. Morning weight / body fat: 212 lbs / 25%
    1. Weight loss to date: -2.5 lbs
    2. Target 203 lbs June 28
  2. Calories from food: 2,227
    1. Tracked using MyFitnessPal app
  3. Calories burned from exercise: 600
    1. Strava, FitBit and MyFitnessPal
  4. Eating window: 10 hours
  5. Activity: 9 holes of golf (2 hours).  Everyday Active 15,225 Steps
  6. Mood: Great, productive, happy
  7. Stiffness and pain on waking: 3

Weight Loss Diary

Changed it up a bit.  I’ve decided to eat more (bumping calories from food from about 1850 to about 2250) and have removed any restrictions other than avoiding sugar and limiting alcohol.  I’m very active and just wasn’t getting enough calories to avoid panic eating at 10pm.

Hopefully with fewer restrictions I’ll be able to ride out the cravings late at night and improve compliance.  I’ve added a cheat day weekly as well.

My short term goal is to be between 200-205 by June 28 and to stay there while maintaining or growing muscle mass.  I figure if I can hang out in that range for several months that can be a healthy new set weight.

goals, health, Uncategorized

The dreaded 11pm meltdown of will


Day 9 of 62, Thursday May 9

  1. Morning weight / body fat: 210 lbs / 24%
    1. Weight loss to date: -4.5 lbs
    2. Target 200 lbs June 28
  2. Calories from food: 3,721
    1. Tracked using MyFitnessPal app
  3. Calories burned from exercise: 751
    1. Strava, FitBit and MyFitnessPal
  4. Eating window: 14 (Fail)
  5. Activity: 30 minute walk with Coco.  Everyday Active 15,246 Steps
  6. Mood: Great, productive, happy
  7. Stiffness and pain on waking: 3

Diary

So, everything was on track to continue last week’s resolve and resulting success.  Dishes done, kitchen tidied, should have gone to bed at 10:30 and instead hit the couch and devoured cheese and crackers with the end of a bottle of wine.

So, let’s let that be water under the bridge.  Today is a new day.  The only time you will ever do something good for yourself is right now.   Eat clean, move, drink lots of water and get enough sleep.

goals, health, Uncategorized

One week down and so far so good…


Day 8 of 62, Wednesday May 8

  1. Morning weight / body fat: 210.5 lbs / 24%
    1. Weight loss to date: -4 lbs
  2. Calories from food: 2,383
    1. Tracked using MyFitnessPal app
  3. Calories burned from exercise: 369
    1. Strava, FitBit and MyFitnessPal
  4. Eating window: 9.5
  5. Activity: 50 minutes resistance training in the gym. W,944 Steps
  6. Mood: Great, productive, happy
  7. Stiffness and pain on waking: 3

Diary

I had a moment of lucidity today, having completed a successful week and on-track for the goal I have set.  My achilles heel has always been sliding back into bad habits once a little of success is achieved.  This has happened countless times.

Gandhi said that true change takes 10 years.  I’d say I am in about year 9 of resolving to drop those sticky 15lbs that accrue over time.  Why not now to get it done?

195 may be too ambitious.  6’0 200 has a nice ring to it though…dropping 10.5 lbs in 7 weeks would be 1.5lbs per week.  That’s a good realistic goal.

health, Uncategorized

Day 7 Weight Loss Blog


Day 7 of 62, Tuesday May 7

  1. Morning weight and body fat: 212.5 lbs – 25%
    1. Weight loss to date: -2 lbs
  2. Calories from food: 1,860
    1. Tracked using MyFitnessPal app
  3. Calories burned from exercise: 471
    1. Strava, FitBit and MyFitnessPal
  4. Eating window: 9.5
  5. Activity: Everyday active…10,944 Steps
  6. Mood: Great, productive, happy
  7. Stiffness and pain on waking: 3

Diary

I resolved to drop the keto diet and instead focus on the Canada Food Guide for recommendations for a healthy, balanced, low protein, low carb, high-fibre, calorie-restricted, fasting mimicking, anti-disease diet for longevity.  That’s a lot of masters to serve.

I’m over 50 now so I am struggling to recast my exercise routine away from what it used to be (training for half-marathons and triathlons) and toward hip strength, core strength, mobility and overall functional maintenance…and by that I mean how can I keep playing hockey for another 20 years?  Swimming…sigh.

I should be able to design this and stick to it for the next 8 weeks.  I should, but can I?  Why is it that we have difficulty doing what we know to be the right thing…with our big evolved brains?

I’m excited to see what the results hold, and how it feels to walk around at 195.

health, Uncategorized

Cheat Day…Screw Keto!


Day 6 of 62, Sunday May 6
  1. Morning weight and body fat: 210.5 lbs – 26%
    1. Weight loss to date: -4 lbs
  2. Ketone level: Trace
  3. Days in Ketosis: 5
  4. Calories from food: Cheat Day
    1. Tracked using MyFitnessPal app
  5. Calories burned from exercise: 448
    1. Strava, FitBit and MyFitnessPal
  6. Eating window: 14.5
  7. Activity: Everyday active…walking 11,137 Steps
  8. Mood: Great, productive, happy
  9. Stiffness and pain on waking: 3

Diary

I was grumpy and ravenous today, likely because of the calorie restriction and lack of carbs, and blew through my daily set carbohydrate cap of  50 grams.  Everything was relatively on track until the evening when I devoured a full package of rice crackers with cream cheese.

All it took was a little devil on my shoulder saying “…didn’t Tim Ferris say it is important to have a cheat day to fool your body?”  Well, important or not, I cheated.

I’m switching gears to drop the ketogenesis and instead focus on a healthy, diverse diet high in fibre and plant foods.  While I did use Keto successfully for weightloss (10lbs in 10 days) earlier this year I have heard too many informed opinions that it just isn’t good for you in the long run.  This is about the long run.

The next 2 months will be dedicated to constructing the right diet and habits with an emphasis on longevity; energy; performance and happiness.  Our diet is actually very diverse and healthy already…just needs some dialing-in and tweaking and a great deal more discipline when it comes to crackers, cheese and NHL playoff hockey. 🙂

 

health, Uncategorized

4.5 lbs lost in 5 days!


Day 5 of 62, Sunday May 5

  1. Morning weight and body fat: 210 lbs – 25%
    1. Weight loss to date: -4.5 lbs
  2. Ketone level: Moderate
  3. Days in Ketosis: 4
  4. Calories from food: 2,593
  5. Calories burned from exercise: 1500
  6. Eating window: 10 hours
  7. Activity: 35.6 Km Road ride in the river valley
  8. Mood: Great, productive, happy
  9. Stiffness and pain on waking: 3

Diary

So in less than a week I’ve lost 4.5lbs.  Down to 210 which is actually not a bad fighting weight for me.  The next 15lbs is relatively untrod territory.

Is it really as simple as keeping your goal in mind and subjugating your cravings to a higher order want?  The “why” here is to go lean, cut out bad food and employ intermittent fasting to burn off unwanted fat.  Let’s be clear…I am going to have to find some motivation to stay hungry for the next 7 weeks.   Any recommendations are welcome.

health, Uncategorized

Day 4 Weight Loss Blog


Day 4 of 62, Saturday May 4

  1. Morning weight and body fat: 210.5 lbs – 26%
    1. Weight loss to date: -4 lbs
    2. Measured with a TANITA scale
  2. Ketone level: Small
  3. Days in Ketosis: 3
  4. Calories from food: 2118
  5. Calories burned from exercise: 671
  6. Eating window: 10 hours
  7. Activity: Everyday active 14,118 steps. Coco at the off-leash dog park for an hour
  8. Mood: Great, productive, happy
  9. Stiffness and pain on waking: 3

Diary

Struggled all day wondering whether today would be a “cheat day”.  Big test for my resolve against following old habits of 2 steps forward 1 step back.  Saturday night and I’ve lost 4 pounds in less than a week.  Feeling good.