Steady start to week 5. I have never had a period of 5 weeks or longer where I have lost weight every week. 4 weeks is still the record back in my slimming world days so this is I feel a quite pivotal week.
like I said at the very beginning it's as much about creating good habits as it is about achieving targets. Without those good habits you are ultimately destined to fail.
Also part of creating good habits is to have realistic expectations. I have over the last 4 weeks become acutely aware that physically I no longer have the capabilities I did at 45 and no amount of "Iron Will" can push the body to limits that simply are no longer attainable.
Back to back hard days are counter productive as the recovery time is simply way too long and affects the whole week. Better to have a hard day followed by a couple of easy days and keep it sustainable, manageable and honest.
So, here I feel is the crux. The period where, usually with things, I become disinterested, unmotivated and lazy. The next 7 to 14 days is where this either gets carried to its conclusion on day 70 or gets left in the gutter.
Steady start to week 5. I have never had a period of 5 weeks or longer where I have lost weight every week. 4 weeks is still the record back in my slimming world days so this is I feel a quite pivotal week.
like I said at the very beginning it's as much about creating good habits as it is about achieving targets. Without those good habits you are ultimately destined to fail.
Also part of creating good habits is to have realistic expectations. I have over the last 4 weeks become acutely aware that physically I no longer have the capabilities I did at 45 and no amount of "Iron Will" can push the body to limits that simply are no longer attainable.
Back to back hard days are counter productive as the recovery time is simply way too long and affects the whole week. Better to have a hard day followed by a couple of easy days and keep it sustainable, manageable and honest.
So, here I feel is the crux. The period where, usually with things, I become disinterested, unmotivated and lazy. The next 7 to 14 days is where this either gets carried to its conclusion on day 70 or gets left in the gutter.
Ok, I'm outta here. Speak tomorrow.
For this to be sustainable, you have to reduce the difference at some stage. I don't know when that optimal time is, but previously your body seems to be saying it is at about 4 weeks.
It's not an "all or nothing" thing. It is working out what is the right diet goals for you. There are a whole host of things that will work. In the medium term, a 1,000 kcal deficit daily should see you losing 2 lbs a week.
The most important thing is remaining motivated to lose weight.
I was aiming for a deficit closer to 1,500 than 2,000 but the evening spin was slightly more hardcore than I envisaged.
The other problem is that I don't really keep a running total of Calories consumed during the day. Yes I have a rough idea of where on the range I am but until I come to total it up at days end I don't have an exact figure.
Today for example I expected a higher total for the piece of battered fish than the 536 Kcals and was expecting a total consumption figure closer to 1,850. You see it's not all salad and rabbit food.
In fact tomorrow I'm making a beef casserole in the slow cooker and having researched the calorific values of the ingredients, I'm going to be able to eat a load of it and be well under the max.
Stewing beef, onions, carrots, swede, mushrooms, potato, pearl barley, leeks and a slosh of Guinness. Perhaps a little garlic and a hint of black pepper to finish.
Stewing beef, onions, carrots, swede, mushrooms, potato, pearl barley, leeks and a slosh of Guinness. Perhaps a little garlic and a hint of black pepper to finish.
Hmm. Just the beef, mushrooms, spuds & pearl barley for me please.
Just a regular day. A decent deficit without too much exertion and plenty of food.
Still churning out the Km on the Route 66 Challenge although in order not to burn out I'm going to extend the completion date rather than cycle mad distances whilst under reduced fueling.
Just passed 40% completion so another tree is planted.
Hi Mark,
You just passed the 40% milestone on the Route 66 Challenge!
This is great news because it means we will plant a real tree thanks to you!
Each time you reach one of the milestones shown on the map, we will plant a tree to help restore healthy forests in locations around the world.
We have partnered with Eden Reforestation Projects to plant the trees. You can check out our current partnership status with them here.
Keep up the great work, and thanks for helping our virtual global community make a difference in the real world.
Very happy with todays efforts. trained well and ate like an absolute porker. Three good meals, unusual for me as I usually don't eat breakfast and some snacks as well.
Hit all my macros and got a nice 45% protein, 30% dietry fats and 25% carbs pie chart going on. Loads of protein rich foods and very little bad stuff.
P.T session Friday morning so Lord knows what she's got in store but I bet it'll hurt.
Trying to stay focused now I'm almost at half distance. It should be simple, just keep doing what works right?
Well, yes that would be ideal. However, if I had that simple ability I would not be an unfit, lardy lump in the first place. So it's keep right on with the good habits, avoid easy temptation and keep logging a deficit.
There will be either a beer or a GnT tonight. Off to see Tom Allen at the Victoria Hall, so I'm saving the relevant calories for that.
Ok let me say that I had a very good night out. Pre show beers and a meal, post show drinks and snacks and that resulted in a mammoth calorie intake.
Is it ok because I still posted a deficit?. Probably not to be honest. Yes it's a deficit which means that technically there should be no weight gain, but the amount of fat and carbs consumed definately tips the macros in the wrong direction.
However having said that as long as it's taken in isolation and remains just 1 night out then it's what it is. Log it in the record and move on.
For the record Tom Allen was ok, not as funny as I expected and the show was cut short due to a medical incident in the audience. but, all in all there are worse ways to spend a Saturday night "up Anley duck"
Right, I'm outta here. Speak tomorrow with the weekly round up.
Starting weight 328lbs Weight last week 313lbs Weight this week 313lbs
Weekly +/- = 0 Running total - 15lbs
Ok so firstly the weight. I've left it at last weeks total because my scales have gone all Spursy and show everything from a 4lb loss to a 2 stone gain. New batteries will be obtained and then we will be fine. To preserve the integrity of the results it seems the best way instead of guessing or using a different set.
So what have I learned at the halfway point in this experiment?.
Well firstly calories are very much easier to consume than to expend. In the time it takes me to burn through 1,000 Kcals (90 minutes of hard spinning) I can easily chomp down 2,200 Kcals of pizza and beer or 1,600 Kcals of KFC etc. In fact how long does it take the average person to eat a pre packed sandwich, bag of crisps and a coke? That's almost 1,000 calories there nearly 50% of the RDA for a man.
Also that I need to be aware of how disordered eating, especially my disordered eating can create a huge calorie surplus and therefore body fat. I am, when my eating is out of control, perfectly capable of 10,000 calorie days. Have 2 or 3 of those in succession and that's two to three weeks of extra diet and exercise just to get it back.
Most importantly though is the realisation that when things don't go how you want or how you think they should. It's ok. In the past a bad couple of days would be all it took to bring everything to a shuddering halt and I would immediately turn to eating and drinking as a source of comfort thus simply exacerbating the situation. Now through the adoption of better habits and structured regimen I understand that it's simply a glitch under which I draw a line and move on.
Same with the weight loss. In the past I would become enraged if I didn't see an expected loss or the scales refused to say what I thought my efforts deserved. Now as I understand my body more, I can accept that sometimes these things happen. I don't need to know why or how, I just need to keep to the process and the results will come.
What am I looking for in the second half of the experiment.
In a word, consistency. With a more consistent expenditure and consumption should come more consistent results. This doesn't just apply to calories though, being more consistent with the training and exercise, with feeding times and with recovery and sleep should create an environment in which the last 5 weeks is less chaotic. Certainly consistency is one of the good habits I'm trying to form.
That aside I'd like another stone off but like I said earlier I'm not getting all worked up if it is less. I'd like another 5Kg on my bench press and 10Kg on my deadlift and leg press and it would be great if I can actually run 1Km, oh and another 750Km on the Route 66 challenge would be nice.
Apart from that, World peace, an end to poverty, discrimination and homelessness and a society, where compassion, tolerance and understanding are the norm.
Ate a bit more, moved a lot more. Another large deficit and yet I feel great. No hunger and plenty of energy. Good split of protein, carbs and fats and hydration and electrolyte intake is fine.
Lost track of my rest days, so with Wednesday already accounted for with a session booked I'm going to call it for Thursday.
Shouldn't have been a rest day but as I had to attend a clinic and would not be in a position to really train I moved it from Thursday.
Finally on the list to see a vascular surgeon but in the meantime full compression is the way to go apparently. Also got the green light to carry on training and exercising and the compression will actually help here. Increased blood flow means better muscle function, less tendency for cramping and improved recovery.
Another decent day and the 3rd 2,000 + calorie deficit this week. Is it getting easier? Heck no, I'm hungry pretty often at the moment so may experiment with my food types and swap the times around a little.
Comments
Kcals expended 3,218
Kcals consumed 1,429
Calorie deficit 1,789
That's about it, I'm outta here.
Speak tomorrow.
Kcals expended 3,288
Kcals consumed 1,891
Calorie deficit 1,397
A poor deficit really, just couldn't get into it today. Oh well lets see the weekly results.
Kcals expended 26,940
Kcals consumed 13,636
Calorie deficit 13,304
Starting weight 328lbs
weight last week 316lbs
weight this week 313lbs
weekly +/- -3lbs
running -15lbs
New BMR calories 2,000
So there it is the 3lb loss is more like the figure I would expect for a 13,000 calorie deficit and it means I have cracked the first stone barrier.
Don't really know what to expect from the next couple of weeks but will just try to stick to the formula. If it aint broke don't fix it eh.
Ok, I'm outta here, things to do etc.
Speak tomorrow.
A stone already, incred.
Think of it as you were carrying around 7 x 2lb bags of sugar all day in a carrier bag. All gone now. Has to be good.
Kcals expended 3,378
Kcals consumed 1,840
Calorie deficit 1,538
Steady start to week 5. I have never had a period of 5 weeks or longer where I have lost weight every week. 4 weeks is still the record back in my slimming world days so this is I feel a quite pivotal week.
like I said at the very beginning it's as much about creating good habits as it is about achieving targets. Without those good habits you are ultimately destined to fail.
Also part of creating good habits is to have realistic expectations. I have over the last 4 weeks become acutely aware that physically I no longer have the capabilities I did at 45 and no amount of "Iron Will" can push the body to limits that simply are no longer attainable.
Back to back hard days are counter productive as the recovery time is simply way too long and affects the whole week. Better to have a hard day followed by a couple of easy days and keep it sustainable, manageable and honest.
So, here I feel is the crux. The period where, usually with things, I become disinterested, unmotivated and lazy. The next 7 to 14 days is where this either gets carried to its conclusion on day 70 or gets left in the gutter.
Ok, I'm outta here. Speak tomorrow.
It's not an "all or nothing" thing. It is working out what is the right diet goals for you. There are a whole host of things that will work. In the medium term, a 1,000 kcal deficit daily should see you losing 2 lbs a week.
The most important thing is remaining motivated to lose weight.
Kcals expended 3,657
Kcals consumed 1,566
Calorie deficit 2,091
I was aiming for a deficit closer to 1,500 than 2,000 but the evening spin was slightly more hardcore than I envisaged.
The other problem is that I don't really keep a running total of Calories consumed during the day. Yes I have a rough idea of where on the range I am but until I come to total it up at days end I don't have an exact figure.
Today for example I expected a higher total for the piece of battered fish than the 536 Kcals and was expecting a total consumption figure closer to 1,850. You see it's not all salad and rabbit food.
In fact tomorrow I'm making a beef casserole in the slow cooker and having researched the calorific values of the ingredients, I'm going to be able to eat a load of it and be well under the max.
Stewing beef, onions, carrots, swede, mushrooms, potato, pearl barley, leeks and a slosh of Guinness. Perhaps a little garlic and a hint of black pepper to finish.
Ok, I'm outta here.
Speak tomorrow.
Stewing beef, onions, carrots, swede, mushrooms, potato, pearl barley, leeks and a slosh of Guinness. Perhaps a little garlic and a hint of black pepper to finish.
Hmm. Just the beef, mushrooms, spuds & pearl barley for me please.
Kcals expended 3,492
Kcals consumed 1,797
Calorie deficit 1,695
Just a regular day. A decent deficit without too much exertion and plenty of food.
Still churning out the Km on the Route 66 Challenge although in order not to burn out I'm going to extend the completion date rather than cycle mad distances whilst under reduced fueling.
Just passed 40% completion so another tree is planted.
Hi Mark,
You just passed the 40% milestone on the Route 66 Challenge!
This is great news because it means we will plant a real tree thanks to you!
Each time you reach one of the milestones shown on the map, we will plant a tree to help restore healthy forests in locations around the world.
We have partnered with Eden Reforestation Projects to plant the trees.
You can check out our current partnership status with them here.
Keep up the great work, and thanks for helping our virtual global community make a difference in the real world.
The team at The Conqueror Challenges
Ok, I'm outta here and speak tomorrow.
Kcals expended 3,666
Kcals consumed 1,803
Calorie deficit 1,863
Very happy with todays efforts. trained well and ate like an absolute porker. Three good meals, unusual for me as I usually don't eat breakfast and some snacks as well.
Hit all my macros and got a nice 45% protein, 30% dietry fats and 25% carbs pie chart going on. Loads of protein rich foods and very little bad stuff.
P.T session Friday morning so Lord knows what she's got in store but I bet it'll hurt.
I'm outta here. Speak tomorrow.
Kcals expended 3,397
Kcals consumed 1,984
Calorie deficit 1,413
Trying to stay focused now I'm almost at half distance. It should be simple, just keep doing what works right?
Well, yes that would be ideal. However, if I had that simple ability I would not be an unfit, lardy lump in the first place. So it's keep right on with the good habits, avoid easy temptation and keep logging a deficit.
There will be either a beer or a GnT tonight. Off to see Tom Allen at the Victoria Hall, so I'm saving the relevant calories for that.
Ok, I'm outta here. Speak tomorrow.
Kcals expended 3,363
Kcals consumed 2,915
Calorie deficit 448
Ok let me say that I had a very good night out. Pre show beers and a meal, post show drinks and snacks and that resulted in a mammoth calorie intake.
Is it ok because I still posted a deficit?. Probably not to be honest. Yes it's a deficit which means that technically there should be no weight gain, but the amount of fat and carbs consumed definately tips the macros in the wrong direction.
However having said that as long as it's taken in isolation and remains just 1 night out then it's what it is. Log it in the record and move on.
For the record Tom Allen was ok, not as funny as I expected and the show was cut short due to a medical incident in the audience. but, all in all there are worse ways to spend a Saturday night "up Anley duck"
Right, I'm outta here. Speak tomorrow with the weekly round up.
Kcals expended3,258
Kcals consumed 1,358
Calorie deficit 1,900
WEEKLY TOTALS
Kcals expended 24,211
Kcals consumed 12,040
Calorie deficit 12,171
Starting weight 328lbs
Weight last week 313lbs
Weight this week 313lbs
Weekly +/- = 0
Running total - 15lbs
Ok so firstly the weight. I've left it at last weeks total because my scales have gone all Spursy and show everything from a 4lb loss to a 2 stone gain. New batteries will be obtained and then we will be fine. To preserve the integrity of the results it seems the best way instead of guessing or using a different set.
So what have I learned at the halfway point in this experiment?.
Well firstly calories are very much easier to consume than to expend. In the time it takes me to burn through 1,000 Kcals (90 minutes of hard spinning) I can easily chomp down 2,200 Kcals of pizza and beer or 1,600 Kcals of KFC etc. In fact how long does it take the average person to eat a pre packed sandwich, bag of crisps and a coke? That's almost 1,000 calories there nearly 50% of the RDA for a man.
Also that I need to be aware of how disordered eating, especially my disordered eating can create a huge calorie surplus and therefore body fat. I am, when my eating is out of control, perfectly capable of 10,000 calorie days. Have 2 or 3 of those in succession and that's two to three weeks of extra diet and exercise just to get it back.
Most importantly though is the realisation that when things don't go how you want or how you think they should. It's ok. In the past a bad couple of days would be all it took to bring everything to a shuddering halt and I would immediately turn to eating and drinking as a source of comfort thus simply exacerbating the situation. Now through the adoption of better habits and structured regimen I understand that it's simply a glitch under which I draw a line and move on.
Same with the weight loss. In the past I would become enraged if I didn't see an expected loss or the scales refused to say what I thought my efforts deserved. Now as I understand my body more, I can accept that sometimes these things happen. I don't need to know why or how, I just need to keep to the process and the results will come.
What am I looking for in the second half of the experiment.
In a word, consistency. With a more consistent expenditure and consumption should come more consistent results. This doesn't just apply to calories though, being more consistent with the training and exercise, with feeding times and with recovery and sleep should create an environment in which the last 5 weeks is less chaotic. Certainly consistency is one of the good habits I'm trying to form.
That aside I'd like another stone off but like I said earlier I'm not getting all worked up if it is less. I'd like another 5Kg on my bench press and 10Kg on my deadlift and leg press and it would be great if I can actually run 1Km, oh and another 750Km on the Route 66 challenge would be nice.
Apart from that, World peace, an end to poverty, discrimination and homelessness and a society, where compassion, tolerance and understanding are the norm.
Ah well, one thing at a time yeah.
I'm outta here. Speak tomorrow.
Kcals expended 3,315
Kcals consumed 946
Calorie deficit 2,369
Deficit is a little on the high side, primarily due to a low calorie consumption. I wasn't overly hungry so didn't really eat much.
I'm outta here.
Speak tomorrow.
Kcals expended 3,959
Kcals consumed 1,432
Calorie deficit 2,527
Ate a bit more, moved a lot more. Another large deficit and yet I feel great. No hunger and plenty of energy. Good split of protein, carbs and fats and hydration and electrolyte intake is fine.
Lost track of my rest days, so with Wednesday already accounted for with a session booked I'm going to call it for Thursday.
Right, I'm outta here. speak tomorrow.
Kcals expended 3,479
Kcals consumed 1,720
Calorie deficit 1,759
Shouldn't have been a rest day but as I had to attend a clinic and would not be in a position to really train I moved it from Thursday.
Finally on the list to see a vascular surgeon but in the meantime full compression is the way to go apparently. Also got the green light to carry on training and exercising and the compression will actually help here. Increased blood flow means better muscle function, less tendency for cramping and improved recovery.
Ok. I'm outta here. Speak tomorrow.
Kcals expended 3,958
Kcals consumed 1,798
Calorie deficit 2,160
Another decent day and the 3rd 2,000 + calorie deficit this week. Is it getting easier? Heck no, I'm hungry pretty often at the moment so may experiment with my food types and swap the times around a little.
Ok, I'm outta here. speak tomorrow.
Kcals expended 3,810
Kcals consumed 2,966 How did that happen ?
Calorie deficit 844
Scotch has 55 Kcals per 25ml shot
Punk IPA has 145 Kcals per 330ml can
You figure it out.
I'm outta here, speak tomorrow