|
Ah... so THERE is the downside... the lack of sleep.
It's 3 AM. I've been up on and off all night.
...
My neighbor and his Wife picked me up at the hospital yesterday, and took me home. It was so nice of them to give me a hand, helping me carrying everything, etc.
I'm not really restricted on heavy lifting this time, and I am much stronger than last time, so I am capable of quite a lot, but I know better than to play Superman this close after surgery.
I keep telling myself to calm down and take it easy, but it's hard to do. I don't feel that lack of energy that I did last time, but I know I have to take care of myself.
...
I came home, and actually walked with Daughter to the post office to pick up one of the gifts for Wife that I have been waiting for. It's a stone throw away, and no biggie.
...
Afterwards, I got tired, though. Very tired. I could tell that I had used up the energy and I needed to rest.
Wife and I had arranged that I was gonna order food, as soon as she came home. She'd be tired after a long day's work, and she wouldn't allow me to cook, in order to take care of myself.
Fortunately, I think I'm feeling well enough that I could do a little cooking - I'll probably try that theory out today or tomorrow.
Anyways, I took a nap and slept really deep. Then Wife called. She was so nice to ask if she should walk over and get food since she was already out. I was so confused, sleeping deep and then having the phone ringing - I didn't even realize I was at home at first. It just shocked me, and I think I must have jerked hard, because my stomach was aching for hours afterwards. There is seemingly nothing wrong though, so there are no worries.
...
So Wife picked up food. I had my favorite pizza. A whole one. It was pre-calculated and accounted for, plenty of meat and cheese to meet the protein/fat goals, made with whole wheat flour to avoid the fast carbs. It was a welcome meal after the truly dull hospital food. I think I have deserved it.
...
Afterwards, we watched a few tv-shows, and then we were both ready for bed. I got my bandages fixed, and we went to bed. I was tired.
...
Then my back started nagging me again.
I've been up four or five times throughout the night, walking around a bit in the apartment, trying to calm my back down. It just won't let me.
I've taken pain killers. I've walked. I've sat. I've laid down. Nothing seems to do much.
So, now it's 3 AM, and I decided to just stay up. Sooner or later, I will fall asleep and get the rest that I need. For now, I get to write my journal and snuggle with kitty cat. It's not a bad morning at all, if it wasn't for the pains.
Actually, writing this, I realize that the pains are slowly calming down and going away. Still, I am in no way tired enough to sleep any longer. Still there is no point in going to bed. I will just end up waking up Wife, and I want her to rest. She needs it more than I do - she's going to work Monday. I'm not. I can sleep all I want, when my body asks for it.
...
I have no weigh-in to present just yet. First of all, I don't want to do any commotion in the bath room - to now wake up Wife.
Second, I want to do it right. I need to get undressed, get all my bandages off and all.
Third, I can't reach the handles on the scale on my own. I need Wife for this.
I'm VERY curious where I'm gonna end up. I am still in SERIOUS doubt about the high numbers.
Yesterday, the scale told me to have 3379 calories to maintain weight/mass. That's a LOT.
The scale is set to the lowest of three activity leveles, supposedly "Sedentary", so it's all set right. I double checked it yesterday.
I do think, however, that I will not go higher than that calorie number.
I have been thinking about it, and checking my stats.
It seems like the scale gives me a higher calorie allowance when two things happen:
1. I gain fat.
2. I gain muscle/water weight.
I do feel the need to distinguish, instead of just say "when I gain weight". You see, I have days where my weight is the same, but fat percentage is down and muscle mass is up. These days, I'm easily dealt maybe 50-75 calories more to consume to maintain weight. This, I believe, is important to understanding what is going on.
More muscle mass in a body requires more calories. This is the reason that my calorie burn supposedly is this high to begin with.
I'm gonna try hard to not freak out if my weight goes up by a few kilos, as long as my body fat percentage doesn't follow suit.
The idea here is to MAINTAIN my low body fat percentage - at least under 10% average - but to gain weight from mass. This being muscle, but of course water is a big part of that equation too. I can't gain muscle without gaining water. Those two factors are connected tightly.
I won't know more about this until I have done my weigh-in.
I know I am heavier. I ate a lot more yesterday than I have all week, due to prepping for surgery and due to the stay at the hospital. Yesterday was more like "revenge-day" than it was "indulgence day". :)
I stayed within my allowed calories though, and made sure my numbers were okay, within reason. This is something I'm still trying to get my footing on, and it's not as easy as it seems.
...
According to the body builder sites that I frequent, I need around 190g of protein per day, about 60g of fat, and about 260 of carbs. This site suggests a much lower calorie intake, 2400, per day.
Again, I am severely in doubt which numbers I should go with.
My spider-sense tells me to still go with the scale, and trust me - it's not because I get another 900 calories to play with. I really don't want them. All I want is to be able to stay at the right place to maintain my muscles throughout the healing process.
Again, let us see what the weigh-in says when Wife wakes up. And then the one tomorrow. I can't base ANYTHING on one day. That would be like measuring my success on one single Indulgence Day. It would be pointless, and make no sense. I need to give it a few days before I stop.
It's terrifying.
So, yesterday, I reached 195g of protein (of goal 190g), 165g of fat (of goal 65g), and 280g of carbs (of goal 269g). There is plenty of room for improvement, but it isn't all that bad.
I already know a few places I can adjust. One is obviously to NOT eat pizza daily. :)
...
An important key in this new game is that even with an RDI of 3000+ calories, it STILL has to be proper food. I can't just go crazy in sugars and whites and wing it to reach the numbers.
I actually have to be much MORE careful what I'm doing. I have to consider EVERYTHING. If I don't pick protein heavy things in every meal, I won't reach my protein goals. If I pick too many meats to reach my protein goal, I'll go over on fat. If I don't pick carb things, it's hard to reach my full calorie intake - and this is important in order to maintain mass - and at the same time we REALLY don't want to wake up the Carb Monster, do we?
Speaking of Carb Monster, he hasn't been around for quite a while. Good riddance. I'm not gonna challenge him to come back. Let's let sleeping demons lie. :)
...
Today, I'm thankful for:
- Wife and Daughter. They're such an amazing help in my recovery phaze.
- Kitty Cat. She's the best company.
- Post surgery. I'm glad I'm done. I'm glad I'm home.
- Pain killers. Numbing.
- Sunday. A day at home with Wife, with nothing to do.
- Radiators. I finally had to turn on the heaters in the living room. Winter really is here.
Life is good!
EDIT:
The numbers are in!
I'll write all numbers compared to yesterday. Actually, I think I ought to do this for a while, with the base day being yesterday and the current day to compare. Here goes:
Weight:
D.A.S.*: 82.4
Today : 82.9 (pretty much average of the last several months)
Bodyfat:
D.A.S.*: 07.5% (6.18kgs)
Today : 07.0% (5.80kgs - lowest in AGES!)
Muscle weight:
D.A.S.*: 72.5kgs
Today : 73.4kgs
Total Energy Exp.:
D.A.S.*: 3379 calories
Today : 3424 calories
Abdominal fat:
D.A.S.*: 4% (a first in a LONG time!)
Today : 4%
*Day After Surgery
Overall, the numbers are awesome. I'm up 500g body weight, and this could be from anything - including the pizza that I ate.
Also, this is the lowest body fat percentage I have had since early summer!
What is REALLY interesting is that I am DOWN about 38 grams of bodyfat. It's nothing, but it's NOT a gain, after consuming 3300 calories.
I will keep you posted on future developments as time goes. This will be a regular thing in my journal at least while I'm on sick leave. It's a bit time consuming to do this, but while I'm out from work I probably have nothing better to do. :)
Today's Total Energy Expendure is 3424. I will aim for the same 190g of protein, 60g of fat as yesterday. Carbs as I see fit, but with smart choices (read: restricted).
I'm a little in doubt whether it's best to aim for a set number of grams of fat, or to aim for "30% of your calories from fat". This would equal 113g of fat - almost double. Let's see where I end up today, and take it from there.
END OF EDIT. Life is STILL good. :)
|