kingkeld's Journal, 10 August 2013

Good morning!

I'm sorry I missed writing a journal yesterday, but there were so many things to do, and I just couldn't find the time to sit down and write a proper journal entry.

Nothing REALLY exciting happened Thursday anyways, it was more or less the same old stuff...

My main mission was to stay low cal and low food consumation simply to ween down my weight a little for my surgeons' meeting Friday.

I think I succeeded very well. I ended up at 79.5 kilos. Sure, I have been lower than that before, but I it's all good. I am coming to terms with NOT chasing 76 kilos. It's okay.

I really see that there is no point. There is no point to having to struggle and fight to get there. I'm still building muscles, and it will be harder and harder to reach 76 no matter what I do.

I did a LOOP CHECK - getting all my stats - yesterday morning before going to the hospital. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had advanced in ALL numbers, except my metabolic age which stayed the same (and is still EXCELLENT!).

Here are the numbers:

Weight: 79.5 kilos
BMI: 25.7%
Bodyfat: 8.0%
Water: 66.7%
Muscle: 69.6 kilos
Bones: 3.6 kilos
Resting metabolic rate: 2090 calories
Metabolic age: 28(!)
Abdominal fat: 3.5%(!)

I gotta say I am proud of those numbers. I find it amazing that I have THIS much muscle, and this little abdominal fat. And it is so awesome to see a metabolic age of 28 for this 43 year old guy. :D

...

So, I went to the surgeons' meeting.

To sum it up: They were STUNNED!

The first thing that the lead surgeon said - even before hello - was: "Damn. You changed."

I can live on that comment alone for the next year, I think. :D

We talked about everything. They REALLY like the way I beefed up. They like that I lost the last couple of kilos, even if I am heavier than my lowest, and they are perfectly fine with me weighing what I weigh right now.

We talked about that it is NOT necessary for me to chase a lower number than where I am. 80 is a good weight for me, it looks proportionate and it is just peachy when it comes to the surgery.

They did an evaluation of my chest. After I have started working out on a more serious level, my chest has grown quite a bit. This gives me a new issue with the loose skin - the nipples simply sit too low. It's weird.

Of course this is in no way anything but a cosmetic issue, and there is no discomfort or anything in it, but it does look a little strange.

They took pictures of it, and they will bring them to the "big meeting" with the lead doctors and whoever else evaluate those things, to see whether they can get approval to correct this. So please cross your fingers for me. I really would like to get it fixed.

The trouble is, of course, that to get government funding on it, it has to be a somewhat serious issue, and not just out of vanity. I get that, and I agree to some extend. However, I would REALLY like to have this done to get a nice "Finishing touch" on all of this.

They - of course - also looked at the leftover loose skin on my stomach, and corrective surgery is even more needed now than before, so that one is 100% certain that I will have done.

Now I just wait for approval for the chest surgery and a date to show up for the whole thing!

...

So, since we had a good talk about the weight, the body re-building with workouts and all, and about realistic expectations to my weight in general, the surgeons and I agreed on this:

I AM OFFICIALLY NO LONGER IN WEIGHT LOSS MODE!

That's right! I am done! Finished!

I will simply focus on using my RDI giving by my food calculator depending on how much I weigh on any given day.

This will be a LOT easier than before. My new goal weight is 80. This is what I would like to maintain for now. I can easily do this without too much hard work, and without having to jump through too many hoops. It's a nice feeling.

...

I will start to rely a little more on the calorie burn estimated by my fitbit. Depending on my daily burn, it will suggest how much I can eat, and it looks like it gives a fair and realistic number, when I compare it to suggestions from my food calculator, from fatsecret, from yesterday's weigh-in at the gym. It all shows pretty much the same, so I think it's fairly safe to go with.

Obviously I will have a KEEN eye on the scale to ensure that I am doing allright.

I did a little bit of calculating. My fitbit has registered - over the course of two months - an average calorie burn of 3201 calories per day. It's surprisingly high, but when I think about it it makes sense. I have a BMR of almost 2100. I walk for five kilometers every day. I work out 3-4 days every week. I stand up for 7-9 hours every day. I walk everywhere, as we don't have a car. I do burn quite a bit, and it's not unrealistic, I think.

I'm not planning on eating 3200 calories per day, though. Are you crazy?!? LOL.

No, my food calculator suggests 2600-2700 calories when I weight less than my goal weight, and that is probably a good place to be. It will give me room for error and just other factors that might come into play.

So, the usual goal is pretty much the same. When I am heavier than 80 kilos, I can consume 2100 calories. When I am less than 80, then it's 2600 or 2700. That sounds fair to me, and easy!

I will still keep my Indulgence Day, where I can do as I please with a little higher calorie intake. I don't think it's as needed, though. With a higher everyday RDI, it's easier to NOT need it.

...

So, yesterday we went to celebrate, and I did great on the calories. I actually did it all AND stayed within RDI.

I had a light lunch, and of course no breakfast, and focused on spending my calories at dinner. Sure, I am higher in weight today, but it is not a fat gain. Guaranteed.

We went to "Bones", our favorite rib house. We had ordered pulled pork and ribs, with a baked potato, and the ice cream bar for dessert.

I had it all pre-counted, and was ready to go. It was all good.

However, when the food arrived, it was WAY too salty. I don't know what they did when they spiced it but damn...

I NEVER do this, but I had to return the pulled pork. It was uneatable for me. Gross. They were super nice about, and it was no issue. They gave me an extra serving of ribs instead. Nice.

Still, the amount of meat stayed pretty much the same, so I just added a little bbq sauce to my calculations and I think it compensated nicely. If I went over RDI, then it would just be with a tiny bit. No worries.

Of course, the large meal late in the day along with the extra salt made me gain weight today. I don't care. It was great food, and I know what's going on.

I will STILL have my Indulgence Day today, though I don't really have any cravings for anything. Maybe is will be less of an Indulgence Day and more a "Relaxed about my food"-day. We'll see.

Wife and I will go out for our usual little Saturday buffet, but I don't feel overly hungry and probably won't eat too much.

I have no cravings for candies or anything, and I might not consider them at all today, even if I am allowed.

What I DO feel bad about is that it is raining kinda hard. Too much for my one hour walk that I always do. I might end up missing out on that, and thus NOT meet my calorie burn today. Boo. Still, it's a great day. It's Saturday. No work. No commitments. Weight goal reached yesterday. Hanging with Wife all day, catching up on movies. We're WAY behind. :)

If the weather clears up, I'll go walk, or I might go use the elliptical at the gym later. Or just get on the stationary bike here at home. No promises though. I'm lazy today. :)

...

Today, I'm thankful for:
- DONE WITH WEIGHT LOSS!
- A great surgeons' meeting that went WAY beyond expectations.
- "Wow. You changed".
- Wife
- The best cup of coffee in ages.

Life is good!

178.1 lb Lost so far: 163.6 lb.    Still to go: 0 lb.    Diet followed 100%.