Good morning!
Yesterday was an interesting day, weight/weightloss wise.
First of all, I messed up.
Second, I compensated.
It was hard work too, but I did it, and came out okay in the end.
So, what happened?
The sugar cravings happened, after an episode of stress.
I have no idea where the stress came from, but it did. It just came from out of nowhere. No real identifiable trigger or anything, and BOOM - there was the sugar cravings. I ended up acting upon them, even if I knew I shouldn't.
So, being really annoyed with myself, I decided to walk it off. Which was a LOT of walking! :)
I didn't FULLY compensate - but I ended up having calories in and calories out even out, so there was no damage. Just the setback of a day with nothing accomplished.
It took me 22,000 steps to do this - pretty much walking all day.
...
I was VERY anxious of today's weigh-in. Which is silly. What I did yesterday wouldn't necessarily affect today's weigh-in. That depends on so many other factors.
I was happy to see that the weight actually dropped - DROPPED - by 1.5 kilos. There wasn't any carb/water build-up/retention.
As a matter of fact, the opposite happened. I'm down mostly water.
...
I had an interesting discussion on the IIFYM page on Facebook.
Everyone there seem to agree that scales aren't the way to go when it comes to measuring body fat percentages.
It seems that "the pros" prefer the good old body fat calipers.
I have to admit that I have never tried one, and generally don't believe in knocking anything I have never tried, but I have a hard time seeing how accurate these are.
Doesn't it all depend on how you measure? Where do you measure? If I pinch the skin on my body, I can find 15 places that would give a different output. How will this be more accurate?
I find it impressive that the TANITA even dares to give a reading for not only the entire body, but also individual limbs (left arm, right arm, body, left leg, right leg). Surely they base this on something, and don't just grab random numbers from nothing.
To me it makes much more sense to shoot a current through your body and measure from that. What the TANITA scales do makes sense to me.
Of course I got curious, so I have ordered a set of body fat calipers. I wanna see how different the measurements are.
The discussion came up because I mentioned that my scale as an average of 7 days gives me an estimated body fat percentage of 15%.
I don't look like I am 15% body fat. I completely agree with this.
There is a great picture to evaluate how much body fat is on your body, and I look nothing like the 15%.
If you ask me, I'd say I look like I'm somewhere between 20% and 25%.
There is one catch in this though. The massive weight loss. The loose skin.
I completely agree that for MOST people, this chart is a reasonable indicator. There are still many factors to consider, such as muscle mass, but it's a good indicator for a well trained, muscular body.
And still, low body fat doesn't indicate the looks in the picture unless you have the muscles. Check out this:
Quite a difference, isn't it?
The issue for me is that I have the post-weight loss loose skin. Of course, I have had surgeries to correct the worst parts of it - the loose stomach skin was unbearable, and I am more than happy to have that fixed. It was downright ugly.
However, I still have - and probably always will have - loose skin everywhere. I will probably never have a sixpack, or even a fourpack. I will never look like the muscular guy in the 10% vs 10% picture.
But I will be in just as good shape.
My thing though, how do I then accurately measure my body fat percentage?
I've been trying to find photos of people at low body fat percentages AFTER huge weight losses, but all I seem to find are pictures of people with loose skin, nothing having worked out, and not having had surgery to remove excess skin.
Either that, or pictures of people who look nice and tight, but really didn't have all that much to lose. They were overweight, maybe obese, but they didn't have to lose half their body weight.
It's really hard to find good examples of this.
...
On the other hand - does it matter? Does it matter if I know my body fat percentage?
Well, yes and no. It won't make me feel better or happier knowing it. But being a numbers nerd, I really like to track this - and I hate the thought of tracking a number that is wrong.
I found compelling evidence that the TANITA scales are pretty accurate. And I found just as much saying that it isn't. What's a guy to think?!?
Anyways, I have ordered the calipers, and I will do a comparison when it gets here. It'll be interesting to see the difference.
Regardless, I have no doubt that the TANITA scale is a great tool for me. It gives me a handful of numbers that I can use to measure progress and trends.
It motivates me. It keep me focused (most of the time). Bottom line, this is what matters. :)
...
In a few minutes, I'm gonna go for my walk. It's a cold morning, so I gotta dress a little warmer than usual for this time of year. It was a super sunny day yesterday, and it will be today too. Since there are no clouds, it will be a cold morning.
After that, I'll hit the gym and do my workout.
I'm certain that it'll be a rough one today. My legs are still a little tired from yesterday, and that makes it rough. Still, I want to go, I want to do this. No excuses. :)
...
I was seriously considering skipping my doctor's appointment at the hospital this coming Friday. I mentioned it in my journal from Monday, I think.
I'm embarrased that I gained weight. Very embarrased. I should be better than this.
Of course, there has been a lot on my plate (pun intended) lately, but it doesn't matter. I shouldn't gain weight, period.
Still, I'm gonna go. I gotta keep myself accountable to my actions. If they tell me off (which they won't) so be it.
This is - I think - the very last visit with the hospital. They are basically just gonna check the scars and see that everything is fine. Everything IS fine.
I am 100% certain that there is no damage from the gain I have had the last few months.
In fact, looking back at my numbers from before the surgery, I'm only about 4 kilos heavier today than I was on average the weeks before surgery. Seriously, it's nothing to whine about.
My only thing in it is that I KNOW I am better than this. I know that I am better than losing control like this. I KNOW I can look better, feel better and BE better.
This is what I'm working on, and what I want to accomplish.
...
Lately, I have been very tired. VERY sleepy. Much more than usual, to the point where I have had to take a nap a few times. I never take naps.
I'm not sure if this is the heart medicine that maybe affects me, or if it is something else. It could also simply be the calorie deficit that is too large.
I've been going low on my intake (well, not yesterday! LOL!), on the days where I don't binge. It might be a tad TOO low. I'm not sure at all.
However, the numbers I get from my spreadshee - for a 1 lb weight loss per week - is that I right now can't consume more than 2700 calories, and can't go lower than 2000.
This has made me aim for 2000. I can't help thinking that I should probably aim for the 2700, and just ensure to not go lower than 2000. 700 calories of energy can make a hell of a difference.
Today I have all my meals planned, all my macros met, and I end up at 2300. There is obviously no point in going higher if everything is good and I feel energized, but I think it's smarter to USE the calories I have available instead of going for too large a deficit and then fail.
...
Since I am done with the hospital, have no further surgeries, and already look and feel great, all I need is to just to have a nice and slow weight loss. I have absolutely no rush, it's just minor tweaking.
I'm generally happy with my weight as I am. Physically, I feel fine. It's just the mental thing of going a little lower on the numbers. It is important? No it isn't. It's just a matter to tweaking and doing better.
If I end up with a 200 calorie deficit daily overall, it would be just fine. If that would make it accomplishable EVERY day, then it would be perfect.
Assuming my fitbit gives me a reasonably correct calorie burn estimate, I could simply go for 2800-3000 calories daily, and just enjoy life - and still slowly lose weight. I would lose ½-1 pound per week, and after some months I would be right where I want to be. That would be good enough, wouldn't it?
I think a lot of it, if not ALL of it, is a mental game for me.
I know I can drop a kilo or two from day to day if I put my mind to it. I do it all the time. Of course, it won't be a fat loss. It'll be fluid.
When I focus and lower my calories significantly, I see a large drop. Less food in my intestines, fluid drop, etc.
When I mess up, it goes the other way, obviously.
Those fluctuations will always be there.
At the same time, I feel stronger than ever before. I think I am still building a little muscle. This is a very slow process since I am in a calorie deficit. Not much excess energy for my body to build muscle from.
And still. I see progress in the gym. It's slow, but it's progress.
...
I really like the 2800-3000 calories daily thought. It isn't even all that hard work to maintain that calorie burn - and as I build muscle and lose fat, it will be even easier.
...
Today, I'm thankful for:
- Wife!
- A pretty good night's sleep.
- Gym today!
- A day with not all that much stress.
Life is good!
