Good morning, FatSecret!
Geez, I'm tired this morning. I slept bad. I'm such a creature of habit, and this affected my sleep.
Wife had a tooth pulled yesterday, and was obviously in pain after her painkillers had weened off. She did what she could to give me quiet through the night, but it just didn't really happen. She didn't go to bed until 1 AM, and I suck at sleeping alone, and I suck even more at sleeping if there is the least noise around me.
So, today I'll be in zombie mode somewhat, I'm afraid.
Still, it's not gonna keep me from my exercise, right? Rigth!
I am gonna be knocking on the door at the gym at 6:50 as always, but before then I'm gonna go for a 5 kilometer walk. I'm trying to do this daily now, at least the days where the weather permits it. It's an extra several hundred calories burn, and I find quite a bit of mental rest on those walks.
I get to hear new music thanks to Spotify, I get some fresh air - I usually go by the beach - and I just enjoy myself. And it's gorgeous view, the town when the sun comes up:
...
I'm starting to move down in weight, finally. I am down 700 grams today - quite a bit actually. This shows on the fat%, as it is up to a measurable amount today - 5.5%. Still ridiculously low, but at least now I get a number.
I would honestly have thought that I had a larger drop in weight after yesterday's 600 calorie day. Still, 700 is great. I can't complain. I do see that I am VERY spoiled with massive drops in weight. I am so used to seeing oftentimes several kilos from day today. Of course, they also come back at the same rate, but still. I get impatient.
...
I'm trying to get my footing on the maintenance phase. I have so many thoughts about it, and so many questions I need answered.
Of course, the most serious one is: How much will be "Former overweight person" penalty affect my RDI for the future? Is there a formula (I love to calculate, don't I?)? And if so, how many calories per day is it safe for me to eat?
I know, there is no specific answer to this. There are so many things that affect this. Exercise, general well being, muscle mass, weight (duh), etc. There is no answer other than to wing it and adjust as I go.
The other question - and I find that this is very relevant for me - is this:
If I am to really consume what I burn, and this lies around 2800 calories (maybe more with my added several walks - it could easily up it to 3000) - it is better for me to eat this on an average over the course of a week than to be lower?
The math on that is pretty insane. I really want to keep my two days of 600 calories. I feel that it keeps me humble in my calorie intake. It helps me from over stuffing myself, it helps me remember all that I have done. It's a good regulator, so to say.
However, if I am to consume 21000 calories per week, and only spend 1200 on the first two days, then I have almost 4000 calories left for the other days. DAMN. The is NO WAY I can eat that.
But should I?
If I do, then IN THEORY (and not counting the "Former Overweight Person Penalty), I should eat this to maintain weight. I should eat this to keep my body "happy" and running the MOST efficient. I should eat this to make sure I get all the nutrition that I burn on all the exercise. It makes perfect sense.
If we say that there is a supposedly 20% drop in calorie burning efficiency, and I go with that to accept the "Former Overweight Person Penalty", then the math is STILL insane. Then I will end up at 3120 on five of the weekdays. Still madness, I feel.
And of course, I can choose to just "wing it", and eat as I feel. If I am hungry eat. Eat What I want. Eat Consciously. Stop When I think I'm Full.
However, if I choose the latter, then I am guessing that I will end up around 2000 calories on most days, as long as I don't make stupid choices, and stupid choices are only allowed once per week.
This will give me a 7000 calorie deficit, and in theory I should still lose a kilo of fat per week.
Now, here is a conundrum, then. If my bodyfat is really around 5%, then my body has a total of 4 kilos of fat.
Then, as there really isn't any fat to lose, what happens? I assume my body - because of the dificit in calories - will start taking away muscle mass. I can't have that.
So what is the solution? Is it protein bars and shakes until I reach 3000 calories (or maybe even 4000) every day? It seems like an insane thing to do, if you ask me. But is it necessary?
What happens if I simply just keep working out. If I keep just provoking my muscles to grow bigger by working out, then surely they will. Training makes us stronger. But if they don't get the nutrition they need - simply because I can not eat 3000 (or 4000) calories daily then what happens? Will they simply not grow? Will I just get exhausted, but can I still keep going. Will I basically be working against my own well-being?
What do you guys think? I would be very interested in hearing about this from those of you who train relatively hard.
EDIT:
I have posted this question in the community forum! I would love if you would post comments on it there - this way more people can learn from this. Find the post
here.
END OF EDIT.
Interesting though, I never thought of this as training hard. Not really until I see it right now.
I think I need to fiddle with the calories burned websites today, learn something.
Anyways, it's time for my walk.
Today, I'm thankful for:
- A drop in weight. More, please!
- Being done with 600 cal days for this week. Proper food, here I come! LOL.
- Morning coffee!
- A lot to ponder upon.
Have a great day, everyone! Life is good!
