Good morning!
Now, I don't know about you, but in a way I can help laughing and at the same time being bothered when someone describes me to a T in his blog.
It's not me he's writing about, but just a general describtion. But when I read it, it was pretty damn close.
I'm talking about this:
http://www.jcdfitness.com/2009/10/the-former-fat-boy-syndrome/It's a pretty good read, and I can definitely relate. I would recommend you reading this, whether you're in maintenance or in weight loss mode. It's a lot of good thinking on something we'll all need sooner or later.
I was pointed to this article by one of the "FatSecret Fitness Gurus" in my community post from yesterday. I got a lot of great info there, and I appreciate all the input from you guys - also those who commented here, and the few in my inbox. Thanks!
Of course, I have been thinking A LOT about this. I need to work it out, and I do see where some of the kinks in my general approach to it are. Fortunately, I also see that I am not doing all bad.
One of the things that essentially makes it HARDER for me to do this is my LOW CAL days of 600 calories. They bring the general calorie demand for the other days up high. Very high. Indulgence Day level high. Pretty much for 5 days per week.
That's a lot of food, and it's something that I am mentally not comfortable with. However, I also see that our bodies are engines that need fueling, and enough of it. No fuel, no drive. Right?
So, as I am essentially not interested in losing any significant amount of weight, the beforementioned blog suggests that I "get over my fat loss" mentally, and accept that if I want to build serious muscle then I have to accept that I will gain weight -
and that some of this weight WILL be fat! If I want to gain muscle weight, then the fat will need to be there occasionally, and that is apparently just the way it works.
I can live with that. Actually, I think I came to terms with that yesterday, after I realized that I might not have enough fat on my body to actually get the fat loss that I am looking for. It's an impossible mission.
So, the logical choice is to NOT lose fat but build muscle. Or just say I am happy where I am, and move on. However, I feel that I can still get better, I am enjoying my level of health, I am enjoying gym and the walks.
I do realize that it's probably not sustainable to walk every single morning for a full hour. It's probably not sustainable to go to the gym 5-6 times per week. Not for all eternity. But then again, why not just go as much as I can possibly get to - especially as I like doing it and I actually benefit from it both physically and mentally?
I'm loving my walks - and I am loving Spotify! I get to hear a lot of music that I can't really get to dedicate to anywhere else. I would hate to miss out on that.
So... what to do?
Well, it's a shocker that I am up a kilo today. I consumed 2600 calories yesterday, according to the plan that I set for myself. It's a tough cookie to swallow, allowing me to eat all that, and seeing that gain.
I had a large breakfast, and okay 2nd breakfast, a very nice lunch, a protein bar, fruit, a nice hamburger steak with butter-fried onions for dinner, and low cal ice cream for dessert! Damn! I haven't eaten like this on a week day in ages! Still, this is what is needed for a maintenance of what I burn, and I'm not even sure I am nearly there! This is for an average of 2200 calories per day. It's actually low for the estimate of my calorie burn.
Obviously, when I eat such an amount of food, other things than fat gain happens. I don't believe there was a fat gain at all. However, my body needs to process the food. That takes time. I can't just eat yesterday and expect to go #2 this morning and it's all good. Also, I am sure there will be water retention and other things happening, just like after Indulgence Day. It's the same thing. So I just have to wait and see.
Nimm did adress this in the forum talk. He did warn me that there WILL be fluctuation, and to not panic. I know all about fluctuations, and they are frickin' scary! I hate them. However, I can also understand why they happen.
So I will try my best to just be okay with them.
Both Nimm and the beforementioned blog emphasizes that CONSISTENCY is key in this. I need to dedicate to what I want to do. Give it a few weeks before I toss it to the side, before I panic because I gained weight, before I just move back to my safe zone.
This is DEFINITELY out of my Safe Zone. The thought of gaining weight is terrifying to me. I don't want it. I won't ever want to be 90+ kilos again. Hell, I don't even want to be 80+ again, but I think I'm gonna have to just accept that I'll never be below that more than a moment, if ever.
So 80+ it is. But hopefully not 90+.
There is, of course, another factor. The surgery that I just qualified for. To do this, I NEED to have a super low fat percentage. I can't let myself go, and I can't let myself gain any significant amount of fat.
I will have to watch this like a hawk. Obviously, this is tricky if I want to also follow the other advice.
However, I do think that long-term smart thing is to start working on bulking up muscle. I'm never gonna be the super body builder, and I'm not interested in that. I'm never gonna have a sixpack, and I'm not really interested in that. However, I do want to feel stronger and more fit, and do all the things I never could. That is the goal. I want stamina and strength.
I got the error on my scale again - the error that basically indicates that I am below 5% bodyfat. Now, several people pointed out that 5% bodyfat looks nothing like what I look like. They're obviously right. However, I do see two sides to that.
1. They are right. 5% is ridiculously low. An image on google suggests this:
http://i.imgur.com/15EAVda.jpg?1Looking at those pictures, I'd say that I am between 10% and 15%. That's how I look. My scale is most likely not very correct when it comes to these measurements and can probably not fully be counted on. However, it gives me a good idea about progress.
2. I have loose skin EVERYWHERE! The tuck-in around my waist can't possibly fix everything. No matter what I do, I will NEVER have tight skin that clings to my body like the the 3-7% pictures. It won't happen, unless I have everything tightened up surgically, and I'm not THAT desperate.
So, even if I do look "chubbier" than 5%, I think I am lower than 10. I hope this makes sense.
I no longer feel fat. I feel strong and full of energy - when I eat what Im supposed to. I felt the fatigue when I did the weeks of 600 calories. They sucked. Now that I am back to eating more and better, I feel MUCH better. I know that depriving myself is not a solution at all. Sure, it'll knock off a few pounds - including fat - but it is totally not worth it.
So... I can see I'm babbling. Mind if going into overload mode and I am losing grip on what I'm trying to say. lol.
My point is this - I want to maintain at the super low fatpercentage that my scale suggests. That number is good enough for the surgeons to work with, and it's good enough for me.
This brings me to my strategy:
(EDITED FOR CLARITY!)
1. Slowly work my way to a calorie maintenance, or minor surplus. I will rise my intake by 200 calories per day for three weeks, evaluate, then rise again if necessary.
2. Maintain my 600 calorie days.
3. Maintain my Indulgence Day, leave it at 3500 calories. When (if) my daily calorie intake gets very close to Indulgence Day levels, I will eradicate Indulgence Day.
4. I will eat proper food every day. "Bad food days" can only be on Indulgence Day. The rest will have to be "real" food. If I can't reach my RDI, then I need to supply with protein shakes/bars or other.
5. I will allow myself a piece of cake or the like, if I feel in total control of it. I can't buy it myself, we're only talking about "work cake" etc. This has to be the exception to the rule, not a daily thing.
6. Don't Panic!
7. I will back off on the calories a little (after 3 weeks) if I see things going haywire. I will give it proper time to settle first though.
8. DO NOT PANIC!
...this is by far the scariest part of my weight loss journey.
Simply being at a calorie deficit is a walk in the park (literally, too!). This is where it gets tough, I feel. Sure, it's nice to be able to "eat what I want", but the mental side of things is fierce.
...
So today will be a good day!
I will do good. I will enjoy my 2675 calories. I have entered all my foods for today, and I still have over 900 calories to go. The "don't just eat to reach your RDI" no longer applies. I guess I'll have to shop for protein bars/drinks today. lol. It's such a weird feeling to have to do that.
Today I'm thankful for:
- All the input I got from everyone yesterday! Thanks!
- Planning ahead!
- A long, but good day at work.
- Wife helping me SO MUCH working all this out - and taking all my babbling about it with a (slightly overbearing) smile.
Life is good!