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Greetings and salutations to all my FS Friends! Another glorious morning in Illinois. 34F for my morning commute; yet it's supposed to be near 60F tomorrow. Can you believe that? This has been one interesting winter so far. Weighed in at 220 lbs. this morning; this means that I have essentially lost about zero pounds for the last two months - in spite of some pretty significant caloric deficiencies over the past two months. Yes, I know that I can pass the one or two pound increase off as a fluctuation here and there, but I am talking the average over the last two months is zero. I have basically been in the maintenance mode - in spite of huge caloric deficits, increased muscle tone, and I have significantly upped my energy expenditure. So what does all this mean? Well, I'm glad you asked.
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I have taken a step back and looked at the data. I have logged enough to know that I have enough data to draw some conclusions. First, it's not a problem with my RDI. Even if I go back and recalculate my RDI, based on the most sedentary lifestyle (which I don't have), It still calculates out to above 2200 calories a day. Since I burn over 3500 a day, that's not going to help me out. Second, I think there is something to the fact that my resting heart rate has dropped from about 80 to 65 beats per minute; that has to have had some effect on my metabolism. My body is not working as hard when I am at rest. So, I'm thinking, I have to get the heart rate up, more than 4 days a week. I've got to augment my off-days with some kind of aerobic activity that does not put stress and impact on the legs. And thirdly, and this one is going to take some more research, I think the foods I am eating play more of a role than the caloric deficit. I'm not ready to spring for "Beyond Diet", but I am pretty convinced that there are a lot of foods that go directly to blood sugar and are driving up insulin levels that make that food go directly to body fat. And this is happening whether I have a caloric deficit for the day or not. One of the reasons I was so successful in losing weight in years gone by, is that I was ignorant when it came to dieting. I would work harder, eat a lot less, and not eat hardly anything sugary and sweet, or greasy. And you know what? It worked. Now, I have to work out a plan that takes that experience, and what I've learned to date, and eat more intelligently. While I can't say that I have this all under control, I can say that, in the meantime, I am going to make a more concentrated effort toward eating fruits, vegetables, raw nuts, and protein. Even there, I have to be careful: almost every vegetable has a low glycemic index, yet broad beans have one of the highest GI's. I know I have a long way to go in understanding this strategy. For example, it's amazing that a snickers bar (though high in useless and non-nutritional calories) has half the glycemic index number as instant potatoes. It baffles me that a snickers bar is considered a low glycemic index food - in other words, does less to generate insulin and store body fat, than instant potatoes! Go figure. Oh well; I think this just begins another new adventure in the continuing saga of my life.
Diet Calendar Entries for 30 January 2012:
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2020 kcal
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Fat: 67.54g | Prot: 80.70g | Carb: 272.68g.
Breakfast: Non-Dairy Creamer, Honey, Instant Oatmeal - Plain, Coffee (Brewed From Grounds), White Grapefruit Juice (Unsweetened, Canned). Lunch: Diet Coke (Can), Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce and Meatballs, Toasted Garlic Bread. Dinner: Unsweetened Iced Tea, Ranch Salad Dressing, Grilled Chicken Salad (No Dressing). Snacks/Other: Wild Berry Fruit Crisps, Oranges, non dairy creamer, coffee brewed, banana. more...
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2536 kcal
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Activities & Exercise:
Driving - 1 hour and 30 minutes, Resting - 15 hours and 30 minutes, Sleeping - 7 hours. more...
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1 to 20 of 24
 Comments
Ok, while I wish you good luck in your dietary endeavors... instant potatoes? really? I don't know what your cooking habits are or can be, but instant potatoes shouldn't be on the list! Life is too short for dehydrated cardboard that tastes vaguely like potatoes. I hope you can find the right plan for you. The darker the greens the more nutrients, beans are AWESOME to add protein while being lower cal than some other foods, and aren't near as heavy as meats. If you're a documentary watcher, check out Food Matters and Fat Sick and Nearly Dead. Informational and inspirational-both! You and Keld are inspirational to me with your strides, and your sheer will to exit the bed before absolutely necessary! Happy Week DK!
30 Jan 12 by member: ZippyDani
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Either that or you are massively overstating the amount of calories you burn. What the heck is up with all this driving, desk work etc. 3500 seems like a big stretch. I know I am in no position to be making recommendations as you are the mentor and I am the mentee, but I say just record your actual exercise and your calc will make more sense.
30 Jan 12 by member: Rpalmst
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Well, I went in and took all the superficial stuff out of my exercise diary so I had 22 hours of resting, and it still came out to 3600 calories expended. I know I burned about 1300 on the treadmill yesterday. I guess I'll have to calculate for the basic maintenance mode and add the exercise, and then subtract a couple hundred calories from that.
30 Jan 12 by member: DairyKing
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Zippy, the potatoes were just an example that I picked off the chart. My wife is an old farm girl; I'm not sure she knows how to fix instant potatoes. :D I'm not throwing the baby out with the wash. I know that a person can lose as much as they want just following the Biggest Loser strategy: Drop down to 1500 calories a day and bust your butt. It works; but it comes back on unless you're a diehard athlete that is committed to busting your butt for the rest of your life. I'm just saying that, once you drop a significant amount of weight, there has to be more intelligent ways of taking it off and keeping it off.
30 Jan 12 by member: DairyKing
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You do eat a massive amount of carbs, in comparison to protein. I really do believe that carbs should be cut down. I TRY to get my carb and protein level, to the same amount of gms... It doesn't always work out... Usually carbs are slightly more. If my protein is low - like today - I had a double whey protein drink, to boost my protein up. Good luck - I think you are right to look at the "type" of food you are consuming.
30 Jan 12 by member: Sk1nnyfuture
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Thanks Sk1nny! I know, in my own world, that hi-carb foods and snacks are just too convenient for filling up a meal and snacks. I probably couldn't eat enough fruits,vegetables, chicken, fish and beef to put weight on, but that's another area in my life I am going to have to work on. I just don't know if I can take all this discipline! :D
30 Jan 12 by member: DairyKing
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I hear you, DK. I'm a lover of the carbs myself and I struggle with the protein thing myself. I do well on weekdays where I have a set pattern and know what foods to plug into my meal plan, but on weekends, when I don't play as close attention, I frequently fall behind. It's so much work to be thinking about these things all the time!
30 Jan 12 by member: gnat824
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You're right, Nat. I went back to my original post in Moderation Motivation "How to Calculate Your RDI", and I still come out with a 2500 calorie per day RDI for losing 1 1/2 pounds per week. I dropped mine to 2300 a while back to allow for error, but that has quit paying off for me. I really think there is a combination of things that all have to work together to keep the pounds coming off (almost anything works when you first get started). I think I'm going to do a few things differently. I don't think just dropping my RDI is going to do anything but drive me nuts. 1) I'm going to start eating more during the day than I do in the evening. 2) I'm going to divide my lunch out over the course of the day, so I don't have this huge sugar jump all at once that causes an increase in fat storage 3) more proteins and low GI carbs, 4) and at least 30 minutes walking, biking, or other aerobic activity on days I don't run. If that does the trick, those are things I can do for life, that will stay with me.
30 Jan 12 by member: DairyKing
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Rpalmst, you are right about all that extraneous stuff in the exercise diary. It isn't worth my while entering all that crap. When I took it all out, it didn't account for many more calories than the resting did. According to all the scientific calculations, I could eat 2500 calories a day, stay in bed 18 hours a day, 7 days a week, run 5 or 6 miles every other day, and still lose a pound and a half a week. How exciting!
30 Jan 12 by member: DairyKing
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And BTW Rpalmst; I think the reason my calorie expenditure is so high is because I'm an old fat guy who weighs 220 lbs. They don't put me in the "Clydesdale Class" at running events for nothing. Us Clydesdales tend to burn a lot more calories than 175 lb athletes. :D
30 Jan 12 by member: DairyKing
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Funny DK. Whatever the calorie counter that is telling you, you are burning 1300 calories running 6 miles must have something in the fine print about dividing by 2 that you are missing:) Isn't it like 100 calories per mile give or take?
30 Jan 12 by member: Rpalmst
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http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-304-311-8402-0,00.html
Total Calorie Burn/Mile Net Calorie Burn/Mile
Running .75 x your weight (in lbs.) .63 x your weight
Walking .53 x your weight .30 x your weight
BTW...how's your waist line? R u trading muscle weight for fat perhaps?
30 Jan 12 by member: jondspen
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Since URL got chopped off....
Runner's World Article
How Many Calories Are You Really Burning?
30 Jan 12 by member: jondspen
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You guys crack me up. :D I checked on Livestrong (not even going to try and put a url in here), and it says a 205 lb. guy jogging an hour on a 4% slope burns 1,564 calories. I run 1 hr. and 20 minutes on a 3% slope and burned 1250 or thereabouts. I don't think I'm that far off - and certainly not far off enough for it to be making the difference in my calorie deficit calculations. My calculations, FS calculations and my treadmill are within 50 calories of each other.
30 Jan 12 by member: DairyKing
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Do you have a heart rate monitor? I would think that would be the best way to calculate your calories burned, especially since you said your heart rate has dropped so much since you first started all of this - maybe a 3% slope isn't enough to get your heart rate up there anymore?? (P.S. - I think I would cry if I tried running at a 3% incline for an hour and 20 minutes - holy cow..)
30 Jan 12 by member: erika2633
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Well erika, my heart rate reaches about 160 bpm after about 20 minutes of running and pretty well stays there. I know that is well into the fat burning mode and maybe even the tempo run mode for me. Yes, it's true, it only took 30 seconds to get my HR up to 150 when I first started this thing, and yes, 7 years ago, my max HR was 194, but even taking all that into consideration, and using all the accepted formulas, I am exceeding the HR for what I am supposed to be able to do.
30 Jan 12 by member: DairyKing
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whoa..my bad...missed the 3% incline bit...who does that?
30 Jan 12 by member: Rpalmst
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The only thing I can figure out is that I must be a super being, and I didn't even know it. I just figured that couldn't be the case - since it hurt so much. Are super beings supposed to feel like they were hit by a Mack truck when they're done running? :) Guys, I probably have failed in some aspects of this dieting adventure, but I don't believe that the workouts that I do aren't expending the energy that I am claiming. Even if I only claimed 1/4 of the energy I am claiming that I expended, I would still have a caloric deficit.
30 Jan 12 by member: DairyKing
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Yeah Rpalmst. You would think that when this slavemaster, Jillian, ups the mileage for a long run by a mile each week, she would leave off the hills until I got used to it. Nope; she doesn't care. I guess the strategy is to make me hurt, and give me a week to heal, so we can be a little stronger and do it again next Sunday - with little 3 and 4 mile runs during the week. So far it's working; but each Sunday, I'm anxious about whether I can pull off the next increase.
30 Jan 12 by member: DairyKing
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That's insane...0.0% incline is where I top out!!
30 Jan 12 by member: Rpalmst
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