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Good morning!
<iframe src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:user:1141241474:playlist:1adx5lmUAoxYAXtUWeGDRL" width="300" height="380" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true"></iframe>
What a fun idea!
My buddy Cthulhu suggested that I supply a daily playlist with my journal.
I actually like the thought, but it would obviously be super time consuming. I do, however, have a LOT of fun playlists that I have already made, and lots of stuff that I listen to all the time. I'll be happy to share.
Today's playlist is the "new kid on the Spotify block", the one that we've all been waiting for... Led Zeppelin. The whole thing is there, every track that has been officially been endorsed and released by them.
This means that a few things, like the soundtrack to "The Song Remains The Same" and a few other tidbits are missing, but most importantly the original albums, a few compilations, the BBC Sessions, How The West Was Won and the new Celebration Day are all here.
Might I suggest that you connect your laptop/iPad/computer whatever you read this on to a proper stereo, and crank it up? It's bluesy rock'n'roll at it's very best, and it's made for proper speakers.
As I have stated before, I find the speakers in portable gadgets to be an insult to music.
Why? Here's why:
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Okay, let's get on topic here.
Yesterday was by far my most inactive day in a LONG time. I think I walked less yesterday than when I was in bed all day just after surgery. :)
Well, maybe not, but close. I didn't even make it to ONE kilometer, over the course of the entire day. I made it less than 1,000 steps. I never left the house, I barely left the recliner. It was GREAT!
Of course, there was then also little to no calorie burn, and I still went with my TDEE as my pointer towards my calorie intake.
I knew I would gain weight for today, and I did. I knew it would be a fat gain, and it is. I knew that I would be okay with it, and I am. It's all good.
Sometimes I need to remind me of my mission right now. My mission is NOT weight loss, but muscle retention. If I gain a couple of kilos of fat in the process, so be it - I want the muscle mass to stay as much as absolutely possible.
I'm doing reasonably well on it. I don't expect to be able to keep it all, but I want to limit the damages. Looking at stats over the last month, it's okay.
My daily numbers were getting very cluttered, with too much information. I found that it started to be too much of a mess, and too hard to read. Knowing all the saucy details of what I weighed several days ago is irrelevant. What is much more interesting in the long run are averages. THEY are what I can use, they are what will really point me in the right directions.
I'm planning on doing this for life. I'm planning on staying the course I am on now. There is no need to look at yesterday and tomorrow. I think it's MUCH more about living in the NOW, doing right TODAY. When I do that consistently, all days will be good. And when they're not, just make the next ones good, or compensate.
Average numbers will show me whether I am doing in the right or wrong direction. They will show me whether I need to change anything. They will show me what to do.
So I set up a spreadsheet. I have set it up so it will give me all the numbers I normally show, but also as an average of the last 7 days (1 week) and 28 days (4 weeks). I have ALL the date for several months back, but I honestly couldn't be bothered to enter it all. It's a LOT of numbers. So I just went one month back, and will of course enter new info as I generate it daily.
In two more months, I will make a "Three months progress" calculation also. This should be plenty to show where I'm heading.
Here are the numbers for today:
Weight:
Day after surgery: 82.4 kg
15.12.13: 82.5 kg
16.12.13: 83.1 kg
Average 7 days: 82.1
Average 28 days: 82.7
Bodyfat:
Day after surgery: 07.5% (6.18 kg)
15.12.13: 09.0% (7.43 kg)
16.12.13: 09.7%
Average 7 days: 10.5%
Average 28 days: 8.6%
Muscle weight:
Day after surgery: 72.5 kg
15.12.13: 71.4 kg
16.12.13: 71.3 kg
Average 7 days: 69.9 kg
Average 28 days: 70.5 kg
Fluid Percentage::
Day after surgery: 68.5% (56.44 kg)
15.12.13: 66.2% (54.62 kg)
16.12.13: 65.5% (54.43 kg)
Average 7 days: 65%
Average 28 days: 65.2%
Total Daily Energy Exp.:
07.12.13: 3379 calories
15.12.13: 3332 calories
16.12.13: 3335 calories
Average 7 days: 3268 calories
Average 28 days: 3294 calories
Abdominal fat:
07.12.13: 4%
15.12.13: 4%
16.12.13: 5%
Average 7 days: 4.9%
Average 28 days: 4.9%
What do you guys think? Is it easier to read and absorb?
Here are the things I read into today:
1. Weight is stabile. I am slightly heavier today then the averages, but that happens often. Nothing to worry about. There will be other days where it's lower. No biggie. I am working on the whole mental game of realizing that my actual, physical day-to-day weight is unimportant. Body fat is MUCH more important, but not on a day-to-day level. Everything fluctuates, so averages are much more relevant. Still, can't evaluate those without daily numbers.
2. Body fat is DEFINITELY up on the average numbers. Today, I'm lower than average. This is good, but the higher averages are a concern, but expected right now. I don't want to do anything about it, as this would require a calorie deficit. I can't take a calorie deficit right now, healing from surgery. I have so much more energy because of the way I eat now, and I don't want to be without it until I can go back to my old exercise and workout routines. I think it would be counter-productive in the bigger picture. Besides, the calorie deficit will automatically come when I up my activities in a few weeks. Sure, the added body fat is a concern, but not a concern for right now.
3. Here is a great example of how things can cheat when you don't look at averages, and how they can tell a different story. Yesterday and today, I have had muscles weight of 71+ kilos. However, on AVERAGE over 7 days, it is 69.9 kilos. And this is lower than the average of 28 days, where it is 70.5 kilos. Now, the 28 days average includes 14 days of training before surgery, and this should make a difference compared to the 7 days. Does that mean that my muscle mass IS decreasing a bit? I'm not sure yet, but it could be an indicator of this. Still, there isn't a whole lot I can do about it other than what I am already doing. I'm not allowed to work out, so I will just have to go with it, and get it fixed later. And of course, every day that I weigh in with numbers BETTER than the averages will pull the averages in that direction. (I hope that made sense)
4. Fluid measurements for today, for 7 days and for 28 days are all within 1%. It's all good.
5. TDEE is within 100 calories for today, 7 days and 28 days. It looks like I'm gonna stick to 3200-3300 calories in general when my TDEE is at the "Sedentary" activity setting. Once I get more active, I will STICK to this setting for a while and see what happens. If I keep losing weight, and I do my "regular thing" as exercise, then I will try upping it, either by changing the scale settings, or simply adding a factor to the TDEE. Maybe start by adding 5% to the number, or simply adding 200 calories. This will probably be the next experiment, but it'll take a while before I get there. First mission is to get out of recovery from the surgery. Once I am allowed to work out again, and can go full force, I WILL have to up my calories. I don't want to be in any kind of deficit for it. I want to move as fast as I can.
6. Abdominal fat is just as always. It shows 4 on the scale today. It doesn't measure in decimals, so 4 it is. The average for 7 days and 28 days are 4.9, which is still in the 4 category. Abdominal fat is NOT measured by percentages by the way. I didn't even think about it when I did the first numbers. I wrote % behind them. Well, they're NOT percentages. They are numbers on a 1 to 59 scale. So, I'm 4 of 59. The general rule is that your numbers are fine from 1 to 13, and if it is higher than that you should take action. It's a good indicator. So, 4 is just fine. Absolutely no worries.
Phew. That's a lot of analyzing. I don't think I'll be going this much in detail every day. :)
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So, what's in store for The King today?
Well, first off, I'm waiting for the nurse. She'll be here in a couple of hours to help drain fluid and rinse out under my stomach skin. Boy, does that sound weird. :) I can tell that I have a lot less fluid under the skin today, so it should be fairly easy.
It makes me wonder if this is due to inactivity? I had quite a bit of fluid yesterday, the day after we had been catering the party and I had been WAY too active. This might be a sign for me to slow down a little bit.
I will take notice of it and try to remain relatively still today. I can't be as lazy as yesterday, but I will not do any long walks and all that. I do have a few missions that I need to go do, but I will limit it.
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I will be dining out today, but it's all calculated and adjusted to ensure that the macros are right. It's a great time to experiment with this, as I learn quite a lot. It's a puzzle, and I tend to spend quite some time getting things to fit.
Generally, I find the "main feature food item" for the day first. The thing that I really want. Today, I want pizza. Pizza is actually pretty decent on my mission, when done with whole wheat flour. I love that we can get that here. It packs - with meat, cheese and all - a whopping 74g of protein. Sure, there are fats and carbs too, but they are all easily fit into my plan. I then build the rest of the day's foods around it.
Today, dinner will be at the local supermarket's cafeteria - they have a daily special with pork roast, potatoes and veggies. It will fit perfectly into my plan.
On top of that I will add a few protein shakes to make sure to reach my protein numbers.
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After dinner, I'm teaching my weight loss classes. We canceled last week, as I had just come out of surgery. Looking back, I could have easily done the classes, but I just couldn't count on it.
I'm looking forward to seeing the gang today. I miss hanging with them - they're a fun bunch.
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That's pretty much all I have going on today.
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Phew. It's another long, long journal entry. Can you tell I have a lot of time on my hands these days? :)
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Today, I'm thankful for:
- A great night's sleep.
- Morning coffee.
- Wife.
- Back to teaching!
Have a great Monday! Make this your best week ever!
Life is good!
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183.2 lb
Lost so far: 158.5 lb.
Still to go: 0 lb.
Diet followed 100%.
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gaining 9.3 lb a week
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