The Six Pack Challenge - accountability thread

[Jon]

Macro insight

Had a great insight yesterday, as a result of using LoseIt!: check your Macros! This term was always a bit vague and opaque to me before, but essentially, it means checking your carbs/proteins/fat intake. LoseIt! gives all this nutritional breakdown in great detail: by food, by day, by meal, trends and so on. Amazing data if you enjoy drilling into this sort of stuff.

After a bit of Googling, for someone of my weight I need 130g to 180g of protein per day if I am weight training and wanting to build muscle. Well, this is where the surprise came. Last weeks average daily protein intake was about 60g. I was shocked! I had no idea that I was utterly deprived of the amount of protein my body was needing. Previously, I always considered myself a "hard-gainer" when it came to putting on muscle mass. It was always difficult. But perhaps the biggest culprit is having less than half the amount of protein that I should have been having!

So, new changes to implement are:
- always two tablespoons of protein powder in morning superfood take instead of just the one on cardio days.
- 4 tablespoons protein shake in the afternoon instead of other snacks.
- protein bar after meal late in the evening, instead of chocolate bar
- learn all the protein amounts and calories in one chicken breast, an egg, my protein bar, my protein shake, tuna and steak. Put them all in Supermemo to lock them into my mind.

As you move further down the road to a new vantage point, you discover things you never knew you would discover. Onwards and upwards!

One last thing, having gotten to my local Costa coffee shop at 9:20am today, it is so much quieter than when I normally arrive around 11am, which is essentially peak time. Choice of nearly any table. I like it!

 

[Jon]

Monday's protein was 66.1g. But then I had the insight that I should go for 130g+ protein per day, as outlined in my earlier post. And after making diet modifications, my Tuesday protein intake was 121g. Progress!

Another thing, is that last week when I did a swim, I had to keep track of the lengths I had done in my head. Half way across the pool, I would be thinking, "Right, that is 15 lengths so far. So at the end of this length, I will be on 16. Or was it 14? Was I on 11 lengths the previous length?" It was exhausting! Today, I found my Fitbit Versa can track the lengths and also the metres swum! Makes it so much easier and more relaxing.

Did the sauna too. I am routinely doing 3 saunas per week now.

 

[Jon]

This week, my average getting up time was 8:07am. That is an improvement on the previous weeks, which was 8:29am. Progress!

Also, since trying to up my protein intake this week, I have noticed I am a) feeling much fuller, and b) eating significantly fewer calories. The protein seems to stuff me up! I have read about this before, but now I have actual data to back it up. Yesterday, I was 781 calories under my target, which probably put me about 1,381 calories under what I would need to maintain my weight. Yet, I felt full all day! So, if you want to lose weight, double your protein intake.

 

[Jon]

I'm now down to 13st 11.3lbs, from 14st 4lbs. It looks like I will reach my 13st target significantly earlier than anticipated. I've lost 1.6lbs per week for the last 2 weeks. I put that down to monitoring carefully with Loseit!, but also because upping my protein intake is making me feel satiated. I will take this learning into the next week.

In order for me to get to 12% body fat, I will need to get to about 12st 4lbs. I have decided that is my new target. But I am looking at this in 2 stages. Stage 1 is getting to 13st, which was the original goal (18lbs loss). Then Stage 2 is 12st 4lbs (extra 10lbs loss). That will give me the six-pack. Before I undertook this exercise, I was unsure what weight I would need for the six-pack. But once I found the online calculator, it gave me the target figure.

[Edit: Wow, I've just realised that means I will have lost 2st (28lbs) by the end of it!!]

Another insight I had this morning, is that in LoseIt! I can look at a chart for the previous weeks calories by day. If I see a day where my calories are particularly low, I can dig into that day to see what I ate. Then, I can just replicate that days food more often. Simple!

Success=repeat what works.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I would join in this thread but I don't have a six-pack. I have a keg.

 

[Jon]

Most people have a keg. I started with one. But currently, me = keg - part of me.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Actually, I don't have a keg. I have a hump because I'm part camel. But one day I twisted around too fast, the hump slipped, and now it is in the front.

 

[Jon]

Time for an update, since it has been one month since I started.

I am currently 13st 10.2lbs. That means I have lost 7.8lbs so far, with 10.2lbs to go before I reach my initial goal. My body fat percentage has gone from 23.7% to 21.7%.

I also set a blood pressure goal. It was 126 systolic and 83 diastolic when I started. That concerned me because 126 systolic is getting a little high and 83 diastolic is technically high blood pressure. So, I decided to check my BP once a month. Tentatively, I got my BP machine out this morning and revved it up. I was nervous about the results. To my astonishment (and relief), it was 113 systolic and 71 diastolic!! I thought there must be a mistake. I checked my right arm instead, similar result. Then re-checked my left arm. So, following my protocol in the last month, I have had a 13 point drop in systolic and 12 point drop is diastolic blood pressure. This was a real surprise. Last month, I was Googling what impact weight loss has on BP. I wanted to find an average drop in BP per lb in weight lost, so I could estimate and project my future BP. Best I could find was a 10lb drop in weight could move the needle 3 to 7 points on systolic (from memory). Anyway, I am over the moon at my result.

I'm letting out a sigh of relief as I tuck into my full-fat cappuccino.

 

[Jon]

A significant milestone for me today: I am now 13st 8.6lbs, which means I have lost 9.4lbs since I started. That means I have passed the halfway mark of my initial goal. Also, I am the lightest I have been for nearly 5 years. Yay! I notice it in the mirror too. I am the incredibly shrinking person.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

OK, I'll bite... how did you set your goal? I.e. what factors went into choosing some particular target weight as the goal?

My long-term goal is to lose between 15% and 20% of the highest weight I have ever recorded at my doctor's office. A physician friend of mine told me that if I could do that, I could reverse some diabetes effects and could avoid becoming insulin-dependent. I'm at a plateau but I have changed my diet again to reduce the number of midday snacks. I'm still keeping up with the exercise habits of 3 miles walking per day if the weather permits. The Weather Channel "localized radar" web site is my real friend in that decision because I can see when a break is coming in the rain and can guess when I will have the 70 minutes (approximate) that I need for that 3 mile walk. My best time ever was 57 minutes, but as my joints get older (along with the rest of me), I have to allow more time just in case I can't manage the really fast pace. Since I am rapidly approaching my 71st birthday, I have begun to realize that my really fast walks are going to become rare events.

I learned in the past that I cannot ever succeed in a crash diet because what happens is I suddenly reach this moment where I almost become a zombie and raid the 'fridge for anything edible in a really serious binge. I tell myself to stop, but the craving eventually wins. So I have to take tiny steps and adjust to each one. I am in the phase where I am losing inches but not mass - which means belly fat is converting to muscle somewhere and that much is good. But for me, weight loss will forever be a long-term process.

 

[Jon]

Doc, it depends on the motive behind asking how I set the goal. Is the real question, "How did you stick to it?"

 

[The_Doc_Man]

No, the motive for my question was because it appeared that you must have set a goal that was a percentage of something. The number appears to be something like 18 pounds. For example, why not round off to 1 stone - only two more pounds, right? Just curious. Mine was a percentage of my top weight.

 

[Jon]

Ah, ok. Yes, it was 18 lbs, but 20 lbs is not a stone. In fact, the Imperial system has 14 lbs as a stone. The reason I chose 18 lbs was because it would make me 13 stone - like you say, a nice whole number. But if you are operating from just a lbs point of view, as you do in the US, then it probably makes little sense. Change the unit, get the insight.

I chose 13 stone because about 7 years ago, it was the lightest I had been for a long long time. I was trim and feeling it. So, I figured if I could get there, it would be a great achievement. Now that I am already halfway there, my goals have expanded somewhat so it is just classed as Stage 1. Prior experience tells me that 13 stone on me equals 17% body fat.

I just got delivery of my second set of weighing scales today. It is fun using them, because they measure 13 different variables (however inaccurately) and track it over time. I bought the Renpho rechargeable scales from Amazon. They only cost like £37, and they are much cheaper in the US. It uses bioimpedance to estimate the different variables like body fat percentage, hydration etc. Throw in a bunch of algos and it spits out lots of biometric data. Fun!

 

[Jon]

At the end of each week, I am doing an analysis of what happened the week before. It helps me iterate improvements - kind of like a feedback loop mechanism.

Here is one I have just done:

 

[Jon]

A few things of note this week.

Firstly, my average getting up time was 7:49am. That must be the earliest week for about 12 years! I am finding I am knackered by 11pm now, since my body has re-adjusted. Leaving my phone in my office rather than bedroom has helped me get to sleep much earlier too.

Secondly, I have an injured shoulder. I tried to plough through it last week, but my bench press has made it worse! There is a horrible clicking feeling in there. So, I am skipping the weights until it gets a bit better. Replacing it with cardio instead. I also skipped the swim on Wednesday because it was hurting.

Thirdly, I think my LoseIt and Fitbit apps are overestimating my Basal Metabolic Rate. I am averaging about 500 calories per day under what my target calorie intake is, and that target calorie intake is about 500 under what my estimated daily calorie needs are. So, I am 1,000 calories per day under in total. At that rate, I should be losing 2lbs per week, but my data shows I am losing about 1lb per week. Therefore, I can only conclude that the apps are out by 500 calories per day. i.e. if I hit my target calorie intake they suggest, I wouldn't lose any weight at all!

I am wondering if I can edit my daily calorie needs in the apps and what impact that would have on all the data. Perhaps I have a slow metabolism or something. It used to be fast! According to my 23andme gene test, I have a gene that tends to lead to being slightly heavier than average. It says that the average person of my age, height and with that gene is 219 lbs, while I am currently 191 lbs.

Lastly, I have done 4 days in a row with over 10K steps - my best ever.

It does seem a bit excessive, but each morning I am stepping on two different wireless scales. I think the new Rephno ones I got are perhaps fudging the other 13 variables it is supposed to track and I question whether some of the bioimpedance analysis they are doing is actually a con. There is talk of this on Amazon reviews. I have my suspicions that perhaps it does nothing at all!

 

[Jon]

Todays weight is 13st 7.9lbs, which means I have now lost 10.1lbs. Not long until I will have lost a complete stone (14lbs).

I am now the lightest I have been since I started recording my weight, which was Feb 8th, 2014. So, that is the lightest for over 5 years. Feeling pretty chuffed with myself, and get a surprise when I look down and wonder where my belly went! Still a long way to go, but I am now just over a third of the way towards my target six-pack. Regarding meeting my initial goal (now called Stage 1), I am 10.1/18ths of my way towards meeting that goal. Or, so it makes more sense, that is 56% towards my Stage 1 goal. At Stage 1, I will have approximately 17% body fat, which is considered lean and athletic. So, even if it takes me longer to go from 13st to 12st 4lbs, at least I will be "in shape" during that period.

 

[Jon]

Got a new update. I am now 13st 6.7lbs! I can't believe how fast the weight is coming off. That is 11.3lbs lost.

What is working well, is:

• Doing my morning walk. It was initially 24 minutes, but now I have increased that to 28 minutes.
• Parking my car some distance from my local Costa coffee shop. I have recently extended this distance by starting to walk in the opposite direction away from the coffee shop and doing a long route!
• Learning what days are particularly low in calories and just cloning that day. For example, I found that when I have this cajun chicken and salad for dinner and tuna and salad for lunch, I was typically about 1,500 calories less than my body needs. So on that day alone, I would lose 0.43lbs. Do three in a week and you have lost 1.3lbs just on those days! I couldn't have done any of that without my LoseIt! app.
• When I go for my walk, I am constantly projecting ahead what weight I think I will be by what date. I do a what-if analysis, based on expected weight loss per week, or if I have a bad day, what impact that will have and so on. I am calculating when I will have lost a full stone and when that will happen. When will I have reached my 12% body fat target, and more. Thinking about it often keeps my goal front and centre.
• Rarely have carbs with lunch or dinner, except dried fruit in my salad.
• Only allow myself a pain au raisin on a Sunday morning.
• Keeping Saturday and Sunday food intake similar to a weekdays.
• Reviewing once a week to see what I did well, where I went wrong, what insights I got and where I can improve. Then set goals for improvement in the coming week.

Essentially, I am way ahead of target. I expect to reach one stone lost (14lbs) in a couple of weeks, and then Stage 1 completed (18lbs loss) within 4 weeks. I feel lighter on my feet now and my clothes are starting to look too baggy on me!

 

[Jon]

Update: 71% of Stage 1 completed so far. Predicted to complete Stage 1 on March 19th, which would be 18lbs lost. Then Stage 2 starts, which is to lose another 10lbs. If I know I can do Stage 1 (18lbs), I don't see why I can't achieve Stage 2 too (10lbs). It is just a question of continuing what I am doing since I know it works.

Wednesday is my swimming day. I initially started doing 30 lengths, then 36 lengths, but today my new default is 40 lengths. 12 minute sauna follows.

My default morning walk has also gone from 24 minutes to 28 minutes.

Once I have completed both weight loss stages, it will be a miracle achievement for me, something I have never done before. I am an avid foodie, so to deprive myself for months in this area gives me confidence that spreads into other domains. My whole outlook is getting more positive as a result. This side-effect was not something I had anticipated, but I feel it already, even though I am just shy of half way through. As I have said before on this forum, change is about behaviour modification. If you manage to do it in one area, you have established a set of behaviours and tools that you can then use in another area. This is what I intend to do.

 

[Jon]

Hit a significant milestone today. I am now 13st 2.8bs, with a bit of help from a stomach bug this week. That means I have lost one stone (14lbs). That represents half way towards my ultimate goal of 12st 4lbs. However, I am not that far off 13st which was my initial goal. Only a few pounds to go. Still on target to get there by 19th of March.

 

[Jon]

Down to 13st 1.3lbs!! That is 16.7lbs lost. My app says I will be 13st in 6 days. I will celebrate with a great takeaway pizza from Tunbridge Wells, or get this fab cake from there. Then back to the diet again!

Can't remember if I said, but I am wearing 0.5kg (1lb) ankle weights when I go on my walk now. They are relatively light but they help strengthen my legs a bit more and burn a few more calories.

Oh, and my Fitbit said I did 13,154 steps yesterday. Must be my all time record!