2023 Fatass Thread of Dominance

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

Well, I’m 7 pounds from my July 4 goal. 

On the one hand, that’s a lot of weight to lose in 19 days. 

On the other hand, my trend has been stubbornly flat for the last three weeks — one week even had an increase in scale weight, which is an outrageous lie perpetrated on the scale by my body — so there has to be a lot of as yet unrevealed weight loss. 

It will be interesting to see whether one of those weight loss whooshes shows up in time — I think it should — to make my goal or not. 

[Macanudo 12976]

1 hour ago, Doc Daneeka said:

Well, I’m 7 pounds from my July 4 goal. 

On the one hand, that’s a lot of weight to lose in 19 days. 

On the other hand, my trend has been stubbornly flat for the last three weeks — one week even had an increase in scale weight, which is an outrageous lie perpetrated on the scale by my body — so there has to be a lot of as yet unrevealed weight loss. 

It will be interesting to see whether one of those weight loss whooshes shows up in time — I think it should — to make my goal or not. 

Right there with you.   I finally hit my June 1 target this morning.  Target was 250 and I weighed 249.0 when I got up.  I did have a knee problem two weeks ago that kept me off my feet for a solid 4-5 days.  I can't complain too much since I have lost 20 pounds in about 2 months.   Hoping to lose another 2-3 pounds before we go on vacation July 1.   We'll be on our feet and walking a lot for the trip so I should come back having lost a little as well.  My next goal is 240.   

 

[Macanudo 12976]

Got a notification that Myplate won't be available for IOS or Android after 7/9.   I also use the desktop version but it looks like it's time to switch.   I know there's discussion in the thread on food intake tracking site but I'm too lazy to go back and read through.  Any preferences?

[Lurch 5930]

Got a notification that Myplate won't be available for IOS or Android after 7/9.   I also use the desktop version but it looks like it's time to switch.   I know there's discussion in the thread on food intake tracking site but I'm too lazy to go back and read through.  Any preferences?

LoseIt is what I’ve used forever

[Js1 85311]

36 minutes ago, Lurch said:

LoseIt is what I’ve used forever

Like it much better than the others I’ve tried 

[Fudge Nuggets 19190]

On 5/24/2023 at 3:34 PM, Doc Daneeka said:

Well, hell, it can’t hurt to google that…

Which one do you have? I take it you’d recommend?

NordicTrak S22i.  I think they have a newer version but I don't know shit about it.

And yes, would highly recommend.  Based on my tracking sheet I just finished week 81 and haven't gotten bored with it yet.  Hell, I get grouchy and feel like shit if I skip a day.

[South Austin 52463]

Not a “fatass,” but I always like the information in these threads on exercise and nutrition. I have some heart issues in my family, and was worried about cholesterol creep over the past 5-7 years (I’m 48 now).  I just got my recent blood results back (first image), with a comparison to my last blood draw on November 30, 2011 (second).

I was exercising pretty regularly in 2021, although limited to at home workouts because I didn’t go back to the gym following the pandemic until September 2022. I think the main differences are (1) I’ve cut down on red meat, not a ton, but significantly from what I had consumed on a regular basis, and (2) I increased my fiber intake by a shit ton, like 30-40 grams or more per day, which includes lots of greens. I’m not sure what else it could be. Anyways, it was nice to see the numbers go way down.

Edited June 21, 2023 by South Austin

[Macanudo 12976]

Both of those help but the red meat was the bigger one.   The older I get the less red meat I eat.  I finally got the family used to substituting ground turkey in recipes that call for ground meat.       

[Storm the Field 5294]

Haven't weighed myself in months, but decided to hop on the scale this morning. 194, which is about 14 down from where I started back in January. 

More importantly, the way it's distributed has significantly improved. When I was at 208, I had to be at least 30% body fat. I'd guess currently I'm somewhere between 20-25%. So, I look at it like I've lost ~21 lbs of fat and replaced with ~8 lbs of muscle. 

Back to comfortably wearing size 34 pants, and some of my belts are now only useable on their tighest notch. 

Hoping to finally get down to original goal weight of 188 by Labor Day, but as long as I keep grinding, adding muscle and dropping body fat, I'm not terribly concerned with the number on the scale.

[YGIFS 19450]

Good point.  Sometimes it's the scale, sometimes it's the BMI.  But mostly it's just the fit of the old clothes that make a statement.  I hit a huge plateau awhile back and couldn't make or break.  And then couldn't sleep on top of it.  Which is apparently when we burn fat, according to the conspiracy lizards.  And my clothes were starting to fit a little tighter again.  But it's loosening up again in terms of fit even if scale is only like 2 pounds lighter.  Swimming and walking again so heart rate feels a bit better but that's more of a serenity move.  It's just fucking weird how the body goes in middle age.  Some shit has a massive shift on me, some massive efforts do nothing.  But man, I really didn't appreciate the importance of sleep on all aspects of my life until my early to mid 40's.  Who knew?  Also, I quit smoking crack, so that's something.   

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

Well, I made my goal at scale weight, which was my best shot, but not at my trend weight, which just wasn't going to happen.

I adjust my intake on Sundays to start on Mondays, so next Monday I'll start having a few more calories each week until my deficit isn't far from maintenance. We'll see what that looks like when Thanksgiving rolls around, but the current plan would then be maintenance through the holidays. Then, a very, very gradual increase to maybe 210 or so, depending on how clothes fit, etc. I think pants with a 34" waist and an IWB holster might be a little too much, so I might end up staying with 34s and 36s, but a notch or so tighter with the belt. Who knows?

[Lurch 5930]

Fwiw, Jeff Nippard discussed post-cut routines in one of his videos and concluded that a gradual increase in calories wasn’t beneficial. Rather he now jumps straight to maintenance plus 100-200 calories which he says tends to hold

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

It's beneficial to me not to see my weight jump right back up from having more food in my system. Been there, done that, didn't like it even though I knew why. So I'll gradually increase calories.

Edit: And I will still be in a deficit, just a small one.

Edited July 3, 2023 by Doc Daneeka

[Storm the Field 5294]

Damnit. Was planning to get a hard workout in this evening after 4th of July gluttony yesterday.  Bent over to tie my shoe on the way out the door this morning and tweaked a muscle in my lower back. This happens to me every once in awhile, seemingly at random. Not terribly painful, just gets really stiff and achy for 3-4 days. 

Gonna cost me a couple of days in the gym. I've learned my lesson about trying to lift when this happens. Last time I tried to rush it before it was fully resolved, I made it much worse and spent the next 24 hours in borderline agony, barely able to stand upright. Gotta be more disciplined about always making sure to do my full back stretching routine after I finish lifting.

[South Austin 52463]

12 hours ago, Storm the Field said:

Damnit. Was planning to get a hard workout in this evening after 4th of July gluttony yesterday.  Bent over to tie my shoe on the way out the door this morning and tweaked a muscle in my lower back. This happens to me every once in awhile, seemingly at random. Not terribly painful, just gets really stiff and achy for 3-4 days. 

Gonna cost me a couple of days in the gym. I've learned my lesson about trying to lift when this happens. Last time I tried to rush it before it was fully resolved, I made it much worse and spent the next 24 hours in borderline agony, barely able to stand upright. Gotta be more disciplined about always making sure to do my full back stretching routine after I finish lifting.

After a few occasional back injuries that would keep me out of the gym for several days, not only do I make it a point to stretch before and after a workout, but I wear a belt for any exercise where I’m putting pressure directly onto my lower back, mainly squats and shoulder presses. It helps a lot. That and focusing more on form and less on amount of weight.

[Hefeweizen 5311]

Well I’ve gone half a year and literally right back where I started, this past weekend.  I was right at 281 although the weight moved from my gut to chest and legs.  So, time for a serious change in lifestyle.  
 

Installed LoseIt to track calories as I know that is the issue.  4 days in I’m down 3 pounds but I expect that to level out shortly.  Targeting 245 by thanksgiving.  For reference I was 6 ft 5, 230 when I was in peak shape.
 

I’m turning fifty in a couple of weeks and my knees have decided being a fatass is not going to work.  The 12 hour intermittent fast seems like an easy goal to accomplish every day too.

[Lurch 5930]

Sounds like an aggressive but reasonable goal. I was in a very similar place (47, 260#) and calorie counting on LoseIt has worked very well for me. Personally I’ve not seen any added value in fasting for me. Sticking to my calorie budget is already sufficiently challenging that I’d be concerned about burning out by adding additional barriers.

[Hornius Emeritus 12457]

Seven days,  77,239 thousand steps. Outside, in the heat, at 61 years of age. Saw my resting pulse hit 49 BPM briefly in the middle of the night.

Fitbit is a cruel mistress.



 

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

2 hours ago, Hornius Emeritus said:

Seven days,  77,239 thousand steps. Outside, in the heat, at 61 years of age. Saw my resting pulse hit 49 BPM briefly in the middle of the night.

Fitbit is a cruel mistress.



 

I feel your pain. Apple Watch is not only a bitch, but has the gall to tell me to check my rings at 7:30 in the damned morning. 

That said, my Jawbones, Fitbits, and this watch have actually gotten me to do things I didn’t feel like doing because the annoyance of having not done them is, for me, worse than sweating under the July sun. It’s kinda like lifting weights: I don’t like lifting weights but I really like being done lifting weights  

 

[threesheets 1672]

I thought I had posted in this thread but I'm not seeing anything so I'll share mine.  I started in mid-November of 2021 with my weight at an all time high of 238.  Down 40 lbs to 198 as of this morning's weigh-in using a two steps forward, once step back kind of approach.  Food is a bastardized combination of keto and intermittent fasting- I usually eat one meal a day and avoid any sort of starch.  But I'll graze on nuts/trail mix or maybe a piece of fruit here and there.  It's the only thing that works for me, and I feel like 20 months in that it's a permanent "lifestyle change" for lack of a more overused/annoying phrase.  The only analytics I do is weighing every morning and logging it on a spreadsheet. 

Exercise has really just been been mid-day walks by myself and then evening walks with my dog.  Long ones though, usually around 3 miles.  I've recently started mixing in some workouts that I can do without much more than a mat, and it's surprising how much easier/more enjoyable that is after you've dropped a bunch of weight..  Most of all, I just try to never sit still.  

 

[UT_OB1 2218]

Has anyone had a cortisone shot in their lumbar for lower back pain?  I had one yesterday. Don’t feel any back pain, which is nice, but I also haven’t tried to pick anything up. 
 

I am however having some muscle…weakness?  I’m not sure how to describe. Started with my thighs yesterday.  After walking around a bit, I felt like I had done squats, and my legs were getting crampy. Last night and this morning my shoulders, tris, and back are doing it too from the pushing to roll over. Just a very weird sensation. 

[Texzilla58 4733]

The effectiveness of steroid shots in the back are wildly variable from person to person and from shot to shot and area to area. The side effects are many for lots of folks as is the duration of relief.

My wife has had numerous steroid shots in her back and the rest of her body thru the years. She has EDS and bad osteoarthritis, so her issues with the shots are very different than most. She has had a fusion of the L3 down to the S1.

Her back shots generally gave her relief for four -six weeks initially with reduced effectiveness as time went on. Her issue was her reactions to the steroids. Rapid big weight gain, extreme massive bruising all over, puffiness, extreme insomnia, other things.

[UT_OB1 2218]

1 hour ago, Texzilla58 said:

The effectiveness of steroid shots in the back are wildly variable from person to person and from shot to shot and area to area. The side effects are many for lots of folks as is the duration of relief.

My wife has had numerous steroid shots in her back and the rest of her body thru the years. She has EDS and bad osteoarthritis, so her issues with the shots are very different than most. She has had a fusion of the L3 down to the S1.

Her back shots generally gave her relief for four -six weeks initially with reduced effectiveness as time went on. Her issue was her reactions to the steroids. Rapid big weight gain, extreme massive bruising all over, puffiness, extreme insomnia, other things.

When I had flair ups (squats, picking up my kid, sometimes bending over wrong) I was in extreme pain trying to tie my shoes. When it was good it was still tight. Not tightness this morning. I’m hoping I can get back in PT and keep it away since I know the shot is 12 months at best, 6 months on average, and only 2-3 weeks for some poor souls. 

[Macanudo 12976]

Came back from vacation trip weighing two pounds less than when I left.   We were pretty active but I was able to eat decently healthily.   That was a nice thin to see as I used to eat (and drink) a little to the excessive side on trips.  

[Hefeweizen 5311]

About 10 days in and doing great with LoseIt.  Not really paying too much attention to the macros right now, focusing on calorie count but it is surprisingly effective to measure what you eat and realize portion size was absolutely the issue in my diet.

I am down to 273 going to 245.  Goal was November first, but app is saying mid October now.  We’ll see.  I don’t travel and don’t eat out much so should be able to control the inputs easily.

Snacking between breakfast and lunch has made it a lot easier to keep from feeling hungry.  I’ve just about eliminated processed sugar.

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

Now that I’ve met my first goal, my next goal(s) are more about body composition than weight, per se. That leads to issues for which I don’t really have a good answer and, in any case, probably don’t have a universal answer, anyway. 

Basically, I want to get rid of as much of the jiggly bits as feasible and add some muscle. Adding the muscle — or at least the process — is relatively straightforward… progressive overload, time under tension, blah, blah. The less straightforward part is what a realistic goal is for the jiggly bits for a relatively old man. 

I’m not at all interested in trying to look like a fitness model or jacking around with staying at 10% body fat. I’m very interested in Tex-Mex, Shiner Bock, and the occasional banana split. I’m wondering what realistic expectations would be for reducing (and generally maintaining the reduction) body fat, in general, and around the waist, in particular, for someone who will be able to make penalty-free IRA withdrawals later this year. 

At this point, the most realistic approach I’ve come up with is to target a relatively low rate of loss (.4 - .5 pound a week, let’s say) and vaguely ignore the scale other than as an indicator that my intake is in the right ballpark. Keep it up for a while (4+ months) while focusing on progressing with lifting. See if the unwanted fat is budging. Re-evaluate, hoping for progress but grasping that maybe the cruelty of time just means I’m limited in what I can achieve with the sacrifices I’m willing to make, and go from there. 

Thoughts?

[Js1 85311]

That unwanted belly fat and love handles are STUBBORN. Protecting too many vital organs 

[Macanudo 12976]

2 hours ago, Hefeweizen said:

About 10 days in and doing great with LoseIt.  Not really paying too much attention to the macros right now, focusing on calorie count but it is surprisingly effective to measure what you eat and realize portion size was absolutely the issue in my diet.

I am down to 273 going to 245.  Goal was November first, but app is saying mid October now.  We’ll see.  I don’t travel and don’t eat out much so should be able to control the inputs easily.

Snacking between breakfast and lunch has made it a lot easier to keep from feeling hungry.  I’ve just about eliminated processed sugar.

Snacking for me is the key.  If I keep it healthy it is really satisfying, keeps me full throughout the day and helps me stay on target.   I have reasonable lunch most days and then get in an afternoon snack of nuts or fruit as well.  

[Lurch 5930]

1 hour ago, Doc Daneeka said:

Now that I’ve met my first goal, my next goal(s) are more about body composition than weight, per se. That leads to issues for which I don’t really have a good answer and, in any case, probably don’t have a universal answer, anyway. 

Basically, I want to get rid of as much of the jiggly bits as feasible and add some muscle. Adding the muscle — or at least the process — is relatively straightforward… progressive overload, time under tension, blah, blah. The less straightforward part is what a realistic goal is for the jiggly bits for a relatively old man. 

I’m not at all interested in trying to look like a fitness model or jacking around with staying at 10% body fat. I’m very interested in Tex-Mex, Shiner Bock, and the occasional banana split. I’m wondering what realistic expectations would be for reducing (and generally maintaining the reduction) body fat, in general, and around the waist, in particular, for someone who will be able to make penalty-free IRA withdrawals later this year. 

At this point, the most realistic approach I’ve come up with is to target a relatively low rate of loss (.4 - .5 pound a week, let’s say) and vaguely ignore the scale other than as an indicator that my intake is in the right ballpark. Keep it up for a while (4+ months) while focusing on progressing with lifting. See if the unwanted fat is budging. Re-evaluate, hoping for progress but grasping that maybe the cruelty of time just means I’m limited in what I can achieve with the sacrifices I’m willing to make, and go from there. 

Thoughts?

Have you considered the traditional route of bulking then cutting?  The answer may not be so much of losing fat from where you're at, but rather building so much muscle that it's visibility is diluted.  Are you really at 10%?  Because, if so, HOLY SHIT MAN!  I'd say you'd be an excellent candidate for a bulking regime, wherein you'd actually be consuming ample excess calories to really build, knowing that later you can come back and target fat gained from it.  For me, this is my goal.  I want to get lean enough that such a program is justified.

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

5 hours ago, Lurch said:

Have you considered the traditional route of bulking then cutting?  The answer may not be so much of losing fat from where you're at, but rather building so much muscle that it's visibility is diluted.  Are you really at 10%?  Because, if so, HOLY SHIT MAN!  I'd say you'd be an excellent candidate for a bulking regime, wherein you'd actually be consuming ample excess calories to really build, knowing that later you can come back and target fat gained from it.  For me, this is my goal.  I want to get lean enough that such a program is justified.

I've been bulking and cutting. I don't mind the bulking but the cutting is starting to suck. I'm getting too old, I think, really to want to deal with that, on top of having been such a fatass for a while. It's not a yo-yo situation, per se, because my weight is going up and down on purpose, but I'm sort of burned out on doing it. I'm not sure if that viewpoint is permanent, but I think hovering closer to maintenance and seeing if a recomp can do anything at all would give me time to evaluate while still having an actual plan and maybe making at least some progress ion the interim.

No, I'm not at 10%... I'm saying my goals are more modest than that. I'm fine with "yeah, he definitely lifts and takes care of himself and, damn, what cool scars" rather than "holy fuck, that guy's jacked for an old man." I just don't know what kind of results are realistically achievable. I've never been this old before.

[gyroprotagonist 2592]

On 7/11/2023 at 7:21 AM, UT_OB1 said:

Has anyone had a cortisone shot in their lumbar for lower back pain?  I had one yesterday. Don’t feel any back pain, which is nice, but I also haven’t tried to pick anything up. 
 

I am however having some muscle…weakness?  I’m not sure how to describe. Started with my thighs yesterday.  After walking around a bit, I felt like I had done squats, and my legs were getting crampy. Last night and this morning my shoulders, tris, and back are doing it too from the pushing to roll over. Just a very weird sensation. 

one thing that has made a difference with my low back pain, which is mostly from sitting in front of a computer all day every day, is just do 1 plank a day for however long you can.  after a month, my pain level went down and it does not kill me to stand in place for extended periods of time.  i now am mixing in some other core stretches and doing 2-3 planks a day.  no sit up or crunches.   

[Js1 85311]

Feeling good after my gym did a little 6 week challenge and I lost almost a full point of body fat since June 1. 

Haven’t missed a weekday at the gym since the week after Christmas. Just gonna push the next 30 days and then take a break after Mexico City/Playa vacation next month. 

[Basil 754]

On 7/12/2023 at 10:07 AM, Js1 said:

That unwanted belly fat and love handles are STUBBORN. Protecting too many vital organs 

I went from 233 to 170 over the last 8 months.  Waist is 32 and I'm close to as skinny as I can get without looking sickly.  2-3 pounds of belly fat will not go away.

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

59 minutes ago, Basil said:

 Waist is 32 and I'm close to as skinny as I can get without looking sickly.  2-3 pounds of belly fat will not go away.

Pretty much the same here. I'm at 33" and my height-to-waist ratio is closing in on 2.5:1.

I'm going to see if I can get the belly fat to tap out with a few months of a relatively low calorie deficit, though this may just be another in a line of battles with time that I'm going to lose.

[SimonBolivar 10958]

On 7/16/2023 at 10:16 AM, Js1 said:

Feeling good after my gym did a little 6 week challenge and I lost almost a full point of body fat since June 1. 

Haven’t missed a weekday at the gym since the week after Christmas. Just gonna push the next 30 days and then take a break after Mexico City/Playa vacation next month. 

I just got back from Mexico on Friday and thanks to Moctezuma, I'm down 2lbs from before I left!

[Herbie Hancock 7345]

I went from 233 to 170 over the last 8 months.  Waist is 32 and I'm close to as skinny as I can get without looking sickly.  2-3 pounds of belly fat will not go away.

Try increasing your daily protein intake by 45g. That's 6oz cooked of chicken thighs or white fish.

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

1 hour ago, Herbie Hancock said:

Try increasing your daily protein intake by 45g. That's 6oz cooked of chicken thighs or white fish.

An additional 180 calories or 180 calories in place of something else? What’s that going to change other than maybe getting rid of a little water weight from eating fewer carbs?

Hell, I’m at 205g a day now and that’s not always easy to hit without specific effort. I mean, if there’s some reason being at 250g would somehow spot reduce belly fat, I could do it.

[Herbie Hancock 7345]

There are a lot of reasons why I said what I said, but the short version is because I know what I'm talking about.

The slightly longer version is because no one ever got fat from eating too much protein.

And the much longer version comes from almost 20 years of training and chasing education in diet and exercise. I said add an additional, not remove something and replace it with X.

Also, calories in calories out is absolutely the ultimate factor in scale numbers going up or down, but I do not and have not used a scale in years and I encourage anyone seeking long term and sustained success to do the same.

[Lurch 5930]

Oh boy

[pearlandhorn 3269]

4 hours ago, Herbie Hancock said:

There are a lot of reasons why I said what I said, but the short version is because I know what I'm talking about.

The slightly longer version is because no one ever got fat from eating too much protein.

And the much longer version comes from almost 20 years of training and chasing education in diet and exercise. I said add an additional, not remove something and replace it with X.

Also, calories in calories out is absolutely the ultimate factor in scale numbers going up or down, but I do not and have not used a scale in years and I encourage anyone seeking long term and sustained success to do the same.

You’re not wrong. 

[pearlandhorn 3269]

I’ve stopped going to the gym as much and am neck deep in triathlon training. Running/biking/swimming 5 days per week and spending one day in the gym for strength training (bench, squat, deadlift). It’s amazing how much better I feel than I did a year ago.

I’m running the Houston marathon next January, a downhill marathon in April, and doing my first triathlon in May. I just got bored of the gym and needed something different. Think I found an outlet. Ironman 70.3 is being planned for fall 2024.

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

11 hours ago, Herbie Hancock said:

There are a lot of reasons why I said what I said, but the short version is because I know what I'm talking about.

The slightly longer version is because no one ever got fat from eating too much protein.

And the much longer version comes from almost 20 years of training and chasing education in diet and exercise. I said add an additional, not remove something and replace it with X.

Also, calories in calories out is absolutely the ultimate factor in scale numbers going up or down, but I do not and have not used a scale in years and I encourage anyone seeking long term and sustained success to do the same.

None of which has a damned thing to do with why another 180 calories of protein a day would spot reduce belly fat. 

CICO is absolutely the ultimate factor but adding more CI is going to reduce body fat? WTAF?

All of your “reasons” can be rolled into “because I said so.” What mechanism would be at play to result in 180 more calories of protein reducing belly fat? I mean, I get that you wouldn’t actually answer the question the first time, but still…

I’ve had long term and sustained success and get on the scale every morning. Different approaches work for different people.

Edited July 19, 2023 by Doc Daneeka

[closetohumping 17439]

Training for 5k

trying to eat low carbs

intermittent fasting 

 

 

anyone ever feel like their body fluctuates a lot.  I go from looking like Patrick swayze to Chris Farley it feels like.  Rip to both.  

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

2 hours ago, closetohumping said:

Training for 5k

trying to eat low carbs

intermittent fasting 

 

 

anyone ever feel like their body fluctuates a lot.  I go from looking like Patrick swayze to Chris Farley it feels like.  Rip to both.  

I’ll go six weeks losing less than I “should,” but with my measurements generally heading in the right, then my body will do BS like this.

But, yeah, one day it will be like “I’m making some actual progress here, nice” and then later the same day it will be like “wtf happened, this sucks.”

I don’t make any effort to avoid carbs, but I don’t have wild swings (other than Tex-Mex days) in carbs that would account for all that much water. The only thing that seems like it might vaguely make sense is that, despite my efforts to drink a lot of water, my cardio is sending my hydration, or lack thereof, all over the place which is driving the different looks. 

TLDR: I can definitely identify. 
 

 

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

I’d like to give a big “thanks a pantload” to OneDrive for its Memories from this date. A snapshot from Fat Fuck Town, population Me.

I was such a gigantic human dough ball that the scars on my abs couldn’t even keep up. WTF was I doing? JFC.

 

[Hefeweizen 5311]

Nice job.  I’m almost 3 weeks in and down 12 lbs.  It’s been easier than I anticipated.  The food tracking is absolutely key for me.  I eat, record, and let feeling full be something I don’t worry about.  Haven’t felt a ton of hunger but I do snack. 
 

Lowest weight since kids were little.  My goal is still 25 lbs away but feeling good about it more.

[Orale 1087]

csb/Did my first half marathon this morning (SLC, a big Mormon holiday hence the Monday race). 13.1 miles averaging 8:30 a mile. I hurt. 

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

On 7/3/2023 at 10:57 AM, Lurch said:

Fwiw, Jeff Nippard discussed post-cut routines in one of his videos and concluded that a gradual increase in calories wasn’t beneficial. Rather he now jumps straight to maintenance plus 100-200 calories which he says tends to hold

And this is why I prefer gradually to increase calories. I know it’s not because I’m gaining fat, but it’s still damned annoying. I’d planned to add calories back over three weeks or so to have a more gradual transition, but my weight kept dropping past all of my planned addition points, so I ended up adding calories back over just a couple of days. 

 

[Lurch 5930]

Yep. It’s all water, of course. When we’re in perpetual calorie deficit we don’t store carbs at a significant level because our body prefers to burn it as soon as possible. Once we move to maintaining, our body has an opportunity to store carbs that are no longer almost immediately used. Carbs are stored with water molecules at a 1:3 ratio, thus an effective quadrupling of that stored weight (the carb PLUS 3x it’s weight in paired water).

I don’t think a gradual increase would have solved for this, imo. It’s not reasonable for us to expect to never store carbs, so we just have to embrace that they will come back when we come out of deficits. How fast really isn’t that interesting to me.

An excellent example of why focusing on weight is less preferable to fat mass, though if your scale is like mine it probably interprets this excess water as fat, too, so who knows…

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

Water and additional food weight, yeah  

A gradual increase absolutely solves for this. I don’t lose weight as quickly as the raw numbers would suggest, but weight keeps going down. By the time I’m at maintenance, or at a small deficit, my weight change curve essentially flatlines, instead of having a hump like this, then going down again.  This isn’t the first time I’ve done this and why I said before that adding calories back gradually benefits me, at least psychologically. 

My scale interprets it as fat, but I don’t especially care about that, since it’s borderline useless, anyway. At this point, my weight isn’t an end in itself — it pretty much is when I’m purposefully cutting or bulking and it definitely was in my initial descent from fatassness — it’s a means for helping calculate a reasonable intake to hit a particular deficit relative to my TDEE so that I can work on body recomposition. I’m just going to keep eating what I’m eating (which should be about a half pound worth of deficit per week) until things sort out and I see how close I am. 

Either way, I suspect I’ll be at pretty much this intake either through the holidays into next year or, perhaps more likely, until the weather turns crappy enough that I don’t feel like maintaining the same level of activity and I need to eat less to offset that. 15 miles a day in the cold is even more of a whip for me than 15 miles a day in the heat.