The TFP Health Club

Are you like me and trying to lose weight? Maybe you are trying to buff up and gain muscle. Are you training for a marathon or triathalon? Or maybe you simply want to eat healthier and feel better. Post your story, progress, setbacks, success, failures and everything else here and we can all "be there" for eachother.

As mentioned in another post, I 'm back on my weight loss plan. But I'm not just fat, I have high blood pressure, high/bad cholesterol and my triglceride level was through the roof. I was 279 at the doctor's office about 10 weeks ago, and I know I had been as heavy as 284 recently, at 6'4" that made me "obese." Thats up from my previous "ideal" weight of 198.5, very sad indeed.

As of this morning, I'm no longer "obese," now I'm just "overweight." 248.5 lbs. Thats the same as I was the day before we went to Vegas for 2 nights last weekend. I balooned up a staggering 10 lbs (if the scale was correct) from that little trip. It's amazing how intentionally falling off the wagon can cause all that "bloat weight" (beer, red meat, high fat food, buffet) to come back. Well, I'm back on track again.

 

It's amazing but it is all about what we put in our mouths. Intense workouts are great for numerous reasons but don't really shed the pounds. I hiked one stretch of the Appalachian trail for 30 days, packing all my food, water and gear (averaged around 45 to 50 lbs) and still gained 10 lbs. Wife accused me of spending the month with a girl friend. In hindsight, that would have been a good idea as things turned out.

 

Interesting, excersize does help, at least the right excersize combined with the right eating will help. I know when I lost weight before, all I was doing was walking about 30 minutes a day, nothing intense. My main focus was eating low-fat foods and less food in general. Although, after the weight loss, I looked like a deflated baloon, and had very little muscle tone. I'm hoping that the workouts will actually tone me up a bit so I'm not just at a good weight, but actually "fit" for the first time since I was 20.

 

We just got a new scale. Apparently the old one was working just fine.
Time to ramp up the workouts and watch the diet closer.

 

I'm trying out something called Keto (some 'round here might be familiar with it).

The basic theory is this: when you significantly reduce your intake of carbohydrates that aren't fiber and you increase your intake of fats, your body burns through your glycogen stores. Once you're out of glycogen, your body needs fuel, so it turns to fat, going into a state called ketosis. Your body splits fat into a few fatty acid chains, which can be used as a primary source of energy for your body.

Back when humans were hunter gatherers (or even as earlier primates), often we were not food secure and had to go for periods of time without a regular intake of meats and vegetation. During those times, our bodies would burn off our own fat to keep us up and running until we could locate more food. We store fat, after all, to use in times of need. Keto, the diet, is a way to trick your body into this state.

During my year, I generally do a few months bulking up, eating a calorie and nutrient rich diet and exercising more with strength training in order to increase my muscle mass, then I do a few months of cutting, which means more interval training and a decreased caloric intake to burn off fat. Instead of my normal cutting, though, I'm trying Keto as a way to burn off fat after a few months of bulking up I started in early Autumn.

So far, it's great. I started on Monday, November 28th, and I've already lost about 9 lbs. despite only doing my normal exercise routine. What I've found is that, when you're starting Keto, you can feel a bit mentally fuzzy and have a decrease in willpower to do things, particularly physical things, but it only lasts for about a week. I powered through, and now I'm feeling pretty good. Clearly it's doing what I wanted it to do, to help me burn fat quickly. I'm going to stick with it through maybe half way into January (I plan on breaking Keto for Christmas Eve and Christmas), then see what it's like to get off Keto. To avoid gaining everything back overnight, I'm going to transition from Keto to something called Paleo, which is a diet made up of foods that humans ingested before the dawn of the agrarian age, a diet I've enjoyed a great deal before.

So what specifically have I been eating? This morning, I had a cup of coffee with heavy cream, four slices of bacon, and a Denver omelet. For lunch, I had leftover steamed kale from last night and turkey from Sunday's belated Thanksgiving. For dinner, I had pan-fried pork chops, broccoli soup, and thinly sliced cucumbers in a light butter sauce. In total, I had almost no carbohydrates today, but kept my fiber up (when you're eating a high protein, high fat diet, you need fiber to keep things running) and I enjoyed plenty of protein and nice fats, all from animals.

 

Will, are you a bodybuilder? In general, diets like this Keto seem to me like they are only something that you can do to for a limited time to get some specific results, not necessarily something that can (or should...?) be done long-term. I think anything that "tricks" the body into some sort of panic mode will ultimately lose its effectiveness, no? After all, this is the body's reaction to thinking that its starving, right? Once you go to a "normal" diet, wouldn't the body overreact by trying to replenish itself of fat reserves? I don't doubt the science behind the processes that are happening within the body, nor do I doubt that it works to burn fat, (although it seems counter-intuitive that eating high fat foods will somehow burn fat) But I do question its overall benefit over time.

The main thing I KNOW I need to do is get my brain wrapped around the idea that I HAVE TO make life-long changes in the way I eat/drink/smoke/act/live this time around. When I achieve my weight-loss goal I have to find that happy medium where I keep my weight were I want it to be, rather than gaining-losing-gaining-losing. If history is any teacher, I'll get to my goal weight and and try to put on the brakes, but will fall into my bad habits in the process. I think I have a mild food addiction too, because I don't stop eating until I'm over-stuffed. That "satisfied" feeling never comes until I have already eaten way too much.

 

I don't consider myself a bodybuilder. I was born with a circulatory defect, a coarctation of my descending aorta, that had to be fixed when I was young. The result was, according to my cardiologist, I would be physically limited for my entire life for fear of damaging the artificial aorta that resides in my chest. When I was a teenager, unable to compete in certain sports, I went into a bit of depression and I started gaining weight. There reached a time that I tipped the scales at around 250ish, which was my sort of 'rock bottom'. Since then, I've pushed myself to my own, artificially imposed physical limits to get into and remain in shape for many years. Over the past 5 or so years, I've done cycles of more weights and more calories to bulk up, followed by more cardiovascular exercise and less calories to burn off the fat that comes from bulking. My goal since turning the corner as a teenager is to be in the best shape I can be without pushing myself too hard and putting myself in danger.

I only intend to be on Keto for a few months. After that, I'll go back to bulking again to reclaim muscle I might have lost when I was on Keto. And you're right that often people on Keto hit a plateau, when the body becomes accustomed to the new diet and sort of sets in for the long haul. Fortunately, that's usually a few months in. I've lost 11 lbs. in less than 2 weeks, so far, putting me at 188. If I get below 170, I'll start phasing my way out of Keto to Paleo again because I've seen myself at 165 and it starts to look a bit too skinny.

 

I remember a thread in v4 where Plan9 mentioned doing situps and or pushups via a website regime:
http://hundredpushups.com/
Well, I found an android app for my phone that does something similar
https://market.android.com/details?...=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5yaXR0ci5wdXNodXBzIl0.

I'm finding doing these quite good (I'm doing pushups and situps, every second day).

Starting from a low base, I have certainly improved the number I can do and also think I look better (my chest and arms are a little bigger, and my one pack is getting slightly smaller).

I don't own scales, so have only a vague idea of my weight (around 185, I think).

For me, this is more about how I look than the weight I am - I personal trainer friend told me once that weight can be a bad indicator, as you will add muscle as you exercise, that will offset the fat lost.

 

I never thought to look for a phone app that works like a trainer.

Does anyone have one of those chin up bars that you put on a door frame?

 

I do. I bought one when I did P90X a little while back. I found I had to use towels to prevent it from marking up my door frames. And I never really felt safe using it, like my frame was just about ready to break, sending me crashing to the floor. But it's better than nothing.

 

I have started lifting heavy again this winter, largely as a result of CrossFit and learning some major compound lifts. I have gained a significant amount of weight (for me) in the last two years - two years ago at this time I weighed about 124 pounds. This year, I weigh 136 pounds. The funny part is that I am still wearing the same clothes (even if I have slightly more tummy than last year, largely a result of me not eating alone for the last few months), although my thighs are starting to get a bit big for my jeans as a result of my lifting. I can't wear jeans after lifting for the day, because the "pump" makes them too tight to get over my muscles.

Anyway, right now I am torn. Part of me wants to go back to a calorie deficit with the same workouts I'm doing now (heavy lifts and metabolic conditioning workouts - usually calisthenics and some running) and add some cardio back in on my days between workouts. The other part of me wants to lift heavy consistently and feed myself adequately to put on more muscle. I know that putting more muscle on will help me lose the fat on top in the long run (especially if I do a cut later), but I'm not sure which route I'd like to go first. For now, I'm eating at what is basically balanced for my stats and activity level, and I'm (obviously) not seeing many changes other than putting on some more muscle in my shoulders, arms, and thighs.

 

The breaking and crashing part is what I was wondering about. Thanks.

 

I've apparently quit trying to lose weight, but my cholesterol numbers are better, and I'm much stronger in the gym. My BP is under control.

I have a tendency to go lower carb when I diet. I have never gone so low as to be keto though. Don't know what that's like. Less bread and other processed carbs is an easy way to reduce calories to me.

 

The first week is challenging. I had to redouble my willpower to get normal things done, and exercising was kinda like when I first really started exercising regularly, where you have to really exercise on purpose every single time. Snowy mentioned drinking more water helps. If I ever do Keto again, I think I'll take her advice and hydrate like crazy.

 

Maybe post-Christmas will find me low-carbing. I'll starve if I don't eat carbs at Mom's house...