I have slipped backwards

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Hack analysis of my caloric needs

OK, below, I did a very, very rough analysis of my caloric needs. I am sure there are many flaws in this, but here were the calculations I used.

On average calories/day the top number is the actual data points plus 3000 calories per day in the unknown slots, I did this to account for the likely nature that I ate more food that day. The lower number is the actual data points and averaging just the amount of days with the data points. Both of these a flawed in the analysis, but it is closer than no knowledge at all, so I am using it for what it is worth.

"Measured with a micrometer, marked with a grease pencil and cut with an ax."


Days on Diet
32

Average Calories/day
2747.81
2615.71

Avg caloric deficiency/day
1093.75
1093.75

Est. Basal Caloric need/day
3841.56 Calories
3709.46 Calories

This last weigh in Analysis

As you can see, I started out averaging out less in week 1-3 and have allowed about 500 calories more a day in the past few weeks, slowing my weight loss down. So I need to get it back down to about 2200-2400 calories a day and maybe start walking or swimming a little bit.






Here is the graph that shows my weigh in at 259. I made my 1.4 pound goal but I can see now, that my initial weight loss was easier and it is slowing down. So I did a very amateur analysis of my caloric need per a day. Basically I have been writing down about 70% of the days total estimated caloric intake. Even though I am not taking every single days calories like I want, and even though I would suspect that the days that I am less vigilant to write this down are the days I am eating more food than normal, I can get a good estimation of what I am eating, and knowing that I devised a calculation. But it just does not add up.

Read this. It is an add, but it does explain a bit about the process of limiting calories and the limits of weight loss on just using calorie limits only, (ie I need to start doing more excercises)

After I did my hackney analysis, it is showing me that at this weight loss, I have a need of about 3500 calories a day just to maintain weight. It seems very high, considering what the apps at the bottom of this blog state that I need much less.

I am thinking that in restricting calories for a month, my body has been burning protein (muscle), and dropping some water weight. I know that this initial ten pounds have been easier than the rest of the journey but I have made some changes in my life:

• I usually am eating much less volume/calories per a day
• I am much more conscious of what I am putting in my mouth
• I have a better feeling about my body self image and am going in the right direction
• I am learning new things everyday on my weight management

All good things. Starting to walk more, and being more active with the less burdensome body weight helps me move more. And there are side benefits already.

On a side note, I weigh 259.5 this morning, what I would expect after a day of cookies and what I discussed on the last weigh in day. So I think I am correct in saying I was actually 259.0 on 5/17/09, not 258.0 .

Have a great day,

"Onesville"

Update on a Tuesday

Good Morning,

It is a Tuesday, and I just weighed myself even though it is not my Sunday weigh in, I like to see how I am doing through the week. As I just posted in the last entry, my scale makes me suspicious.

I did splurge last night, and made some chocolate chip cookies for the kids, but the fact is I ate about 1000 calories of them myself. It suggests to me that I do not buy a cookie jar, fill it with cookies and sit it on the counter... I have some self discipline, but not that much.

A fun pic for dieters

Anyway, not "a cookie" does a fat man make... several thousand "a cookie" does a fat man make.

So this morning I of course put on a half a pound upto 259.5 can't complain, the cookies are good. But it does lend to the fact that the cravings don't go away magically, and I can see that the goal may be easier than the maintenance of a goal weight. I am far from there but making progress toward my goal.

"Onesville"

I am suspicious of my Scale 258-261, 259 it is.

Wacky scale says 258 but I am clocking in at 259 this week.

My postings have become a little less frequent as of late. I need to turn that around for no one other than my own personal gain (in the form of weight loss of course). For the few of you that may be using this blog to inspire yourself as I was inspired by another weight loss success story's blog, thanks for being patient with me.

I am starting to wonder about my scale, like any scale, it is not 100.000% correct. Obviously, I have lost about 10 pounds from the start of this weight loss project. Not bad, that averages out to a little under 2.5 pounds a week. Considering my goal is 1.4 pounds a week, I am ahead of the schedule, but that by no means I can start slacking. This is where the rubber hits the road, metaphorically speaking. My home scale is something I am learning how to game. Certainly if I lean a little to the left and put more weight on my heal, I can make it read lower. But that is not my goal. The accuracy, helps me understand the reality of my true weight loss that week.

For sure I can not game this scale for 10 pounds, I have lost that weight. The pants that I couldn't wear a month ago, now fit again. That, my friend, you can lean one way or the other on a scale all day long and it won't affect how those pants fit!

The day before I weighed myself and it read 258, then it read 261 then a bunch in between. I did weigh 258 yesterday and I didn't eat or drink anything in the meantime, so how the heck did I gain 3 pounds? I try to use the exact same regiment when I do my official Sunday morning weigh ins. I get up, don't eat or drink anything, and get on the scale. I put my right foot big toe in exactly the same spot, try not to lean and stand perfectly still for about 5-10 seconds before I look down. I do weight myself several times and try to get the average. This says 258 but I am really thinking it is 259. How do I know? I just know.

We'll see next week

"Onesville"

Not too much time today

I was a little worried about the weigh in this week, but made my goal. The weight loss is slowing down after the first couple of weeks.

Lower than 260, Happy Mothers day

Don't have time but to tell you my weigh in was 261 this morning, but yesterday, before we made a homemade pizza I got down to 259 in the morning, so this will be the one day set back.

I'll come back with the graph when I have more time.

Gotta go see mom, Happy Mothers Day

I scream for ice cream

It has been a month already since the beginning of theis diet. This does not impress you but it impresses me and I am beyond the goal weight for this time period. The biggest hurdle for me is just the conscientious continuation of a slow to moderate rate of weight loss.

Between this blog and writing down my approximate caloric intake by putting it on a handy and easy post-it note every day, this is a winning approach.

Not having to go to my computer and entering every item on a spread sheet makes it practical and easy. Am I exactly correct on my calorie intake? No, but no matter what the real calories are, and I do look at the packaging, the real advantage is that I am focusing on what is going into my body. And no matter how true I am to the actual calories, and how close I am most interested in is seeing my percentage gain or loss of daily calories. So even if the estimate is off by a factor of 1 or 1000, the percentages will be more accurate and tell the story of what is going into the stomach.

The intake of calories have dropped by about 30 percent, and my want of large quantities of food has gone by the wayside. I don't look at a pizza and think that I could eat 1/2 of a large. I put several pieces on my plate (small side salad plate) and it looks full. Before the last bit of food, I try to leave at least a few bites and think to myself, "I am full, I don't even want that last bit." So when I push away from the table, my mind says to itself, "that was a satisfying, filling meal."

Last night, I had a very light morning for food and then had probably one of the biggest meals I have had in the past month. We had a great steak, and I ate probably 800 calories in steak. Then for the first time in a month I had any real appreciable amount of sugar in an ice cream cone, with a sugar cone. It made me crash! I fell asleep on the couch about 20 minutes after dinner, and I slept for three hours. My body just is not as used to sugar as it once was, and that is a very good thing.

I am guessing that my weight loss is going to get a little harder as my body shrinks and I need less overall calories, but this plan seems to work.

As a side note, I got on my digital scale this morning and it wobbles back and forth before it settles on the exact weight, and for the first time in a long time it wobbled into the 250-260 range. That means I am getting closer to the next set of ten pounds. It feels good!



Very Best,

"Onesville"

Basal Metabolic Calculator

At the bottom of this blog there area some tools, or aka widgets, on here to help you figure some things out. One of them is the Basal Metabolic Rate Calculator (BMC). Now I don't know how accurate it is but it does show something that may contribute to diet plateaus that I never thought about.

Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of energy expended while at rest in a neutrally temperate environment, in the post-absorptive state (meaning that the digestive system is inactive, which requires about twelve hours of fasting in humans). The release of energy in this state is sufficient only for the functioning of the vital organs, such as the heart, lungs, brain and the rest of the nervous system, liver, kidneys, sex organs, muscles and skin. BMR decreases with age and with the loss of lean body mass. Increasing muscle mass increases BMR. from Wikipedia

As you can see at 270 my BMR was at 2372, and now at 262 pounds, just a mere 8 pounds less, my BMR is now 2322. That is 50 calories a day less input I need just to maintain my weight. So I am going to put into the calculator that I lost 25 pounds and see what it is..... OK I'm back. It said that if I lost 25 pounds, then I would be 245, my BMR would be 2216 calories a day. A full160 calories a day less needed, therefor making it harder, not impossible, to lose the weight further. So I just have to be mindful that as time goes on, I will still need to further reduce my calories, or increase my activity to make up the difference.

OK, I am curious as to what it would take at my goal weight of 199 pounds.... It says 1921 calories a day, I upped my age one year to account for that. So that means, I will need a full 450 less calories a day, just to maintain my weight. That is something to think about. I can now see why maintenance of weight once you get to your goal weight is still hard. But I can and I will do it.

Thanks for reading this blog.

"Onesville"

Sweatin' it, but I actually made it plus some.

Alright! This was a good week. I followed my diet, had a few days where I wasn't super strict. One night a friend of mine came over and we had a few beers (not in my diet plan) and then having had a few I was hungry at about midnight and had about another 1000 calories more food. I would not have done that otherwise. So the next day, I showed it on the scale.

I was sweating that I wasn't going to make my "at least 1.4 pounds per a week goal... at minimum" goal. But here it is Sunday morning at weigh in and I lost 2.0 pounds. Whew!

It feels good to make the weight and to be able to bank an extra .6 pounds.

I have set up a spread sheet to keep track of my weight, and my advances.

I'll post them at the top of the weigh in dates, possibly post them by themselves, that way I can just pull up the results by using the Labels mode of blogger.

Well, I posted a screen shot, and it looks good enough, not great, can't see it unless you have 20/20 vision, but it is there for posterity. Plus I have it on my computer anyway.

See you at 260.6 (260.5 because my bathroom scale only measures in .5 pound increments.) Next Sunday, if not before.

Very Best,

"Onesville"

Mike Ditka Quotes

I really like inspirational quotes:

I need to exercise more, but my eating habits are pretty good. Yesterday I had about 3 beers with a buddy and it made me go backwards a bit. But I am still on track to do my 1.5 pounds this week at a minimum.

Here are the quotes from Mike Ditka:

• "So, when it comes to eating healthy, it's just doing the right thing. And it's not something you have to do 365 days a year, but I think it's something you have to do 25 days a month. Let's put it that way. " -Mike Ditka
  

• "You see people who have been very heavy in their life who have taken that body, trimmed it down, firmed it up through discipline, exercise and being able to say no. Eating properly, that all comes into it." -Mike Ditka
  

• "You're never a loser until you quit trying." -Mike Ditka

Something to think about,

Have a great weekend, see you on Sunday.
"Onesville"