Week 10 – What’s going on?

Straight into this weeks weigh in…..

INITIAL WEIGH IN  17ST 0

LAST WEEK              16ST 0.25

TODAY………………..16st 0.75

A slight weight gain – I’m not concerned by movement of just 1/2 lbs but i am slightly concerned by this plateau I have gotten myself into. 2 Weeks of similar weigh ins preceded by a weight gain everything has stalled and I’m not really sure why – though I have a few ideas which I will come to later.

This week has been similar to most – I fasted well on Wednesday, had my semi fast day on Friday and nailed it on Monday. Gym wise, I have worked out lots including a vigorous 1hr 45min double session with Insanity and Body Attack. On my eating days things haven’t been so great – I have eaten and drank over-liberally so this may be one of my first issues.

So here are my thoughts on why I have stalled.

I discussed in an earlier post the point of TDEE (Total daily energy expenditure) basically the amount of calories needed to do all the things I do in a day but no more. By restricting my calories on fast days I am making my weekly amount of calories in vs calories out be in deficit thus I should lose weight. At the moment I am not losing weight so maybe my TDEE needs to be looked into. Am I eating too much or has my TDEE changed? One of the points of TDEE is that it takes into account my Basic Metabolic Rate – that is the amount of calories required to do the basic functions my body does, heart beating, lungs moving, blood pumping, heat regulation, eyes blinking etc. I have lost almost a stone and a half, suddenly my body isn’t finding all these jobs as difficult as it may have once found them so it is possible that my BMR has reduced. If so my TDEE would also have come down so I may now be eating exactly the same as I was at the beginning of this process throughout the week but I’m not losing weight because my body is now more efficient!!!

A second possibility is that after 10 weeks of gym 2-4 times per week I am starting to put on muscle. I am certainly noticing changes to my legs, whether it is the same amount of muscle, just with less fat surrounding I do not know, however I feel fitter and stronger than before. I don’t get as tired walking up stairs, I can do more push ups/sit ups/squats/burpees during insanity classes. I punch harder in Body Combat and push harder physically in Body Attack classes. I am starting to get biceps…. only starting mind!!! I have always been under the impression that body fat weighs less than muscle so an increase of muscle will certainly slow my weight loss down. There is some evidence of this in my previous posts of the weigh in machine at the gym which shows my body fat % reducing. I was working Tuesday morning so wasn’t able to check this week. If this is the case then will I start seeing these results through measurements. I measured myself this morning and found no change to my previous results from a few weeks ago but have looked back through my posts and noticed I haven’t given these out so will do so now.

DATE	19 Jan 2015	10 Feb 2015	24 Feb 2015	27 Mar 2015
WEIGHT (KG)	108	104	102.5	101.3
WEIGHT (STONE)	17st 0.25 lbs	16st5.0lbs	16st 2.0lbs	16st 0.75
NECK (inches)	16.25	16.00	15.8	15.8
CHEST (inches)	44	43.5	43	42.5
STERNUM (inches)	41	38.75	37.5	37
HIPS (inches)	44	43	42	41
WAIST (inches)	40	39.5	39.25	38.75

So reductions across the board which is great news. I’m losing more inches than I am weight (in percentage terms) so this leads me nicely to a picture – how does this make me look?

Two weeks between the pics – no weight loss (in fact a minor gain!!!) I will leave you to judge if you can see a change?!?!?

My final thought with regard to my plateau will nicely give me a chance to talk about my favourite BBQ dish – let me explain.

I make an amazing slow roasted pulled pork (even if I do say so myself). My method is simple to talk about but takes some effort to do. I take a Piece of Pork shoulder (bone in) and trim away the fat – liberally cover in a rub of my choosing and leave in the fridge overnight. About 12-16 hours before eating (depending on the size of the meat) I will start to cook. I have a kettle BBQ (weber) and set my coals to cook in a style known as the “minion method”. Basically I arrange it so that the meat is not directly over the coals, and that the majority of the coals are not lit. By separately lighting just 5 or 6 coals and placing them to one edge of all the unlit coals I get a very low heat and a long burn time. I have an electric meat thermometer combined with BBQ thermometer – a device with two probes – one gets stuck in the meat and left there, the other sits inside the BBQ – these wirelessly transmit the temperatures to a handheld device so I can ensure my BBQ isn’t getting too hot, nor my meat cooking too quickly. I add smoking wood chips to my coals to give my pork a great flavour. After the internal meat has reached the desired temperature (88-90 deg C) I take it off the grill, wrap tightly in foil, and rest for anywhere up to 2 hours – then shred and serve with a BBQ sauce and burger buns – obviously not on a fast day!!!

Where is the link then? 

Well, during the cooking process, the temperature of the meat doesn’t rise in a constant fashion. When the internal temperature reaches 70 deg C the temperature stalls and may not rise another degree, or even drop a degree or two, for an hour or more. Peeking inside your grill at this point can ruin the cook. But the stall in temperature is standard and occurs when the collagen begins to break down into gelatine. The reaction absorbs energy and forces moisture to the surface of the meat, which cools it. Panicking at this time lose more moisture and temperature in the cooking chamber and only contribute to a longer stall. By not fully understanding the process of how this particular meat cooks results in an inferior result. (ref: Pitt Cue book)

And there is my link – I need to understand what is happening inside my body. I am getting fitter, stronger but not losing weight. I have stalled my weight loss but there are other things happening – I left you to judge the pictures but personally I can see a change. At this time in the pulled pork cook people may peek… similarly during my weight loss process I do not want to panic – changes are occurring and a plateau may just be my body getting ready for the next big push to break down my fat stores more in the coming weeks. That being said I am not going to take my eye off the overall system – I will check my BMR/TDEE but essentially for the next few weeks carry on as I am – If no further changes to my weight have occurred by week 12-13 I will re-assess once again.

Thanks For Reading

Richard

WEEK 9 – A QUICK UPDATE

INITIAL WEIGH IN  17ST 0

LAST WEEK              16ST 0.25

TODAY………………..16st 0.25

Stayed the same !!!!!!!

Feeling good though – and committed for this coming week – I’m expecting great things

A bigger update next week.

Cheers

RJ

Week 8 – Back on Track?

After last weeks slightly disappointing, but not unexpected, results i was determined to get back on track and ensure each fast day was achieved.

My sister said to me during the second week, after I told her how easy I was finding the fast days, that that was to be expected during the early parts of the diet, the real crux would come after a few months to see if I was still finding it easy, both to succeed each day but also to have the commitment to ensure I achieve. Wise words…. I think that was the problem last week – it was all too easy to fall of the wagon.

After weigh in last Tuesday I went to Body Combat (45 mins) I came home and spent the day working on our outdoor kitchen – we love to eat al fresco and over the past few weeks we have developed a 4 unit kitchen area next to our BBQ under a lean too – it’s going to allow some cracking cooking to happen outside in the coming months. I took a panoramic shot …

That evening we tested it all out – BBQ ribs, sausages with salad and sweet potato.

Wednesday saw me back at work – I fasted successfully through the day but didn’t do any exercise. For dinner we had fajitas – chicken and veg with a fajita spice mix. Home made salsa and guacamole, all using lettuce leaf for wraps.

Thursday a non fast day – the only bad thing I did was enjoy some (lots of!!!) chocolate at work.. otherwise ate relatively healthily.

Friday another fast day – and another successful fast day – nothing eaten until dinner at work where I had Marks and Spencers’ duck sushi rolls (250 kcal) and a large chunky vegetable soup (300 kcal). I did 45 mins of Body Combat in the morning too.

Saturday morning saw a 1 hour class of Combat with work in the afternoon – I took in a chicken curry which had come out of the freezer – however found that I was able to get away from work before I had a chance to eat it – seeing as it hadn’t completely defrosted I left it for Sunday and came home via the Fish and Chip shop – deep-fried cod, chips and onion rings doesn’t sound like “diet” food but after a good week I felt I deserved it!!!

Sunday saw no exercise, a lazy morning with breakfast in bed with the family, work in the evening and managed to eat my chicken curry.

Monday was my last of 4 afternoons at work and I did a 45 min Insanity class first thing. I really pushed myself in this class as usual Mondays would see me follow this class with and hour of Body Attack – as I didn’t have time for this second class I pushed myself harder than I otherwise would have in Insanity. I fasted successfully and had a small portion of leftover lasagna for dinner. Probably well under 600kcal but I was cautious as it was pasta and soya milk as well as all the other usual ingredients … still delicious though.

Tuesday morning and weigh in – feeling good about this last week – 3 successful fasts, 4 gym sessions, lots of work in the garden – should be some good results…. lets see.

Weigh In

INITIAL WEIGH IN  17ST 0

LAST WEEK              16ST 2.75

TODAY………………..16st 0.25

GREAT NEWS – BACK ON TRACK!!!! 2.5 lbs lost this week – or 1.5lbs over 2 weeks if you take into account last weeks gain – overall the trend is going in the correct direction.

So its time for a shirt update….. lets see the progress…

So still tight and not available for wearing to work which is my goal…. but all the buttons done up so proper progress…..

Now for something different.

Most overweight people will probably feel the same as I have done in the past and that is that they don’t like taking their shirt off. Be it at the beach, in the garden, during the summer – getting a tan is an embarrassing process!!! You may have noted that I have not added “fat shirtless” pics on my blog….. time for that to change – I’m determined to have a different summer this year to those of the past – one where I’m not embarrassed by my overweight body so along with the shirt progress pics I will start the following…

Really putting myself out there now…. so must keep true to this way of life, keep my diet going, keep the exercise levels high and ensure the next pic of me like this shows real change.

Thanks for reading.

Richard

Week 7 – a weak week

All things considered it has not been a great week for my diet. I said last week that this is usually the time of a diet I come off the wagon… I see some success, feel better, and think “job done”. That hasn’t really been the case this last week however, I haven’t stuck to the plan as religiously as I have done in the past. There are reasons though….(aren’t there always!!!)

I was relatively pleased with Tuesdays weigh in – followed that by Body Combat (45 mins) and good food throughout the day. We have had a friend stay with us this last week so Tuesday night saw us crack open a few bottles of wine. Once everyone had cleared downstairs I watched a game of football I had recorded earlier so had a fairly late night….

Wednesday I was booked into Body Attack (45 mins) at 10am. After my late night previously I was up at 7am to take my daughter to nursery – upon returning I had a little lie down and woke up at 10:20am – missed my gym class…. not happy!!!! This was a fast day, and one with a (mild) hangover – I was fairly useless all day and when it came to dinner smashed my 600kcal allowance so a double whammy of failure… no gym, failed fast!!!!

Thursday was a non fast day and I did manage to get to the gym for an Insanity class (see below). So back to some exercise but again ate and drank liberally… oh the joys of being off work!!!

Friday was my 2nd fast day of the week. I did not do any gym, partly as I don’t like the Friday morning classes, and also because we had a Doctors appointment for my (now 23 week) pregnant wife. After this we took our daughter  to Windsor Castle for a day out. After touring the State Rooms we went to a hotel over the road for afternoon tea – This was designed as a special treat for our daughter and it was, she loved it…. unfortunately for me it meant I broke my fast…. I know I didn’t need to eat it but it looked and was delicious…. no gym, failed fast!!!!

Not been a great week so far – maybe the weekend will be different. hmmmmmmm

Saturday was our daughters swimming and ballet classes – which I took her too after a nice breakfast of Hot Cross Buns! After these classes I took her to the cinema and brought an enormous box of popcorn… I didn’t really want a big box but was talked into it by the salesperson – and to avoid her eating too much I ate loads!!! Saturday evening we had a Braai (BBQ).

Sunday was slightly more sedate – with an afternoon roast dinner, Beef, potatoes, carrots, cauliflower etc

So 6 days in, 2 gym classes done, 0 fast days fully completed, 1 day top go….

Monday – time to get back on track – double gym class (Insanity – 45 mins / Body Attack – 60 mins) no food all day and a light dinner – homemade tomato soup and half a tuna sandwich.

So on the face of it I have inadvertently done a maintenance week  – that is following the 6:1 format of the diet and my (personally) assigned 4 sessions of exercise…. throw in 3 x BBQs, several bottles of wine and a few cans of beer it’s not the sort of week I am impressed by, nor the sort of week that will see me losing weight constantly over the coming months – but the numbers will not lie so we will find out later.

Exercise

I have talked a lot about the different types of exercise classes I do over the last few weeks and will discuss them in more depth over the coming weeks (when not giving out a recipe)

This week I will talk about INSANITY. I first found the exercise program on a TV shopping channel and subsequently found the DVDs for sale at a car boot. The premise is of High Intensity Interval Training – I’m paraphrasing here… usual interval training has you work hard for a short period of time followed by a longer period of rest and repeat – this program flips it on its head so you work hard for 2-3 mins then rest for 30 secs then repeat. The beauty of it is that it uses no equipment at all – everything is done by using your body weight for resistance – press ups, burpees, tuck jumps, running on spot, star jumps … all those horrible things we have done in the past – but put together in a format that is fun and hard – oh so very hard. The guy that “stars” on the DVDs is called Shaun T – an American trainer, ex track athlete and dancer – ripped to shreds and very motivational – even when you are just in your front room!. The DVD program is designed for you to do daily for a period of 60 days – I have never made the full 60 days – partly through injury, partly through shift work commitments – but also because I like to do classes at the gym and I find it hard to do both (although it has been known). So I was very pleased when my local gym started to do Insanity gym classes. These follow exactly the same format and the classes last between 30 and 45 mins. I worked out the other day that a 45 min class has you working for about 35 mins – The classes you do at home run for 45 mins to 60 mins but I find I work harder at the gym as my sofa isn’t so close so I can’t rest or pause the DVD if needed – that’s the beauty of gym classes – the instructor is in the room and there is often someone to match yourself against – to compete with. This isn’t saying I don’t work hard when I am at home – I do – but I certainly work harder at the gym.

Weigh In

INITIAL WEIGH IN  17ST 0

LAST WEEK              16ST 2

TODAY………………..16st 2.75

So a 0.75 lb weight gain….ARRRGGHHHHH

Need to find some positives…..

I jumped on the scales at the gym on Tuesday morning – These are the scales which show height and weight, and calculate body fat percentage – below are three slips – one from the beginning of my journey (Week 2), one from last week and one from This week.

s

So where are the positive – Whilst my weight has indeed gone up by 0.3kg my body fat % has dropped by 0.6% or 0.3kg.

I can only surmise from this that I have started to put on some muscle – it is not an excuse but if my body fat has gone down by 0.3kg and my weight increased by 0.3kg then that is a gain of 0.6kg somewhere…. Some probably is muscle, some may be water retention after the heavy bout of exercise the day before.

Either way there are a few positives from this week – Im disappointed that I didn’t stick to the diet as well as I have done in the past but will not slip this week and look forward to next weeks results.

Richard