Diet Day 693
9/9/12 11:32![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
darkemeraldsI've now lost half of the weight I regained during my period of neglect and denial. That's nice--it's wonderful, in fact, and I feel empowered and my knees are starting to look square again--but let the record emphasize: three months. To re-lose seven pounds.
I don't think this is because fat-burning itself has become inherently slower or harder (due to age, or a "set point", or too many diets or whatever). It's as if the metabolic controls just need time--about two months in my case--to rev down, switch fuel sources from today's food to yesterday's stored fat, and then rev up again.
I'm currently outpacing my plan. So, time to up the plan.
Now that we're out of reverse and moving forward again, my body and I decided yesterday to shift into a higher gear. (I know. It was spaceships last time. Now it's cars.) So I recalibrated the controls from three quarters of a pound a week to a pound. Instead of 1480 net calories a day, I get 1380*.
And sure enough, I'm feeling hungry again. Yep: 100 calories less and you feel it. A hundred calories more? Not so much. That, in a nutshell, is the whole problem. That right there is what hacking the system is designed to manage, because feeling extra calories doesn't come naturally for people like me.
I anticipate about three days of slight hunger before the engine catches up and starts taking those 100 calories off my ass and thighs every day.
*I'd love to fantasize that I'll exercise those 100 calories off, but realistically that's an extra 15-minute walk or bike-ride, so it's probably going to come out of the food side of the equation.
I don't think this is because fat-burning itself has become inherently slower or harder (due to age, or a "set point", or too many diets or whatever). It's as if the metabolic controls just need time--about two months in my case--to rev down, switch fuel sources from today's food to yesterday's stored fat, and then rev up again.
I'm currently outpacing my plan. So, time to up the plan.
Now that we're out of reverse and moving forward again, my body and I decided yesterday to shift into a higher gear. (I know. It was spaceships last time. Now it's cars.) So I recalibrated the controls from three quarters of a pound a week to a pound. Instead of 1480 net calories a day, I get 1380*.
And sure enough, I'm feeling hungry again. Yep: 100 calories less and you feel it. A hundred calories more? Not so much. That, in a nutshell, is the whole problem. That right there is what hacking the system is designed to manage, because feeling extra calories doesn't come naturally for people like me.
I anticipate about three days of slight hunger before the engine catches up and starts taking those 100 calories off my ass and thighs every day.
*I'd love to fantasize that I'll exercise those 100 calories off, but realistically that's an extra 15-minute walk or bike-ride, so it's probably going to come out of the food side of the equation.
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(no subject)
9/9/12 20:02 (UTC)I'm hoping once I start the new job, cycling to and from work my kick start my fitness regime again! *G* I;m not doing too badly with the healthy eating but definitely need to up the exercise quotient of my lifestyle. And start doing weights again.
(no subject)
9/9/12 20:38 (UTC)There's a kind of funny paradox with regular exercise. My calorie bar is set for a sedentary lifestyle, so I deduct the calories I spend on all the bike rides and walks and Zumba classes. My daily commute offsets most of my breakfast, and that's not nothing, especially over time.
On the other hand, I biked daily for a full year without losing an ounce, because I just ate those extra 325 calories or so (while building quads and glutes, to be sure).
What I've realized is that that first year was a necessary precursor to actually cutting back on food. Having finally, finally conquered the "daily exercise" piece of the puzzle, I had all kinds of new confidence, and it proved to me that I could be fit and feel healthier while ) still being fat and b) actually enjoying exercise.
Only then was I able to decide that I also didn't want to be fat anymore. It cleared the decks, so to speak, and let me see and solve the problems separately. I think, now that two more years have passed, I'm almost ready to look at additional forms of fitness. This...could just be an effect of watching Tyler Hoechlin, whose abs are, among other things, inspiring.
Anyway (how I do go on), best of luck with your bike commute plan. There's no better time of year to get started, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
And PS have you seen
(no subject)
9/9/12 20:56 (UTC)(no subject)
9/9/12 21:00 (UTC)Well, you know, in my case, the much older and female version, but yeah.
(no subject)
9/9/12 22:26 (UTC)Though somewhere there is an interview with him talking about how he didn't kill it so much in the gym this season and had put on some weight (like 14lbs?) so Dylan was a tad grumpy when they came to film the pool scene!
(no subject)
9/9/12 22:29 (UTC)(no subject)
10/9/12 00:43 (UTC)(no subject)
9/9/12 22:24 (UTC)There's one hill early on the way to Brixton from mine (but it's not a huge hill - more of a gentle climb, enough to get the heart rate up be not be killing) and I think most of the rest of the ride will be pretty flat with a slight incline down at the end. Reversing it on the way home a long but very gentle climb from Brixton to Streatham and then downhill to Tooting.
I get so freakily hot when I cycle I tend to ride in in my gym gear. Need to find out whether they have showers at work or whether I'll have to pop down to the local gym (about 5 mins away from the office). Also need to establish whether they have anywhere to leave my bike safely.
I actually enjoy very specific types of exercise I just need to gear up to it again *G*. I'm going to look for a personal trainer to work with at least a couple of times a month, either see if I can find one at the gym in Brixton so I could go before/after work or find one in Tooting for after work. I know the classes I want to take again (Body Balance is awesome and I'd like to try Pilates or yoga again - something involving streaching/flexibility to compensate for weights work) but I love boxing training. Something about hitting things really appeals *G* and is brilliant stress relief. So far I've only worked with male PTs because they never start by asking how much weight you want to lose - they seem much more focused on strength and health objectives, and I've had great results rapidly increasing my cadio & strength with them! I figured out I could be fit and heavy when working out with PPTM - he pushed me hard and my cardio was incredible as was my ability to lift stuff. I didn't drop body weight, but then again I was eating ALL the food because I was working out so hard most of the time!
This time around I want to work a bit harder on the balance - I know if I cut back the carbs and up the protein I'll feel better. *G*
Now I actually have clear floor space (physically clearing the decks!) in the living room I can dig out my weights and balance ball and work out at home sometimes too.
And yes - watching Tyler Hoechlin is certainly making me want to get back into the gym! I want muscles definition back in my arms (and the strength to easily carry my bike up and down the stairs into my flat).
I'm on
(no subject)
9/9/12 22:44 (UTC)And if you have floor space at home to do workouts, then go you! I barely have a spot big enough to stretch my full length. That's my excuse and I'm keepin' it.
(no subject)
10/9/12 16:25 (UTC)(no subject)
10/9/12 22:29 (UTC)I'm to the point in this long process where there isn't much to say from day to day, but at least for my own purposes I'm trying to record the bigger turning points, realizations and changes. So I'm glad it's serving a purpose for you too!
(no subject)
11/9/12 09:11 (UTC)(no subject)
11/9/12 18:00 (UTC)I saw two choices at the point where I was beginning to regain my lost weight--surrender completely and just stop caring (and inevitably regain everything); or turn the boat around. For me, the second choice was really hard, but not as hard as the first.
Now that the boat is turned around, it's surprisingly easy to keep going. The turning-around part was really starting my diet all over again. Of course I had a ton of experience and data by then, so it wasn't quite the trailblazing effort that the initial push was. What worked before would work again--I didn't feel like there was any magic about that.
I just had to clear my resistance to doing it. That resistance dissolved under the clear light of logic--but that's how I roll. I like things to make sense and I'm less concerned about how they feel. I imagine it's important for different people to find different ways to take (or re-take) that first step.
Anyway, I hope you find a way too!
(no subject)
12/9/12 10:26 (UTC)(no subject)
12/9/12 17:58 (UTC)(no subject)
17/9/12 00:03 (UTC)I started Weightwatchers and points a month ago, did it for 3 weeks, then stopped when life got crazy. I want to go back on it, since I know that only by calorie counting will I lose weight...but I'm not sure I could be as precise as you are about it. Or how to.
(no subject)
17/9/12 00:27 (UTC)Also, after nearly two years, I'm not nearly as concerned with absolute accuracy as I was when I set out. You do get a feel for it after a while--at least I did. The trick for me was accepting that even though I'd developed a good sense of how many calories I was eating, only by actually writing it down and keeping track does that sense not start slipping into denial-land.
And for the precision I do have, I use the massive food database at MyPlate at Livestrong. It took a couple of months to really train the database to know my foods. I had to enter some of my recipes and all of my bike routes. But once that front-loading was done, it became really quick and easy. I doubt if I spend more than five minutes, total, entering my calories in and out every day.