New Year's Diet

[dgs49]

Bugger!

I started my new job at the end of July last year in what I considered to be reasonably good physical condition. The months of unemployment had allowed me to exercise a little more than usual, and I recall that I tipped the scales at 194 lbs. Considering my height of 5'11" that is still considerably over my "ideal" weight, but I flatter myself to think that I'm a bit more muscular than "average," and at 194 had no unsightly bulges anywhere (other than my head), and I was OK.

Now, I'm sitting on my butt for 9 hours or so every day, eating more or less constantly from the piles of cookies, candy, and whatnot that are put on desks, tables, and countertops around here by well-wishing coworkers, and I find that my clothes are beginning to strain at the seams. In fact, I bought a pair of cargo pants this weekend of a size that admitted my capitulation to the obvious.

This morning, my scale informed me that I had reached the rather disturbing weight of 211 pounds.

Knowing that my boss is in a similar fix, and is also determined to "do something about it," I challenged him to a wager. He is a former "serious" distance runner, and has gone from 165 to 225 in the past 18 months, since joining this company. He no longer runs at all.

So we shall diet until Monday morning, February 14th. The person who loses less weight shall pay the person who loses more $2.00 for each pound lost.

If anyone posting here would care to "take a piece of that," let me know and we will work something out. I'm a trusting soul - up to a point.

A pox on anyone who posts, "don't go on a diet - change your life," or words to that effect.

[Long Run]

Good luck with that. Any special reason for choosing Valentine's Day as the target date?

[oldr_n_wsr]

No thanks. But with only a little over a month to lose the weight, I don't think the weight loss will be much more than water weight.

I have found (and said this before) that the best weight loss "regiment" I have found is a really stressfull job. I had one for a year and half and I lost over 20lbs in that time (I also wound up on anti-anxiety and hyper-tension pills). I'm off the anti-anxiety pills and hopefully after my next checkup (in two weeks) I will be off the hypertension pills too.

[The Hen]

I'll take the pox then.

Diets are set up to ensure you will get fat again. Changing your life is set up to ensure you don't.

[Gob]

Only one thing we can say to that then....

[dgs49]

In my experience six weeks is the perfect duration for a diet. It is also recommended by guru Ellington Darden. It is long enough to lose a significant amount of weight yet short enough that you can always see the end of it.

And at 1/2 pound per day, it will get me to 190, which is my target.

I believe I am into it now. Oatmeal (200 cal) for breakfast, a banana in the AM, a 300 calorie lunch, an apple in the afternoon, and a 300 calorie dinner. A thousand calories per day. That will be sufficient to lose more than my target rate.

At least that is the plan.

[The Hen]

A very restrictive plan. I would rather take a longer time to get there and not be as exhausted as you will be.

[rubato]

2-3 lbs a week, lets call it 2.5lbs/wk is a reasonable goal for weight loss exclusive of water weight.

So that's 15lbs over the period in question. Close to your target.

But really what happens next is what is important.

yrs,
rubato

[Gob]

While not taking up the challenge in the OP, this morning Hen measured me up* for a new clothing item.

Shockingly I found I am now a 37 inch / 94 cm waist! I also weighed myself to find that over Xmas I'd gone up to 91 kilos / 200 pounds. (I'm 6 foot 1 inch tall / 185 cm)

Ok, I still carry a fair bit of muscle, and since the low cholesterol diet I've been on has been adhered too in the main, I'm not too fat to look at. But after our sojourn in Adelaide is over, I'm going to have to think seriously about where I'm going in terms of fitness sand activity.

We've been a bit lackadaisical over our gym attendance of late, and also I've not been putting my days off to best use. So Dave, I may be looking at your "gurus" for some inspiration.




*No she didn't, we don't need to, we know. Do you want to give the trolls ammo?

[oldr_n_wsr]

During my anxiety driven weight loss, I went from a 36" waist to 34" and I'm still there. 5'11" and 185lbs right now. Had to go get new pants as the other's looked all wrinkly from pulling the belt tight.

[The Hen]

It is the exercises that you do rather than you being overwieght and out of shape, you twit.

I have spoke to you about strengthening your core abdominal muscles, but WILL YOU LISTEN?

You will not.

[Crackpot]

http://www.fitnessanywhere.com/

this thing pretty much makes any exercise you do with it a core exercise. I really should use mine more.

[dgs49]

I'm not sure I understand the mention of "water weight."

It is possible to lose a bit of water weight when starting an exercise program (if you sweat profusely with some regularity), but with a diet? I exercise vigorously for an hour at least three times per week, as I have throughout my adult life.

No comprendo.

According to my scale, I've lost 3-4 pounds so far. My "official" weigh-ins will be on Monday mornings.

[The Hen]

If you have set a day to weigh in, stop sneaking peaks on the other days.

[Long Run]

I'm not sure I understand the mention of "water weight."

My understanding is that certain types of food you eat will make your body retain more water. I know foods with more sodium are in this category. One of the tricks of fad diets is to limit the intake of foods that cause water retention. This causes a quick drop in weight, but it is mostly water weight. The dieter then thinks the diet is helping them lose unwanted pounds. It is slow going after this point. Not sure any of this has applicability to your efforts.

[rubato]

I'm not sure I understand the mention of "water weight."

It is possible to lose a bit of water weight when starting an exercise program (if you sweat profusely with some regularity), but with a diet? I exercise vigorously for an hour at least three times per week, as I have throughout my adult life.

No comprendo.

According to my scale, I've lost 3-4 pounds so far. My "official" weigh-ins will be on Monday mornings.

To start with you are about 60% water by weight. But this percentage can vary a lot, from 45% in very obese people to over 70%. So if you weigh 200lbs you are about 120lbs of water and a 2% change, which can easily happen within a day, is 2.4lbs.

When people are put on a prescribed diet they often are taking in a lot less salt than they were before and thus lose more water from their systems. Water weighs 8.3lbs per gallon so a 1qt change in hydration is just over 2lbs. A typical urination volume for me (the things you learn when you do forensic chemistry and need to provide your own analytical standards and blanks!) is about 500ml or 1.1lb and I can go to about 750ml "with great discomfort". I haven't seen the data but a reasonable guess is that a person of average size can lose or gain close to 4lbs by changing their salt balance/degree of hydration.

Prescribed diets also often include drinking a lot of water, 3-5 quarts a day, which can reduce salt loads and thus drive water loss.

There was a short article in The Economist about 4 months ago which reported on a study where a group was placed on a prescribed diet of 1200 cal a day +/- (the number was different for men and women but I don't recall it exactly) and then split in two. One group was instructed to drink 1/2L of water right before each meal. The group who drank the water lost 5lb more over 3 months, a significant change.

yrs,
rubato

[rubato]

So to sum up.

You are mostly water to start with hence it is the largest potential change in mass.

Even if the rate of change of water, fat, and muscle loss were the same the largest change over 1 day or 2 weeks is water.

But the rate of change is not the same, you can lose or gain water much faster than you can burn or synthesize fat or muscle.

yrs,
rubato

[rubato]

As an interesting sidelight. If you were on diuretics for HBP and stopped taking them at the beginning of a prescribed diet you might appear not to lose weight at all for up to 2 weeks as your fat loss was made up by a higher level of hydration.

yrs,
rubato

[rubato]

And finally, really this is the last one, cause and effect works everywhere and always. If you are eating 1200 cal and burning 2000 you are losing 800 cal worth of tissue a day. Nature is honest.

The Truth is what you are doing every day. The scale is only an approximation of the truth when it is taken over longer time periods. If you are doing the right things then the right thing is happening whether or not the scale reflects it.

yrs,
rubato

[dgs49]

OK I take your point (re: "water weight"). Does not apply to me, as I do not change my salt intake or medications during a diet.

I try to avoid anomalies by using the same weighing ritual each time. I weigh myself naked, immediately after emptying my bladder, first (second) thing in the morning. I generally "lose" two pounds of water overnight (breathing, perspiring, etc).