Weekly Weigh In

[Move.It.Move.It]

I am weighing myself every Monday morning and I am going to log my results each weigh for accountability and support. Please feel free to join in.

Start weigh                   125.5 kg 14/12/2015

Now                              124.2 kg 11/01/2015

Loss this week             200g

Loss to date                 1.3kg

"Slow and steady wins the race"

[Truefreedom]

Would recommend maintaining a single thread for consistent historical purposes.

JMHO

Ken

[EleanorNC]

Whatever you're doing, it seems to be working. If I were you, I'd keep
doing it. Good luck and good self-discipline. Terrific!

Eleanor

[EleanorNC]

Thanks for the helpful comment. It was very encouraging. It's, however,
still up to me to do the work.

Eleanor

[BillyD3711]

Yes, a think a single thread might work. All I can say is that I’m having real challenges navigating through these posts to the point that I may seek an alternative (Facebook group or something)

[EleanorNC]

You have a god point. I will focus my energy mainly on the weekly weigh
in. Thanks for your feedback

Eleanor

[Dominique]

---

@tamado wrote:

@Dominique, what does your weight gain diet look like?  How carefully do you measure to try and precisely gain weight and have it not be fat gain?  Do you have to gain some fat to gain muscle and then burn it off again?

---

@tamado: my current diet for muscle gain looks very similar to the one I followed for fat loss. For instance, I eat exactly the same amount of protein (in absolute terms): 122g per day, i.e. about 2g per kg of bodyweight. I eat slightly more carbs and fats, and try to balance total calories with my activity. Not that easy, as I don’t count calories, nor use MyFitnessPal (never have and probably never will). I weigh myself daily and use the weekly average. So far (5 weeks), I’m gaining too fast compared to my plan: 0.53kg per week (vs. 0.25kg as per plan). Since I started from a historically low weight and BF% level, I’m not too worried, but I may have to stop gaining earlier than I thought.

I accept there’s a trade-off to be made: it’s impossible to gain weight without gaining some fat too. I can always lose it later. It’s "easier" to lose fat than gain muscle (especially at my age), so I prefer to focus on gaining muscle for now. Even though I have regained a little bit of fat lately, I’m still well below the average level of the past five years:

And while I know BF% obtained with a scale isn’t necessarily reliable, visual observations match this.

My weight training program is also unchanged: I lift five days a week, sessions typically last between 50 and 80 minutes, depending on week of mesocycle. Main difference is the focus is now on maximising muscle, vs. minimizing lean mass loss previously. It’s a slow and incremental process, but I’m not in a hurry: still another three years before I turn 60 .

[almost_where]

CW - 314 -4    10 WEEK AVERAGE + 1.3 LBS (+13)  USW - 363 3/9/16
PW - 318 -2

PW - 320 +2
PW - 318 +7
PW - 311 +5

PW - 306 +2

PW - 304 +2

PW - 298 +6

PW - 295 -0

PW - 295 -5

Starting to get a little momentum going. Gonna aim for a 6,500 step floor this week.

[EleanorNC]

I don't have a weight gain diet. I want to lose about 15 pounds to fit
into my size 2 pants. Your daily routines are awesome! Keep up the good
work, and I'm sure you'll reach your goals.

Eleanor

[Baltoscott]

My goal since mid-December is to lift weights and "bulk up" at the rate of about .5 to 1 lbs/week until I get to around 170 lbs.  After that I will probably "cut" back to 160 lbs.

Jan. 6, 2017:       202.3 lbs (starting weight)

                                              fitbit's daily net calorie calculation during the week preceding weigh-in.

• Sun, 12.17  159.3 lbs    
• Sun, 12.24  159.5 lbs    -455
• Sun, 12.31  160.8 lbs    +43
• Sun, 1.7      160.5 lbs    -568
• Sun, 1.14    161.3 lbs    -560
• Sun, 1.21    161.9 lbs   - 410

+2.6 lbs since 12.17  

Goal Range: 160-170 lbs

Cool.  My 0.6 lb gain is right between my .5lb  - 1lb goal.  Although fitbit says I am in a calorie deficit I am obviously in a surplus or I wouldn't be gaining.  Still finding it a little hard to transition into this gaining phase and eat enough, but adding nuts and peanut butter seems to be the key for me.

[Dominique]

@almost_where: glad you have been sticking around and kudos for the momentum of the past two weeks! Have you analyzed what caused your rebound last summer? You’re 50 pounds under your USW, that’s a big positive in itself. You can crush it!

[Dominique]

---

@EleanorNC wrote:
I want to lose about 15 pounds to fit into my size 2 pants.

---

I’m not really familiar with US cloth sizes, but I googled it and found this:

If the difference between size 4 and size 2 is 2.5 cm (about 1 inch) on your waist, I’m surprised you would need to lose 15-20 pounds in order to go from 4 to 2.

[Dominique]

I plan to gain weight over the course of 16 weeks at an average pace of 0.25 kg per week (about 1 kg per month).

Here are my numbers for the past week (including average step count and energy expenditure):

Week 0, ending 18-Dec-17: 60.2 kg (13.0%), 11.2k steps, 2523 cal.

Week 1, ending 25-Dec-17: 60.5 kg (13.4%), 5.9k steps, 2390 cal. -> +0.23 kg

Week 2, ending 1-Jan-18: 60.6 kg (13.6%), 14.0k steps, 2629 cal. -> +0.17 kg

Week 3, ending 8-Jan-18: 61.1 kg (13.6%), 16.2k steps, 2887 cal. -> +0.49 kg

Week 4, ending 15-Jan-18: 61.7 kg (13.7%), 17.9k steps, 2932 cal. -> +0.54 kg

Week 5, ending 22-Jan-18: 62.3 kg (14.3%), 10.3k steps, 2731 cal. -> +0.64 kg

The past week wasn’t very good for me: I had two very low step days, gained way too much (again) and now body fat shot up too. OTOH, I had long and hard lifting sessions (it was the overreaching week of my mesocycle), which shows in relatively high calories expended for the amount of steps.

Here is where I currently stand during this muscle mass gaining phase: 

Week	Ending	weight goal	body fat historical	weight actual	body fat actual
Week 0	18.Dec.17	60.20
Week 1	25.Dec.17	60.45		60.5	13.4
Week 2	01.Jan.18	60.70		60.6	13.6
Week 3	08.Jan.18	60.95	14.7	61.1	13.6
Week 4	15.Jan.18	61.20		61.7	13.7
Week 5	22.Jan.18	61.45		62.3	14.4
Week 6	29.Jan.18	61.70
Week 7	05.Feb.18	61.95	15.0
Week 8	12.Feb.18	62.20
Week 9	19.Feb.18	62.45
Week 10	26.Feb.18	62.70
Week 11	05.Mar.18	62.95	15.6
Week 12	12.Mar.18	63.20
Week 13	19.Mar.18	63.45
Week 14	26.Mar.18	63.70
Week 15	02.Apr.18	63.95	16.3
Week 16	09.Apr.18	64.20

I’m three weeks ahead of schedule weight-wise, so I’m definitely not a "hard-gainer" . I hope I’ll be able to remain under 15% BF for the next two weeks.

[Jotex]

Weight this past week was relatively stable; but to me — who wants to lose — it feels like failure (= almost equivalent of gaining, if that makes sense?!). 

Well done @Dominique on being ahead of your goal. Mine goal of reaching 60 kg  is now. projected for Feb 2019! 😩 ... 

I have a question. Are your figures actual body fat weight or percentages? In either case, my body fat % is still way too high, though it is falling along with the weight.

I probably asked this months ago, but do I need to focus more on building muscle, or cutting calories to (help) speed weight loss? 

[Dominique]

---

@Jotex wrote:

 I have a question. Are your figures actual body fat weight or percentages? In either case, my body fat % is still way too high, though it is falling along with the weight.

I probably asked this months ago, but do I need to focus more on building muscle, or cutting calories to (help) speed weight loss?  

---

My figures are body fat as percentage (even when the % sign is omitted), not fat mass as kilograms. My BF% is currently around 15% and fat mass about 9 kg. At their lowest, they were 12.9% and 7.7 kg, respectively.

It’s very hard to lose fat and build muscle at the same time. Nevertheless, even if your priority is to drop weight (in order to lose fat), it’s still a good idea to do what’s needed for building muscle: lift weights and eat enough protein. When doing so in a caloric deficit, you won’t build as much muscle as you would in a surplus, but you’ll either build some muscle (could be the case if you’re new to weight training), or minimize lean mass loss, which will improve body composition.

What was your starting weight and when? Spending some time maintaining is not necessarily a bad thing. It all depends on how much you have lost so far, and how fast.

[Jotex]

Thanks @Dominique. I am so embarassed to say that my current BF% is 41% (it was even higher!). My starting weight when I got my Fitbit and the Aria scale was 76 kg. I know it was as high as 78 kg at a previous point (also embarassing, as I am only 5’2” tall). 

I was losing weight when I strictlyfollowed my keto diet (70% fat, 20% protein, 10% carbs), limited calories, got my steps in and exercised. Then I went on vacation in November — still lost weight somehow, but got off keto diet. Came diwn with the flu, then came the holidays with yummy (non-keto diet) food, etc.

SO, back to my plan, but increase protein and add more/longer work outs with weights. Got it! Thanks!

[Dominique]

@Jotex: your BMI went from 31.5 (at 78kg) to about 28 (at 70kg). That’s a change of category and a big achievement. I personally like the phasic approach to weight loss described here: lose 10% of your body weight in one stretch, then take a break of 2-3 months maintaining your new weight, then go for the next stretch of 10%. 78 to 70 is about 10%, so if the drop took place recently, you may want to maintain for a while before the next weight loss phase.

BF% will come down with weight, even if your Aria may not always reflect this (because it’s very sensitive to hydration).

Note you can’t go too high with protein if you want to be in ketosis (because of gluconeogenesis, mentioned here). However, being low-carb (without ketosis) may work just as well.

[Jotex]

@Dominique - thanks for sharing your very encouraging insights. I don’t feel like such a failure now!!!

From August 2017 to January 2018 I lost the 8 kilos, with most loss occurring before mid-December. Since then it has been slow, kind of ping-pong up and down or stagnant. I favor the notion of a  period of maintenance then losing again. Now I’m eager to get back on rhe weight loss track! 

Thanks for the link again regarding the ratio of protein on the keto diet. Think I’ll copy / paste that into a doc, print out large size, and post on my bulletin board. And in the kitchen!!! 😊

[Autumnwinds]

(Starting weight for 2018/Last week's weight/Current weight)

Week 1:  280/280/280= no change

Week 2: 280/280/275= -5 lbs

Week 3: 280/275/271= -4 lbs

------------------------------------

Total for 2018: -9 lbs

Total for 2017: -28 lbs

Complete Total: -37 lbs

@Dominique& @Baltoscott , good job on your gains this week.  Glad all your efforts are showing up on the scale for both of you.

@almost_where, great job on losing weight this week.  Keep up the good work.

@Jotex, I am sorry the flu knocked you from your routine & weight loss you had going on.  Hopefully you can get back on track and get the scale moving the direction you want.

To everyone, I hope you have a great week.  Good luck on your weigh ins.

[EmjayH]

USW (pre Fitbit) Nov 14 2016; 123kg
SW (Fitbit) March 2 2017; 97.7kg
PW August 07; 78.5kg
PW August 14; 77.9kg
PW August 21; 77.3kg
PW August 28; 76.9kg
PW Sept. 04; 77.7kg 😳🙈
PW Sept 11; 75.9kg
PW Sept 18; 75.1kg
PW Sept 25; 74.4kg
PW Oct 02; 74.3kg
PW Oct 09; 73.3kg
PW Oct 16; 72.5kg
PW Oct 23; 72.6kg
PW Oct 30; 73.4kg
PW Nov 06; 72.1kg
PW Nov 13; 72kg
PW Nov 20; 70.7kg
PW Nov 27; 70.3kg
PW Dec 04; 70.8kg.
PW Dec 11; 70.3kg
PW Dec 18; 69.8kg
PW Dec 25; 68.6kg
PW Jan 01; 68.3kg
PW Jan 08; 68.0kg
PW Jan 15; 67.5kg

CW Jan 22; 69.2kg

loss this week; +1.7 gain

new goal weight; 65kg

no excuses. I'm having issues controlling my snacking. Activity was also down. My trainer believes some of it is muscle strain cause I've started working out after a 2 week break. Although this may be some of the case I think the main reason is because I slacked off. So I gotta brush it off and get back to it. Better results next week 🤗🤗

[Jotex]

Thanks @Autumnwinds! Very encouraging note. I am impressed by your losses! Way to go!!!