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"

[Baltoscott]

Starting Weight:

    Jan. 6, 2017: 202.3 lbs

• Sun, 2.12: 195.6 lbs
• Sun, 2.19: 193.9 lbs
• Sun, 2.26: 192.3 lbs
• Sun, 3.5:   189.8 lbs
• Sun, 3.12: 188.2 lbs
• Tue, 3.21:  186.8 lbs
• -1.4 lbs since last week
• -15.5 lbs since start. 

Goal Weight: 165-170 lbs

So, I mentioned before that I was traveling for a mini-vacation last week to watch a lot of basketball. That's why the Tuesday weigh-in.  Weight is pretty good but it covers 9 days instead of 7.  And I've dropped 15 lbs since starting!

As many folks here report, traveling can can be a challenge. Daily routine is gone (unless you travel for a living); eating out all meals and limited workouts -- especially on the two 10+ hour driving days.  But I did ok.  My wife is also trying to lose weight so we split a few meals, and I left food on the plate.  Focused on salads, usually with chicken.  Got a few burger or bar-b-que type sandwiches but skipped half or all of the bun, and subbed spinach or some other green for fries, split a "medium" pizza (still huge) with my wife and managed to leave almost half when we were done.

The games ran from early afternoon to nearly midnight Thursday-Sunday. I attended six games at the arena in Greenville on Friday and Sunday and watched many more games in the Greenville bars on all four days.  Both venues presented challenges.  At the arena there are really no good food choices.  I just tried not to eat much there.  But sucking up table space at a bar for hours without buying anything seems a little rude so there was pressure to overeat and drink when I was in that venue.  In the end I wound up at three beers and about two gallons of water and iced tea per day.

I did manage a bike ride every morning other than the driving days -- 90 to120 minutes, and some walks between bars, so not too bad on that front.

[TravellingSunny]

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@A_Lurker wrote:

... and I'm most likely going to get that bowel movement out of the way before I weigh in.  

---

This.  I almost spit my coffee out.  LOL!  Love it!

[Grigonic]

Hi everyone.

So I'm 27 and 5' 11".
I got a Fitbit for Christmas in December 2015
I started my journey on January 1st 2016.
Read a lot of articles and forums and tried to learn the best tricks from everyone.

So initially my weight was 310 lbs.
For 5 months I worked hard, of course diets and increased my activity only by walking a lot more and by the end of May 2016 I got down to 280 lbs. Of course it required logging foods which I usually do with MFP.
Then I guess I hit my plateau like everyone does, and the whole summer, September and October I didn't loose 1 pound but I kept moving a lot even start playing soccer 2 times a week and run 2 or 3 times a week. But I stopped logging my food so basically I maintained the 280 lbs.
November and December I stopped moving that much and playing soccer since it's got colder,  and  after the holidays I gained 15 lbs and got up to 295 lbs.
January 1st 2017 I decided to start it over.
This time though I started lifting too and work even harder, about 2 hours, 5 times a week at least.
In January I lost 9 lbs.
In February I lost only 3 (only because of the muscle gain what you can tell by looking, also lost 5% fat ) 
This month I'm down another 10 lbs and I'm down to 273 lbs
Basically i start loosing 3-3.5 lbs a week.
My MFP is set to loose 2 lbs a week so I'm supposed to eat 1820 calories a day.
And I try to not eat the calories I burn extra from my workouts.
So I burn an average of 4000-4200 a day and my intake is about 2000 calories.
Should loose more probably but this is where I'm at
This time I destroyed that 280 lbs mark and feel really good about it.
My legs and upper body look really good. The stomach part though still needs work.

My fear right now though is not to hit that PLATEAU WALL again.
So I'm always changing my working out routine and my diets.
But I've been on diet for about 3 months now with a cheat meal every now and then.
And I read a cool article about a DIET BREAK.

Wanted to ask if anyone did it and how it works???
I definitely needed it last year but they say to take a break of 2 weeks.
My break was to long last year so I don't want to do the same now.
I hope I will keep loosing 2-3 lbs a week but wanna be ready for the PLATEAU.

Any thoughts on that will be welcomed.

Starting weight  310 lbs

01.01.2016 - 310 lbs

05.31.2016 - 280 lbs

11.01.2016 -280 lbs

01.01.2017 - 295 lbs

02.01.2017 - 286

03.01.2017 - 283
03.22.2017 - 273

GW - 250 lbs by the end of the summer 2017
Final GW - 220 lbs

Sorry for the long message.
Good job everyone and keep it up

[Dave001]

Hi @Grigonic!

Good work getting back on it. I've fallen off the wagon more times that I can remember!

This time it's going to be different. The community here at Fitbit helps a great deal. It's like having a support team for your conscience!

I've been logging food, but in a diary. An "old fashioned" paper one. With a pen! It really helps. I've lost about 17kg (37.5lbs) since New Year. And more importantly, I feel great. I'm now 44 going on 25!

Where my diet plan differs is that I'm not counting calories and have no intention of doing so. I've simply adopted the Mediterranean style diet. I've been enjoying it so much that I've cut out all meat and poultry. I suppose I could be described as a pescetarian. 

The key though is that it's become a lifestyle. It's not a chore. Tonight I made a lentil lasagne. It was amazing. Much better than any meat one I've ever eaten. I even used olive oil for the béchamel rather than butter.

I'm exercising more, sleeping better, my mood is improved, my cholesterol is in normal range for the first time in years. I'm like a new bloke.

I sound like a sales rep for the Mediterranean style diet! But for me at least, it's really working and making life so much better. 

http://www.ndei.org/uploadedFiles/Common/NDEI/Home/Whats_New/Healthful-Eating-Mediterranean-Style.pd...

So in short, I'm not going to take a diet break, because I'm not on a "diet". I've simply chosen a better lifestyle. 

Keep up the good work!

[A_Lurker]

@MHKBB17- the posts can be as long or as short as you want them.  Back in the days I could do everything perfectly before my period and I would always gain weight.  About day 2 all that water weight was gone.  I could do daily weighing and pretty much predict it.  You eventually learn to go with the flow so to speak. 

[A_Lurker]

@Grigonic- some comments (as last year I started at 360 and am now 255.4 as of last week).   I understand the desire for rapid weight loss, however, this can sometimes be the cause of our plateaus.  Some people can maintain a rapid loss.  I am not one of them.  In fact, in past weight loss attempts I've dieted myself into illness, which eventually derailed my attempts completely.  Two pounds a week should likely be a maximum you should be losing.  If you're losing more you are stressing your system and your body adapts very quickly to the level of food that you are eating.  If you haven't heard the term BMR, try this site - put in your information and that number is the absolute minimum you should be eating on a daily basis.

http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/bmr/

I'm actually at a point where I'm trying to slow my weight loss, on purpose.  My physician pointed out that faster weight loss in the past has eventually just not worked for me.  However, you asked about diet breaks, and I've definitely done them.  Now, if you're under-eating they might be trickier.

The basics are that roughly every 12 weeks you eat at your maintenance levels.  When I've done them I've always been counting calories both before and during the breaks.  So let's say I was burning 4000 calories and eating 2750 (that was where I stopped).  I would purposely slow down the exercise a bit and eat every calorie that my fitbit said that I burned.  I use a HR enabled tracker, so I know it's off a little on the high side.  However, at the end of my diet break it was rare that I'd gained weight.  Sometimes a little, but when I went back to my normal eating it would come off quickly.

Here's a link to a guy I have a lot of respect for, that explains it way better than I can:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html

One warning.  If you are doing low carb and suddenly eat tons of carbs you are almost certainly going to pack on a fair amount of water weight.  When you go back it will come off likely just as quickly.  I don't follow low carb (maybe lower carb, but I don't really pay attention to them).  A break means eating more of the same kind of stuff you usually do, not a week or two of junk food constantly.  I used to add a little more fat and/or protein to my diet to bring up my calories.  I would have bacon & eggs for breakfast, a little more salad dressing, some ice cream.

The catch is that now I'm actually only aiming for no more than a pound a week loss and I make egg cups with a strip of bacon half the time anyway (bought a local mixed organic box of pork... so lots of bacon and sausage).  I'm not counting calories and have pretty much come to a way of eating that supports that.  So at the moment I'm not even thinking about diet breaks.

[jlow]

I would like to shout from the rooftops that I started to run (jog) again today!  I've been procrastinating for a L O N G time.  Thank you for listening, that is all. 

[Baltoscott]

@jlow -- Woop Woop!

[Grigonic]

@A_Lurker Thanks for your input.
I know what BMR is, and mine is 2750 for maintenance 
I use MyFitnessPal 
Like I said I try to put in me 1800-2000 and then whatever I work out and burn extra I don't eat it.
But one day a week I definitely go over my limit like 2500 so my body knows I still love it 🙂
Also about that article with Diet Breaks that's the exactly one I read 🙂
So that's why I was wondering
I'm not aiming for more I know that 2 lbs a week is very good and healthy.
For the past 3 weeks though I've been  loosing 3-3.5 lbs a week
I feel fine overall, I'm not starving or in pain.
I've been doing it this time for about 10 weeks and after I read that article I was thinking to take a break and start eating my BMR the 2700 I need for maintenance.
The article says take 2 weeks.
So I was wondering how long usually people are taking?
Also of course I won't go to bad food
I will just increase my portions.

Just for the history I gained about 60 lbs in 2 years.
And it all was because I changed the city, and you know not a lot of friends, trying to do more at work so I wasn't as active as I used to be prior to that (which was at least 3 times a week play 2-3 hours of basketball or soccer).
So I never in my life counted calories or thought about what I'm eating and how much cause it always was burned anyway.

But 2014 and 2015 gave me those 60 lbs and that was enough for me
And last year from January till May I dropped 30 lbs and got to 280 lbs,  then stopped for a while and gained 15 lbs back.
So this year I wanna get down to where I used to be before I got the 60, to my usual 250 lbs and then maybe go to 220 bs as my final goal.
So now I don't wanna stop like last year.
but last year the mistake was that ?I didn't take any breaks and I got sick of it I guess and stopped logging my foods.
I'm down to 273 which is bellow the 280 lbs from last year and I'm happy with it
Just gotta continue what I'm doing, but like I said I'm trying to avoid the plateau or get ready for it and learn the best way to beat it.
Maybe I won't hit it this time but you never know.
😉

[Move.It.Move.It]

Hi @Pamala,  I think that age does play a bit of a difference. I have just hit my 50's and I feel that it seems harder to lose larger amounts of weight now in a week. Slow and steady seems to be the only way. 

[A_Lurker]

@Grigonic- BMR is actually how much your body burns if you just lay in bed all day (there is some digestion in there.  When you are eating at maintenance you want to eat your TDEE.  I'm going to use my info, entered into http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/bmr/

51, Female, 5'4", 255.4lbs - goal of 200

(if you have a lot to lose you need to enter an intermediate number)

My BMR is 1828 calories (ie. I should not eat below this)

This is a copy of my results:

Based on your goal weight, the following chart was generated. The chart shows the number of calories that you should eat on a daily basis to reach your goal weight. At Fat 2 Fit Tools we advocate eating like the thin, healthy person that you want to become. The calorie levels you see in the chart are not extreme, but they do create that all important caloric deficit that is required to get you to your goal weight in a safe manner. Once you reach your goal weight, you will continue eating the same number of calories for the rest of your life to maintain that weight. You'll never be on a diet again.

Based on how much activity you do on an average day, the calories in the right column will be the number of calories that you will be able to eat at your goal weight. If you start eating those calories right now (eating like the thinner you), you will eventually become that thinner person. As you get closer to your goal weight, your weight loss will start to slow down. It is OK to eat a few hundred calories less per day (200-300) to speed up your weight loss at this point.

Activity Level Daily Calories

Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job)	1904
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)	2182
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)	2460
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)	2738
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.)	3015

NOTE: Please remember that this calculation is just a guideline. Your metabolism may be higher or lower based on the amount of lean muscle you have. Use these numbers a a starting point and tweak them up or down based on your weight loss or gain. It may take a couple weeks to get your exact calorie level.

For me, the information is pretty much spot on.  I'm moderately active, eat around 2500 calories and on this I lose weight (I could be higher or lower as I don't count, but I know it's around there).  Not eating enough tends to stall my weight loss.  I think in over a year I've only had maybe 6-10 weeks max where my weight didn't go down.  Usually because I traveled or completely over indulged (often on purpose).  As I said, since I've slowed my loss I'm not really planning a break.  I was doing 1 week every 16 weeks (I have a hard time convincing myself to actually do breaks).

For those that don't know me, or haven't heard me say it before.  My plan is to continue to lose weight more slowly (suggested by my physician based on my tendency to over do things).  I will keep active, continue my workouts and I don't plan to have to eat sub-1000 calories to maintain my weight.  I honestly don't know what my goal weight will be, but at 150lbs and moderately active I should still be able to burn ~2000 calories a day.  That's kind of where I want to end up as I could easily shave 500 calories off my current eating plan.

[tamado]

@A_Lurker, your patience, dedication and attitude continue to inspire me and others.  When you start with a large loss number it can be overwhelming and you just keep taking it one step at a time.  You are informed and calculated and do not make excuses.  I have learned to see patterns over the last couple of years from people who are likely to succeed long term, those who will lose and re-gain and those who will give up after a short time "trying".
We need a long vision to our health.  I started my journey on a campaign to health and initially left the word weight out of it.  I was going to be more active and eat "healthier" - whatever that meant.  I really had no clue at the time.  Through tools like the ones you use, I have gained awareness.  What does my body burn and what does it store?  What satiates and what leaves me with my head in the fridge an hour later?  What can I do for the rest of my life?  IE: If it's a diet, there's no point starting because we'll put it back on.  Living this way is who I am now and I see that in you.  You have learned what the right amount of food looks like and don't log everything anymore.  I'm the same way.  Mindful living means we get used to listening to what our bodies need.  The average healthy person I know doesn't count calories or points their whole life and they stay consistent in weight.  Why is that?  I believe it's because when we eat the right foods (whole foods, balanced diet higher in vegetables) our bodies can balance out calorie surplus or deficit more easily.  It's how it's worked for 1,000s of years.  
I'm rambling but reading this thread the last couple of weeks really has me thinking about healthy, mindful living and weight loss.  It has me thinking about a lifetime of healthy life choices and treating our bodies as they deserve to be treated.

I still like referencing this article once in a while.  It's extremely harsh but seems to be right on the money.  The patterns and attitudes he talks about here seem to be 100% consistent with my observations.  I even love the comments.  The ones who attack him the most seem to be the ones with the failure attitudes trying to defend their positions.

http://coachtaylorsimon.ca/uncategorized/the-brutally-honest-6-reasons-you-are-still-overfat/

[Clarker86]

So this isn't my weekly weigh in but it is a milestone that needs to be shared. Today I hit the lowest I've been in 6 years at 193 which is 48lbs from my highest of 241. That means I have lost 20% of my weight. 3.1 more lbs to my mini goal of sub-190!

Thanks for this thread OP! It helps hold me accountable on the daily so that my numbers will be down the next time I post.

[Grigonic]

@A_LurkerCustom BMR Calculation

Entered information: 27 year old male, 71 inches tall, weighing 273 pounds.

From the information that you entered, you'd like to weigh 220 lbs.

Harris-Benedict Formula

There are a few different methods to calculating your basal metabolic rate (BMR). One of the most popular, developed in the early 1900's is called the Harris-Benedict formula. Based on this formula, your current BMR is 2487 calories.

Katch-McArdle Forumla

The numbers above are fairly accurate, however they don't take into account your lean body mass. A more accurate formula that does take your lean body mass into account is the Katch-McArdle formula. Since many of us have scales that will tell us our current body fat, this formula may yield more accurate results. Based on the information you provided, body fat percentage of 35%, you have a lean body mass of 177 lbs., and your BMR is 2108 calories.

How Many Calories Should I Eat?

Based on your goal weight, the following chart was generated. The chart shows the number of calories that you should eat on a daily basis to reach your goal weight. At Fat 2 Fit Tools we advocate eating like the thin, healthy person that you want to become. The calorie levels you see in the chart are not extreme, but they do create that all important caloric deficit that is required to get you to your goal weight in a safe manner. Once you reach your goal weight, you will continue eating the same number of calories for the rest of your life to maintain that weight. You'll never be on a diet again.

Based on how much activity you do on an average day, the calories in the right column will be the number of calories that you will be able to eat at your goal weight. If you start eating those calories right now (eating like the thinner you), you will eventually become that thinner person. As you get closer to your goal weight, your weight loss will start to slow down. It is OK to eat a few hundred calories less per day (200-300) to speed up your weight loss at this point.

Activity Level Daily Calories

Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job)	2587
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)	2965
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)	3342
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)	3719
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.)	4096

So I put my info in.
I would say for sure I'm  Moderately Active
I eat 2000 calories a day right now.
Sometimes 2200
Get a cheat day with 2500
And I loose 2-3 lbs a week
But if I will eat 3342 I don't think I will be loosing a whole lot
Also I don't know when they do the calculation what parameters for time frame they use  to get to your desired weight.
As of today at the end of each week I'm 10000-12000 calories short. And I lost 3 lbs first week of March, then 3.5 lbs second and 3.5 last week.
Before this I was doing the same thing but was loosing 1.5 - 2 lbs
So I was in the same deficit range but I was loosing different.
I gained muscle though which helps burning calories maybe that's why I'm loosing more now.
I guess March is my lucky month. 🙂
If I will eat 3342 I will be loosing about 1 lbs a week.
Which will still be great, just depends how and when you wanna get there.

I learned one thing.
Every person has their own story, background, genetics, plan and workout routine.
For everyone it might work different.
And when they say moderately active and they say 3-5 days of workout.
How long is a workout for everyone is different too.
I go and put 2 hours of work usually 5 times a week so I might be considered very active.
You never know though there is a lot of details.

It's working now for me and I'm happy about it.
Like I said I'm only trying not to hit that plateau again. I won't stop for sure.
Just trying to get prepared and learn how to trick my muscle and metabolism.

Thanks for all the info.

[A_Lurker]

@tamado- I don't actually think of myself on a diet at the moment.  I'm eating at a deficit level with an eye to slow, consistent weight loss.  We are all different but I think I finally understand that with the amount of weight I have to lose, and my past history, that doing it as fast as possible just isn't an option for me.  It takes a lot though to not aim for that 2lb/week loss anymore.  For me though it was becoming more like a diet than a change.  Oddly enough I don't actually want that 2lb/week change.  It's telling me that I'm trying to make big changes and I tend to preach making small manageable changes.  To this morning I'm down more than a pound this week and now I'm mentally thinking I have to watch that I eat enough.

What I will likely have to work harder on for longer is the movement.  After 5 decades of being mostly sedentary (with exceptions) I know this is what I'll have to pay more attention to.  I'm glad I work in a job that sometimes I get my 10,000 steps before I get home.  Today though I'm very low, and I want to work in my lifting tonight as well. 

Oh, and I've read Taylor's stuff before.  He has it right you know.  We each make our choices about what we choose to do.  I brought chocolate in from Costco that I picked up this week, and I've had some as well.  Now, it's about being aware.  Each of the squares of dark chocolate are 35 calories each, so why wouldn't I enjoy one in the morning and one in the late afternoon.  I've said before that if I'm going to eat something higher in calories it will be something I enjoy.  I have no issues passing on the cake and such in the office.  I'll admit that I contribute to it (bringing in baking from time to time).  LOL - but my baking is good and the portion sizes will usually bring them in at the 75 calorie mark.

On that note I'm off to work on another ~9000 steps before I pack it in for the evening and come back and post more.  

[A_Lurker]

@Clarker86- congrats!  I know at the moment I'm lighter than I was in college (that's more than 30 years ago), although I think I came close to the weight I am now before illness derailed me.  Since I've avoided keeping track over the years I'm not sure what number to celebrate. 

[A_Lurker]

@Grigonic- what speed you choose to lose weight is your decision.  The faster you lose it the more likely you stress your systems.  I was only pointing out that if you choose a break week or two that you would need to push your calories higher than you think.  Your weight loss kind of shows this.  If you are losing 3-3.5 pounds a week then that matches with the deficit that you're calculating (10,000 - 12,000 calories, close enough).  If you go too much at that speed I wouldn't push your break week calories as high though.  Best of luck.

[SunsetRunner]

@Grigonic that is the thing everyone needs to learn, take in

there is no magical number, that the 1200/1500 is based on the average female/male

too many spout that everyone needs to eat at least that amount

they forget that everyone is different, even if they are twins

What they are saying is they can take any random male from say one country and then take another male from another country of the same height and that their minimum calorie intake would be the same... just like if 2 males ran for say 1 mile at the same speed, same height and weight, that they would burn the same amount of kcal....

many say eat that minimum amount and if you want to lose weight exercise.... what about those that are physically unable to exercise?

[Dave001]

Starting weight:
1st Jan 2017 142kg (313lbs)

10th Mar 2017 126.9kg (280lbs)
16th Mar 2017 126.3kg (278.5lbs)

23rd Mar 2017 123.9kg (273lbs)

Target weight:
100kg (220lbs)

What a great week!

I've been trying new stuff in the kitchen. Who knew that the Mediterranean Diet was so diverse and delicious! I'm in love with chickpeas. So versatile! I think they're my new favourite food. Bad news for spud farmers!

I've been for a short run. Just 20 minutes of run/walk. It was so invigorating. It's been a few years since I went for a run. I'm well and truly back on it. Watch out Sir Mo Farah, I'm coming for your job!

My workmates are so supportive. And competitive too! In this week's Workweek Hustle, I managed 64k steps and still came 4th. I'm finding the competition so motivating. I'm determined to win the Weekend Warrior!

I hope you've all had an equally wonderful week. If not, chin up! It's the weekend. Get out for a nice walk and forget this week. Next week is a new beginning!

[A_Lurker]

@SunsetRunner- I lost probably my first 50 pounds without hitting a 10,000 step day.  In the end it is primarily about what you eat.  However, I'd like to add that I don't lose weight consistently when I under eat.  I'll lose quickly, then stall out.  Trying to push through that by eating less or moving more ends up making me sick (two serious illnesses during those attempts).  So, for some people the solution is eat more, move more.  The usual mantra is eat less, move more - but if people start with too low a calorie level (when they have a lot to lose) they make it far more difficult for themselves.