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The "last five pounds" revisited

There’s a very long discussion on how to lose the LAST FIVE pounds, saying it’s rough. However, I decided to start a new one Smiley LOL

 

Like many people, I would like to get a little bit leaner and a little bit muscular. While I would love to be able to do both at the same time, I’ve come to accept losing fat and gaining muscle are best done separately. So in early February I decided my primary focus would be on losing fat. I started at 66.6 kg (147 lbs) / 17.8% body fat. I’m 55 and 174cm, which translates into BMI 22.0. This means I have limited potential for losing weight and I guess this would make me a candidate for the "last five pounds".

 

I didn’t set myself goals in terms of weight, body fat % or timeframe, but I was ready to take it slow. Now six months have elapsed and I thought it would be a good opportunity to review my progress so far. My weight has dropped to 63.0 kg (139 lbs):

 

2016-08-02_1039.png

So technically it was’t the "last five pounds" category, but rather the last eight pounds (-3.6 kg). I’m now at BMI 20.8.

 

My body fat % has dropped from 17.8 to 15.5%:

 

2016-08-02_1040.png

 

I’m using the Fitbit Aria scale and while I understand the method it uses for determining BF has limitations, the results are consistent with other ways to assess subcutaneous body fat (obviously, I have no way to assess visceral fat): for instance, skin on my thighs, calves, arms etc. can be more easily pinched; my "love handles" have shrunk; the nurse could easily find a vein last time I donated blood (they usually have a hard time). I’m also starting to look like the 15% guy in this link Smiley LOL.

 

If I look at the numbers, my  fat mass dropped from 11.9 to 9.8 kg (-2.1 kg), while my lean mass dropped from 54.7 to 53.2 kg (-1.5 kg). Thus my weight loss was 58% fat mass and 42% lean mass. I was surprised that much came from lean mass, as I’ve been doing all the right things that are supposed to minimize muscle loss (eating enough protein + doing strength training). OTOH, since total lean mass is almost five times heavier than total fat mass, it can be expected some of the weight loss has to come from it. I’d be interested to hear what ratio of fat mass vs. lean mass other people with a similar BF level have observed when losing weight.

 

My Fitbit (Surge) tells me I’ve been burning an average of  2986 calories per day during this period of time (1-Feb to 1-Aug). 8 pounds in 6 x 4 = 24 weeks is 0.33 pounds per week. If 1 pound is 3500 calories (500 calories per day), my deficit would have been one third of that: 500/3 = 167 calories per day. Can you go lower than that Smiley LOL. I haven’t really felt like I was dieting: maybe because the average deficit was so small, maybe because I ate a lot of protein, maybe because I’m a flexible dieter (85% of whole / minimally processed food, 15% of the "bad" foods I like that cause me to adhere).

 

As for the future, I plan to continue on the same deficit for one more month and hope to reach 15% BF by end of August. Btw, this is an absolute low for me in the three years I’ve had my Aria. I’ll then switch to a surplus for the next three months (early September to early December), eat at maintenance in December and start a new six-month cut in January 2017. I hope this "one step backwards, two steps forwards" approach will cause body fat to drop below 15%.

 

Oh, and I’m really grateful for Trendweight: since I’m not counting calories, it has been my main tool for monitoring my progress. Every morning, I look at the dotted line of the 4-week curve:

 

2016-08-02_1153.png

2016-08-02_1154.png

If it’s pointing downwards, I know I’m on track. If it starts pointing upwards, I need to make adjustments to my diet and/or activity level.

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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@Dominique wrote:

There’s a very long discussion on how to lose the LAST FIVE pounds, saying it’s rough. However, I decided to start a new one Smiley LOL

... 

Oh, and I’m really grateful for Trendweight: since I’m not counting calories, it has been my main tool for monitoring my progress. Every morning, I look at the dotted line of the 4-week curve:

 


I commend you on losing 8 lbs without tracking your calorie intake. I can maintain my weight without tracking my food but I've never really been able to lose weight without tracking food. 

 

Regarding losing the last 5 lbs, I know this is going to sound flippant but there is no other way to say it. I lost the last 5 lbs just as easy as the first 5 lbs. To me, it wasn't that hard. I got down to 143 lbs and was losing about .75 lbs per week at the end. A couple of years ago I got down to 140 lbs and about 10% body fat and lost about 1/2 lb per week. My Aria scale says I'm at 11.4% body fat now at 149 lbs. I don't think that's accurate, however, as I feel I'm probably closer to 15%. I have my scale on lean mode based on the guidelines but I feel like in lean mode it's underestimating body fat.

 

If you were tracking food intake, I'm guessing it wouldn't have been that hard for you either. To be clear, I'm equating hard with slow here. My weight loss was consistent all the way to goal so it wasn't slow. My exercise regimen, however, most people would consider hard.

 

I didn't have an Aria scale during my weight loss phase several years ago, so I can't provide any data regarding fat vs. fat free mass. 

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I don't know if you use supplements - but I've found that Amino Acid supplementation to be invaluable in keeping me from being in a catabolic state. 

 

For those that don't know, Amino Acids are the letters, proteins are the words. 

 

I applaud your progress. Well done! 

Those who have no idea what they are doing genuinely have no idea that they don't know what they're doing. - John Cleese
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@Ukase wrote:

I don't know if you use supplements - but I've found that Amino Acid supplementation to be invaluable in keeping me from being in a catabolic state. 


I’m not big on supplements: I mostly take fish oil, vitamin D and whey protein powder (if needed, as I try to get most of my protein from real food). I’m not into bodybuilding or competitive powerlifting, so I believe adequate protein intake should be sufficient for my modest muscle and strength gaining goals (I’m realistic as to what a 55-year-old guy can achieve in that respect). How do you know you’re in a catabolic state and amino acids would make you anabolic?  

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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