Hey Gang,
It's that time of year when a thread of this sort should be started, to be used as a motivator to drop the excess, unnecessary fat strewn among our muscles, waist, hips, and thighs.
I've dropped 3 pounds in the last 6 weeks or so, which is fine and going in the right direction. Last night I did a bodyfat measurement and finally realized why I could just float in a pool without lifting an arm or leg to swim. Since I moved to Georgia my body fat has increased to 31%.
I'm a sea cow.
A walrus.
A spontaneous combustion waiting to happen.... ("that's not a wick, that's an abnormally long, thick hair").
Current weight: 184
waist: 42"
neck: 15"
Fat: 31% or 57 pounds of pure oil.
Goal: 15% body fat and whatever weight comes with that (155-160 would be nice).
--Jimmy
P.S. I used a calculator that uses the Navy formula. I'm sure its within a few % of being correct. The key is to have a starting point, and work from there.
how did you do this bodyfat measurement? I'm curious
by the way MAF (?) caused me to lose 5lbs (??? ) even though previously I was already only 113lbs which was already pretty much perfect for my height (5.3-5.4). last check came out at 108lbs
hope that's good... or if not then maybe it was just an odd measurement? :P I measure weight every couple of weeks or so, not very often, and only to check if everything's right as my goal is not to gain anything but not losing either.
and yes I realize this thread is about losing fat, but perhaps my post is at least distantly relevant because it's also about bodyfat / weight and about worrying to lose too much. (worrying about muscle loss, but I guess bodyfat measurement will tell if there was any of that.)
Jimmy -
Right there with you. Trying to lose fat. You may recall I went through a "body modification" phase last year with intermittent fasting. It was successful (I dropped 10 pounds) but not sustainable (I gained it back).
However, since March 7 of this year I've lost 12 pounds, of which about 8 have been fat. Generally speaking losing weight at even a 1:1 lean:fat ratio is sign of good work, so I'm pleased that I'm getting about a 75% fat loss. That said, what I'm doing might be considered a little radical - I've eliminated all concentrated sugars from my diet and eliminated all grains. "NO GRAINS?" I can hear the gasps now. Well, my wife is having problems with vitamin D absorption and is possibly suffering from celiac. Her doctor's advice was to remove the grains (gluten and non-gluten, and we did it together. It's actually a lot easier than it sounds. Her D's gone up and my weight's gone down. Win, win.
On the practical side, I'm usually consuming under 100g of CHO each day, and it's helping with the fat loss. Not sure if I'd train for a marathon this way though. Typically I'm getting a little over 1g of protein per pound of lean mass. The balance of my diet is fat, which means I eat a lot of fat. I'm really careful to get adequate Omega 3s and I have a shot of cod liver oil every day for extra vitamin D and vitamin A..
I've also resumed lifting weights 3X a week to help stave off the loss of lean tissue as I lose weight. Since 75% of my loss thus far has been fat, I'd say it's helping. Lastly, once a week I do sprints. Not intervals. Sprints. Short, near all out efforts with full recovery between them (last weekend's race substituted for my sprint session). If I'm crunched for time and feeling super-strong then I do a Tabata-style workout on my stationary bike. The other days are SUPER easy to maximize recovery.
As you lose weight, you'll need to re-calibrate your "target" weight from time to time based on your fat/lean loss. I recommend that for every 10 pounds you lose you recalibrate your target weight based on your current lean body mass.
My $0.02. I'm sure everyone has their own opinions and practices. This is just what I'm doing now, and it's working for me. Good luck on your efforts. We're in this together..
Beginner all over again
I could lose 15 pounds.
My plan was to start using Other Muscles.
Do some arm exercises, leg exercises, situps, pushups, etc., movements that are not "not walking" and "not jogging"
Wake up some other muscle fibers and get them using up some calories for me.
This year all I've been doing is just walking or jogging
I guess I could stop eating donuts too....
And I'm changing to LHR training from Galloway Jog/Walk ratio. Maybe that will help.
Make Good Choices
LOL
Good luck, Frances. Keep us posted!
blog, training log
I'm in. Gmoney, that sounds like what I need to do. Execution is the tough part. I'm a sugar fiend. Current weight 164. Goal is 155 by the fall.
I'm a sucker for ice cream and corn bread, but you know, it's all about portion size. I really don't need to eat half a gallon and 3 muffins. Actually at the time maybe I did NEED it--psychologically--but....you now.....
Get that 155
Jimmy - Right there with you. Trying to lose fat. You may recall I went through a "body modification" phase last year with intermittent fasting. It was successful (I dropped 10 pounds) but not sustainable (I gained it back). However, since March 7 of this year I've lost 12 pounds, of which about 8 have been fat. Generally speaking losing weight at even a 1:1 lean:fat ratio is sign of good work, so I'm pleased that I'm getting about a 75% fat loss. That said, what I'm doing might be considered a little radical - I've eliminated all concentrated sugars from my diet and eliminated all grains. "NO GRAINS?" I can hear the gasps now. Well, my wife is having problems with vitamin D absorption and is possibly suffering from celiac. Her doctor's advice was to remove the grains (gluten and non-gluten, and we did it together. It's actually a lot easier than it sounds. Her D's gone up and my weight's gone down. Win, win. On the practical side, I'm usually consuming under 100g of CHO each day, and it's helping with the fat loss. Not sure if I'd train for a marathon this way though. Typically I'm getting a little over 1g of protein per pound of lean mass. The balance of my diet is fat, which means I eat a lot of fat. I'm really careful to get adequate Omega 3s and I have a shot of cod liver oil every day for extra vitamin D and vitamin A.. I've also resumed lifting weights 3X a week to help stave off the loss of lean tissue as I lose weight. Since 75% of my loss thus far has been fat, I'd say it's helping. Lastly, once a week I do sprints. Not intervals. Sprints. Short, near all out efforts with full recovery between them (last weekend's race substituted for my sprint session). If I'm crunched for time and feeling super-strong then I do a Tabata-style workout on my stationary bike. The other days are SUPER easy to maximize recovery. As you lose weight, you'll need to re-calibrate your "target" weight from time to time based on your fat/lean loss. I recommend that for every 10 pounds you lose you recalibrate your target weight based on your current lean body mass. My $0.02. I'm sure everyone has their own opinions and practices. This is just what I'm doing now, and it's working for me. Good luck on your efforts. We're in this together..
Sounds great, G. I'm glad that is working for you. I've never done well cutting down my carbs that low, though I keep trying to have most of my days free of Twinkies (catch-all term for the crap-filled goodies that I just love) and bad fats. I've been working on getting more Vitamin D through sun exposure and supplements. I haven't got enough sun the past few years and have always used sunscreen, but am now getting a little time every day absorbing some rays full body. No sunscreen, not long enough to burn.
Thanks for the tip on the recalibration.
No grains. I could do that, as long as rice was okay. Celiac people can still have gluten-free breads? I remember Elizabeth Hassleback telling about how she went on Survivor, and after a few weeks felt better than she had ever felt, despite the starvation and the tough elements of the game. COme to find out, it was because she wasn't eating any grains--celiac.
One day at a time, one ounce of fat at a time.
I'm a sucker for ice cream and corn bread, but you know, it's all about portion size.
My wife bought me "skinny cow" ice cream sandwiches, but I don't think I'm supposed to eat them 3 at a time.
My plan was to start using Other Muscles. Do some arm exercises, leg exercises, situps, pushups, etc., movements that are not "not walking" and "not jogging" Wake up some other muscle fibers and get them using up some calories for me. This year all I've been doing is just walking or jogging
http://seegregrun.blogspot.com/2009/05/circuit-training-will-kick-your-butt.html
This is pretty far afield from LHR training, but you might look at circuit training. I did some last year (to supplement running) and it struck me as pretty efficient and good for your total body. If you modify the exercise you can probably get most of it done outside as well with walk/jog/run in between. I just like the simplicity of running.
I'm puzzled that you say IF is not sustainable. I guess everybody is different. I used Fast-5 for 4 months and slowly lost 25 lbs to get me to my goal weight. One year later I have not gained back an ounce, I'm never hungry, I eat whatever I want. I do try to never drink any calories - especially no fruit juice (an occasional beer or glass of wine maybe once a week). My wife had the same results except she only had 10 lbs to lose. Clearly our setpoints have been adjusted.
If you stop doing intermittent fasting and go back to the same diet as before, then, yes you will gain the fat back (mmmm ... fatback).
YMMV.
My official weigh-in will be on Sundays or Mondays.
I'll recalculate %body fat once a month.
Date lbs.
4/19 184
4/25 183
Been successful keeping to the 2000-2300 calorie range. I've
been using Fitday.com to create meals in the aprox. 55/30/15% (C/F/P)
range.
Two sources quantify my 31% body fat level as obese.
Here's one:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/c6158jxxedlv9jqu/
They're saying BMI is unreliable and % body fat should be used. Anything
over 25% body fat in men, and 35% in women should be considered obese. I don't look
obese, but okay then, I am. When I get to 25%, I'm going to
have a "leaving obese" party, and float on air.
17.5% body fat
34.2 lbs fat
161.8 lbs lean (muscle, bone, body water)
41 male
196
5'8"
39" waist
42" hips
13.2" forearm
7.4" wrist
I used this site to calculate my bady fat. BMI is calculated at 29.8 and borderline obese. I'm not your typical body type BMI indexing.
The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff
2014 Goals:
Stay healthy
Enjoy life
17.5% body fat 34.2 lbs fat 161.8 lbs lean (muscle, bone, body water) 41 male 196 5'8" 39" waist 42" hips 13.2" forearm 7.4" wrist I used this site to calculate my bady fat. BMI is calculated at 29.8 and borderline obese. I'm not your typical body type BMI indexing.
that site tells me my body fat is less than 0%, which isn't possible and that I should retry. I retried, still same...
ok, that was yesterday. I retried today (now), works now... who knows why. maybe I managed to tick Male all the time yesterday?
anyway, it got me 17.1%. seems good to me but... should I have less fat than that for running better...?
Yesterday's weigh-in
183 lbs. (start184 lbs.)
waist 41.25" (start 42")
neck 15" (start 15")
bodyfat 29.6%
calculated here
No weight loss compared to last week, but
my waistline appears to be shrinking, temporarily
bringing body fat down to 30%.Definitely building
some muscle as I'm up to 30 pushups as compared
to 25 a few weeks ago. I'm also working on core strengthening,
and all those exercises are improving.
Baby fat steps.