Accountability

[savanik]

So I think this should be a little fun experiment here, I'm charting my progress and keeping track of exercise and weight and whatnot, and I figured: hey, why not share this with everybody? Best case, people might give me some good suggestions. Worst case, I'll be humiliated and laughed at. From what I understand that's pretty good motivation for most people.

My current overall goal is to go from a starting weight of 210 down to 175 over 20-40 weeks.

So here's the link to the Google Spreadsheet where I've got my data stored.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreads ... utput=html

Feel free to snag this data for your own purposes if you want to crunch numbers or something. It'll be updated whenever I go and edit the worksheet so it should stay current.

Some things aren't 100% specific, but I'm trying to be as accurate as I reasonably can with the numbers.

Savanik

[nightbird]

Usually, aiming for a pound per week is reasonable. However, You can't say for sure how much fat you actually have = you may have to lose muscle to get to 170 which would be ridiculous. The mirror is your friend, the scales aren't always. Also make sure to read this: http://articles.elitefts.com/training-a ... t-cut-fat/

[Nath]

While there's some great stuff on EliteFTS, that article reads like a checklist of recently debunked bodybuilder myths: the one about muscle burning 50 calories/lb per day, the five small meals thing, calorie partitioning etc.

Savanik: good luck! Easiest thing to change is probably the two cola a day habit; that'll buy you a few pounds easily. Though you probably would want to replace those calories with something else, since 1600 is already really low.

[savanik]

While there's some great stuff on EliteFTS, that article reads like a checklist of recently debunked bodybuilder myths: the one about muscle burning 50 calories/lb per day, the five small meals thing, calorie partitioning etc.

Savanik: good luck! Easiest thing to change is probably the two cola a day habit; that'll buy you a few pounds easily. Though you probably would want to replace those calories with something else, since 1600 is already really low.

Yeah, I'm trying to switch to black coffee in the morning. It's said it's an 'acquired taste', so I'll just have to keep at it. I've never been a big fan of coffee but I'm trying it with a bit of freshly ground cinnamon in it instead of sugar and it's ... drinkable, so far.

I've been pondering checking body fat mass with the statistics, but:

1. While the scale I have is capable of reading body fat mass electronically, it varies so wildly that it might as well be worthless. I suspect this is a hydration issue, from what I've read of the things, and I lack the time to correct for it.
2. I've got calipers, but I have no good instructions on how to actually use them on myself. The instructions in the package said one reading, on the side of the abdomen. This is less than ideal. But the instructions I've seen for multiple readings involve places I can't easily reach with both hands, like the back of my arm.

[savanik]

Hey guys, guess what!

Yesterday I tipped the scales at 199.5 pounds. This is the lowest I've weighed in the last 3 years. Here are the charts: http://tinyurl.com/43c2rsf

I'm actually surprised how closely the chart tracks estimates (based on calorie deficits) vs. actual results. I haven't been trying to be 100% accurate with the counts, aiming for within 50 calories on most items. Being a chef helps with estimating quantities, fortunately, but I've definitely made changes in choosing what I eat, just so I don't blow the chart up.

One thing that does bug me is that this chart does NOT take into account how much exercise I've been doing. I've been a lot more faithful about getting regular exercise since I hit up Fitocracy, but according to this, the calories I'm burning there don't factor. At. All. On the other side, I'm running faster and further than ever before. My mile time has dropped from 14:30 to 10:15. I've gone from 18 pushups in 2 minutes up to 24. And I was at 22 situps in 2 minutes, now at 37.

Recently I just started recording how much water I'm drinking, too, trying to make sure I get at least 32 oz a day. That's just for a 'healthy living' contest at work. I haven't been too terribly interested in how much water I consume in the past - it doesn't have calories.

[Evengeduld]

Keep up the good work Savanik

[savanik]

I've just passed my 3rd Kyu test in Aikido! Woot!

I'm actually adjusting my calorie target up to 2000, as I'm planning on trying to build up some more upper body strength and core strength over the next month or two. This still leaves me with a slight caloric deficit over the long haul, but should provide me with enough raw materials for building out. I checked the other day and I can, in fact, do 50 pushups over a workout, doing 5 circuits of 10 - I just get real sore for a couple days. Maybe having repair materials will help out with that, too!

I'd also like to work on my flexibility, but that will be a bigger challenge. I've never been able to touch my toes - hamstrings are really tight - but I've got some new exercises to try out and will see how those work. On the plus side, I've got tons of leg strength. Just need to even out across my body. Or as my sensei put it, 'your stone is pretty smooth, we're just going to start polishing it up.'