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Monday, September 8, 2008

Week 84 Weigh-In I'M FAT!!!!!!

JANUARY 2007

Last Week's Weight: 235.2 lbs.
Today's Weight: 231 lbs. (-4.2)
Total Lost: 149 lbs.

Fat Ratio: 20.6%
Lean Mass: 183.4 lbs.
Fat Mass: 47.6 lbs.
Waist: 45.5 inches

Wow, I never expected to lose that much this week. It's interesting how our bodies work. Sometimes, the body likes to hang on to the fat despite our best efforts to make a calorie deficit. Other times, it seems to lose the fat when the deficit doesn't seem to be as great. I know in the big picture it all evens out, but it is interesting to see how it works week to week.

Anyhow, I hit two milestones this week. I am below the weight I was when I got married. The body proportions are all different. I thought I might be able to fit into a suit that I bought about a year after I got married. No dice. I have a couple of theories. One, I have much greater muscle mass than I did back then. I also think that much of my fat back then was marbled between my muscles and hanging around in between all my internal organs. Therefore, I had a smaller waist, et al. I believe I now have less fat and more muscle, but my fat mostly below the skin instead of in the muscles and between the organs. It's just a theory. Otherwise I don't know how to explain that I am lighter, but have bigger proportions. I suppose the suit could have shrunk.

AUGUST 2007


The second big milestone is that I now have a BMI under 30. In other words, I AM FAT!!!!! rather than obese. I hope and pray that I will never again be described obese in medical terms. The next big goal besides the ten pound markers are to get under 200 lbs., and then of course down to 190 (if that still makes sense), and finally my ultimate goal in terms of weight is to get under 15% body fat. I am not at all confident that my own body fat calculations are correct. When I get closer to 190, I will try to get an accurate body fat test like the dunk tank test.

I do want to emphasize that even though I am excited about these weight goals being met, my ultimate goal is live a fit lifestyle. That goal can be accomplished each and every day. Yet, it is new each and every day. In other words, I can and do accomplish living fit from day to day, but it is never to be marked as a something as fait accomplis.

I wanted to report a little more on our vacation from a couple of weeks ago. The day after the race, we went to the Michigan Renaissance Festival. We go to this most years and we all have a lot of fun. The kids especially like to watch the jousting. I enjoy the whole atmosphere. Anyhow, they had a rock climbing wall there (Don't ask me how it fits the theme), and my wife wanted to try it. So I paid for her to try it. Well, I had to try it then too. I had a lot of fun. They tried to start me on the difficult wall. Well, having never done it before, I did not make it very far. They then put me on the easy wall, and I got to the top with no problem. That was another goal accomplished.

AUGUST 2008


Finally, I mentioned that I was reading the book "Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy." Here is a little synopsis of what I have read so far.

*The USDA's original food pyramid was misleading and too vague because it didn't differentiate between good and bad fats, good and bad sources of protein, or good and bad sources of carbs. In addition, it made no mention of exercise.

* The new USDA's "My Pyramid" while acknowledging the importance of exercise is even more vague and confusing than the original and necessitates the use of the internet to use it.

* Dr. Willett proposes "The New Healthy Eating Pyramid" which takes into account the body of studies on health and nutrition and corrects the problems he has with USDA's pyramids.

* Chapter 2 deals with deciphering studies and reports concerning diet, nutrition, and weight loss. He gives the following guidelines to help:

1) Pay no attention to studies done on animals. They may pave the way for research on human beings but are never a basis for changing our own diets and habits because the effects on an animal can be quite different for humans.

2) Don't worry about studies done in controlled environments such as hospitals or special research centers. These studies look only at how the body responds to different foods in isolation, but not at over all health risks. Studies done in the real world are the ones to which we should pay attention.

3) Studies that pay attention to disease endpoints are more important that studies that look at intermediary markers that may lead to the disease. In other words, those markers don't always translate into things like heart disease or stroke, so look at the studies that focus on the direct connection to the disease.

4) Larger studies are better than smaller studies.

5) The more studies the confirm each other the better. If only one study concludes that something is bad, but 20 other studies conclude that it is good than we should assume that it is good.

* Chapter 3 talks about healthy weight. He explains that this is not as simple as people think it is. For example, a person may have a BMI under 25, gain 15 lbs and still have a BMI under 25. However, a 15 lb. weight gain can have serious implications for our health. While things like BMI's and weight charts can be helpful guidelines, much more needs to be taken into account.

* He talks about the reasons for weight gain: Diet, genes (but only partly), lifestyle, and culture. Of course, the simple math of it is more calories in than calories expended.

* He then evaluates diets:

1) Low-fat diets aren't good because they limit the good fats we need.

2) Low-carb diets may help with weight loss, but if they allow unlimited amounts of red meat, butter, and cheese, this is not good for optimal health.

3) Low-energy-density diets don't differentiate food based on its health value, but simply on its ability to fill us up with the least amount of calories.

4) Low-glycemic diets are not too bad but there are simpler ways to accomplish the same things.

I think I will save his approach to weight control for another post. Anyhow, the bottom line is that diets that are designed for weight loss all have pretty much the same track record when it comes to keeping the weight off. What is needed is a diet that is designed to give us the best possible health all our lives.

"Practice yourself in little things, and thence proceed to greater."--Epictetus


Living Fit Is My #1 Job!

ADDENDUM 6 days until the Triathlon (500 meter swim, 20k bike, 5 k run)

14 comments:

Kim Ayres said...

Superb! I remember writing a post called "Woohoo, I'm overweight!" when I crossed the same BMI line.

It's a great achievement, and don't those pics tell an amazing story!

A said...

Huh ... I'm interested to hear about the weight control portion of the book you're reading. Congratulations on being changing categories -- dang! You look great! I'm definitely in the "Obese" category, but will celebrate like all heck when I finally hit "Overweight" instead. I think your pics say it all: You're really doing it! You're changing your life.

cmae said...

WELL DONE!! Thank you again and again for sharing your journey.

Apex Zombie said...

Dude! Congratulations on being fat :D I can't wait for the day I can be medically called the same :D

As far as the suit goes, extra skin might also be the culprit, although you'd be able to judge that yourself.

And those pics are fantastic. Congratulations again, man. You still continue to be a huge inspiration.

Anonymous said...

The pictures really do tell the story. Congratulations!

Sayre said...

congratulations on being "fat"! I can't wait to achieve that same goal myself!

It looks so much different on the way down than it did on the way up - except I didn't notice on the way up. Isn't that sad?

Anonymous said...

I work for Stacker 2 and couldn't help noticing your blog. Half Man is amazing and congrats on losing so much weight, your doing awesome. Did you use any supplements for additional support. I think its a good idea to try out different supplement to help with the weight loss. At Stacker 2 and its extremely important to us to help people succeed at losing weight. Come check out www.Stacker2.com. Try the Stacker 2 and the energy shot. It could help you lose weight and increase your energy so you can stay in control. Its awesome. By the way is your under 18, nursing or pregnant do not use.

celtic_girl said...

Congatulations, a job very well done, the transformation photos are just mind blowing.

Nona said...

You look FANTASTIC. It's amazing how much weight distorts our looks. You are a handsome man but I can see how being overweight obscured that somewhat.

Congrats on making it to Fatdom that is no small feat indeed. The implications healthwise are just enormous.

About the change in body shape maybe it is the proverbial middle age middle of the body spread that has resulted in the surprising change.

Moby Dick said...

Great for you on the new look. How tall are you? You look pretty skinny for the weight.

Brad Clements said...

Half MAN - Dude, you look GREAT. Great JOB and way to stay comitted to the task at hand. I've come to the realization that I am doing too much analysis and not enought action. I am back for the long haul now. I'll meet you in the two hundred somethings by the end of the year. And OH, by the way, you are an inspiration... Keep it up.

Half Man said...

Kim, It's quite a great feeling

Fian, More to come on the book...you too can do it.

cmae, You know, I started out thinking this was a journey that began in 2007, but I no realize it's but a snapshot of the journey of my life.

FLG, Thank you, and I find the honesty on your blog wonderful

Trudy, I wasn't too sure there was much of a difference between the Aug 07 and Aug 08 until I looked at the ties. They are the same tie, but in the 08 picture it looks bigger.

Sayre, You can do it

laura, I take Men's One A Day and some whey protein. I think I have managed pretty good without stacker 2, don't you?

Celtic, Thanks

nona, thank you for your kind words

Spider, I am 6'2" most days

Brad, The important thing is to get back in the game and don't try to do too much too fast. Small steps over the long haul are the keys to success.

Anonymous said...

Great job on losing all that weight! You look great.

The book summary is helpful, especially the info about studies. It's important to know what studies mean. Sometimes numbers are thrown areound to sound impressive but really don't translate to anything.

Supplements can be helpful when trying to lose weight, but you have to be careful as the FDA doesn't regulate these. Trying a natural appetite suppressant may be the way to go as they don't produce the jittery side effects caused by stimulants in over the counter diet pills. Learning about how to read studies is important in this area because of the lack of regulation.

Anonymous said...

Wow, you change in every picture. Well done