Or at least I hope to be. Today is the first day of my new diet and exercise discipline program. I got on the scale this morning for the first time in months and was shocked to see just how far I’d regressed and how much work lies ahead as I strive to reach my goals. So, I begin this journey at 254 pounds (115 kgs), and my target is 195 pounds (88 kgs). I’m going to need to be a BIG loser, indeed.
I did a search this morning looking for some tips on losing belly fat and found quite a bit of information like this from Healthline, with eighteen science-based tips for busting a gut. I also got a laugh at how they danced around the gender issue:
We use “women” and “men” in this article to reflect the terms that have been historically used to gender people. Your gender identity may not align with how your body responds to weight loss. Your doctor can better help you understand your circumstances and weight management goals.
I guess if they know what a woman is, they aren’t saying. Anyway, none of the tips were things I hadn’t heard before, but they reinforced the things I know I need to do to achieve significant weight loss. I’ve been down this road before. I’ll be going with a low-carb, reduced-calorie approach coupled with increased exercise. That means overcoming my addiction to ice cream and other late-night sweets as a start. I also need to do better at reducing foods that provide empty calories and/or do little to squelch the impulse to overeat. I know what to do; I just need to keep focused and disciplined enough to accomplish my mission. Wish me luck.
I’ve added a tracking app for carbs and calories to my phone to help me monitor my performance. It also tracks exercise. The latter may prove the biggest challenge. I had to limit my Sunday solo walk to 4K this morning because my left leg was acting up again. Next time, I’ll bring my trekking pole cane as a crutch against excuse-making.
Oh, and every website I looked at for advice recommended reducing alcohol intake by ridiculous levels. Two drinks a night? Get real! Now, I am already drinking low-calorie beer (60 per bottle), and I plan to drink fewer beers per week than my current consumption level. I will also occasionally fill in the gap with the gin and soda water routine. I’ll need to do better this time at limiting my intake of that more potent beverage to avoid the faceplants that accompanied my previous attempt to replace my beer calories.
Anyway, baby steps as I move forward. I had bacon without toast for breakfast this morning. And I’ve elongated the morning dog walk to almost 2K.
Here’s a better view:
And my pain-induced shortened morning walk:
I limited my lunch intake to some celery sticks and a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter. I’m on my way!
In other news, this article in the New York Post about the most promiscuous nationalities was interesting. Americans average 10.7 sexual partners over a lifetime, which ranks us at only 15th in the world. The Aussies lead the pack with 13.1 lifetime couplings. Well, I’m not here to brag, and I really don’t keep track, but I’d hazard to guess I’ve had well over 100 sexual encounters over the years (I lost my virginity at 15). Hell, I’ve had more than ten since moving to the Philippines. Hmm. That gives me an idea! Maybe I need to incorporate sexercise into my weight loss regimen. Something to consider in my quest for a healthier lifestyle.
My last pre-diet supper was a healthy one. I went to John’s place, got an order of bulgogi and some Korean-style chicken wings to go, and took them across the street to Hideaway to share with the girls.
I’ll be cutting my Hideaway visit short today because the Hash is having a bar crawl as part of the anniversary celebration. We are starting at It Doesn’t Matter at 5:00 p.m. Where we’ll go from there remains to be seen.
Today’s humor is grammar themed:
Back with more of this goodness tomorrow. But soon, I hope you’ll be seeing less of me.
Good luck with the weight-loss program. I’ve found that burning over 4000 calories a day for a little over a week can reduce your waist size by two inches. The danger is in gaining it all back.
I don’t have many 4000-calorie burn days, but according to my tracker, I had 3000 yesterday…
Good luck, Discipline is the key, though I know I am not telling you anything you dont know.
Maybe decrease the # of bar nights by one. That by itself, would be about a 15% weekly decrease in your beer caloric intake.
Wow! last time I noticed you were 206. Not to long ago.
BTW, there are banana moon pies. I do not shop, but i went down that forbiden aisle yesterday.
There are Twinkies and Ding Dongs. I thought they all went away. I can send you a few boxes to help with your weight loss
With caloric burn, there’re activity calories and total calories. We burn calories even when sitting around doing nothing. For most adult men, that total is usually somewhere around 2000 calories, which is our BMR, or basal metabolic rate. If you’re seeing 3000 calories on your tracker, then that’s 1000 activity calories.
So the question is how many calories you’re taking in. If it’s more than your BMR + activity calories, then you’re going to gain weight. Strive for a daily caloric deficit, and you’ll see some weight loss over time. Be sure to count the calories from your alcohol consumption.
The basic math says that 3500 calories equals a pound of fat. If you have a 500-calorie deficit 7 days in a row, that’s 3500 calories, so you’ve lost a pound for that week. (This logic can be taken to ridiculous extremes, though. Are you really going to lose 100 pounds of fat after 100 weeks? Not likely. And that’s something all dieters experience: weight-loss plateaus.)
Other factors, like hormones, affect weight loss, so the above formula is at best a rough guide. Insulin is the big one to watch for: while insulin lowers blood sugar, it also encourages the body to store fat. You get a spike of insulin every time you eat or drink, especially when it’s carby stuff. The more insulin spikes throughout the day, the more likely you are to gain weight. This is why drinking is so bad: you’re repeatedly spiking your insulin, bar after bar, beer after beer, and you’re doing it in the evening before sleep, which is double-plus ungood. This is why intermittent fasting and straight-up fasting are so beneficial: you’re minimizing your number of daily insulin spikes. And this is why those sources you read suggested cutting so far down on the alcohol. If you simply can’t do that, then it’s hopeless.
I suspect you’re not eating 2000 calories a day, but if you’re close, and then you add drinking on top, well, that’s going to put you over your BMR, and you’ll gain weight.
Some foods spike insulin higher than others. Those are the carby foods. Minimize the height of your insulin spikes by eating non-carby food. In this way of thinking, oil, cream, and butter are not your enemy. Fettuccine Alfredo is bad for you not because of the cheese sauce but because of the pasta. So seek out keto alternatives to what you usually like to eat, but eat in moderation: fat doesn’t spike your insulin much, but it does have a ton of calories.
One solution to the psychological problem of feeling unsatisfied after a meal is to eat lots of food that is not calorie-dense, like salads. A huge salad with some protein on top (chicken, salmon) could be the way to go. At restaurants, avoid creamy dressings and stick to oil and vinegar (I prefer balsamic vinaigrette).
Your goal is to lose around 60 pounds, right? If you want to try something radical, try the Newcastle diet, which I did in 2021 after my stroke. It’s hell as diets go, but you’ll lose 60 pounds in 3 months, guaranteed. Have a one-serving diet shake for breakfast and dinner, and restrict lunch to salad and chicken breast or fish. Keep your total caloric intake below 800 calories per day, and you’ll lose weight for sure. It’s not a sustainable diet, of course, and it’s not meant to be. You’ll find yourself thinking about food all the time. But if you can endure ten weeks of that—with no beer—you’ll reach your weight-loss goal before next spring. Heh.
Good luck!
A clarification about “avoid creamy dressings”: the creaminess isn’t the problem. But a lot of these dressings contain a ton of added sugar, especially if they come from a bottle and aren’t house-made. You can ruin a healthy salad by applying the wrong dressing.
Kevin, thanks for this. I grasp the science of what you are saying, but the human element makes it difficult for me. I don’t deal with hunger well, so those fasting diets are hard for me to maintain. The low-carb but eat-when-you-are-hungry method has the best results for me. So, I need to reduce the calories and eat healthier calories while upping my exercise level. It may take longer to get there that way, but it is more sustainable for me.
Rascal, yeah, I really exploded quickly once I let myself go. And keep those Ding Dongs to yourself!
Brian, So, if I skip a night at the bar, can I drink beer at home? I’m kidding; I know what you are saying, and maybe I’ll try that if I lack the discipline to cut back on my consumption rate.