Oh I’ve gotten really bad at updating this blog with diet posts. My official weigh-in is still Friday and today’s Tuesday.
I think I may switch to using MFP as my diet blog. Maybe I’ll still post notable milestones here once a month or so.
My MFP blog is here.
Here are week 15 – i.e. last Friday’s figures:
Lost: 0.4lbs
Lost so far: 22.4lbs
Average Weekly Loss: 1.49lbs
Weight: 260.8lbs (18st 8lbs)
Created by MyFitnessPal – Nutrition Facts For Foods
No, I haven’t stopped dieting. I considered stopping updating this blog about it. A week ago I deliberately didn’t post about it for very specific personal reasons that I won’t go into. Then Friday just gone I forgot and when I remembered I thought, well I do most of my logging on MFP so maybe I don’t need to do a weekly update here.
But… I feel I need to get back on track a bit. Things weren’t slack exactly but my motivation was slipping. So recording progress here is a way of re-establishing routine and that’s helpful.
The figures below are based on Friday’s weight and the loss is compared with week 12 so it’s two weeks’ worth.
Lost: 5.4lbs
Lost so far: 22lbs
Average Weekly Loss: 1.57lbs
Weight: 261.2lbs (18st 9lbs)
Created by MyFitnessPal – Nutrition Facts For Foods
No I’m not switching back to Mondays I just forgot on Friday and the weekend was busy. Not much to say. Still losing – good, slowly – good in reality but not-so-good in my mind.
Also I think I’ll stop calling it the Accidental Diet because I’ve been doing it on purpose since week 2. (actually week 1 really)
Lost: 0.6lbs
Lost so far: 16.6lbs
Average Weekly Loss: 1.38lbs
Weight: 266.6lbs (19st)
Created by MyFitnessPal – Nutrition Facts For Foods
(technically Week 10.6!)
So I said I needed to make a change and this is at least part of it – move my official weigh-in and (blogging) day to Friday. This works well for a couple of reasons – first Friday morning immediately after Thursday which is a fast day, is usually my lowest point. It was last week and it was again this morning. Second, since I only fast two days a week I have a run of 3 non-fast days over the weekend. So Monday’s fast, even with the exercise, is not always enough to make up for anything I might have gained.
Now just switching to Friday and getting a “low” reading isn’t what’s making me happy on its own. It’s the fact that this time last week I was 268.2 and so not only am I down on Monday’s figure but I’ve lost real weight over the week.
I’ve stopped logging my “normal” exercise in MFP and I’m considering setting my daily calorie target based on my old regime[*] but I haven’t really changed anything that I’m doing food or exercise wise – so that’s good because it means I haven’t “stalled”. The thing that had me down on Monday was the idea that I would have to get more radical to keep losing and that that would lose me the one great advantage of IF – sustainability.
Lost: 2.2lbs
Lost so far: 16lbs
Average Weekly Loss: 1.45lbs
Weight: 267.2lbs (19st 1lb)
Created by MyFitnessPal – Nutrition Facts For Foods
[*]basically take my old diet of 1800-cals a day plus a bit more a weekends, work out the weekly total and subtract 1200 (2 x 600 for the fast days). Subtract another 1000 (2×500 for 2 less walks a week). Divide the result by 5 and that will give me the total for non-fast days. This would be a total total and any exercise I do can be logged for interest but not ‘eaten back’. That would then give me the calorie equivalent of my old diet – which worked for as long as I could keep it up – but in an IF style, hopefully easier to stick to.
Well I’m a little down on last week but over two weeks I’m slightly up. I have been further down (268.2) during the week and I keep saying I’m ok with day-to-day fluctuations but.. what this looks an awful lot like is maintaining. Unfortunately I’m still 3 stone heavier than my target at which I might possibly want to start maintaining.
So, I may need to make a change. I’ve been using MFP’s calorie calculations as a guide to what to eat on non-fast days, which in turn is based on losing a pound a week but with all my exercise (including walking to work and lunchtime strolls to the shops) counted. Maybe what I need to do is stop counting those bits of exercise I used to do before. Maybe I need an extra fast day. Maybe I need a couple of non-fast days to be low-ish (e.g. 1800cals like my old diet).
I’m not rushing to judgement. I’m going to think about it until Friday. That’ll be one week from my last lowest weigh-in.
Lost: 0.2lbs
Lost so far: 13.8lbs
Average Weekly Loss: 1.38lbs
Weight: 269.4lbs (19st 3lb)
Created by MyFitnessPal – Nutrition Facts For Foods
So I’m back up a smidge but I’m not really worried. See normally I fast on Mondays, go for a walk and weigh myself after that. Due to a work lunch I have swapped my fast for tomorrow (but not the walk so I can at least rest tomorrow night – yay!). So I imagine I’ll hit a new low on some unofficial weighing tomorrow or possibly Wednesday morning.
Lost: -0.4lbs
Lost so far: 13.6lbs
Average Weekly Loss: 1.51lbs
Weight: 269.6lbs (19st 3lb)
Created by MyFitnessPal – Nutrition Facts For Foods
Well it feels like it’s been a long time coming but I finally lost my first stone. IF is definitely a slower way to go but it also feels more sustainable. I was comparing my time to lose the first 14lbs with a couple of times from the past. I suspect that whereas the rate tailed off quickly with IF it will be more consistent. So – PREDICTION! – I’m betting on losing another stone by 4-mar-2013 (16 weeks).
Another thing to remember about Lesamy in particular is that I started this diet 2 ½ stone down from where that one started. Which means that I’d kept off those 35lbs (10% of my body weight) for over four years. That in itself is a very good thing – the health benefits of losing (and keeping off) even that amount are real.
But it’s mainly nice to pass a couple of milestones (the stone off and < 270)
🙂
Lost: 1.6lbs
Lost so far: 14lbs
Average Weekly Loss: 1.75lbs
Weight: 269.2lbs (19st 3lb)
Created by MyFitnessPal – Nutrition Facts For Foods
So it’s been two weeks since I updated you but I have still been weighing myself and for one of those weeks at least I was also trying to keep up the diet.
Week 6
Due to leaving to travel to my parents for Christmas I weighed myself on the Sunday not the Monday. To be honest I was surprised and pleased because some of my non-fast days had been very calorific – it being the run up to Christmas and all. However it was a genuine reading so here it is:
Lost: 1.8lbs
Lost so far: 11.4lbs
Average Weekly Loss: 1.9lbs
Weight: 271.8lbs (19st 6lb)
Week 7
Which was Christmas week. I travelled home on the Sunday night and didn’t really attempt any fast days. I did find however that I ate probably only one main meal a day and then snacked a lot, but less than I otherwise would perhaps. I have had opportunity to do my fast days since I got back but haven’t apart from today so I’m very pleased with the figures below (though I’m hoping for something a bit better in the coming week)
Lost: 1lbs
Lost so far: 12.4lbs
Average Weekly Loss: 1.77lbs
Weight: 270.8lbs (19st 5lb)
Created by MyFitnessPal – Nutrition Facts For Foods
It’s with a great sense of relief that I write this because this week I have lost weight, and not only the weight I “put on” last week (I was down the next day) but I’m down overall. True my average is less than half a pound a week for the last fortnight but that’s ok. I was prepared for IF to be slower than previous diets. Anyway, I’ve not much more to say – here’s the numbers:
Lost: 1.8lbs
Lost so far: 9.6lbs
Average Weekly Loss: 1.92lbs
Weight: 273.6lbs (19st 7.6lb)
Created by MyFitnessPal – Nutrition Facts For Foods
I’m not impressed.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. It certainly wasn’t supposed to happen so soon. Most of this week unofficial weighings have led me to worry that the rate of loss had slowed dramatically. I was already feeling grumpy about that. But to put on a pound? Pah!
I think the problem is that a) having done this before I’m used to the initial losing-weight-easily phase lasting longer and b) I believed the hype about IF – specifically that I could “eat what I liked” on non-fast days. Having said that though, I have set my MFP goals for a pound a week and I try to use that as a guide as to whether I’m over-indulging. I don’t feel bound by it but I do track the calories (because as I said I want to see how the +5 prediction holds up). So I know that most days I was under my calories (including exercise) but one day I went over quite a lot. Still, I didn’t think it would make this much of an impact.
Having, as I say, anticipated a slow-down I told Melissa that if I didn’t lose anything or went up I’d probably add another fast day. But at the moment the only way to do that would be to make it Saturday – which I find a little tough. I guess I’ve believed that this (IF) would be “sustainable” and by “sustainable” I secretly meant “easy”. Fasting is not that easy but it’s soon forgotten when it’s only a day at a time.
There are other factors – I did less exercise over the last few days (which was intentional) and I haven’t had a bowel movement in a couple of days (sorry TMI I know) – so I’m tempted to wait another week before making rash adjustments. I may yet come down again. We’ll see…
Oh well.
Lost: -1lbs
Lost so far: 7.8lbs
Average Weekly Loss: 1.95lbs
Weight: 275.4lbs (19st 9lb)
Created by MyFitnessPal – Nutrition Facts For Foods