13 Weeks: Week 11 — In Which We Consolidate Our Losses
It turns out that I happened on a picture I took of myself on the 16th of October, which is just about the time I started finding myself writing in my morning pages that I was only 12 years younger than my father had been when he died….
2012 October 16
Here’s a picture from a similar angle with the same (iPod Touch) camera, taken today (Friday):
2013 January 18
I see where I’ve lost the 30 lbs: it was all from my neck. Jaysus.
So, even with my troubles seeing myself clearly, I’ve got to say, now I’m seeing some differences.
I’m continuing to plan for my next 13 weeks experiment, and you know, there’s a question I’ve been asked multiple times now: why 13 weeks? Honestly, the answer is probably “I don’t know.” Some of it is pure superstition: I have good luck (contrarian that I am) with thirteens. Both of my parents were born on the 13th, and they married on the 13th; I’ve lived at #13 addresses many times. But there are some practical points about it.
Thirteen weeks is exactly one calendar quarter — there are 4 of them in a year, with a day left over. Thirteen weeks is long enough for longer-term trends and effects to show clearly, but short enough that I can foresee an end. If I hadn’t decided to do this experiment for thirteen weeks no matter what, there have been a couple of weight plateaus (and sudden weight gains) that could have been very demoralizing — about which more below. Thirteen weeks is right around the average lifetime for a red blood cell, so an A1c (average blood sugar) taken next month will be from entirely within the experiment. (As you’ll recall, it’s my blood sugar that concerned me more than weight in itself. Even though, dammit, I do tend to obsess about the weight loss.)
Now, I’ll say, the thirteen has put some people off for the opposite superstition from mine, the common triskaidekaphobia. I do intend to write this up in book form; I’ve had people tell me that I’ve got to change the title. But I have to say, 13 weeks seems to have worked for me.
As far as consolidation. The pictures above do show the difference I think, and I’m really feeling other differences. I’ve got a two story house; I’m not putting off trips up and down the stairs as I used to. I feel exceptionally good. I got a CPAP about 10 days ago, which is also helping — I may be sleeping well for the first time since puberty. I’m sure that the apnea has been helped by the weight loss and I’m hoping continuing weight loss will help more. And, of course, my blood sugar has showed a marked improvement — as I said last week, from diabetic to post-diabetic (although it’d be more correct to say “type II diabetic in remission.”) My mood is better too, which for someone who has had paralyzing depressions is a good and useful thing.
I seem to have more energy, both physically and mentally. Again, this isn’t too surprising. I buy water in 1.5 liter bottles from Eldorado Springs Water Company, in cases of a dozen. That’s basically 40 lbs; 9 bottles is just about 30 lbs. The effect is like if I were carrying around nine of these bottles in a backpack and I took the damn thing off. But I’m just finding it easier to do things, and not just physical things — I’m actively studying Mandarin again, and getting more writing done. Some of that also may be the CPAP — I don’t think I understood the effect of actually getting a decent night’s sleep.
More Training
As I’ve promised, the next 13 weeks will be more about exercise, physical activity, and so forth. i’m accumulating a number of experts to help me with this, and reading a bit more widely. Now, you may have noticed that there is a fair bit of controversy about different diets — low fat, low carb, paleo, and so on.
Looking forward to it!
I’m curious, Charlie, if you’d also heard of the “Eight Hour Diet” (your daily caloric intake takes place over eight hours, no more, rather than the eighteen per/day we “grazing” Americans seem to favor) While I know very little about it, it does appear to be based on some sound thinking. Or would this not work with someone who is pre/post/recovered Diabetic?
(I mention this not as a “different” diet regime to yours, but as an adjunct)
I haven’t heard of it, and yeah, my first intuition is that it would lead to an even worse “dawn effect”, where the blood sugar spikes in the early morning hours.
I’ve been looking at Tim Ferriss’s Four-Hour Body diet, which is sort of paleo with beans plus some cutting-edge ideas. It’s a bit kooky, but he does have one suggestion that sounds good to me across the board: have breakfast within an hour after waking and choose 40% of the calories from protein.
Charlie: Congratulations on hanging in with the plateau!
I’m at 161 this morning, down from 220some. That’s without significant increase in exercise, pretty much just a low carb diet, for most of it. It did take 18 months, with several plateaus along the way, but I’m getting close to being where I want to be.
I’m convinced that exercise isn’t needed to lose weight. It certainly will help get you stronger and increase endurance/fitness, but I’m unconvinced of it’s utility as a means of losing weight. The study Taubes cites, of the fat guys who got trained to run a marathon without modifying their diet and ended up, months later, being fat guys who could run a marathon was kind of enlightening. Not that you shouldn’t start working out regularly, but a decent diet will probably eventually get your weight generally where you want without it.
I’ve never really paid detailed attention to what I ate. No scale, no log, just basic guidelines. I did eventually stop the binging on cheese and nuts when I noticed my weight going the wrong way, but you really don’t have to kill yourself over whether you have 6 or 10 ounces of lettuce or whether you added one or two ounces of cheese to it. If it makes you happy to do it, then feel free, but you really don’t have to sweat it.
I did start running (using the couch to 5K software for iphone) but only once I had lost 40 or so pounds. Running initially kind of sucked, but it is OK now and I can run two miles at 9.5 minutes/per without a lot of difficult (even running just once a week due to cold weather and my feeling the cold a LOT more then when I weighted more) but I’m not a happy puppy when I finish at 3.5 miles.
Yeah, I’m really uncertain of what the right thing to do in terms of weighing a food diary might be — which is to say you probably have to look for what works for you. For me, I’m OCD enough that daily weighing makes more sense, but only with a long time weight log. Without it I’d get disgusted the first time I did one of these overnight spikes. Someone else might do better with weekly or even monthly weighings. Similarly, I’m more galled by the inaccuracy than anything else, which is why I’m going to start using the kitchen scale, but even then the available nutrition data is fuzzy — I just went through the exercise of trying to figure out what my home made chili comes out to, and discovered I couldn’t find consistent numbers for the meat, the chili molido, or the onions. The can of V8 juice at least was consistently the same. (The figure I get is about 160 kcal/cup and about 2g net carbs.)
The exercise isn’t primarily about the weight. Adding muscle and losing body fat will directly affect the biabetes because it bnoth adds new young virginal muscle cells that haven’t been soaked in sugar, and reduces the amount of stored fat that can be dumped and turned into glucose by the liver. Plus I’ll be prettier.
That should read “weighing AND food diary.”
I managed to lose nearly 20 pounds in about 30 days, when I went to Japan in October/November 2012. I basically ate Japanese-sized portions (including fried food and rice) but I also managed to be on my feet walking or climbing stairs (not every station has escalators/elevators over there) 5-7 hours a day. I wanted to see as much of Tokyo and Japan as I could in that time, so I was motivated to get out and moving, and the price of food (thanks to the crappy exchange rate) kept me from eating too much. This happened the last time I went for a month, back in ’07, I managed to lose about the same amount then, too. Unfortunately I had gained it back in the intervening 5 years, but since I got back on Thanksgiving I’ve manged to lose another 10 pounds. Currently in a plateau, but just going from 278 down to 250 has made a world of difference, plus all the walking I did got my wind back, I’ve taken stairs and ramps that had me winded at the top before, now I’m just a bit short and recover in a few seconds.
Keep working it, I’m shooting for a goal of 200 pounds by Christmas if not sooner.
I see where I’ve lost the 30 lbs: it was all from my neck.
LOL at that one because I lost about 30 pounds in a year about five years ago after I became concerned about my health, and you know the first place anybody else ever noticed it coming off? My face.
You’re obviously getting two cents worth of advice from dozens of people, but nonetheless I want to tell you something about exercise I’ve learned from experience. It’s regular, moderate exercise that you want. You’re not training for the Olympics, you’re not a professional athlete. Some moderate cardio every day is what you need — have you considered parking 10-20 blocks from your usual workplace (if you have a usual workplace) and walking there and back? Exercise and diet are both great things, but if I had to specify which one is more important for weight loss, it would have to be diet.
Charlie, congrats on your progress! But hey, next time smile a bit for your self portrait?
I’ve been eating low carb for about a year, lost 13 pounds in first 3 months. Had a slow down because the weight loss made me have heart palpitations, the doc said my thyroid meds were too high so we lowered the strength, and he said it would be harder for me to lose weight. I smiled, because I knew after adapting I would continue to lose, I’d found how much better I felt being off grains.
So, I’m almost 64, female, I’ve gone from size 14 pants to size 12, which are getting loose. I’m very close to purchasing some size 10 pants because I was able to put on some old jeans that are a snug 10, but I was comfortable and went with a friend for a cheeseburger! (I do allow myself the occasional sandwich when I haven’t planned well enough for lunch at work, maybe once every couple of weeks.). I’ve begun to wonder, can I make it to size 8?
I haven’t exercised except at night I sometimes put on my iPod shuffle and dance like a wild woman in my living room to great songs like Boston’s “Smokin’”. It’s fun! Now that it’s cooler outside I’m going to do some fast walking. But have fun with your exercize, and smile! You look great!
I *am* smiling.
Hi Charlie,
Here is a piece of possible advice you may or may not find useful.
There is a branch of alternative MDs out there who may be useful to you. Unfortunately, they don’t have a name. They are just MDs who focus on natural or near-natural treatments. They’ve been preaching low carb diets to their clients since at least the mid-90′s, so they are very experienced in these things.
They are also versed in treatments you may not find credible, such as IVs which remove heavy metals, vitamin and mineral regimes, and exercise. You can look one up in your area by going to http://www.acam.org and typing in your zip code.
When I lived in the Denver area, there was only one such Doctor that I knew of – Terry Grossman in Golden (303)233-4247. I used him a few times would recommend him, except that he is a little gruff. Who knows, you might have a lot in common -).
When I type in a Denver zip code now I get about 6 different MDs, so apparently they are getting more popular.
One warning, insurance doesn’t cover them, and they are typically expensive. They will want to spend 1 hour with you on your first visit going over all of their questions. That will cost around $250, plus they will want to run some tests which will be another $200 – $600 depending on the answers you give them. From my perspective, its hard to go back to a regular prescription writing doctor after getting to know one of these.
Good luck with everything. Its fun watching your progress.
James
I had my MI (myocardial infarction) at the gym at age 39 doing a very measured 2-3 miles/hr on a treadmill.
Please ensure that you have a thorough cardiac examination PRIOR to increasing the pace and rate of your exercise including being given a maximum number for heart rate / minute derived from a stress test that also measures oxygen consumption while exercising.
IMHO, walking (at least 20 miles / week as I was instructed in cardiac rehabilitation programs) is good exercise at any pace. Its the distance burns calories. Not the pace. Our Husky cross appreciates it too.
Now 55, I have outlived my father’s age at death by one year. GOOD LUCK!