13 Weeks: Week 11 — In Which We Consolidate Our Losses
Well, let me tell you something: compared to the controversies about the most effective and efficient exercise, diet controversies are nothing.
My plan is that next week, I’ll write a piece on my more or less complete beginning plan for exercise; the last week will be something special, a minor work of science fiction as I consider what might be the outcome of the Taubes view of nutrition. But I want to lay down some markers about exercise here.
Accountability.
In my next 13 weeks, I’m going to document my plan; starting with the new 13 week period, I’ll report exactly how well I’m following the plan. For this 13 weeks, I said “oh, I’m going to exercise more” but I wasn’t very good about either doing it or reporting it. Now, my daily updates on the Facebook page will always include how well I’m complying with my exercise plan.
Time limits.
The fact is that I’m not that thrilled with exercise and don’t want to spend many hours a week doing stuff specifically for exercise. I’m going to be looking for the things I can do without spending an immense fortune, and do in a reasonable amount of time; at least at first, I’ll be looking to spend more more than two hours a week on the exercise.
Measurable effects.
I’m concerned about things I can measure. In software, we talk about SMART requirements: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Testable (yes, I know I’m changing that a little from the link. There are lots of different specific lists, and the article is a good one in general.) I’m a very big believer in the idea that what gets measured, gets managed. The question is what can I measure effectively?
I bought a Withings scale a few weeks ago; I’m using it for weight, but in the next 13 weeks, I’m going to use its body fat measurment function as well, with the intention being to see a significant downward trend in percent body fat. In parallel with that, I’ve also gotten a conventional skinfold caliper, which I’ll use every Sunday in addition to the body measurements I’ve been doing (which frankly haven’t been very effective, I think because my measurement methodology hasn’t worked.)
Added to that, I bought a Fitbit One wireless activity tracker — basically a nerd pedometer. This has several measurements I’ll be using.
The No Dogma, No Boredom Rule.
I’m looking for good research, strong validation, and frankly, plausibility. I’m not going to do CrossFit religiously, although I’m definitely going to take advice from CrossFit. But I’ll be adding in Pilates, some weights, some martial arts stuff (I was once pretty good at karate, but I slacked off as knees and ankles hurt), and also I’ve got an XBox Kinect just waiting for me, one that I bought with exercise in mind. The point will be to have enough variety that it doesn’t get boring, while still being trackable.
The No Puking Rule.
I’ve had some bad experiences with personal training, most of which have come down to this: the trainers aren’t looking at my effort, they’re looking at what they thing I ought to be doing. If I was in shape enough to be doing what they think I ought to be doing, I wouldn’t need to hire a trainer. I want to make good progress, but as I’ve learned in gyms, hot yoga places, and gym classes in the past, throwing up deters me badly from exercise.
The Five Rules Rule.
No more than five rules. This is supposed to be simple.
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!