13 Weeks: Week 12 — In Which We Get Cross and Fit
It’s week 12 of 13, and time to start thinking about the next thirteen weeks. I’ve taken to calling it my “second season,” indulging my fantasy of writing for TV. As I’ve been saying for a while, I’m going to emphasize the fitness part of the training for the next thirteen weeks.
This is in addition to the dietary changes that turned out to be the focus of the first 13 weeks, so let’s summarize the whole: overall motivation and what I’ve been doing.
It started back in the middle of October, when I was doing my morning pages and found myself writing about how my father had died at 69, my mother at 77, and I was now 57; neither 12 nor 20 more years seemed near enough. What’s more, I weighed 301.5 pounds, I was clearly type II diabetic, I was having real sustained trouble with both gastric reflux disease and irritable bowel syndrome, and I was avoiding going up and down the two flights of stairs in my own house.
Come right down to it, the motivation was that I don’t want to die.
There was and is a second motivation that I only came to understand during this first thirteen weeks. I’ve been overweight, heavy, and fat since I was a child — the first time I remember it being an issue I was between six and nine, and I think it was probably the summer I was seven. I was running through the house in shorts and no shirt, and I slapped my belly for some reason, and my mother just exploded that I should go put on a shirt, I was fat and disgusting. She also liked to dwell on a couple of minor scars on my face and joke to her friends that she’d get me plastic surgery when I was 18 and after that I was on my own. So make that fat, ugly, and horribly scarred, and disgusting.
I don’t think it was the first time I was called fat, but I do think it was the first time I had cared that I was fat. It was not, however, the last.
During this 13 weeks, I had a sudden insight. Now, I actually like people, at least in small groups. I like talking with people, I like finding interesting people and interacting with them. Put me in front of an audience, say giving a talk, and I both enjoy it and seem to be good at it. (Here’s me in front of an audience several years ago, talking about “big organizations that act like idiots.”) But whenever I’m dealing with people one on one, I’ve always had in the back of my mind that I’m fat, ugly, and disgusting. And yes, this did tend to be an impediment in that sort of social situation.
So, anyway, motivation #2 was to just to not feel fat, ugly, and disgusting. Neither losing weight nor improving my blood sugar is actually going to make much difference to the extensive baggage, but one result of doing this and writing about it has been to at least uncover the issue; I’ll be unloading the baggage and calling Goodwill about it during this 13 weeks.
The Goal of No Goal
One of the rules I set for myself at the beginning of this, although perhaps I didn’t say it in so many words, was that I wasn’t setting any goals: I was trying something for thirteen weeks to see what effect it had on certain measureable things. Last week, I laid out some other rules for the next 13 weeks. Let’s lay these out again, generalized a little bit.
Rule One: No Goals
The thing about having goals, at least for me, is that if you have goals, you can fail at them. My prior experience with “dieting” had been that I’d hit a plateau — I’m on a doozie right now, at least in terms of weight — and get depressed thinking about being deprived for the Rest Of My Life And Nothing Is Happening.
So rule one is “no goals.” There are some things I’m measuring and a direction I want them to go, but as long as the change is in the right direction, I’m satisfied. I’ve got no prom dress to fit in, no Academy Award ceremony to walk the red carpet for, and no awards coming for achieving a particular weight. No goals.
Rule Two: Accountability
At least for me, this whole process has been easier for the last 13 weeks because I came out about doing it. Closets are cramped. Writing about it makes me face up to some things, plus as Saul Bellow is supposed to have said, I don’t know what I think about something until I’ve written about it.
So, I’m continuing that, with weekly postings here and daily updates at the 13 Weeks Facebook page. I’m making one change, however: to fit my publication schedule here, the start date for this 13 week season will be the first of February even though the last 13 officially runs out on the third. So the weekly measures and conclusions will be from the Thursday of the week, I’ll write up the column on Friday and it’ll be published on Saturday.
Rule Three: Measurability
If I’m not setting goals — and I’m not, see Rule One: no Goals — I still need to be able to tell if what I’m doing has an effect. I’ve thought a good bit about the measures I want to use this season, and have arrived at these:
Blood Glucose
The most important measure for me is blood sugar as measured by HbA1c, as I talked about in Week 9. My most recent A1c was 6.2 percent, which is way down from the 7.5 percent I started with, but still not good enough.
You can’t take an A1c very often, though, as it’s a blood test and it’s measuring something that only changes slowly anyway. So I’ll continue taking my fasting blood sugar every morning with a home glucometer. Right now I’m using a Bayer Contour USB.
Body fat
Lowering body fat helps a lot of things, from systemic inflammation to, yes, insulin tolerance and blood sugar. I have a Withings scale and I’m going to use the body-impedance body fat measure to track this daily, but that has a lot of variance. So I’m going to continue the weekly measurements I’ve been doing and track that using the Army body fat computation.
Weight
I’m continuing daily weights, because I can’t resist. It’s not about weight but what the hell.
Exercise
I still haven’t figured out a measure I’m very happy with for exercise. At least to start with, I’m just going to record the exercise I’ve done and report it; I’ll talk about this more below.
The best I can think of right now is to measure two things: how compliant I am being, and the amount of work done, in thermodynamic kilocalories, which happen to be the thing we are used to measuring diet in anyway. For the weights part of the plan, I’m going to compute this as product of weight lifted times repetitions, which will give me kilocalories directly, as well as amusing conversions to horsepower, kilotonnes yield, and other perfectly silly conversions.
For compliance, I’m going to keep a “Seinfeld calendar.” The idea comes from Jerry Seinfeld, who apparently used to keep a calendar on which he marked a big red X every day he wrote. The idea is you have a chain of accomplishments that keep you oriented and motivated. There are a number of applications for this, none of which seem to me to be very well done, so for the start at least I’ll keep it in a spreadseet and publish it weekly.
I’ve also got a new Fitbit activity tracker, so I’ll have the data from that. But the addition of exercise plans to this second season of 13 Weeks led me to define two new rules.
Rule Four: No Dogma, No Boredom
I don’t do boring well. I’ve got a million interests, I’m always many books and projects behind, and I can’t imagine spending seven to ten hours a week exercising.
I’ve also been looking at various exercise plans, and I’ve learned at least one thing about them — there are even more determined, dogmatic, and argumentative people talking about fitness than there are talking about diet.
Still, there is some good new science, and the CrossFit folks have in general got what looks to me like a very good philosophy of fitness with decent science backing them. So as I’ve mentioned before, I’m at least using the advice of a CrossFit trainer, our own David Steinberg, to set this up. But I’m not using an Official CrossFit routine, at least not to start. That leads to Rule Five.
Rule Five: No Puking
I’ve tried working with personal trainers, and I’ve tried Bikram hot yoga, and I found in both cases there were things about them that really deterred me. In particular, I found I really didn’t like the part where I got dizzy and threw up.
I’m sure that doing a workout where you throw up probably stresses the body more and so leads to faster increases in fitness, but I don’t care. If a routine makes me throw up, it’s too hard.
Rule Six: Only Five Rules
I don’t want this to get too complicated.
So, now, here’s my plan.
Thirteen Weeks Season Two: The Plan
So here it is.
Eating plan
- target at least 175g a day of protein. The old plan was 200, but frankly I almost never made it.
- target grams of fat > grams protein. There’s some good reason to think that you need plenty of fat in a high-protein low-carb diet.
- do not exceed 30 grams of net carbs, defined as total carbs in grams – fiber in grams.
Exercise plan
- A Sun Salutation yoga routine every morning.
- one aerobic session using a Tabata protocol every day except Sunday. I’m going to mix this up among kettlebell exercises, martial arts exercises, and exercise bike. I’ve just finished rearranging my bedroom to make this easy.
My workout corner. There’s also an Xbox Kinect on the TV I’m facing from here.
- Lift weights twice a week using the same slow-repetition routine I started in the first season. Basically the reasoning was good, my compliance was dreadful.
- Either a yoga lesson or a Pilates lesson every week.
So there it is. This starts officially on February 1, but I’m going to start unofficially tomorrow. For some value of tomorrow.
Jeez, somehow I left out all my links. Here’s the talk I mentioned.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erY_mB6wv8k
You Go Yukio
Arigato!
Charlie, please approach Crossfit very cautiously.
Very. See the “No Puking” rule.
You’ve come so far in “Season One”, Charlie! Thank you for taking us along on what is a riveting and inspiring journey. Even better things ahead… I second the “Don’t overdo” exhortation, not that you don’t know that already.
Congratulations and keep it up.
Seriously consider some actual cycling as opposed to just your exercise bike or even a health club spin class.
Unlike running, cycling is low impact so it’s an excellent way to add cardio while you are still on the heavier side. There is a great feeling of accomplishment as you add miles and you can go cool places.
You don’t need to wear Lycra however I strongly recommend cycling specific shorts so that you get padding and stretch fabrics in the right places. Trust me, you’ll enjoy the ride much more if your thighs aren’t rubbed raw.
Another one of the things that was part of the history here was I thought about buying a bike. I took one into the parking lot at a local bike store and discovered two things. First, while you never forget how to ride a bike, you can get damn close. And second, after riding the bike around the parking lot exactly once, I was sweaty and my back hurt.
The second season ends in May; I’ll probably try it again about then — it’s too cold to ride regularly right now anyway.
Charlie, you’re 10-15 pounds more than the 262 I weighed back when I started my own program, which has included biking right from the start – and still does.
But one of the problems with biking for hefty folks as that you climb on a bike set up for 18 year old kids who weigh about as much as a butterfly, and have 26″ waists. People like us aren’t that. First, as bike riders go, we’re heavier than the machines (and seats) are designed for. Second, we can’t bend forward very far. Third, our guts, when we do try to lean forward, put enormous pressure on our lower spines and can cause a lot of pain and even damage.
The immediate solution is to ignore the bike shop sprites who will try to “set your geometry,” and go for the most upright position you can get. That means that your handlebars should be considerably higher than your seat, and pulled far enough toward you that when your hands are at rest, very little of your weight is being supported on them.
Once you’ve got that part working for you, then start riding. If you can only get a block under your belt before feeling the urge to puke, that’s fine. Just make sure you climb back on the bike and do your block the next day.
If your back hurt after once around the parking lot, I’d say the bike didn’t fit you. It should be possible, with the right bike shop, to get one set up properly (i.e. so it doesn’t hurt you). With your back hurting, the handlebar post might be too far from the seat post (so you had to stretch for the handlebars), or the handlebars might have been too low, or various other possibilities.
You might want to try out an upright or “city bike” pattern like the Electra Townie. Their geometry is optimized for city-street riding, commuting and the like (rather than racing or riding over rough ground): you sit more upright, with the seat lower and the handlebars higher and closer to you, and you can put your feet flat on the ground while seated on the bike. The frame is generally heavier than racing bikes, and the tires are wider. These are also easier on the knees, in case you have knee problems.
Thanks, guys. What I tried out was indeed a city bike, in fact a Schwinn. As I say, I haven’t given up; I just figure I’ll be in a better place with it after the next season. I’m actually only 10 miles from the office, I can imagine biking to work.
The other thing I want to look at is seats, as when I last rode a bike much I had a real issue with my nether parts going numb.
Great job so far w/ the weight loss
I too would recommend a bicycle. Far less stress on knees, back etc.
About 3 years ago I got a Fuji Cross Comp (Cyclocross) bike. It is a classic road frame but a bit beefier to handle paved trails, packed dirt, and the occassional fall better than the lightweight racing bikes. Plus the beefier frame handles your weight better.
Good thing is that usually around the spring, many bike shops have a sale to clear out old models, thus you can save a bunch. I got mine for $900 vs $1,200 normally
Put on a well padded seat (the factory seat is as soft as a brick), grab a helmet, water bottle and MP3 player and head out.
Last summer I dropped 20 lbs doing a hard 1hr ride 5-6 days a week
Keep it up
Crossfit? Are you crazy? See Convict Conditioning.
Pushups. Pullups. Squats. Leg Lifts.
No exhaustion. No overtraining. No heart attack. No membership. No commute. Just strong and buff. Throw in some sprints once or twice a week. Done.
Are you crazy?
You know, that’s not the first time I’ve been asked.
Pick a routine and stick to it with very minor variations. After a few years it gets to be an habitual lifestyle, and you don’t feel right when you aren’t doing it. It doesn’t have to be exhaustive. It should be something you think you can keep up forever. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.
Dude, I’ve been following you since you began. I think you will really see some things change in these next 13 weeks as you focus on physical exercise. For your weight lifting, and I have a little experience, twice a week sounds great for you. Consistency. Tuesday/Saturday, Monday/Thursday, whatever. Go with compound exercises – squats, deadlifts, bench and overhead press, and rows – and use heavy weights. This is good for not only muscles, but also bones and connective tissue. And one more thing on your list of things to measure.
And by the way, that big bag of bricks you’ve been carrying around – fat, disgusting, etc. – feel free to put that shit down, walk away, and never think of it again.
Looking forward to following you some more. I read your updates when Instapundit links you.
And by the way, that big bag of bricks you’ve been carrying around – fat, disgusting, etc. – feel free to put that shit down, walk away, and never think of it again.
Thanks. The hard part was noticing the damn baggage.
One of the changes is that i’ve got a workout partner as of tomorrow — a friend hired at the same office — so I’ve got a reliable spot and can think about real squats and deadlifts.
Puking is from dehydration of >5%; muscle spasms come as early as 10% or by 15% dehydration. Internal protein formation is not just genes acting – it involves temperature(& pH/ions), so thermo-dynamics relevant to muscle exercise. A trained athlete can sustain higher % dehydration without kidney failure if rehydrates soon enough.
Obesity has lipid “fat” displacing cellular water & a child’s 70% body water content is only around 60% body water content in a normal weight adult. Cellular water is constrained & compressed there a water molecule’s diameter is about 0.25 nano-meters (nm).
Thermal increases (ex: squeeze by muscle) to a water molecule alter the way that water molecule “moves” under normal 0.4 nm/sec. Once get them moving faster than 0.6 nm/sec the behavioral characteristic of cellular water molecules is different.
Although still a liquid it assumes properties more akin to a solid (compressed), which adds a resiliency & fosters less thermo-dynamic dissipation of the molecules energy. In
practical terms for exercise metabolism this makes the cell’s water easier to move through; the grouping of adjacent water molecules shift aside quicker to let other molecules inside that cell get where going (the cell is pretty jam packed).
Puking from dehydration makes way inside the crowded cells for molecules other than water to go to target destinations. Boxers/martial arts don’t drink much between rounds & apparently this lets their muscle cells more freely move Myosin II along it’s actin filament track (humans may have up to 50 distinct myosin types).
Fighters warm up less to sweat(or puke) than to bring the thermo-dynamic of muscle cells into state that affords cellular water molecules the ability to still be liquid yet exhibit characteristic of a solid (ie: move together). Myosin II is what integrates the muscle myo-fibers; 1 gram of muscle is calculated to have 100 Million Billion molecules of myosin II.
“Making way” among the cellular water for myosin II is good. When ATP comes to bind a myosin II part (called a myosin “head” in scientific jargon, but spatially more like the myosin’s foot on the actin cyto-skeleton track) there is separation away from the actin filament (myosin II takes it’s back foot off the track). Meaning the actin II then can move (think: lift up feet & “walk”) along; since a myosin II molecule has 2 feet (“heads”).
Used ATP, loses a phosphate P to become ADP. When the back foot (“head”) swings free & comes down forward on it’s actin rail the ADP ends up holding that foot (“head”) to the actin filament.
The front myosin II foot (“head”) is thus stabilized & next ATP binding to myosin II back foot (“head”) lifts that off the actin track. A myosin II walking foot (“head”) is at most 40 nm & a single stride covers about 36 nm distance.
So, every step of movement along the actin needs 1 ATP molecule. You don’t want to waste ATP on thermo-dynamics for getting water molecules (or lipid “fat” molecules) out of the way of actin II trying to contract a myo-fibrils.
Edit: myosin II’s pull in shortening it’s actin filament can be up to 30nm (not the written 36nm) distance per ATP driven myosin “step”.
Different things work for different people. This worked for me. Best of all, it isn’t a diet as much as it is about re-learning how to eat properly. If this class is offered in your area, I highly recommend it.
http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/patientcare/healthcare_services/center_for_wellness_prevention/comprehensive_weight_management/weight_management/LEARN/Pages/index.aspx
Congrats on making it this far, good luck on the next leg of the journey. As the old song says ‘the road goes on forever, and the party never ends’.
Hang tough.
I fight the same fight, it never ends. Three things I’ll recommend. This gizmo is pretty useful – let’s you work a lot of muscles indoors in bad weather, takes up no room when you travel. There are other ‘bands’ out there, this is just the one I like:
http://www.lifelineusa.com/products/tnt-cable-system.html
A good way to get an extra 5 or 10 minutes a day of exercise, mix it in w/your other stuff.
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Walking shoes. Get measured for some good ones and put ‘em on every day, go out the door. Come heck or hi water, try to get in 5 or 6 walks in 7 days. 20-30 minutes will do for now – 45 minutes tops, later. After a month or 2, throw on a backpack and fill it w/a water bottle, a couple of 3 lbs weights to use as you walk and a few ziplocks full of bagged beans or rice. Try to carry on your back about what you’ve lost so far while walking. It’ll increase the calorie burn (and when you tire of carrying bags of beans – buy some beano and a hambone, throw a ham and bean party and dispose of the evidence.)
—
http://www.briannassaladdressing.com/product/rich-santa-fe-blend/
A tasty salad dressing that has 25 calories per 2 TBL serving vs. the 200 or so for the same amount of the other stuff I like.
We’re all in this together.
Couch potato’s dream
Thanks. That’s much the same as the Tabata protocol I mentioned.
Charlie,
You’re not “disgusting.” Get the praetorian guard on duty immediately to safeguard the door to your mind. THOSE thoughts should be axed at the senate door.
Congrats and Good Luck Charlie. Just remember, we’re behind
you 100%. That way when we turn to run, we’re in front of you.
Did you know that when George Custer died, he was wearing an arrow shirt?
I don’t do boredom well either. I’d rather be stuck in coach class for 12 hours than walk on a treadmill for even one hour. That’s how tedious I find exercise machines to be.
So I walk around the neighborhood, 3 miles a day, 4 days a week. Keeps my weight under control and its never boring. Just bundle up for the cold and do it anyway. It’s glorious when the sun is shining, making all that healthy vitamin D.
It’s just enough exercise to wear me out, calm me down and remove any guilt about what I ate that day.
Good luck with your program!
I take the newspaper with me. Or I print off articles from blogs to take with me to read.
CONGRATS and keep up the good work, man!!