Monthlies
Replies
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@d_thomas02 what do you set your MFP settings at using a FitBit?
I follow your thread daily and know sedentary is so not you
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PlunderingSteelGorilla wrote: »I've reset my MFP goals a number of times, though to be honest I have no clue what to set it for. I know my weight, but that's it. Currently set to just under 1,800 calories per day.
Sedentary? Lightly active? Opinions vary. Posted my query on MFP forum and, after multiple responses the consensus was try one and see if it works. If not try another. Brilliant
Weighing dense foods like block cheese was an eye opener for me. But I do not eat cheese daily, or even weekly.
I eat identical meals for breakfast amd lunch almost every Monday to Friday and some weekends. Scanned labels and measured scoops. Little variation. Healthy. Low calories. Fillng. Enjoyable.
Some evenings I eat right. Others, not so much. But over the long haul, I should be losing. I ain't.
Tomorrow I shall weigh more foods and reconfigure my MFP settings.
I put mine on sedentary, as my day job has me sitting for 8-10 hours, commute = 2 hours, plus family time often involves 1 hour of TV.. So in my waking hours (about 17 hours of my day), 11 hours or more is spent sitting.. that to me, is sedentary. I try to make up for it with workouts and walks... but the ratio determines the activity level, not the number of calories burned during workouts.
I did the math a few weeks back when I started weighing my solids.. inaccuracy in measurement was costing me 1 lb/ month gain.. and that was only for 2 items that I eat regularly... multiply that times 5 years and that would be 60 lb... and the funny thing is that after reducing my portion to what I thought I was eating.. I'm not really any hungrier than I was before.0 -
Monday to Friday I spend 8-10 hours working my butt, finger and eye muscles. Sitting at my desk staring at my computer. But I walk to/from work. 4.3km each way.
Weekends, I work in a motorcycle shop. All day either on my feet, on my knees or on my back...sounds like a different kind of shop. Constantly moving, bending, lifting, getting down and up. Not usually to the point of feeling like a work out but some days I feel it. I used to walk to/from there as well (5k each way) but last few weeks I took my kids with me so I had to skip the walk.
I used to be set at "lightly active" because it seemed to make sense. But after not losing anything I switched it to Sedentary with 7 90 minute workouts each week. Only change is the amount of calories it tells me to consume dropped from around 1,900+ to 1,760. No weight lost in the last 2 months since I switched.
Maybe a "device" will solve that riddle for me. Need to justify the expense though, and a solid maybe does not justify it to my wallet.
I do already have a food scale, so I can do that without any extra cost.1 -
I use this:
http://www.scosche.com/rhythm-plus-heart-rate-monitor-armband
When I bought it 3 years ago, it was the best deal going for a reasonably accurate HRM, and didn't require a chest strap.. but it uses the phone for recording everything, so there is that to deal with. Not sure what prices are today if it's competitive, but I use it daily.. it holds up well to all the abuse I throw at it. I found that the app I use is a bit generous of cals burned, so I try to eat back at most 50% back.
I do a bit of wrenching myself (just hobby stuff). What kind of bikes do you work on?0 -
I use Endomondo to track exercise. No HRM but it is free, on my phone and asy to use.
I tried MapMyRide years ago, and going to use it for a few walks this week at the same time as Endomondo and compare stats from both. Someone suggested my burn numbers were too high using it and that may be why I am not losing. Not burning as much as I think.
However, I rarely eat back my exercise calories. Not intentionally anyway. I eat until I am satiated.
Today for example, I consumed 1765 calories (ish, hard to tell with my mishmash supper). But I burned 1844 calories (ish, no HRM). 8.6km walk at a very brisk pace (9kph) + 52 minutes of cycling at a light pace (16-19kph).
According to those numbers I am in a negative. Yet not even a bit hungry. Do not want to eat just because a number thinks I should.
But the numbers, somewhere, could be wrong.
For motorcycles, I will work on anything. Honda to Harley, Victory to Vulcan, 2 wheels or 3, old or new. As long as it is not major engine work or computer related. Started as a hobby that turned into a business.0 -
PlunderingSteelGorilla wrote: »@d_thomas02 what do you set your MFP settings at using a FitBit?
I follow your thread daily and know sedentary is so not you
I have mine set at slughtly active, but FitBit will take cals away if I sit on my *kitten* or add more if I'm working my *kitten* off.
Bottom line, I eat 500 to 1000 less (on average) than the combined two (FitBit and MFP) allow to lose weight.
I do try to weigh all food accurately to the gram when I can or over guestimate when I can't weigh.1 -
Weighing/Measuring as much as I can today, and whenever possible for the next couple weeks at least.
So far, I see a difference in numbers. Mostly lower than my estimate, but some higher. Enough to be off in a bad way.
Consumption:
Breakfast guess yesterday: 97 calories
Breakfast weighed today: 122 calories
Lunch guess yesterday: 376 calories
Lunch weighed today: 391 calories
The biggest thing I was off on was the carrots by 20 calories. It ain't much, but that is just 2 meals but it does add up over time.
Expenditure:
Endomondo - 4.16km 590 calories
MapMyFitness - 4km 428 calories
Google Map - 4.27km
I am not super concerned about the distance being off, but it would be nice to know something was accurate. Distance is off and calories are very different. Will install a third tracking app today and compare all three.1 -
There are a lot of charts that allow you to cross reference the calorie burns... it makes sense to me that your numbers were off... if you were consistently net negative daily. . Science says you will be losing.
Re: Bikes... sweet. My current sled is a 95 Vulcan 1500.
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I ride a Vulcan 800 myself. Big fan of Vulcans.
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Sweet ride.. Soft bags and custom paint.. the best... What kind of forward controls are those?
I like the look of the 800's, but after riding a 1500 for so long... I've got to make a decision to move on to another ride or do a top end rebuild this winter though. She's burning more oil than usual, and gaskets are starting to get leaky.0 -
Custom built forward controls from previous owner.
Winter is the best time for engine work. Can't ride em, so fix em.
1500's are known for transmission issues as well. But if you do not have that, then they are solid bikes.0 -
Mine is a little bit "clunky" in the tranny - but always has been for the 12 years and 60k miles I've had it.. so unless that changes drastically this year, I doubt I'd want to split the cases... that doesn't sound like a fun job on this bike.
My only real complaint on the trans is the low gearing - this is the A model, 4 speed and geared for what feels like drag racing leaves it high rev'd on the California freeways... It has all the quirks of the A's... burns oil (but they all do thanks to the poorly fitting factory pistons), and has developed a seep in the final drive, and now a new slow drip out the LH side (inner gasket.. have to pull the engine to get to it.)... has gone through two head gaskets (another thing the A's are famous for).
The increase in oil consumption, and the new leak.... it's about time... it's either tear it down or get something without carbs.
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Sounds like it has a bunch of little issues leading up to major ones. Bummer. The clunk from N to first and then second is factory standard on those. The shift issue, if I recall, is usually 3-4 not working or it will randomly downshift on you. Had a customer ask us to do it last year. Suggested to take it to the dealer first for an estimate, then decide if he wants to fix it or sell it. He rides a Victory now.
I have no issues with carbed bikes. Except mine. For some reason my carb just ain't right.
I have modified the intake (Grampsize) and the fuel mixture is never as spot on as I would like, no matter how much I tweak it. At some point, I should stop "tweaking" and just ride.
Fuel injection with Power Commander for next bike for sure. Thinking Nomad or Vaquero. Wife hates fairings, so likely not the Vaquero.0 -
In the same boat with the carbs on mine... seems that way with every Kaw I have owned. Have tinkered with them off and on since I owned this one.. did the ear shave and rejetted, but unless I get the mix dead to nuts and the sync just perfect between them.... they are just plain finicky - and yeah, you nailed it.. a bunch of smaller issues creeping up on me.. just those smaller issues all require significant teardown to fix, so I've been holding off to wait for them to get worse.
If I did ever get brave enough to crack the case, I'd go find a set of drifter gears to drop in .. I rode a '94 with that mod done on it - makes a pretty nice drop in RPM in 3rd and 4th. If I sell mine, Victory or Indian is probably my next... I'm really liking what Polaris is doing these days.
I'm not a huge fan of the Nomad's look - makes me think I'm only one step away from a Goldwing, and I'm not feeling quite old enough for that yet.1 -
I love the Victory's, but price wise I am not there.
Polaris cancelled production of the Victory lineup a few months back.
They are backing Indian 100% now. So Victory will drop steeply in price over the next 1-2 years.0 -
I didn't know they cancelled the victory lineup! That pretty much blows my mind.. they are IMO the most original cruiser manufacturer out there, not all trying to copy each other and/or HD.
I noticed that used Victories on Craigslist are cheaper this year than last.. That may explain why.
I hear you on the price.. can I afford it.. yes... can I justify it? Hrm... still working on that. 0 -
Missed April's goal of 182. Did lose 1.6 and came in at 183.3. BF% at 18.1, based on Military Tape Measure Calculator.
Goal for end of May is 180 with BF% of 16.5.
Best of luck to all for May.1 -
Not bad, Lou! Congrats - That's not far off goal, and I am confident you can hit that 180 mark!
I am at 182 as of this morning - my goal is to see the 170's by end of May.0 -
Monthly check in.
Primary GW: 180 lb
Secondary GW: 175 lb
Tertiary Goal: Whatever I lose, to keep it off through the last months of the year!
RED = gain for the week
YELLOW = loss of less than 0.5 lbs for the week
GREEN = loss of 0.5 lbs or more for the week
SW: 205.5 | W10: 205.0
W1: 207.3 | W11: 204.0
W2: 206.3 | W12: 202.5
W3: 205.9 | W13: 200.7
W4: 205.8 | W14: 199.9
W5: 207.6 | W15: 199.1
W6: 208.0 | W16: 198.0
W7: 207.4
W8: 206.4
W9: 206.1
W17: 196.5
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Weekly deficit: 6,341 calories (an average of 906 cals per day)
Expected week loss: 1.81 lbs
Trend App loss: 1.5 lbs
Still having trouble guesstimating the calories of my wife's home cooking, that and being down with a stomach bug since Thursday. Still not quite myself yet.
Adding to that aggravation, MFP still hasn't got colors working!!! [grrr]
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Monthly deficit: 24,481 calories (and average of 699 cals per day)
Expected monthly loss: 6.99 lbs
Trend App loss: 6.0 lbs
Seems I'm still underestimating my intake, or my FitBit is overestimating my TDEE, to the tune of 100 calories a day. Either way. I can work with that.1 -
Down 5.4 lbs to 258.4.
Nothing to do with a successful loss this month. Everything to do with being very ill this week while busting my *kitten* moving all week.
But it is a loss and I will accept it as that and be glad. At least being painfully sick had some benefit.2 -
182 on Saturday. Down 4 lb for the month... So averaging out right on plan.
I did make some adjustments this month - started weighing some more foods, and bumped my workouts considerably. Last few weeks have been larger than usual drop, which helped get me back on plan.
Not 100% sure if it's sustainable, as the end of last week saw my energy levels drop severely which led me to the decision to take 2 days @ maintenance and reduce exercise load.
So now my next mission is to find balance.
Going to stay generally on the current workout/food schedule for the next 2 weeks, but add 1 extra rest day in the middle.. see if that helps.
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Thanks @loulamb7!
I am still tweaking in my macros.. I have a pretty hard time with satiation if I put too much carbs in the diet, as they seem to go through me, leaving me hungry again.
I haven't tried playing with the timing yet...Carb load before workout, protein after, etc. I used to do that way back in my competition days, but back then, cutting weight was NOT a factor into the equation (couldn't gain back then if my life depended on it, thanks to training). Back then, Carb loading was an easy and fun thing to do!
I have been nervous to try going down that route yet since I am still battling being HUNGRY when I increase my workout load to >1000 cal/day, even when I eat back 50% of my exercise cals.
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AllanMisner wrote: »Gentlemen, weight is a horrible health marker. If you want to lose weight, cut off a body part. No?
I believe you are being too specific and missing a bigger picture for a lot of men here. For a man with 70% body at 5' 9" he could weigh himself and make a plan to drop 150 lbs. About a year or more later he could re-check and find he is now at 25% bodyfat at which point he could redefine his work toward body composition.
I think you are speaking about edge cases and throwing out data that is a valuable tool (weight)1 -
Hope everyone has a good Memorial Day weekend. I'm slightly dreading end of month weigh in. I'll probably wait until June 3rd to report in.
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Monthly check in.
Primary GW: 180 lb
Secondary GW: 175 lb
Tertiary Goal: Whatever I lose, to keep it off through the last months of the year!
RED = gain for the week
YELLOW = loss of less than 0.5 lbs for the week
GREEN = loss of 0.5 lbs or more for the week
SW: 205.5 | W10: 205.0 | W20: 194.6
W1: 207.3 | W11: 204.0
W2: 206.3 | W12: 202.5
W3: 205.9 | W13: 200.7
W4: 205.8 | W14: 199.9
W5: 207.6 | W15: 199.1
W6: 208.0 | W16: 198.0
W7: 207.4 | W17: 196.5
W8: 206.4 | W18: 195.1
W9: 206.1 | W19: 195.3
W21: 194.0
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Weekly deficit: 2,104 calories (an average of 301 cals per day)
Expected week loss: 0.60 lbs
Trend App loss: 0.6 lbs
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Monthly deficit: 13,012 calories (an average of 465 cals per day)
Expected monthly loss: 3.72 lbs
Trend App loss: 2.5 lbs
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264. Shocking, I know. :-\0
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I'm sitting at 177.5 as of 2 days ago during my weekly weigh in. Down 4.5 lb for the month. Basically right on track. I feel like the WL is slowing down the last few weeks though, so trying to stay focused.1
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Started May at 183.3 ended at 184.1, up .8
Good news is that in mid-May I hit a lowest recorded weight of 180.8 and lowest recorded trend of 182.8.
Goal for end of June is the same as May, 180 with BF% of 16.5.3 -
d_thomas02 wrote: »Seems I'm still underestimating my intake, or my FitBit is overestimating my TDEE, to the tune of 100 calories a day. Either way. I can work with that.
Said this back at the end of April and noticed I had said nearly the exact same thing about a year ago.
Been bothering me like an itch you can't scratch so decided to do something about it.
Easiest thing to do was just add a food item called "Adjustment" (it is in the food database) for 100 calories to Breakfast as I almost always have the same thing everyday.
My OCD is unhappy with me for making a change near the middle of a month rather than at the beginning but I told it to "forget about it".1
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