SandTiger's work in progress thread - starting weight 245
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Nikki542687 wrote: »Great job!! Keep up the good work. I just started my journey (for about the 6th time) a little over a week ago and your post is inspiration and gives me the motivation to keep it up.
Woohoo! Glad I could be of help. Welcome back to the path to health! We're all on it together.0 -
This is a long one - I think they just keep getting longer. Even so, I think it's important to share the challenges as well as the triumphs.
https://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Sand_TIger/view?id=thinking-about-struggles-9929343 -
Woohoo! My birthday weight is pretty much gone, all except for 148.8. I was at 148.6 before my birthday. Best of all though, my fat is the same as it was before but my muscle is up .1. So even if I'm being conservative, I stayed the same with muscle mass and possibly had a slight increase.
26.3 body fat and 32.3 muscle mass if you'll believe my scale. Also I woke up feeling a little overheated, even though I hadn't eaten since 6 PM the night before. This is a good sign as when I'm in too much of a deficit I usually feel cold. (I checked and have no fever.)6 -
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Great blog post! ⭐⭐⭐1
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So I was just running some numbers - assuming that I have 28% body fat right now, all I have to do now is lose 10 pounds of fat to achieve goal.
My scale says I'm around 27% but I added another percentage point for fudge factor. Judging by how well I float (or don't) it's at least in the right ball park. Anyway, that means I likely carry around 42 pounds of fat right now. Maybe as low as 40.
So if I reduce that by ten pounds, and make my total body weight 140, that brings me to 23% body fat. That's assuming I lost only fat and didn't lose any muscle. I'm strength training quite a bit and eating plenty of protein so that's at least a possibility.
23% is in the healthy range, therefore it's my goal. Of course more tweaking would be done after that point, plus more body recomposition, but it's nice to know I could be 140 pounds and at a decent body fat level! It also shows I'm not too far off wanting to end up 135-140 pounds at maintenance.
This is suddenly looking so much more attainable!
I'm not very large in the chest area and pretty much all of my fat is stored around my belly at this point, so I could be quite healthy around 20% body fat in the end.
I'm in my 40s and have a life so I doubt I'll ever have shredded abs or anything like that but I think I can be pretty darn happy with my body. I want to keep it for life. Even 27-28% feels SO MUCH BETTER than before. And it feels great having 31-32% muscle mass!
Speaking of which, I deadlifted 150 pounds for the first time yesterday. I did 2 sets of 4 reps, standard deadlift, no assistance. I know it's peanuts for serious lifters, even female lifters, but it feels really good to (a) be able to lift my own body weight and (b) only weigh 150 pounds.
Not bad for starting around 52% body fat.
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Sand_TIger wrote: »
I agree that the few extra pounds is probably mostly water weight from the increased workload/strength training. It's takes FOREVER to actually gain lean mass as a female, at least for me, and that's why I do whatever I can to maintain what I have! (It breaks my heart when I see women dropping weight too fast and losing lean mass! It's just soooo hard to get that back.) But recomp does happen! I've done it!
Anything sudden is probably that water weight, tho. I notice that when I take a short break from training, and I'm sedentary for a couple of days, I drop a pound or two as that "swole" goes down, LOL! When I train hard, I gain a pound or two. So my maintenance weight fluctuates up and down a couple of pounds all the time depending on my activity level. I really think that's pretty typical.
How I measure myself these days is actually just mostly by visually observing my body, how my clothes fit, and my fitness performance. I do use the scale once a day just to pay attention to the trends. If it moved a lot, then I'd have to reevaluate, but it's usually just these little fluctuations with increased or decreased activity.
Great blog post!3 -
Thanks Jenilla! Totally agreed, too. I visually observe my body and monitor trends daily with the scale. Daily weighing helps me freak out less about fluctuations too. But yeah! I'm right with you especially with the lean loss mass. I know I probably lost quite a bit of muscle during my own weight loss, but at the same time it's now a lot safer for me to train hard. So there's that. Thanks for your thoughts!
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Blog doesn't want to update so here's my most recent entry:
August Goals
I didn't really lose any weight during July though my strength increased so that was good. Body fat percentage is roughly the same. Stress has been a factor, I think. I joined a fitness challenge, need a little extra kick in the butt.
My goals:
4 weight training sessions a week,
2 upper body
2 lower body
30 minutes of cardio 6 days a week
More if I can handle it!
More water, more tea
Less carby snacks
Eat with an eye toward nutrition
More protein during dinner and get back to eating smaller portions
Salads and veggies a priority too
For calories I had been trying to eat above my Base Metabolic Rate but below my Total Daily Energy Expenditure, because I didn't want to under eat and I wanted to fuel my muscle building goals. However, since I chronically lose much less weight than MFP suggests I will, I think all the calculators are off.
I also found, from doing quite a bit of research, that especially when a person is relatively new to weight training, they don't really need a calorie surplus to gain muscle. Up to a certain point you can actually use fat to fuel your workouts provided enough protein is eaten. Not only that, but the female body is naturally protein sparing and is a pretty good at using fat and carbs for fuel, and using the protein to build muscle. I still have a decent natural estrogen supply and mean to use it. Estrogen helps recovery and helps prevent losing what muscle has been gained, so it actually has quite a few benefits to female body builders.
Results of June and July, eating at roughly a half pound loss rate
Muscles have gained some size and definition, fat may have increased slightly, and my body carries more water when muscle repair is active. I feel a little stronger than I did. Measurements not changing appreciably. However all in all I don't think I'm really backsliding. I just know I need to work harder if I'm going to burn fat and gain muscle at the same time. It's possible - my "Not-Doctor" Greg Doucette calls it "Maingaining." Generally you can only lose fat and gain muscle at the same time if you have some fat to spare and I very much still do!
What does this mean for August?
Since I suspect my Base Metabolic Rate is lower than what the calculators keep saying it is, and I've tried multiple ones, this means I am likely eating too many calories for proper weight loss. Which makes me sad. It means I should really eat only when I'm actually hungry and not worry too much about adding a snack here and there to bring things up to a higher total. (Too bad, I love snacking.) However July was something of an experiment, finding out if I was under eating. I wasn't.
All this said, my priority is still going to be building muscle, and if I only lose a couple pounds instead of the five pounds I'd like to lose, that's fine. If I were to gain a whole pound of muscle during August I'd be doing extremely well for myself, a half pound is more likely so I'm not really factoring that in.7 -
You can calculate your own calories instead of using a TDEE calculator. Take your total calories consumed for the last 4 weeks then add 3,500 calories for every pound lost( in that 4 week period (or multiply 3,500 by whatever % of a pound you lost). Divide the total by the number of days. This will give you your daily maintenance calories. Subtract 15-25% from daily total for desired weight loss.
Calculators consistently over estimate my calorie needs so had to learn this equation early on. If I remember correctly, MFP has a section under "Report" that shows weekly calories. Hope this is helpful.6 -
That'll be an interesting way to do it! I've been told it's pretty hard for any generic calculator to be all that accurate, and then there's the difficulty in calculation considering the inherent inaccuracy of most package labels. They are allowed to be up to 20% off!
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Love your strength training focus!3
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Sand_TIger wrote: »That'll be an interesting way to do it! I've been told it's pretty hard for any generic calculator to be all that accurate, and then there's the difficulty in calculation considering the inherent inaccuracy of most package labels. They are allowed to be up to 20% off!
I'm sorry, what what?? I was kinda listening then math happened like something food - 3500 cal .. i don't know it went fast. I was trying BMR then not as much activity, because I am often sick. So is the BMR off too???? I really need to know this, as my BMR for my goal weight is something like 1099 cal per day for my height. And I know most days I do NOT do anywhere near 3k steps. This is really important, and the first I heard of this. Because if it is +/_ 20% 1099 that is really important to know.
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@justanotherloser007 the formula is for maintenance calories. It has been on the boards a long time. Like you, I am often sick or injured so that I do not get much exercise. You want to eat to maintenance calories not your bmr. Your bmr is the minimum calories that you would burn if completely immobilized.
1)Add all the calories that you have recorded on MFP for the last 28 days. MFP has a feature under reports in your home page that will help you with weekly calorie totals.
2) If you lost weight over that 28 days, then multiply (month starting weight - month ending weight) pounds lost by 3,500(calories in a pound of fat). If you gained weight then do the same.
3) Take the total calories consumed for 28 days then, either: a) ADD the total of step 2 if LOST weight to step 1
b) SUBTRACT the total of step 2 if GAINED weight to step 1
4) This final number is your maintenance calories. It is the point where you won't gain or lose weight.
5) If you want to lose weight then adjust number from step 4 by 5 to 20%. Subtract 0.05x to 0.20x(step 4 total) from step 4.
Women are not advised to go below 1200 net calories/day( this is total intake minus activity) because we no longer get all the needed nutrients in our food without needed supplementation under a doctor's orders.
As for packaged foods being 20% over/under, the stated serving size has the same calories at the stated weight for the serving size. Weigh your serving in grams then multiply or divide serving weifgt to get the correct calories. Example: serving size of baby carrots is 85grams. I eat 78grams of carrots. calories would equal(78/85) x 35 calories. (78/85) =0.92 servings. 0.92 x 35 = 32 calories carrots eaten.
Sorry to hijack your thread @Sand_Tiger. Wanted to thank you for introducing me to Built bars. So amazingly delicious!
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Beautyofdreams wrote: »
Sorry to hijack your thread @Sand_Tiger. Wanted to thank you for introducing me to Built bars. So amazingly delicious!
No worries and I'm glad you like Built bars too! I use them for dessert, LOL.
For the 20% calorie thing, you are close but that wasn't quite what I was getting at.
I was talking about how legally, packaging is allowed to fudge up or down up to 20%. That would likely depend on the country of course. I think they can also say that something that is 5 calories, say, is 0 calories because it's within a certain range of 0 calories. Even if the package is right, if the weight is off, then the calories would of course be off like in your example. Another trick they use is to put the serving size at such a small amount that the calories go down really low.
So one example of packages being misleading would be a slice of bread that has a certain calorie amount at 50 grams, for example, but the actual slice weighs more. More weight, more calories.
Another example would be with cooking spray, they say it's just a couple calories (or even 0 calories) but that's for a 1/4 second spray.
You'll also find fun things like the type of fiber not being mentioned (that can make a difference since one type of fiber isn't digested at all and others are partially digested), and sometimes outright lies about calorie content.
This can all cause miscalculations to the point that even trained dietitians can't tell exactly how many calories they take in. So calories are good to count, and I do, but I also pay attention to how my body feels and whether I'm losing weight at the right rate, because even with weighing perfectly and doing all the math I'm still not going to be accurate.
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@justanotherloser007 edit: step 4 should read take the total of step 3 then divide by 28 days. This gives maintenance calories per day.
@Sand_Tiger I get what you're saying about bread. I love sourdough bread and that never weighs what a serving size states. Not to mention that 0 calories yellow mustard or diet Mt Dew. Do not have too much experience with fiber other than naturally occurring in oatmeal, fruit and vegetables or many sugar alcohols like are found in gum. Most of these sweeteners came into common use after my transplants. I'm considered a cured diabetic so no longer need to count carbs.0 -
Thank you so much for the info! Yeah, I have like 5 drs. I am a very sick duck. I get IV stuff for iron, and I am good on everything else blood wise as I get checked (way too) frequently (for my taste).Beautyofdreams wrote: »we no longer get all the needed nutrients in our food without needed supplementation under a doctor's orders.
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Beautyofdreams wrote: »
@Sand_Tiger I get what you're saying about bread. I love sourdough bread and that never weighs what a serving size states. Not to mention that 0 calories yellow mustard or diet Mt Dew. Do not have too much experience with fiber other than naturally occurring in oatmeal, fruit and vegetables or many sugar alcohols like are found in gum. Most of these sweeteners came into common use after my transplants. I'm considered a cured diabetic so no longer need to count carbs.
Yeah - bread is an example - it could be wraps, candy, meat patties, buns, cookies, crackers, tortillas, jerky sticks, really anything.
Regarding fiber, there's soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. As I understand it, soluble fiber gives you about half the expected calories because it's partially digestible and insoluble fiber that's not at all digestible so you can subtract all the calories. But most packages don't tell you what type of fiber that is so it can really make a big difference when counting.
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Looks like my gofundme post about the sick kitten got deleted. Oh well.
Anyway, here's a link to my most recent blog entry:
https://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Sand_TIger/view?id=banishing-shame-996052
My progress is continuing - I weighed in at 147.9 wednesday, 147.7 yesterday, and 147.9 this morning. So I'm pleased to be losing again. I think my belly is finally starting to shrink. Wearing a size S in both T-shirt and shorts, though it's a men's size S. I prefer guys' clothes for working out in, they are made better and fit me better. But it's nice to be in an S!6 -
Progress photo which Hiroshi decided to get into - hey, at least I cleaned off my mirror! 147 pounds this morning and if my scale can be believed, I'm about 26% body fat and over 32% muscle. Still want to get rid of the floppy belly but it's shrinking and not so obvious under clothes. These are the size S shorts and shirt, too.
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You look amazing!!! Quite a huge difference. 😁. Congrats on such a awesome loss!! 👏🤗2
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Great progress!
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Aaaaah! Senpai noticed me! Thanks to you both 1
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You look so “small”!
So much in awe Of what you’ve done.2 -
Hi Tiger! I found your progress photo! I got confused and looked at the photos in your profile first! You are looking GREAT! SO much smaller and slimmer! And I love the pensive look of your cat looking towards the window? Maybe seeing a bird! LOL You have done such a great job! Looking better and better! I also carry a lot of weight in my middle, but I have a long, long way to go! But hey, I've lost 30% of my total weight at this point! 90 Pounds! MFP says 80 which is mostly true, but I lost 10 before starting MFP, so really from my total weight of 265 it's 90! I love the fact that you never give up or give in! You just keep steady and do it! You are so close to your goal weight! Just Incredible! Congratulations on how far you have come and what you have achieved\3
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Thanks Corinasue! Laura, he was swiveling his little head all around - he liked his perspective as he was standing up "just like mom" for his photo, LOL.3
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You look amazing! All your hard work has definitely paid off!!1
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