Halfway there :)

TwoPointZero

So, given that I am at the nominal halfway point in my long-term cut, I figure it's time to give back a bit to this community that has been quite helpful for me.

First, for you ADHD types, results:

I wore the same clothes in both sets of pics to make comparison as easy as possible. The left pictures of each pair are August 2013, and the right pics are last week.

Specs:
Height: 6 ft 1 in
Starting: 270 pounds
Current: 230 pounds, 25 %BF
Goal: 200 pounds, 12-13 %BF

The right side of the front shot is meant to show that these pants, which were previously super snug, are now falling off.




This pair shows the most obvious difference.




Next, a few lessons learned, which may or may not be applicable to anyone else:

* Food: Not many secrets here. Eating less actually works, and I now understand why most people can't just exercise their way to lower weight . . . It took me a while to figure out _how_ to eat less, but, ultimately, I think the one word description of how I did it is "consciousness". I don't mean that in the hippie sense, but in the most literal possible sense: I just pay much more attention to what and when I am eating. I don't do cheat days, but I do do cheat meals, maybe once or twice a week. Occasional fasting (skipping one meal per day, one-two days per week) makes me feel a little better overall, but I definitely can't do any more than that, or I just don't have enough energy.
* Sleep: All during my time in grad school, I slept an average of 4 hours a night. As little as a year ago, I was only sleeping 5-6 hours a night, which was better. However, after doing a bit of reading/research on the repercussions of too little sleep, I made a concerted attempt to get to the 7-8 hours per night range. And I must say, sleeping 7-8 hours per night makes me feel so much better, that I don't really know how I made it as long as I did with so little sleep.
* Physical training: I finally got a trainer to show me how to do deadlifts, and I f---ing love them. If it wasn't for my stupid knee (see below), I would be doing them much more often. Also, it seems that I can't do high weight-low rep. routines when I am at a caloric deficit, as I tend to get injured significantly more frequently. Finally, I figured out how to do cardio in ways that don't bore me to death (HIIT, vary activities often).
* Data and metrics: I really enjoy collecting, interpreting and using the data I collect, which is a fair bit. In particular, the interpretation part has forced me to think about what the numbers really mean, and how to use them in useful ways.


Finally, my halfway rewards:

* One of the best chocolate chip cookies on the planet: Specialty's Semi Sweet Chocolate Chunk. I will let you look up the nutritional information, but I warn you, it's not for the faint hearted . . .
* Recently started quarterly hydrostatic weighing.
* Taking the necessary time off of work to get a little maintenance/repair on my left knee.


So, there it is. Thanks to all of the people who have helped me, and those that maintain this site.

Next stop, 200 pounds and 12% BF . . .

fpelletier

Great job!!! Sorry to hear about the knee troubles, I hope it gets better

TwoPointZero

Thanks!

jamilynny

Congrats! Your results are impressive and I appreciated your lessons learned!

MissySpring

Congratulations! You are looking so healthy. Your midsection had dramatically reduced. I can't agree more on the sleep...I notice I lose more when I get enough sleep.

RenaHewitt

Wonderful job! Very inspiring

nicupson

You rock! That's fantastic! (Love that the before and after pics are in the exact same clothes).

craignev

Very well done on your progress.

We're very similar in start/progress/goal weights! :happy:

motivatedmartha

Sleep is a big issue for me - interesting that you found it effects your weight loss. I have terrible insomnia - had hoped more exercise might help but not made a huge difference any ideas from people would be gratefully received.

Congratulations so far - great job!!

TwoPointZero

MissySpring said:

Congratulations! You are looking so healthy. Your midsection had dramatically reduced. I can't agree more on the sleep...I notice I lose more when I get enough sleep.

Yeah, when the person who took the pics and I sat down and looked at the difference, we were both amazed . . .


motivatedmartha said

Sleep is a big issue for me - interesting that you found it effects your weight loss. I have terrible insomnia - had hoped more exercise might help but not made a huge difference any ideas from people would be gratefully received.

So, I didn't say too much about sleep and losing weight, as I don't understand all of the dependencies very well yet, but since more than one person brought it up, I can make a few qualitative comments . . . I am quite sure that the causality goes both ways, and sleep interacts with multiple things, as follows:

* When I work out more, and at certain times of day (evening/night), I sleep more and better.
* When I sleep more and better, my workouts at certain times of day (morning) are more frequent and better quality.
* When I eat smaller meals at night, I definitely sleep better.
* When I sleep more and better, most of my mental functions are better, including my mood, my cognition, and in particular, my awareness and discipline, which increases the probability of me eating better.

So, definitely lots of interactions, where more sleep is both the cause and effect of improved metrics everywhere else.

TwoPointZero

We're very similar in start/progress/goal weights! :happy:

Ah, nice. It is always nice to see someone along the same path. You will probably get there before me, though, since my damn knee is going to kill my workouts for probably 2-4 months. But, I'm just trying to keep my eye on the long term. :happy:

elghee123

Looking good!

LianaG1115

LOL Dude you did it wrong!! The before pics you're not supposed to be smiling!! Only in the AFTER pics are you supposed to smile!! LOL Just kidding you look awesome and ya got an *kitten* now too!! Whoot whoot!!! :drinker:

KimJohnsonsmile

Good for you! Love hearing how far you've come! Love your comments about sleep... I too used to "survive" on 5 hours. Now I can't function properly without 7-8. Keep it the good work! You look great!

atfirstblush

You look great. I agree with you on the sleeping. If I only get 4 or 5 hours of sleep I crave carbs all day and I have no energy to work out. We should all do our bodies a favor and sleep 7 - 8 hours every night.

kodak1122

Great Job!! Love how you are letting yourself enjoy your Favorite Cookie and how you put the nutritional information is not for the faint hearted. It just goes to show that when you start dieting and paying attention to calories and such, you realize how bad you really did eat before, and as you continue to diet, how much better your food choices become!! I recall one morning we made cinnamon rolls for breakfast for the kids, and my fiancé and I were going to share one, then I looked up the nutritional information. We looked at each other and put the cinnamon roll back and made a healthier choice, as bad as we wanted that cinnamon roll, we didn't want it bad enough to mess up our calories for the entire day either!!

mikedenali

Well done and looking good :glasses:

TwoPointZero

Just kidding you look awesome and ya got an *kitten* now too!! Whoot whoot!!! :drinker:

You can't see it in those clothes, but the legs and *kitten* are definitely getting close to the condition they were was in during my former athleticism, and I have gotten more than one comment about them. The official "after" shots will be in some more appropriate gear (i.e., workout clothes) . . .

TwoPointZero

Love how you are letting yourself enjoy your Favorite Cookie and how you put the nutritional information is not for the faint hearted. It just goes to show that when you start dieting and paying attention to calories and such, you realize how bad you really did eat before, and as you continue to diet, how much better your food choices become!! I recall one morning we made cinnamon rolls for breakfast for the kids, and my fiancé and I were going to share one, then I looked up the nutritional information. We looked at each other and put the cinnamon roll back and made a healthier choice, as bad as we wanted that cinnamon roll, we didn't want it bad enough to mess up our calories for the entire day either!!

Yeah, that cookie is a "once every six months" occurrence. The calories are brutal, but I planned for it, so that I actually stayed under my calories for the day. (Almost) everything in moderation . . .