Days of Bushie's Life (Update Thread v4)

[Franzl]

One thing I would personally suggest. Don't weigh yourself daily. There's a good deal of fluctuation in a matter of hours depending on when your last meal was....how much water you've had to drink....etc.

Generally speaking, a healthy rate of calorie reduction is to consume between 500 and 1,000 fewer calories than you require for weight maintenance. If you're extremely obese, then it's probably good to aim for the 1,000.

If done consistently, this will equal about a 2 pound loss per week. And perhaps weighing yourself once weekly, like every Sunday after you get out of bed, for example, is likely a better indicator of your success (or lack thereof).

Good luck.

[Franzl]

Bushie, you should also go for walks for about an hour a day.  It's not hard and will be good exercise.  If you have an iPod, music also makes it go by faster.

I'll keep that in mind.  I don't have an iPod, but I can still go for walks.

"Keeping it in mind" won't help if you don't actually do some physical activity.

[Franzl]

Bushie, I'm not as up to date as some so I don't know your weight, but 2,700 calories is an awful lot for anyone. That's that kind of diet you'd be eating if you were lifting weights and trying to bulk up.

Remember, exercise doesn't give you a license to eat whatever you want - it's important, but unless you're Michael Phelps you're not going to be burning enough calories through exercise to offset a poor diet.

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

I don't know his height, but let's say he's 175 cm just for the sake of argument....then he should be consuming 2611 calories for weight maintenance. (Assuming little to no exercise, which is certainly true in his case.)

Bushie should be aiming for 2000 calories or so.

[Franzl]

Bushie, I'm not as up to date as some so I don't know your weight, but 2,700 calories is an awful lot for anyone. That's that kind of diet you'd be eating if you were lifting weights and trying to bulk up.

Remember, exercise doesn't give you a license to eat whatever you want - it's important, but unless you're Michael Phelps you're not going to be burning enough calories through exercise to offset a poor diet.

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

I don't know his height, but let's say he's 175 cm just for the sake of argument....then he should be consuming 2611 calories for weight maintenance. (Assuming little to no exercise, which is certainly true in his case.)

Bushie should be aiming for 2000 calories or so.

Using Inks formula, I should shoot for 3,200 calories.  I am 5'8" weighing 270.  Take 270 * 12 and you get 3,240 using the first category.

Today, I weigh 269.6 which is a loss of 0.6 lbs. Water weight to be sure.

What does the calculator on the website I linked to give you? Not saying it's necessarily correct, but you might want to check different sources. The 3,200 really sounds too high to me.

[Franzl]

2,500 sounds alright, actually. It's certainly low enough for gradual wait loss at the moment.

(I'm not sure that link knows everything, it's numbers just seem plausible. And work for me.)

[Franzl]

I finished the day in the 2,500-2,600 calorie range, so I should be okay by morning.  I'm well shy of the 3,200 maintenance calories and I'm closer to my 2,500 goal.  We'll see if I can drop just a bit by morning.

It's a slow process. You have to consume 3,500 calories less than maintenance to lose just 1 pound.

[Franzl]

I'm really amazed at how people can actually enjoy all the junk food. Isn't a nice fresh salad more enjoyable to eat than a Lunchable or a cheeseburger?

[Franzl]

I usually find it hard to even have 2000 calories a day. I'm the weirdest fat person you'd ever meet. I don't get hungry often, I don't eat chocolate..hell I don't like sweets, an I dont get junk food.

So why are you fat? Liquor?

[Franzl]

As of this morning, I have now lost 5 pounds.  Again, I'm limiting my calories to 2,500 a day.

Given that calorie intake, it should be 1 pound or so (which is alright for 1 week). Don't expect to maintain the pound a day.

[Franzl]

Wait, did I miss something here?  Does Bushie actually eat 3 meals a day at McDonald's?

No, I think he goes to Golden Corral and Pizza Hut alternatively. Or to be very healthy, I think frozen burritos at home have been mentioned.

[Franzl]

Just a heads up. I was in San Fran this summer. Walking around is pretty strenuous there because of the hills. And driving is very tricky due to density and lack of parking.  And hotels are crazy expensive.  Just a word of caution. The national parks in the Western states are fantastic though!!!

The parks are great....but not if you only sit in your car.

[Franzl]

Bush- what matters more then weight is your happiness. If eating a carload of ham makes you happy- let it be... I know it makes me happy. Your happiness and enjoyment of life matter far more to your health then counting calories...

Life as a morbidly obese person would be hell on Earth for me. I can't imagine being able to enjoy bad tasting fast food would be more important to someone than being able to walk a mile without getting a heart attack.

[Franzl]

Just as I thought, I did gain 2 pounds this morning thanks to overdoing it yesterday.  I allowed myself to eat foods I enjoy, and that was my mistake.  Back to it, today.

Unless you consumed 7,000 calories more than maintenence, you haven't actually gained 2 pounds.

[Franzl]

Just as I thought, I did gain 2 pounds this morning thanks to overdoing it yesterday.  I allowed myself to eat foods I enjoy, and that was my mistake.  Back to it, today.

Unless you consumed 7,000 calories more than maintenence, you haven't actually gained 2 pounds.

Water weight?

Yes. He "gained" 2 pounds now just as he "lost" 6 pounds in 1 week (in other words, virtually impossible)

[Franzl]

The reason I don't think the 6 pounds is water weight, is I've been down this road before.  When I started losing the 25 pounds 13 months ago, I went down pretty rapidly, and I believe I had lost 6-7 pounds in the first week.  Some of it could be water weight, but I think a good portion of it is legitimate weight loss.  The 2 pound weight gain this morning could be either water weight or legitimate weight game.

Calories matter. The 3,500 per pound are not just an estimate.

[Franzl]

The reason I don't think the 6 pounds is water weight, is I've been down this road before.  When I started losing the 25 pounds 13 months ago, I went down pretty rapidly, and I believe I had lost 6-7 pounds in the first week.  Some of it could be water weight, but I think a good portion of it is legitimate weight loss.  The 2 pound weight gain this morning could be either water weight or legitimate weight game.

Calories matter. The 3,500 per pound are not just an estimate.

Most days this past week, I stuck with the 2,400-2,600 vicinity (hence, the weight loss).  Yesterday, I know I probably came closer to 4,000 if not a little more.  I had a big breakfast and a big dinner yesterday.  My weight maintenance is 3,240 according to Inks formula, and I probably exceeded that by at least 750, if not 1,000 yesterday.

Then it's impossible that you gained 2 pounds of fat overnight. Just as it's impossible you lost 6 pounds of fat...

These are just basic nuttitional facts.

[Franzl]

The reason I don't think the 6 pounds is water weight, is I've been down this road before.  When I started losing the 25 pounds 13 months ago, I went down pretty rapidly, and I believe I had lost 6-7 pounds in the first week.  Some of it could be water weight, but I think a good portion of it is legitimate weight loss.  The 2 pound weight gain this morning could be either water weight or legitimate weight game.

Calories matter. The 3,500 per pound are not just an estimate.

Most days this past week, I stuck with the 2,400-2,600 vicinity (hence, the weight loss).  Yesterday, I know I probably came closer to 4,000 if not a little more.  I had a big breakfast and a big dinner yesterday.  My weight maintenance is 3,240 according to Inks formula, and I probably exceeded that by at least 750, if not 1,000 yesterday.

Then it's impossible that you gained 2 pounds of fat overnight. Just as it's impossible you lost 6 pounds of fat...

These are just basic nuttitional facts.

Whatever it is, I just know the scales show 4 pounds less than what they did 8 days ago.

Bushie...this isn't that difficult to understand. The scale isn't showing you legitimate fat loss.

3,500 calories = 1 pound.

In other words, if you have a 500 calorie deficit per day for 1 week...you lose ONE (1) pound of fat. Why? 7*500 = 3500 !

Likewise, having a 1000 calorie surplus does NOT correspond to an actual 2 pound gain.

[Franzl]

With your job so close, you should walk or bike to work.

I think I know what the answer to this will be.

[Franzl]

That's a lot of time to be taking off less than a year into a job.

I agree it is, and I probably wouldn't spring for Kenya in 2013, but since that generous donor paid $2400 last May so I could go again, I feel obligated to take them up on the offer and go.

Even if you lose your job (again)?

[Franzl]

I would love to ski in Utah.

[Franzl]

Frozen vegetables aren't difficult to find and prepare, and they taste a lot better than hamburgers. Might be worth a thought...

[Franzl]

Why am I being attacked for doing something different?  Am I not allowed to even touch a single hamburger ever again?

Yes, it is cooking.  It is getting the skillet out, spraying it with PAM, shaping ground beef into patties and throwing them in the skillet.  It involves standing over the stove until they are done.  So, yes, IT IS COOKING!!!!!!!!  At the very least, its better than blowing money at a fast food joint.

1. You're not being "attacked".

2. It's not cooking.

3. It's better than McDonalds, but most things are.

[Franzl]

So what happened to the weight updates?

I generally interpret no report to mean: "I gained"

[Franzl]

Yeah, proposing to a woman while on a date to IHOP would be more entertaining than this stuff.

[Franzl]

Wait you've already quit your diet....?