The Lighter side of Fat
I weighed my self a few days ago – and I’m down to 215lbs but my body fat percentage went up from 28% to 29% — WTF?? So I’m losing weight but gaining fat?? or am I killing my muscle mass?
This is usually around the point I get demotivated. It’s been 3 weeks that I’ve been on this challenge – I’ve feel like I have no energy, I’m running out of food options (how many damn salads can you eat??), and feel that I’m not seeing the progress I was expecting yet. But I’m determined to keep going! There have been a few days where I was leaning towards skipping the gym but tweets (@funkstop), emails or FB messages motivated me to get off my butt and keep going. Thanks people! We got 4 others on here on this challenge – how are you all doing??
I think that weight going down but fat going up is due to my diet and not my exercise routine. So I’m going to renew my efforts to use fitday.com to keep a food journal (haven’t really been diligent on that so far), and then I’m going to post it for feedback.
As it is, my biggest problem is getting from lunch to dinner. For breakfast, I routinely eat a bowl of oatmeal with a bit of sugar, a some raisins,walnuts, and sliced strawberries. Mid-morning, I’ll have an apple or banana, and then lunch either a salad with grilled chicken or something similar (i’ve cut out the meals with sauces or fried foods). After lunch though is where it gets tough! I usually am not out of the office until about 7pm but our cafes shut at 2:30 and I end up surviving on a couple cups of coffee and mixed nuts until I go home for usually a protein heavy dinner. On the plus side, I’ve increased my water intake from near zero to almost 1.5L/day. still not enough i don’t think….
Thoughts? I want to reach this point that they call ‘shredding’… I was thinking of trying out some zone meals too
Oh and also on the plus side – aside from the two coffees I have in the afternoons, I’ve completely cut it out (for now!). No more lattes, mochas, tassimos! That’s been one of the toughest to give up!
Trust Me
http://www.internetplus.com/thefunkstop/?p=429
Hey Bob,
Sounds like you are on the right path. I’m at 170 lbs, 20%, 5 more lbs, and 5 % to go. My workouts have been going great. I have not only kept with going to the gym 3x/week, but doing kickboxing 2x/week has defininitely helped. The healthy eating part is the hard part. I plan to have a protein shake, at around 3/4 pm to hopefully tide me over till 8pm when I get home. Then I can have a small snack to help me out before I head to bed. Good luck on the next few weeks!! What’s out target date???
how do you like the kickboxing? is it more cardio or are you bruised at the end of it? I was thinking of taking up that or regular boxing as well.
re: protein shake – what do you recommend? I used to take either chocolate or strawberry Isoflex (http://www.isoflex.ca/)
btw – I’m saying Dec 31st is the target date – or should it be earlier?
Great post Rahim. Thanks for being so honest. Change is never easy. But you’re on your way – well done! My favorite mid-afternoon snack is half a piece of fruit (apple, kiwi, nectarine), light mozzarella cheese stick and a few almonds. Sounds boring but keeps me going till dinner and the combination of textures and tastes keeps the snack interesting 🙂 On my end I’m down 4 lbs at the end of week 2. I found a trainer. I check in with her between sessions to keep me on target. And I’m consistently hitting the gym 5 days a week. This week it was 6 because of some extra eating out I knew was going to happen with family in town. I don’t love the gym but I love how I feel after a workout. Maybe even more than chocolate?!? Let’s hope so 🙂 My biggest challenge is skipping meals. With two kids I forget to get my meals in on time. Skipping meals for me keeps me fat. It slows down my metabolism. I know that. I need to eat every 2-3 hours. Other than that I’m drinking lots of water, eating lots of protein, limiting take out, processed foods and sugar and trying to stop eating 2-3 hours before bed. Keep it up my friend!
Actually your midday snack sounds pretty good (except the kiwi because they are too much work to peel…). I think I have to get in the habit of putting together a lunch/snack box to take to work. Time to search for the ideal nerd lunchbox…
I hear you about the skipping meals and losing metabolism. That’s exactly how I feel in the afternoon. Thank you for your advice and motivation! I’m blown away that you can do this with two kids!
No peeling required. Cut the kiwi in half and use a spoon! Scoop and eat. Prepping snacks in advance keeps me on track and never leaves me stranded for snack ideas when I’m hungry. Know your go to snacks. Make a list. I alternate each week. I don’t need variety everyday but I do week to week. Do what works best for you!
What? I’ve never known that’s how you eat a kiwi! really?? I just learned how to open a banana correctly last year and now this…
maybe you can add a box of Kashi granola bars/ a Kashi cereal to your stockpile of snacks. They tend to be higher in protein and fiber and my help fuel you for the gym. Another pre-gym option you might want to try is a rice cake topped with your favourite nut butter and banana slices – its delicious!
You’re the second person to recommend Kashi bars. I’m going to try to find them at Trader Joe’s today. I’ll keep you posted on what I think of them – Thanks!
Did you manage to get your hands on the Kashi bars?
not yet! they seem to be really popular – I went to two different grocery stores and they were both out. But I got the Kashi cereal. Also picked up
Trader Joe Greek Yogurt
Try adding some legumes to your lunch, it should hold you until dinner. Great snacks are veggies with humus and also nuts!
Good luck with the plan
humus… 🙂
yeah, i got get better at having a stash of veggies or fruit at my desk. What makes it hard too is that if I want to go to the gym at 6pm, I wouldn’t have eaten for almost 5 hours. Not sure what a good pre gym snack is.
to be honest i usually have something sweet like a piece of fruit or dates. I have a protein shake right after an activity – i try to stick with hemp protein as much as i can
Hemp Protein shake?? What the blip is that?
don’t worry it’s perfectly legal. It’s just easier for the body to absorb and less acidic than whey protein
You’re so handsome you don’t need to shred! But, it never hurts to cut out refined anything… sugar, flour, foods. Trust, it’s hard but you’ll feel better.
I’m down to follow your process… Make it count superstar!
Thanks Marie! Made my day 🙂
It actually never dawned on me that I should do a blanket ‘no refined anything’ approach. Makes total sense. I’ve cut out pop which was the big killer