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Grex > Health > #51: The Weight Loss Diary of "Dr Straight" | |
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remmers
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The Weight Loss Diary of "Dr Straight"
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May 28 16:04 UTC 1998 |
Well, I went to the Shape Up America (founded by C. Everett Koop)
website at http://www.shapeup.org/ and calculated my body mass
index (BMI). It came out as 28, which puts me in the moderate/high
risk group for weight-related health problems such as cardiovascular
disease or type II diabetes. The minimum weight loss necessary to put
me in a safer category -- low/moderate -- is 15 pounds.
Therefore, it seems to me to be a good idea to lose 15 pounds. I've
set as a goal to do that by the beginning of the fall semester in
early September. That's a bit over 3 months from now, so that comes
out to losing about a pound a week. That's in line with what the
experts say is a safe rate of weight loss, so this strikes me as a
practical goal.
The experts also say that for permanence, a weight loss program
should include regular exercise with both aerobic and weight
training components. So I've adopted a regimen that involves a
45-minute workout, six days a week.
Three of those days I take a brisk walk around the neighborhood. I
do a mile in about 15.5 minutes, so the whole walk covers a tad short
of three miles. My heart rate gets up to somewhere in the 130's,
which is the recommended level for aerobic benefit in my age group.
The other three days, I work out in front of the TV, using one of
the exercise tapes put out by "The Firm". I've started with the
"Firm Basics: Fat Burning" tape, which is geared to the beginning
and intermediate levels and involves a combination of aerobics and
weight training (using dumbbells). In my current condition, this
seems about right -- I feel like I'm working hard, but can finish
the full 45 minutes without undue strain.
I've also made some adjustments to my diet. I'm trying to reduce my
calorie intake by about 500 calories a day, eating about half a dozen
small low-fat meals emphasizing fresh fruits and vegetables, and
whole grains.
I'll use this item to keep y'all posted on how things are going.
Do feel free to chime in with your own weight control experiences,
advice, or opinions.
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| 77 responses total. |
scott
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response 1 of 77:
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May 28 16:57 UTC 1998 |
Best luck, John.
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remmers
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response 2 of 77:
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May 29 10:49 UTC 1998 |
Thanks. I should add that I've been on this regimen for two weeks at
this point, and have lost two pounds according to the scale. So far
I'm on target.
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keesan
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response 3 of 77:
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May 29 15:36 UTC 1998 |
John, you are very welcome to bike over to watch us work on the house, or even
help nail a few boards, or dig in our garden, and then join us for a whole
grain vegetarian meal. We have been losing weight without wanting to, so our
cooking cannot hurt you and we would enjoy the visit. If you don't have a
bike, we can provide one for you cheap, that you can use as transportation,
which would automatically get you more exercise. If you incorporate exercise
as part of your normal life rather than as something that you add to it, you
are much more likely to continue exercising. Hope to see you soon, but call
first (see my plan or the phone book).
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remmers
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response 4 of 77:
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May 29 18:25 UTC 1998 |
Thanks for the offers, but I think I'll stick to my planned regimen
for a while and see how it goes.
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remmers
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response 5 of 77:
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Jul 19 01:42 UTC 1998 |
Progress report: So far I've lost about 9 pounds. That puts me 6
pounds from my goal. Beginning of the school year is about 6 weeks
away, so this should be feasible. Perhaps I should state that I'm
in my mid-fifties, and find that taking off pounds is harder than
it was when I was younger -- noticeably harder than even four
years ago. But I went into this assuming it would be slow going.
I've kept up the "Firm Basics" workouts and the walking, and doubt
the weight loss would have happened without them. Lately I've been
following the style of diet described in the "Zone" books by
Barry Sears. He recommends a strict balance between macronutrients,
with 40% of calories from carbohydrates, 30% from protein, and 30%
from fat at each and every meal and snack. I wouldn't say that I
follow this absolutely religiously, but I try to stick close to it
at most meals.
I'll say that since starting all this I've felt better both
physically and mentally than I have in a long time.
Since I started this, whatever association or government agency
it is that makes pronouncements on these things lowered the
line for being considered "overweight", to bring U.S. standards
into conformance with the rest of the world. That means that in
order not to be considered overweight I need to lose 25 pounds
from what I was at the beginning of the spring. I'll stick with
my 15 pound goal for now, then take stock in September. I will
say that losing 25 would bring me down into the weight range
that I was for all of my younger adult life. But for a lot of
people, when you hit your 40's and 50's, weight starts to creep
up. I'm no exception.
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scott
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response 6 of 77:
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Jul 19 02:40 UTC 1998 |
Those standards are a bit funny, though. Since they only measure height and
weight, a very muscled person with little fat calculates out to being "obese".
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remmers
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response 7 of 77:
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Jul 19 13:39 UTC 1998 |
This is true. There is a somewhat simplistic "one size fits all" at
work on the standard makers' part, I think. On the other hand, I
suspect that the percentage of people who don't fit the model is
rather small. In particular, since I'm of more or less average build
and have a more or less average (although a bit on the too-side)
percentage of body fat, I think the standard fits me.
Another measure of progress: I now fasten my belt two notches in
from where I did in early May. Since the notches are about an inch
apart, I figure that's a couple of inches off my waistline.
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keesan
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response 8 of 77:
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Jul 19 17:25 UTC 1998 |
re #6, Jim came out overweight on the tables when he was about 10 pounds
heavier. He would like to gain back the weightand is putting olive oil on
everything now. (I should cook lunch....).
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remmers
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response 9 of 77:
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Aug 13 14:29 UTC 1998 |
It's been two and a half months since I started this item. Here's the
latest progress report:
o I've lost 13 or 14 pounds (15 is my goal for Sept 1)
o Body mass index (BMI) is 26, down from 28. According to the charts at
http://www.shapeup.org, this puts me in the low/moderate health risk
category, a one-notch improvement from the moderate/high category I
started in. (The next category is minimal/low, the best on the chart.
I need a BMI of 24 to achieve this, which translates to a loss of 10
more pounds from where I am now.)
o My waist measurement is down 2 inches. I had to go out and buy new
trousers -- the old ones were too big.
o My lean body mass is down only 1 pound. This means that my weight loss
is almost entirely fat loss. This is a Good Thing. (Lean body mass was
calculated from a formula in Sears' "Entering the Zone" book, and
involves plugging in waist and wrist measurements and total weight.)
According to this, 24% of my weight is fat, which isn't great but is an
improvement over my initial 28%.)
The keys to all this are just what the experts seem to say: (1) eat
sensibly, (2) exercise regularly. My "eating sensibly" is actually
pretty structured and involves following the Zone diet, as I mentioned
earlier. Exercise consists of brisk 45-minute walks and the Firm Basics
"Fat Burning" video, which is a mixture of low-impact aerobics and
anaerobic (weight lifting) exercise.
Are there any other "Zone" fans out there?
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e4808mc
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response 10 of 77:
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Aug 13 14:44 UTC 1998 |
Not Zone, but I've read and tried a week or two of all three of the "low-carb"
plans. They seem to work for me. It's the exercise part I can't get going.
The basic bio-chem premise of all of these makes a lot of sense for how my
body responds to starches and sugars.
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