My Fat Loss Journey

[Zizka]

And so it begins. I will base my the information provided here based on the information found in the sticky threads.


Any medical conditions which may have an impact on weight loss or ability to exercise. Usually, medical conditions will be best sorted out by seeing your medical practitioner.
I take antidepressants daily, 185 mg of Effexor (Venlafaxine).

Age and sex
I’m 39 years old male.

Weight (be sure to mention whether it is in lb or kg)
Scale says 192 pounds but I think it’s less. Probably something like 185 pounds. I’m about 5’10” in heigh.

Bodyfat % (a better guide to obesity levels and calculating nutrition information if available), if you know it.
I don’t know now but last time I was evaluated my % fat was a bit higher than average.

What your current diet looks like (food, calories and macro information if possible)
I’m not really aware of my diet, it varies a lot I think.

Current exercise (type, frequency, duration)
I was to run an hour daily 6 days a week. I want to run a minimum of 10 kms every time.

I thought I would also provide a picture which will be a good point of comparison.
March 9th 2020:


So you see, it’s not extreme obesity or anything but I think I could lose a good 10 pounds.

My goal:
10 pounds in a month.

March 9th:
Breakfast:
- Two cups of coffee with milk N/A Cal
- Two English muffins with margarine and jam: approx 350 Cal
- an orange: 50 Cal
- smoothie with milk, natural yogurt, honey, berries, 1 L: ? Cal
Total: 600? Not sure. I read my breakfast should be 400 Cal so I want to cut back.
Going to exercise. Just wanted to share to know what you guys thought.

NOTE: you can say whatever you want in this diary. I don’t know much about weight loss so sharing your wisdom will help me a lot.
Thank you!

 

[Llama]

Welcome Zizka! Any reason why you think your scales are off by so much? As an active adult guy running 10k/day (which is a LOT if you´re not used to it and could lead to extreme hunger; not applicable if you´ve been running that much for more than a couple of weeks) I wouldn´t expect you to eat less than 2000 kcal/day so a 600 kcal breakfast would be fine. A bit more protein might help you stay full longer though.

 

[Cate]

Hi, Zizka & welcome to the forum. If you only have 10 lbs to lose & from your pics that looks about right, there is no need to lose it in one month. with LaMa. 600 for breakfast would be fine, especially with your exercise. 1800-2000 cals a day should be good for you. Try to have some protein with each meal. It really does help fill you up. Have you thought about doing some strength training? (I don't mean turning into Arnie) Here's just one article about the benefits- The Benefits of Strength and Weight Training | Everyday Health Once we turn 30 we start losing muscle mass

 

[Zizka]

Thank you for your comments. Much appreciated.
@LaMaria I’ve been running on and off for years but I’ve recently been disciplined about it since January I would say. Running is not something which affects me adversely unless I run right after eating which I avoid doing most of the time. Gotcha on the protein, like eggs. I’ll make the change tomorrow morning.

I had
-a protein shake for lunch 250 Cal
-3 Melba toast with cheese 40 C
-Chicken Sandwich for supper 300 C
-bowl of Honeycombs 180 C
-I’ll have 2 oranges in the evenin 80 C

I’ve been on the higher scale for the calories, better to play it safe. All in all, I’d say about 1400 C. I burned about 900 by running. Since I’m over with the current diet, any suggestions for choices to be made?

@Cate
I do weight lifting once a week for 2 hours on the day I’m not running. I could do more if necessary.

 

[bensanon]

Hi Zizka, Welcome to the diary section. It looks like you're off to a great start. Good for you. I think you'll be down 10 pounds in no time if you stay at 1400. With the run, that looks to be about a 2k total deficit for the day which is huge. I suspect that will be unsustainable and you might be dreading the runs without more fuel. How different is what you ate today different from your normal diet? If you're OK with the technology a calorie tracking app like MyFitnessPal or Chronometer might be helpful. You could get a better read on your macros (carbs, protein, fat breakdown).

 

[Zizka]

I didn’t know those things existed. I’ll look into it thanks!

 

[alligatorob]

Hey Zizka, welcome to the forum!

Your plan looks good to me, and I see you have already gotten good advice from people more knowledgeable than I. So my best advice is to listen to them. I use the myfitnesspal food tracker suggested by the other Rob, it is a big help. They also have an exercise tracker, good for keeping track of what you are doing, but I don't believe the calorie burn numbers.

I look forward to following your progress.

 

[Cate]

I use My Fitness Pal too & find it easy to use, especially after saving recipes & meals. Cronometer has a more extensive breakup of macros but it didn't suit me as well as MFP.

 

[Zizka]

Again, thank you for the warm and humane welcome. I just downloaded the app “My Fitness Pal” and registered. It’s a pretty neat app!!

Breakfast this morning, I added an egg to my smoothie.
654 Cal. According to the app, to lose 2 pounds a week, I should stick to 1870 Cal a day. I’m wondering if I shouldn’t run 2 hours to make the process faster...

 

[alligatorob]

Losing 2 lbs a week is pretty fast, but running won't hurt. Your breakfast smoothie sounds good.

 

[bensanon]

If you can get a good read on your calories out on the runs and you can balance that with your calories in and still maintain a little bit of a deficit for the weight loss, that would be a good way to go. I find that incredibly hard to be honest. It can be hard not to overcompensate for your runs. Some people say they ran 5 but ate 10 because running can be so depleting. That balance is the key.

 

[Cate]

I'm glad you liked the MFP app. If you make something regularly you can save it as a meal & add it quickly next time. It's very convenient & easy to use.

 

[Zizka]

Indeed!
For today, march 10th:

I ran for 70 minutes today:

So could’ve eaten less today. It’s not like I enjoy eating anyway, more of a survival thing. I don’t think I’ve eaten more than yesterday I just think using the app to count calories gives me a more accurate number. I’m confident i can cut off 300 C easy from what I ate today.

 

[Zizka]

Man, getting into the habit of doing those is getting some used to I'll tell you that much. I kept putting it off but I got around to do it. I realize the formatting is inconsistent and I realize it'd be better if the format was standard from message to message but oh well, blame laziness.

I ran an hour and seven minutes today as well. So that's about 900 Calories again. Foodwise the app told me 1,362 Cal. I mean it's true that I didn't as much as usual. I'll try to be more disciplined in filling up my diary.

 

[Llama]

1362 kcal/day would likely not keep you going for the 5 or so weeks you need to get to goal. Careful you don't crash and burn.

 

[Zizka]

Yeah good point, maybe I went too extreme. I tend on really invest into things sometimes. Thanks for the warning.

 

[alligatorob]

Hey Z, good to see you doing well. Not getting too extreme will help you maintain the weight loss long term. Keep up the good work!

 

[Zizka]

Yes, you’re right. The thing is, it’s not like I was forcing myself not to eat, it just happened. I ate more this morning so I have enough energy for running my 10 km.

 

[Zizka]

I think the above includes my 900 calories exercise because I put it in the app.

 

[bensanon]

Just wanted to add my voice. Agree 100% with Rob and LaMa. I have struggled with extremes for a long time and it's hard to break the cycle. It can erase a lot of the progress if you're not careful. I don't think a lot of people realize how tough running is on your body.