OneEyedJack's Zero Sugar Journey

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I used to suffer from SWS, but like you, I learned the hard way. No more heavy lifting for me! Most of the damage was done lifting very heavy rocks too. Not anymore. There comes a time when you have to be sensible about it when it starts to affect you doing the things you love. I'm back to feeling strong again, but one of my toes will never be the same! That Koi pool sounds wonderful :)
 
Cory is right about back pain, it is often referred pain from elsewhere, as a massage therapist working mostly on football(soccer) players, when they have back pain it is almost always something else.

Deadlifting while a great exercise, should not be done without being coached in correct form (statistically, it is the number 1 exercise in the gym that causes the most injuries) and depending on how you do the deadlift it will focus on different muscles.

one of the most effective hamstring exercise (based on studies looking at muscle activation) is hamstring raises (also known as Nordics) specifically the eccentric portion and targeting glutes is incredibly effective with Hip Thrusters.

Ideally you should get at least a few session with a trainer at the gym to show you how to do a wide selection of exercises

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html this site will show you good form for most exercises and was put together by a group with masters degrees in exercise physiology etc. rather than doing what many do and look at youtube videos posted by people with unknown qualifications or experience.
 
Trusylver said:
Cory is right about back pain, it is often referred pain from elsewhere, as a massage therapist working mostly on football(soccer) players, when they have back pain it is almost always something else.

Deadlifting while a great exercise, should not be done without being coached in correct form (statistically, it is the number 1 exercise in the gym that causes the most injuries) and depending on how you do the deadlift it will focus on different muscles.

one of the most effective hamstring exercise (based on studies looking at muscle activation) is hamstring raises (also known as Nordics) specifically the eccentric portion and targeting glutes is incredibly effective with Hip Thrusters.

Ideally you should get at least a few session with a trainer at the gym to show you how to do a wide selection of exercises

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html this site will show you good form for most exercises and was put together by a group with masters degrees in exercise physiology etc. rather than doing what many do and look at youtube videos posted by people with unknown qualifications or experience.
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Thanks so much Trusylver! I appreciate the advice. I look to youtube to find out how to fix the door handle on my Tacoma that broke off this morning in the extreme coldness! But I don't trust anyone I don't know...because there are so many people that 'think' they know. I know, you know and I trust you so that's why I asked you! Thanks...I'll look at all that info soon.
 
Not trusting everything you see is definitely good practice, especially when it come to fitness and diet! There are a lot of charlatans about there. I might have to check out that link too. It's probably time to spice up my assistance work a little bit.
 
-Cory- said:
Not trusting everything you see is definitely good practice, especially when it come to fitness and diet! There are a lot of charlatans about there. I might have to check out that link too. It's probably time to spice up my assistance work a little bit.
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I looked at it as soon as I saw it...but...it was kind of like a foreign language...but you know what they say, work begets work! I didn't know this was going to be so hard! lol But I will definitely decipher all the lingo and delve into it! I don't know what is wrong with my back but I think she's correct that...probably...there is nothing wrong with my back. It isn't all in my head....but I don't think it is all in my back either.
 
I have lost 10 lbs since I started and that was just Saturday. I'm excited about that but at the same time I am trying to not set myself up for disappointment. But I feel like I'm doing good choosing foods that match my recommended macro and nutrients rather than just trying to count the calories. I'm really spending a lot of time just figuring out what to eat for each meal. My wife says I'm working way to hard at all of this. I probably am....a bit...but it is fun.
 
it may be hard work to begin with, but understanding it all gets easier with time, it is just sticking to doing the right thing that is hard :)
 
Thanks Cate! :)

Trusylver said:
it may be hard work to begin with, but understanding it all gets easier with time, it is just sticking to doing the right thing that is hard :)
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Yep! I know this to be true. I had my first craving for something sweet after I finished my evening meal. So, I had a teaspoonful of honey...surprisingly, I was good with just that. Plus this morning, I opted to have a splash of half and half and and honey in my coffee. But I'm having another craving. Occasionally, I like to smoke a fine cigar and I consume alcohol when I do. Lately it has been too cold to sit out and smoke a cigar...Saturday it is supposed to be 75F...24C....so I'm planning on doing that this weekend.

I have a question about alcohol....
In the summer it is usually beer...but when it gets cold...whiskey. So, my 'thing' is to consume 1/2 pint (236.5 ml) of Crown Royal (Special Reserve) while enjoying my cigar. And I sip it...straight out of the bottle. There are 473 calories in that amount of whiskey.
My question is: Considering that I make room for those calories in my plan...Will that amount of alcohol adversely effect my metabolism? Are calories calories, or are alcohol calories processed differently? It's going to happen...I just want to know how that works for or against my plan.
 
In general, calories are calories. Some people with specific medical conditions find success eating keto, low carb, high fat, etc, but for the average relatively healthy person a calorie is a calorie. You might see a short term gain because alcohol consumption can make you retain water after you rehydrate, but unless you consume over your TDEE it won't be fat gain.
 
I have a question about the macros on the fitness app.
This morning I consumed 350 calories for breakfast. But then I remembered I put half n half and honey in my coffee.
Before I added them...according to the macro info...breakfast contained 20% of the protein and my goal was 20%. But then I added the honey and half n half...and my macro protein count changed to 14%. How did that happen? How did my % of protein go down by adding basically a small amount of sugars and carbs?
 
I'm not sure which app you're using, but if it I had to guess this is because it measures your protein, fat, and carbs as a percentage of the calories consumed.

For example, let's say you consumed 100 calories worth of protein, that would make 100% of your consumption up to that point be protein. If you then eat 20 calories worth of fat, then suddenly the percentages change to show that you have consumed 120 total calories (83% from protein and 17% from fat).
 
OneEyedJack said:
I have a question about alcohol....
In the summer it is usually beer...but when it gets cold...whiskey. So, my 'thing' is to consume 1/2 pint (236.5 ml) of Crown Royal (Special Reserve) while enjoying my cigar. And I sip it...straight out of the bottle. There are 473 calories in that amount of whiskey.
My question is: Considering that I make room for those calories in my plan...Will that amount of alcohol adversely effect my metabolism? Are calories calories, or are alcohol calories processed differently? It's going to happen...I just want to know how that works for or against my plan.
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Amateur hour here. You can consume for enjoyment or you can consume for nutrition and any mix between the two. I'm going to go with thermodynamics which more or less says 'there's no free lunch'. What you put in is the one side of the equation. What you burn and the cost of burning are pretty much the other side. Variations have to do with some calories going to waste because they weren't entirely processed or the mechanism of processing, say in keto, is somehow diverting some excess calories such that they don't get stored. Sort of like having a v8 with a broken spark plug. That could result from diarrhea, vomiting, a tape worm or an enzymatic deficiency leading to an inability to process calories from the containing food. Some of these factors may be subsumed in your metabolic rate and others clearly can't.

No one can argue with your choice and the enjoyment benefits may well exceed any downside, but one should at least be aware of what the downside is. There may be an upside in stress management but I'm not aware of any benefits such as those claimed for some beer or red wine, but that could be my ignorance. To my way of thinking, the downside is that the calories offer no nutritional benefit in the sense of providing vitamins, minerals and constituents that are combined to incorporate into a healthy body. There is carbon, hydrogen and oxygen in the ethanol that works out to something very akin to and convertible to sugar. That's just a bit of a contradiction with your thread title. You could get your water from drinking Crown Royal, but there are better ways of doing it. Sugar and alcohol are considered 'empty' calories in that they really add next to nothing other than calories in terms of nutrition.

If you've lost 10 pounds, you might very well benefit from some empty calories. I am not telling you that you should plan to avoid the Crown Royal. I'm merely suggesting that you be aware of how it may displace more nutritious calories in that thermodynamics equation that offer alternate benefits. Cigars???.... Hey - party on.
 
You are so smart Cory! That makes perfect sense. It is a percentage of calories...that makes total sense! Thanks for explaining!
It makes a big difference in planning my meals knowing that. :)

I just need to make sure what I write down is actually what I did. So...yeah! Thanks!
 
Thanks Hale!
I don't really have very much stress at all in my life. I.e....I have overcome stress/anxiety...i.e. I don't worry about anything. However, there is an uptick in mood and overall enjoyment of life when I get to set down with a cigar and CR. I was just wondering how that will affect my metabolism. I think the one thing I need to consider is what goes into my body immediately prior to consumption of CR. I think it is good to consume fat and foods that will absorb alcohol...so my plan is to eat some Pasta and Salmon. I know sipping straight whiskey isn't something that everyone enjoys...but I never much liked 'mixed' drinks.

The reason I am Zero Sugar is because Sugar is in practically everything! So...by going...Zero Sugar religiously, I deprive myself of practically everything. Which dramatically limits my choices down to...what Mankind consumed before Mankind invented sugar.....basically...I'm a caveman! lol
Alcohol contains no sugar...so..regardless of the way the body reacts to it....I'm still technically zero sugar. Works for me!
:beerchug::sifone:
 
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Since posting I Googled alcohol to sugar and it turns out it's a myth. Of course, take anything from a Google source with a grain of, perhaps grain in your case. I quoted something I found below and you may want to investigate a bit further:

"Alcohol has seven calories per gram but, unlike foods, which require time for digestion, alcohol is quickly absorbed. According to Brown University Health Promotion, about 20% of alcohol is absorbed directly through the walls of an empty stomach and can reach the brain in about one minute. Most of the remaining 80% is absorbed through the small intestine and then goes directly to the liver, where enzymes break it down.

How alcohol contributes to weight gain is both because it provides a source of quick calories, and because of the liver’s job in processing it; since the liver considers alcohol a toxin, it will go to work on it first, before fat, protein, or carbohydrate.

Since the liver’s priority is to detoxify alcohol before processing anything else, drinking slows down the burning of fat, which leads to weight gain. Since the liver’s job is to process alcohol first, drinking can cause low blood sugar because nutrients are not transformed into energy (glucose) for our cells and they would normally be."

So I inadvertently misled you by repeating a myth of alcohol converting to sugar. I don't drink much alcohol so the matter is not of significance to me, but you may wish to conduct a bit of your own research. I'm not sure how % alcohol is stated in Texas. I know that in Canada, we rate alcoholic content of beer by volume and the American imported beer is by weight. Since water is much denser than ethanol, silly Canadians often denigrate American beers over their low alcohol content but they fail to understand that 3.5% alcohol by weight is pretty damned close to our more usual 5% by volume.
 
I appreciate the response. In America, it is all ABV...alcohol by volume. Most beers are around 5 or 6%...some imports, like Dark German Beers can be as much as 11%...and some Craft Beers are as high as 16%.
I remember reading everything you wrote somewhere before..but I had forgotten all that. So, I know you are correct.
....and all of that...the effects of alcohol in large quantities (especially whiskey and the sort) over time can very easily lead to severe health problems (and usually do); Which...at our age...we kind of need to avoid.

I remember a customer I use to have. He too loved to sit and smoke cigars and drink whiskey...but it became a huge problem later in his life. He had a stroke. I'll never forget what he told me. As he sat in his chair in front of the garage, after the stroke, in his eighties, at 9:00 am ...cigar in his good hand...he said, 'Dan, don't ever have a stroke!.. and that's about all he could really say about anything...but he made a point of saying it. So...yeah!

I enjoy drinking adult beverages...but I hate getting 'drunk'. I don't like the feeling...and I am pretty much all about being in 100% control of myself...100% of the time. So, I have found that if I limit consumption to 1/2 pint (235.6 ml), that is an enjoyable level for me. And it takes about the same time to consume one as the other...so...when I'm done...I'm done.
 
I gave up the drink 10 years ago so can't help you out on that! Sounds like it won't affect your goals, though. If you were trying to cut down to 10% body fat, then maybe the CR would have to go, but I think you will be fine. Happy Friday! :D
 
Thanks JenniQ!
If it starts to affect my goals....I don't think it will either...it will disappear. I am determined...in every possible way..to be successful at this regimen and then continue with the plan...forever.
 
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