6 Week Weight Loss experiment - Results

[cardano]

Scenario: When I started this experiment, my friends already said I looked fit. I kept a relatively healthy lifestyle, exercising 2-3 times a week and eating healthy food with decent portion. But no matter how hard I tried for months, my weight ranges from 155lb-158lb. And, when I do drop past 155lb, it usually takes a week or two to rise back up. At that point I almost gave up and assumed that is just the way things are.

6 weeks ago I decided to give it another go and started jotting my daily progress until I hit the goal. Thus, this experiment, which I nic "dropping the impossible range", is to reduce 10 lbs. Here are the results:

Week 0:

Week 1:

Week 3:

Week 6:


Method Breakdown:
Week 1: Pure high fiber low glycemic diet and 1 serving of fruit and vegetables for 5 days. Calorie intake ~1100-1400. Walk 20 minutes each day.
Week 1-3: Dropped fiber diet by 30% and replace with a normal meal. Jog 1-2 miles per day for 5-6 days per week.
Week 4-6: Dropped fiber diet by 50-60% and replace with normal meals. Jog 3 miles for 4-5 days per week. 45 minutes weightlifting 2-3 times per week.
* Drink plenty of water per day, once a week I gorge on food

Some other benefits from losing 10 lbs:
* Body has adapted to take in less portion. I noticed this when I tried to eat the same meals as I did 6 weeks ago.
* Soda taste nauseatingly sweet and chips burn my tongue with sodium. After weeks with low sugar and sodium diet, I just can't eat the same junk food again.
* Week 5: LDL cholesterol dropped from 157 to 138. HDL cholesterol gained from 56 to 73.
* I no longer need to take afternoon naps
* Having the barber say "You lost weight, your face is more chiseled"

-Steve Z.

[outdoorsnewzealand]

Good work losing the weight! Sounds like you've got some extra energy now.

Just wondering how tall you are?

[MattSuwak]

As long as nobody feels I'm infringing, I would like to throw my own hat in the ring with this experiment. I don't think I'll have the same results or system, but it would be good to give reports back.

cardano, would you mind if I PMed you about my idea and see how I might be able to relate it to your own?

[cardano]

Originally Posted by outdoorsnewzealand

Good work losing the weight! Sounds like you've got some extra energy now.

Just wondering how tall you are?

Thanks Thomas. My height is 5' 8'' (173cm), this puts my BMI level at 22.

Originally Posted by MattSuwak

As long as nobody feels I'm infringing, I would like to throw my own hat in the ring with this experiment. I don't think I'll have the same results or system, but it would be good to give reports back.

cardano, would you mind if I PMed you about my idea and see how I might be able to relate it to your own?

Sure Matt, feel free to PM me your idea.

[The Smiling Spirit]

Way to go! It can be very difficult to drop 10 pounds. I have lost 30 since last Sept. Exercising every day can really be a chore at first but I've grown to enjoy it. I find that if I skip my morning run, I tend to think about missing it all day. Guess it's my body's way of reminding me.

One of my major hurdles was creating healthy snacks. I LOVE LOVE LOVE "Fiber One" granola bars. They're YUMMY and high in fiber and good for you. I also LOVE LOVE LOVE sugar free cheesecake flavored Jello instant pudding. I mix it up and pour it, still soft, over a scoop of FROZEN "free" Cool Whip and crumble reduced fat grahm crackers on top. It's fantastic!

I hope you keep off your 10 pounds. It can be very easy to relapse. But always remember, you're GREAT 10 extra pounds or not!

[Keith]

Firstly: Yay you!

Secondly:

Originally Posted by cardano

But no matter how hard I tried for months, my weight ranges from 155lb-158lb. And, when I do drop past 155lb, it usually takes a week or two to rise back up. At that point I almost gave up and assumed that is just the way things are.

I stumbled across the The Hacker's Diet the other day. As noted here even when your weight is moving downwards overall, it lurches up and down alarmingly and can be very discouraging. That author (being a software-engineering-type) recommended plugging your figures into a 'moving average' formula to smooth it out and end up with something like this.

Individual peaks and troughs assume their proper perspective then and you're less likely to give up after a couple of disappointing readings.