Tuesday, July 12, 2016

It's Not All About The Scale Weight

While I have been working on my eBook, Climbing Out of the Fat Trap One Step at a Time, I have noticed that over time, I too have become too focused on my scale weight.  After having lost 56 lbs over two years, approximately 20% of my body mass, I feel frustration that my weight loss has slowed.

I began the year at 234 lbs. and weighed in this morning at 227 lbs.  At about the half way point of the year, I think I stand to lose between 10 and 15 lbs this year if all goes well.  In my head, I set a body weight of 220 lbs for the year and I have my doubts if I can make it.  Not to worry.  One of the biggest challenges of weight loss is keeping it off and, so far with regard to that goal, the year is turning out very well.

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Unfortunately, I have hit a second weight plateau (228-232 lbs.).  To try to get off it, I tried to cycle between eating clean and doing a carb refeed of 3-4 days after a period of 10 days eating clean.  Not much in the way of results, simply moving a bit up or down within a narrow weight range.  Chalk it up to experience.  This is not the first time a new strategy has not panned out.

Lately, for the last 20 days, I have changed my intermittent fasting schedule moving from a 13-14 hour daily fast to a 16-18 hour fast, more or less the 16/8 hour schedule that some people find to be very effective.  I really don't know if this is going to result in any further sustainable weight loss, but I need to get off the page of focusing narrowly on my weight.

All in all my efforts have really improved my other health indicators.  When I began this journey, my Body Mass Index (BMI) was 38.3, which placed me in the morbidly obese category.  As of today, I calculated my BMI to find out that I am no longer obese: since at 29.9 BMI, I am now officially in the overweight category.  Yahoo!  Just keep in mind that those in the overweight category of 25-30 BMI actually live longer than those in the so-called normal weight category of 18-25 BMI.

In a similar vein, I have lost 9 inches of my waist, moving from 49 to 40 inches and my body fat percentage has dropped from 34% to 23%, which for a man of my age puts me in the ideal category according to the charts I consulted on the Internet.  More importantly, my resting blood pressure has dropped from 136/92 to 100/72 which significantly reduces my risk of heart attack or stroke.

At the end of the year, I am going to get my blood tested for cholesterol, fasting glucose and insulin, triglycerides, and C-reactive protein.  Afterwards, I will have a very clear picture of my health profile and will compare it to my blood test results of three years earlier.

Enjoy the summer.

Hasta luego.