2016 Challenge - 7KG to GO

[singa-traz]

A bit of history:

Since I came to Asia, I manage to gain on average 1KG/Year, and was nearing 100KG in 2013 (180 cm / in my mid 40). Something had to be done.

Made some minor changes to my diet and started to exercice (running) on a regular basis. Lost the first 10KG in 6 months.

Now the weight is hovering around 85 and 87 for the past 2 years.

So weight is more or less in control, but still a bit high for my liking.

The Challenge:

Goal is to get around 80KG, within this year (2016) by refining slightly my diet, as well as increase the effort during exercices.

What I will do:

At least once a month, I will share the progress made, and the adjustment I'm making.

What I'm ready to do:

Incorporate, simple and easy bodyweight exercices that can be done without any special equipment.

Learn to cook.

What I'm not ready to do:

Make any drastic changes in my diet.

Going to a gym.

What you can do:

• Suggest simple bodyweight workout for a newbie like me
• Suggest simple recipes to cook
• Join the challenge

Next?

I will post update on the journey.

[singa-traz]

=== UPDATE #1 ===

Current Weight: 87.5 KG

For the next 2 weeks, I will focus on:

1. Reducing my breakfast content, and limit it to 2 toasts (butter/jam), and a drink or fruit
2. Be more aware of the portion size for lunch/dinner
3. Eat more slowly

Let's start with that and see how it goes.

[Happy Grumpy]

Give up rice and beer.

[singa-traz]

Give up rice and beer.

Beer consumption is really low already.

As for rice, the portion could effectively be smaller.

[TheCruncher]

Give up rice and beer.

No need to give up rice, since rice has actually little less carbs per gram than potatoes, but you should give up white rice and change to brown or even better Berryrice.

When rice is combined with fibers the negative effect of the carbs is much less.

I'm not really overweight but have a small beer belly as they say. I'm 1.72 meter, do power training 4 times a week for years already, and weigh normally around 80kg. I eat brown rice from the market almost daily, and drink alcohol almost daily, though in very moderate amounts

The rice at the market is low quality and mixed with white rice.

About 3 months ago I started to buy Berryrice and cook it myself. I mix it 2/3 with Jasmine brown rice and eat it with mixed vegetables and chicken or fish.

I lost almost 5 kilo in those 3 months. Some weeks I'm bored of rice and switch to potatoes, but will notice a weight increase after a week already.

Edited January 10, 2016 by TheCruncher

[singa-traz]

Rice:

We switched to Brown Rice a few years ago already.

[robblok]

I don't think you will get much out of exercise as its poor for weight control. Though its great for your health and muscles but to get your weight down.. mainly your foods.

But if your looking for body-weight exercises, think of squats and dips (dips the heavier) and maybe pull-ups.

Personally food wise.. more veggies less carbs but its always hard after the initial loss.

[singa-traz]

I don't think you will get much out of exercise as its poor for weight control. Though its great for your health and muscles but to get your weight down.. mainly your foods.

...

Agree that the food has a much higher impact.

My personal experience on the exercice part, is that during the regular and focused training plan (running), the weight has been in control, and has been, slowly, on the way down.

I also noticed:

• 4-5 runs per week has a better effect on weight than 2-3 longer runs per week, with the same total km. So, shorter more frequent is better than longer (for weight).
• the tendency after long run (3H+) to over compensate on food.

[robblok]

I don't think you will get much out of exercise as its poor for weight control. Though its great for your health and muscles but to get your weight down.. mainly your foods.

...

Agree that the food has a much higher impact.

My personal experience on the exercice part, is that during the regular and focused training plan (running), the weight has been in control, and has been, slowly, on the way down.

I also noticed:

• 4-5 runs per week has a better effect on weight than 2-3 longer runs per week, with the same total km. So, shorter more frequent is better than longer (for weight).
• the tendency after long run (3H+) to over compensate on food.

Yes exercise certainly has an impact, for instance if you exercise you can handle carbs better. Also when I am real focused on training and in a good period I will also become more obsessed with my food and eat better / less. It all works in synergy, i just always mention that exercise is not that great for weight-loss as some people seem to think that of eating less or exercising more exercising more has more impact.

Maybe get one of those garmin devices for running.. you might run longer / more because you record everything.. i know that new toys make a difference (for me)

Edited January 12, 2016 by robblok

[singa-traz]

...

Maybe get one of those garmin devices for running.. you might run longer / more because you record everything.. i know that new toys make a difference (for me)

Yep, that's what I did. Started with the mobile apps, then got a fitbit, then went for a GPS watch (Garmin).

Great way to measure your level of activitiy and keep the motivation.

Distance wise, I'm good already. I can go out for 20/30 km.

What I could probably do is increase the intensity (pace).

And maybe I still don't realise how much I'm eating, whether in term of quantity and/or total calories.

I just sign up for myfitnesspal.com, to track calories. So, let's see if I can do it for 2-3 weeks.

[singa-traz]

=== UPDATE #2 ===

This week, Weight is round 87kg (+/- 0.5 kg).

Here is the history:

2013:

2014:

2015:

Stopped tracking for a couple of months.

[singa-traz]

=== UPDATE #3 ===

Have started to use a Calorie Counter application (Web/Mobile), just to keep track of what I eat, and remind me to be sensible on the quantity.

Let's see how long I will be able to do the tracking.

[BelTha]

=== UPDATE #3 ===

Have started to use a Calorie Counter application (Web/Mobile), just to keep track of what I eat, and remind me to be sensible on the quantity.

Let's see how long I will be able to do the tracking.

Can you please tell which one you using?

[singa-traz]

=== UPDATE #3 ===

Have started to use a Calorie Counter application (Web/Mobile), just to keep track of what I eat, and remind me to be sensible on the quantity.

Let's see how long I will be able to do the tracking.

Can you please tell which one you using?

• Calorie Count: http://www.caloriecount.com/
• MyFitnesspal: http://www.myfitnesspal.com

If you find another one that you like, post a link. Thanks

[singa-traz]

=== UPDATE #4 ===

This week, Weight is around 86.5 (+/- 0.5kg).

The Christmas / New Year excess has been burned off.

I have a long distance running event planned this week-end, so will need to focus on:

• Staying properly hydrated
• Increase carbohydrate-rich foods for the next couple of days
• Refuel properly after the event

[robblok]

My weight always moves around a bit say up and down a kg around a certain range. I would love if there was an accurate way to measure fat (like a bod pod) available in Thailand I would certainly pay the price. Just weight alone only tells half the story (at least in my case as I work on my muscles a lot).

How far will you run in the event ?

[Shiver]

Maybe not everyone is the same, but in my own case, limiting any types of sugars (Atkins and variants) makes for effortless weight loss and and the freedom to eat as much as I like. I would often drop sugars completely when sedentary (can always jump back on them if you're going to have a challenge such as the running. I've never had a need to do carb loading, since I wasn't restricting calories, but if I was out doing a full day of biking or something then I'd take as much sugar as I wanted in my hydration pack (something like a camelback would hold about 2.5 litres depending on which model).

I made Excel charts of daily weight and could see a distinct weight loss pattern, then say on a Friday if I was out for beer it would climb up significantly, and would take until the Monday to get back to where I was on the Friday, lose a couple more Kg through the week, and repeat the pattern. I wasn't training professionally or anything, and didn't micro manage my food/exercise. It was still surprisingly easy though.

At my peak (when I used to go to the gym), I'd top out at 96Kg with a little more body fat than I liked, then diet down to 72Kg over about 3 months, then bulk again. They were just two arbtrary numbers that seemed about right for me (182cm height).

Right now I'm 68Kg, but seriously lacking muscle. Skin on arms and legs is no more than a couple of millimetres, though the belly is just a tad more than I'd prefer. I could probably fix that in a short amount of time, but I'm not following any particular programme at the moment. I just walk about 60-90 mins in a morning, more to wake my brain up than anything, and also show support for my GF who went from a very nice size to "honey, without being critical, I think now might be a good time to consider managing the Kg while it's still not too far a goal, and lose perhaps 5Kg if you want to get back to your former shape, but I'll still love you if you're too lazy and want to be a trollop...darkling? darkling? was it something I said?". The amount of sweet empty rubbish they can put down their throat takes all the mystery out of why so many Thais have diabetes. All I say to her is drop the sugar and it'll fall off. She does this thing of "I'm only eating one time one day", then gets carb cravings and does more damage than doing nothing.

If you know how your own body responds to different food types (and it sounds like you do), then it will be a doddle with a little discipline - it is something that people can get obsessive about to the point of almost being anal about what they eat. If you can run then I'd suggest 100metre sprints at max ability, walk for 1 minute then sprint again. Although exercise is the minor player in weight loss compared to diet, this will burn more than pretty much any exercise given the time invested. Also it will give you a different muscle profile than distance running, which could be useful for passive calorie burning as you recalibrate your 'set point' that your body strives to swing back to in between all your efforts.

Edited January 21, 2016 by Shiver

[singa-traz]

My weight always moves around a bit say up and down a kg around a certain range. I would love if there was an accurate way to measure fat (like a bod pod) available in Thailand I would certainly pay the price. Just weight alone only tells half the story (at least in my case as I work on my muscles a lot).

How far will you run in the event ?

I will be running the full marathon distance (42KM).

Weight is easy to measure, but effectively can be affected by a few parameters.

When I run long, I sweat a lot, and can easily lose 2-3 liters of water, so I know that for the next few days, the weight reported on the scale will be going up, as I rehydrate my body.

Muscles wise, I'm not big, but the legs and arms have developed a bit with the running.

As I get below 85 kg, the fat around the rib cage start to disappear and I start to feel "light".

That's a good measurement for me

[robblok]

My weight always moves around a bit say up and down a kg around a certain range. I would love if there was an accurate way to measure fat (like a bod pod) available in Thailand I would certainly pay the price. Just weight alone only tells half the story (at least in my case as I work on my muscles a lot).

How far will you run in the event ?

I will be running the full marathon distance (42KM).

Weight is easy to measure, but effectively can be affected by a few parameters.

When I run long, I sweat a lot, and can easily lose 2-3 liters of water, so I know that for the next few days, the weight reported on the scale will be going up, as I rehydrate my body.

Muscles wise, I'm not big, but the legs and arms have developed a bit with the running.

As I get below 85 kg, the fat around the rib cage start to disappear and I start to feel "light".

That's a good measurement for me

Congrats that is a nice run 42 km. I hope you complete it.. in this heat.. pff not my style.

Oh I am lean now.. well formed abs.. but I want them to be even better.. but there still is a bit of fat. In the end i will have to go to extremes. But I prefer lifting and enjoying my workouts to going even more on a diet and losing all energy for my workouts.

But will see.. my goal was fitness model abs this year.. its just a few kg more.. but first I am building the abs more (by building them more they will be visible more. I bought a nice ab board for it that i can use in my power rack. So i can reset the incline if it gets to easy. (keeping the reps low so the muscle will grow.. high reps will promote strength but not bigger abs).

But as i am so close to my genetic max just the scales and mirror are just not enough to tell me if im doing the right thing or not.

Fun that you mentioned it about loosing water and weight going up.. i did a bit of badminton and i sweat like crazy (i always do) and sure enough lower weight the day after.. but going up the following day.

[singa-traz]

...

If you know how your own body responds to different food types (and it sounds like you do), then it will be a doddle with a little discipline - it is something that people can get obsessive about to the point of almost being anal about what they eat. If you can run then I'd suggest 100metre sprints at max ability, walk for 1 minute then sprint again. Although exercise is the minor player in weight loss compared to diet, this will burn more than pretty much any exercise given the time invested. Also it will give you a different muscle profile than distance running, which could be useful for passive calorie burning as you recalibrate your 'set point' that your body strives to swing back to in between all your efforts.

I know a few people who managed their weight loss really well, and in the process became vegetarian than vegan.

Not sure if I'm ready or even want to go that path, but they are really focused on what they eat, and it works for them.

As for the sprint, I got this in some of my training sessions (intervals).

Let's see if I can avoid gaining 1-2 kg post marathon, and if I can break the 84/85kg limit.

[misterphil]

I don't think you will get much out of exercise as its poor for weight control. Though its great for your health and muscles but to get your weight down.. mainly your foods.

...

Agree that the food has a much higher impact.

My personal experience on the exercice part, is that during the regular and focused training plan (running), the weight has been in control, and has been, slowly, on the way down.

I also noticed:

• 4-5 runs per week has a better effect on weight than 2-3 longer runs per week, with the same total km. So, shorter more frequent is better than longer (for weight).
• the tendency after long run (3H+) to over compensate on food.

Yes exercise certainly has an impact, for instance if you exercise you can handle carbs better. Also when I am real focused on training and in a good period I will also become more obsessed with my food and eat better / less. It all works in synergy, i just always mention that exercise is not that great for weight-loss as some people seem to think that of eating less or exercising more exercising more has more impact.

Maybe get one of those garmin devices for running.. you might run longer / more because you record everything.. i know that new toys make a difference (for me)

I have a Garmin Forerunner 235. Its a great bit of kit. Not just a running watch its a 24hr activity tracker with wrist based heart rate monitor and loads more. Analyses your body by heart rate and recommends how many steps you need to do per day to keep in shape and reach your goals.

Its linked to myfitnesspal which counts the food and exersize calories too.

[misterphil]

I have a Garmin Forerunner 235. Its a great bit of kit. Not just a running watch its a 24hr activity tracker with wrist based heart rate monitor and loads more. Analyses your body by heart rate and recommends how many steps you need to do per day to keep in shape and reach your goals.

Its linked to myfitnesspal which counts the food and exersize calories too.

[robblok]

I had a similar device but it greatly overestimated my expenditure, and it was useless for my rowing machine (that kind of movement did not trigger it). So now I really don't care to much about those kind of numbers and just watch what I eat (i know how many calories that is) Do I gain weight I know im eating too much.. do i loose weight its going well.

Maybe the devices have improved.. but as I do mainly weightlifting and rowing they are not as useful for me. But I like the computer program for my rowing machine. I do love extra tech but its not always useful in any situation.

How accurate do you feel it is ?

Just curious to know if they have improves (still per person there is a large variation too)

Edited January 22, 2016 by robblok

[singa-traz]

=== UPDATE #5 ===

This week, Weight is around 86.0 (+/- 0.5kg).

Completed the marathon this week-end and happy with the time. Estimation of 3,000 Calories burned.

As the weather was quite cool, I did not sweat that much and did not experience any urge to drink/eat after the race.

I'm guessing when the temperature is hotter and I get dehydrated, I'm confusing thirst and hunger.

I also noticed it's really hard to do calorie tracking when eating with Thai, outside, as you quite often shared dish and eat a bit of this and that.

As for the activity tracker, I used to have a Fitbit, but once the habit of moving is there, the interest drops a little bit.

But, still useful to show how much sitting we are doing.

[singa-traz]

=== UPDATE #6 ===

So far so good.

Let's see if I can break the 85KG limit in Feb.

[robblok]

Your going quite well.. nice.. soon I might try to loose 3 kg and get really ripped. Now I am concentrating on making my abs bigger. When that is done I will start to diet and get the last lil bit of fat gone and drop below 10% body-fat. It would be the crown on my work, ever since I was young I wanted fitness model abs.. now I am almost there.

Though going so low is harder as loosing weight when your still overweight. I bet you went down a lot faster when you had a lot more to loose.

[singa-traz]

Your going quite well.. nice.. soon I might try to loose 3 kg and get really ripped. Now I am concentrating on making my abs bigger. When that is done I will start to diet and get the last lil bit of fat gone and drop below 10% body-fat. It would be the crown on my work, ever since I was young I wanted fitness model abs.. now I am almost there.

Though going so low is harder as loosing weight when your still overweight. I bet you went down a lot faster when you had a lot more to loose.

Yes, it's nice to see that the weight is now back to pre "Christmas/New Year Holiday" period.

The speed of weight loss is not really important to me, as long as it goes in the right direction.

I only want to make micro-changes to my eating habits:

• Breakfast a bit lighter
• Avoid any second/third serving
• Limit to minimum sport drinks intake during runs

It also helps that my social dining engagements are a bit more spread.

I will add some harder work-out to "attack" the last few KGs.

[singa-traz]

=== Update #7 ===

Trending Weight: 85.75 kg (+/- 0.5 kg)

Managed to go through Chinese New Year without too much impact

So much food available around the family, with the old aunties always reminding me that being fat means healthly wealthy.

No wonder I got fat here, being nice to everyone who offered me food.

[robblok]

Its good that your trending down.. keep it up.. nicely done even though there are challenges.

[robblok]

How is it going.. been a while since your last update.