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Good day today. Got a decent nights sleep, got up early and knocked out a very good weight lifting session followed by a tough core workout. Very productive day at work with no real craziness to deal with. Got home just after dark, changed my clothes, strapped on my new headlamp and put some flashing collars on the dogs and headed out for a 5 mile walk in the dark along the dark dirt roads. The temps were holding in the 50's so I really wanted to give them a good run tonight, as they are predicting cold and rain for tomorrow and snow by Friday (but sunny and warm for the weekend...go figure).
I've decided to give the medicine change until Monday to resolve itself before I call the doctor. I've been on blood pressure meds for 15 years. The reduction in blood pressure causes my body to react by retaining water in my lower extremities and causing painful swelling in the arms and legs. So, for that 15 years, I've also been on a diuretic and potassium. The doc thought that because my BP has been so good, that I should drop the diuretic and potassium from my regimen. So far, that's not working out very well. According to my Tanita scale, the first day off the pills, my weight rose 4.2 lbs and it was all water weight. Another 4 lbs the next day and 3 more today. My water weight is up 11 pounds now in 3 days, while my body fat is down almost a pound. I have been taking a half of a water pill to see if it helps, but not so far. If this doesn't resolve itself by Sunday, I'm going back on the water pills full strength and calling the doc on Monday. I don't need to record a weigh-in until Sunday PM, so one way or the other, I should be able to get an honest weight by then.
The good news out of this is that because my water weight has raised my body weight temporarily, my body fat percentage has dropped to 15.7%. Although, I know that as soon as I shed the water, it will rise back above 16%, so I'm not kidding myself. It was just nice to see that 15 in the number this evening...lol. At any rate, I'm not going to sweat this. Thanks to my Tanita scale, I'm not having a stroke because my weight is rising. The analysis shows me that it is really just a result of the removal of the diuretic.
I've also decided to raise my caloric intake. I don't have the amount of excess fat to contribute to my energy that I used to, and if I'm to keep exercising and building muscle, I need more fuel. So instead of staying under 1,000 calories per day, I'm going to average around 1,500 per day, with some higher and some lower, just to keep my body from stagnating.
Anyhow. As I started this entry...It was a pretty good day.
View Diet Calendar, 22 January 2014:
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1199 kcal
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Fat: 48.95g | Prot: 136.04g | Carbs: 60.98g.
Breakfast: Egg, HEB 99/1 Ground Turkey, GNC Chewable C 100, GNC Fish Oil 1000, GNC Total Lean CLA Soft Chew, GNC Vitamin B-12 2500 MCG Soft Chew, GNC DHA 600, Coffee, Starbucks Sugar Free Vanilla Syrup. Lunch: Great Value Broccoli Florets (3 gm protein), Pictsweet Steam'ables Asparagus Spears, Wal-Mart Extra Lean Ground Beef 96/4, Marketside Organic Baby Spinach (Walmart), Trader Joe's Smoked Turkey Breast. Dinner: HEB Select Grilled Zucchini, HEB Select Grilled Eggplant, Blinski's Spinach & Garlic Chicken Sausage, Beef Inside Skirt Steak (Lean Only, Trimmed to 1/4" Fat) . Snacks/Other: Blackberries, Strawberries, Wheatbelly Bread w/ Chia & Cinnamon, Butter, GNC Total Lean CLA Soft Chew, Cellucor BCAA. more...
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3241 kcal
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Exercise:
Night walk w/ 60 lb - Runtastic - 1 hour and 34 minutes, Calisthenics (light, e.g. home exercise) - 39 minutes, Gold's Gym XR 45 - 1 hour and 20 minutes, Resting - 13 hours and 27 minutes, Sleeping - 7 hours. more...
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 Comments
Makes good sense TX! I also have to raise my cals from 1000 to 1300 cals and my protein should go up to 87.5g..... as the body weight goes down we have to adjust cos we don't want sticky lookin arms and legs and a big belly! Right proportions and this only achieved if we eat properly and fuel properly....if you have your race coming up in March you need to fuel properly.
23 Jan 14 by member: Jenfar
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Absolutely Bill. After being so very OCD about keeping to a VLCD since last June, its psychologically hard to convince myself that eating more (good) calories is OK. I have to remind myself that even at 1,500 calories, I'm still creating a good sized calorie deficit every day. I'm still not ready to use the calorie counts recommended by MIT CHOW or IIFYM yet. Both of those would have me eating well over 2,000 calories per day. I think that having dieted so hard for so long, that I need to adjust my diet incrementally in order not to "balloon up". But I do realize that it is time to start eating more and to just keep my Protein to Carbs to Fats ratio in line. If I take in .8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of weight, eat sufficient healthy fats, and make sure that most of the carbs I eat are low-glycemic, theoretically, I will hit a good balance of nutrition that will allow me to grow strength and endurance while maintaining a healthy weight. Like many, I have lost weight before. The trick will be KEEPING IT OFF...lol! This is my mission in life now. To enjoy the leaner healthier ME for the rest of my life. So, like you, I'll keep fine tuning the diet and exercise to try to achieve these goals.
Have a great day, Bill.
23 Jan 14 by member: TXSnowman
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“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
I admire your effort and success up to this point and know you will get what you want. Thought this quote kinda fit because of what your going through.
23 Jan 14 by member: Tim Huffman
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I am thinking TX you might see about lowing the BP meds until you can ease off of them and see what happens. You lost so much weight, you might not need them at all. Odd your doctor didn't think of that rather than taking you off the diuretics. BP meds will make you retain water. So that just didn't even make sense what he did.
23 Jan 14 by member: Mom2Boxers
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Yeah! challenge the doctor! I've often done that especially if i'm paying for his advice! He/she should know better! They have to ask the right questions, that is why they are doctors and you are the patient!
23 Jan 14 by member: Jenfar
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Sounds like you have a bit of a challenge ahead. Good luck with the BP - I have a friend who is fit as a fiddle, never had a weight issue in her life and is on BP meds. Even though you have lost a lot of weight and perhaps don't need them (?), I'd recommend listening to the doc. Just my thoughts. I agree with you on thanking Tanita for keeping you sane - I'd be freaking out without it if I was gaining weight so fast. Keep on keeping on - you have come such a long way - GOOD FOR YOU!
23 Jan 14 by member: Lynn1958
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Water weight can be weird. It is easy to lose sometimes but it right back very quickly. You have the right attitude. You know your body so you are not a slave to the scale.
23 Jan 14 by member: toolmannc1
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Thanks for all the great ideas. I spoke with the doc today and she wants me to use 1/2 the old dosage for a bit to see if it straightens out. I don't have high hopes for that, since I've been using a 1/2 tab daily all week and got these results. But, a few more days won't hurt me. My original plan was to revert to the full dosage on Sunday if it hasn't improved by then, and I see no good reason to change from that plan.
As for the bp meds, I have tried weaning off of them to no avail. I have non-specific hypertension. I had a cardiologist for ten years and he explained that basically I have high blood pressure because everyone in my family before me has had it and all of my kids can expect it, regardless of weight. Obviously, the more risk factors you pile on, the worse it will be, so not smoking and now having lost weight, I can control it a little easier, but I am probably going to need chemistry to help out forever. But, at least its staying at a very healthy level now.
23 Jan 14 by member: TXSnowman
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That is good news then. You have a handle on all this. Glad you went to the doctor and she is monitoring this for you. She can always change the BP med to a different kind. Guess you two can discuss that. I do hope it get leveled out.
23 Jan 14 by member: Mom2Boxers
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TXSnowman's Weight History
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