CatHerder's Journal

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02 January 2016

I hope everyone is having a wonderful new year.

There has been a lot of discussion on various posts around diets. I'll use mine to continue with my thoughts. In order to lose weight you need to cut calories. Calories out has to be greater than calories in. The calories in side are the macronutrients we consume, protein, carbohydrates and fats. The calories out side is our base metabolic rate (BMR, the calories we burn staying alive), non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT, things like normal walking, fidgiting, sitting up, standing, etc.), exercise and the thermic effect of food (TEF, the amount of energy used to digest food). All of the items on the calories out side added together is your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). SO basically it comes down to the following equation. Calories In < TDEE in order to lose weight.

It sounds simple right? Well, the problem lies in knowing what the numbers really are for an individual. There are calculators for your BMR. These are only an estimate. The calorie guides and nutritional labels are nothing more than an approximation as there is a lot of variability in the exact portion you are eating and the rounding of macronutrient composition. NEAT, TEF and exercise thermogenesis are all estimates based on models as well.

Sounds like there really isn't no way to know? Well, we all need a starting point. An estimate is better than not having a reference point to start. If we use an online calculator for our BMR, use the appropriate activity factor we have we have an estimate of our TDEE to use. If we use the calorie counts on foods and know how much we are consuming by weighing and measuring then we have a good approximation of calories in. By starting out with a modest deficit of say 500 to 750 calories we can see if there is any change in 1-2 weeks and make adjustments. Want to lose faster? Increase your deficit. Lose slower? Decrease your deficit.

All diets in some way get you to consume less calories thereby creating a deficit. From studies, low-carb diets lead to greater initial weight loss (Due to water being lost). Long term studies show that there really ins't any difference in the amount of weight lost on different diets as long as the calorie deficits are the same.

But I'm doing low-carb/ketogenic diet. It says I don't need to track calories. Bull, you can get fat by eating a high fat diet. If you consume more calories than your burn you will gain weight.

I'm not saying the low-carb diets don't have advantages for certain diseases. I'm saying pick a diet that suits your life. This needs to be a lifelong change not something you do for a couple of months. If you go back to your old way of eating you will gain the weight back, generally with interest.

I hope people have found this interesting and informative. Please feel free to chime in.

Have a great day everybody!

Weight:	Lost so far:	Still to go:	Diet followed:
97.1 kg	8.6 kg	6.4 kg	Reasonably Well

(1 comment) Losing 1.3 kg a Week

30 December 2015

The weight blip from the holidays is gone. It didn't take as long as I expected. I've just been a little more careful in what I eat. I am following a flexible eating plan and counting calories. I make sure I hit my protein goal for the day and the fats and carbs can vary. I don't always eat "clean" and I'm ok with that. I have overcome the all or nothing mentality that I think has sabotaged me in the past. As long as I stay with healthy foods at least 80% of the time and stay under my calories I'm good.

Have a great day!

Weight:	Lost so far:	Still to go:	Diet followed:
97.6 kg	8.1 kg	6.9 kg	Reasonably Well

(4 comments) Losing 7.0 kg a Week

29 December 2015

I hope everyone is doing well. I know this is a rough time for some of us as we have been overindulging during the holidays. I ate some candy on Christmas and am not sure why I did. It didn't really taste all that great. I guess that was because I hadn't had any in such a long time. It could have been that forbidden food syndrome. I'll just need to work it off and keep moving forward.

I still haven't been able to run. Actually haven't tried yet since I don't want to re-injure myself. I have been hitting the gym and lifting. Also doing eccentric curls with my injured hamstring. I have also started adding in standing leg curls. I'm going by feel, if it hurts I stop. I plan on hitting the gym at least 5 days this week and also doing some walking between rainstorms.

The new year is upon us. I'm seeing more commercials for Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig. I'm not sure how well those programs compare to just doing your own diet. I know they keep throwing our the statistics that 95% of people that diet fail. I was one of those 95%, actually several times. I don't plan on being one of those this time around. I'm more determined now than ever. Down right stubborn some would say. To all of you out there, who is with me? Who doesn't want to be a statistic? Together we can do this!

Have a great day everybody.

Weight:	Lost so far:	Still to go:	Diet followed:
98.6 kg	7.1 kg	7.9 kg	Reasonably Well

(7 comments) Losing 1.6 kg a Week

27 December 2015

Down a few from yesterday. I need to keep up the exercise to burn off the excess glycogen. Since I can't run yet I'll be focusing on weights and walking.

Here's an interesting blog post that came across my inbox 8 Reasons Why Low-Carb Diets Actually Work

Weight:	Lost so far:	Still to go:	Diet followed:
99.1 kg	6.6 kg	8.3 kg	Reasonably Well

Add Comment Gaining 2.7 kg a Week

23 December 2015

I think the water weight is gone now. Still restricting exercise to walking and some weight training. I have started my rehab for my hamstring. I'm performing eccentric exercises and also some light standing leg curls. I pushed up to 40 lbs with a small amount of discomfort.

It's the time of year when people struggle with eating treats and too much in general. There are a lot of strategies people use to try to overcome this. I basically log everything I eat and target to get back on track if I go over. A day or two of going over will not derail the new healthier you. It's key that you don't get into black and white thinking. Basically sabotaging yourself by saying oh I messed up what's the use and then keep on binging over many days/weeks.

I also notice a lot of people stressing out over eating carbs. If you are on a low carb diet they will cause your weight to go up as you store water with the glycogen. This will be rapidly lost as you get back to your normal way of eating.

I would suggest staying away from trigger foods. These are the foods that you know you will overeat once you get started. You can either try to avoid them entirely or have one serving and then separate yourself from it.

I hope everyone has a joyous and wonderful Christmas!

Weight:	Lost so far:	Still to go:	Diet followed:
97.5 kg	8.2 kg	6.8 kg	Reasonably Well

(1 comment) Losing 3.2 kg a Week

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