re: Odysseus' Weight Loss/Gain Log - Never ever ever give up

Did your weight go up any without the exercise?

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Did your weight go up any without the exercise?

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No, it actually dropped almost concerningly quickly. A couple days after I started at Amazon I was right around 190, and a week later I was 185. It wasn't water weight, as I had dropped that when I started this weight loss journey.

I ballooned back up to 195 after Thanksgiving, which was expected, as I didn't count calories or try to limit my intake. But 2 days back at Amazon I was again 186. That was a lot of bloat going away, so that wasn't as concerning, but still pretty quick. As of this morning I am 184.8

I upped my intake to a little above 2300 calories when I started at Amazon, didn't exercise (mostly so I didn't wear myself out), and the weight was still melting off. The difference is I didn't feel good about it. Also, the depression was making it hard for me to eat. Some days I just couldn't bring myself to eat "breakfast", so I'd go into work having eaten very little, get to lunch have my salad, fruit, sometimes tuna and eggs, and then eat dinner when I got home before sleeping. Some days I'd barely eat more than 1800 calories when my TDEE was at least 2700.

Update - 12/15/2020

Weight - 183.6 Lbs

Hi all,

I have finally found some time to update. To be honest, I've had opportunities since leaving Amazon, but I just haven't been able to find the motivation.

Exercise Today
Run - 2.72 Miles - 9:17 Pace

Exercise Notes
It's snowing here, and my asthma has been acting up, but I don't really care. I needed to run and it felt good. It's been about a month since I actually went on a proper run, so I just popped in my headphones and went at a pace that felt good. I've definitely lost some wind, but I'm sure I can pick that back up.

Diet Notes
Dropped my caloric intake back down to 1960 since leaving Amazon. Weight is coming off more gradually now. I sorta yo-yo'd there after Thanksgiving, but I feel good about what I'm doing now. There were a few days where I overate by 500-700 calories and almost gave in. But then I realized that I not only owed it to myself, but I owe it to my wife to not balloon up again. That little internal pep talk turned me around and I've been fairly strict since, other than my wife's birthday dinner a few days ago.

Still eating the same stuff, mostly, so no big change there. I have made an effort to up my protein, and I'm logging about 110-140 grams per day. I'd like to be closer to 140 than 110 but it's better than when I wasn't paying attention at all and getting between 65 and 90. As I keep dropping weight I will monitor my macronutrient intake more closely.

Other Notes
Tomorrow is finals day for me. I have 3 finals, two of which are stats and accounting. It's going to be a hell of a day. I'll be reviewing/testing from 8:30 Am until 4:30 pm and then finishing up my final project for another class. I should finish the semester with a 4.0.

Wife is having surgery this coming Monday. She has a gastro thing, don't really want to give more info than that. It's laparoscopic, so pretty minimal risk, and it should reap some rewards in terms of her quality of life. I am not allowed in the hospital, which really freaks both of us out since it requires a 1 night stay, but after a lot of discussion and risk weighing, the potential benefits of the surgery are too much to pass up.

So, as it relates to exercise and diet, I will be at home a lot, maybe giving me more time to exercise and update this log as she sleeps and recovers. I don't know what I will eat for Christmas, as she will be on a special diet for a few weeks. I was thinking that I might make a protein heavy Christmas dinner the night of her surgery and then eat on that for a week. That would be really beneficial as I wouldn't be trying to cook and take care of her in the evenings.

My sister got us a 50" TV for Christmas. We have had this cheap 32" for a couple of years, so it was a nice surprise. Can't wait to watch the Tigers beat the Rebels Saturday.

That's all I got.

Been a rough past couple of days. Found out dad's illness is worse than we thought. Might be time to say goodbye, which means a trip down to Louisiana is likely coming within a week or two. Internship is on hold for the time being until we figure out what we will do.

Weight loss, however, is not on hold. This was my weight last night and I was extremely happy. The first 30 pounds were easy to lose, but every pound since has required discipline. I went from losing 2-3 pounds per week and being semi strict, to eating slightly over my goal once a week and losing 1-1.5 pounds per week.

What this tells me is that it's time to get back in the gym. I have 14 pound to go before I start bulking back up. It's really crazy, but I can clerly see my top 4 abs in the mirror when I weigh. It's been a very long time since that's been the case.

Eating an apple right now, trying to do some schoolwork. I had some free time so I thought I could finally update. Just know that I have not stopped dropping even if I haven't found the time to update.

Just a little check in for accountability.

My wife and I took "vacation" this week, which has consisted of a lot of puzzles, walks, movies, and generally lazing about. As a result, I've gained a few pounds. Back up to 187 as of this morning, although I anticipate that some of that is water weight since I had a pretty high sodium meal around 8 PM last night.

Just had some chocolate protein powder banana pancakes and I'm gonna go on a long walk with our dog. My wife has to work tomorrow and I have a ton of schoolwork to do before another 3 day stint of having little to do before going back to real life.

On other fronts, I had a virtual interview with KPMG yesterday afternoon. It went okay, other than my internet deciding that it wanted to cut out halfway through. Very embarrassing, but I made some light humor about it toward the end, which may have saved it.

Being under 185 and trying to lose weight is by far the most difficult part of all of this. I sat anywhere from 181-185 in high school without thinking about what I was putting in my body. It seems like that's where I naturally sit, despite my height. I know it's not good for my joints, but even the brief stint of being at 179 was very difficult to maintain and I couldn't seem to drop below that with any consistency. After runs sometimes I'd be at 177 or so, but the next morning I'd be back up to 181 or 182. Losing 50 pounds was easy. Losing 60 pounds is proving to be damn near impossible.

However, I know that I haven't been as strict as possible and that's on me. If I dial in my macros and try to adopt a 12 hour window I think I can get down to 175 with some consistency. I have cut out alcohol almost completely the past month. I drank a few beers the other day and I just felt like trash the next day. Whiskey is my drink of choice, but it's too easy to take that too far.

Despite my struggles, I have been pretty excited looking in the mirror. Especially around 180, I could actually see my abs which hasn't been the case......ever? I don't know, I just look and feel very healthy, and I think I could be more grateful. I remember what it feels like to be embarrassed to walk out the front door. frick being proud of my accomplishments, frick the scale, frick everything else really because the feeling of knowing that I don't look like a sloppy disgusting human when I go out in public has been worth every hunger pang and every setback I've encountered thus far.

I'll check back in sometime.

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Seeing abs at 180 @ 5’7”

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When I'm flexin. let me be clear about that

Thursday May 13th, 2021

Morning Weight: 184.0 Lbs

Workout
Day 1 -- Linear Progression PPL: PULL

Deadlifts: 4x5, 1x5+
1. 185 x 5
2. 185 x 5
3. 185 x 5
4. 185 x 5
5. 185 x 8

Lat Pull: 3x10
1. 90 x 10
2. 105 x 10
3. 105 x 10

Seated Rows: 3x10
1. 75 x 10
2. 90 x 10
3. 90 x 10

Face Pulls: 3x15
1. 17.5 x 15
2. 17.5 x 10
3. 17.5 x 10

Hammer Curls: 3x10
1. 20s x 10
2. 17.5s x 10
3. 17.5s x 10

DB Curls: 4x8
1. 17.5s x 8
2. 17.5s x 8
3. 20s x 8
4. 20s x 8

Notes
Holy frick was I sore the next day


Diet
7A - 11A: 5 eggs + diced potatoes with salsa and cheddar cheese; apple
11A - 1P: Skirt Steak sandwich with ketchup/mayo and cheddar cheese
1P - 5P: Turkey slices with cucumbers, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese; protein shake
5P - 7P: Skirt steak with home fries and sauteed onions and bell pepper




Notes
Fun way to eat

Thought you gave up bro

Saturday May 15th, 2021

Morning Weight: 185.0 Lbs

Workout
Day 3 -- Linear Progression PPL: LEGS

Squat: 2x5, 1x5+
1. 205 x 5
2. 225 x 5
3. 225 x 3

Romanian DL: 3x10
1. 105 x 10
2. 105 x 10
3. 105 x 10

Leg Press: 3x10
1. 230 x 10
2. 230 x 10
3. 230 x 10

Leg Curls: 3x12
1. 105 x 12
2. 105 x 12
3. 105 x 12

Calf Raises: 5x10
1. 165 x 10
2. 165 x 10
3. 165 x 10
4. 165 x 10
5. 165 x 10


Notes
My gym doesn't open until 7 on the weekends, which is annoying. I get to sleep in a bit, but on the other hand more people are there when it opens. I got there right when it opened and managed to grab a squat rack. I did a warmup set of 135x5 just to see where I was at. Squats have always been my strongest lift, so I wasn't surprised when I put 225 on there and it was light. I stopped at 3 on my last set because, despite feeling great, I haven't done a squat with weight on my back in 4 or 5 years. After my first set of 225 I could feel my legs and I already knew that if I went as hard as I could I wasn't going be able to walk today. Anyway, I felt good about it and moved on. I'm gonna warm up with 185 next week and work at 235, maybe 245 depending on how I feel. I think this is going to be the easiest lift to see progress.


Diet
7A - 11A: 5 eggs + diced potatoes + Ground turkey w/ salsa and parm cheese;
11A - 1P: Apple; Cin Swirl Cake
1P - 5P: Babybel Cheese; Hotty Toddy; 3 additional oz. Whiskey
5P - 7P: Stuffed Bell Pepper; Steak Quesedilla




Notes
Went a bit overboard toward the end there. On second thought, probably shouldn't have drank. But I think one thing I'm getting better at is not calling the entire day a waste if I go over my calorie allotment. I think health/fitness is very important, but I did get a nice buzz, watched the races, and had a fun time asking my wife to take me to taco bell. At the end of the day I'm not gonna trade that for 300 calories.

I REALLY like my breakfast.


Other Notes
It's Sunday morning and I'm sitting here, writing this post, sippin on coffee. We got up and went to the grocery store first thing this morning. Since I'm going heavier on the protein I bought 3 pounds of ground turkey and split it up in 3 day portions. I'll have about 5-6 oz a day with my eggs and potatoes. The store was quiet, seemed like all the overnight stockers were finished and only a few people meandering through the store. I'm not sure why, but people wake up much later here. I remember back home in Louisiana if you went to a grocery store at 6-7 AM it was just a normal day. If you do it here the workers look at you like you're crazy. Oh well, I like to get the shopping done early so I can relax on Sunday.

This Intermediate class is very dense. I breezed through Chapters 1 and 2, but 3 is proving to be rather tough. This 1st half of the week is discontinued operations.



I understand it, but I do have to take some considerable time reading, writing, reading, rewriting, and doing practice problems before certain things stick. It's more so the granularity. You can understand an entire concept, but if there is one thing within the an area of that concept that you don't understand, you have to figure it out or it's going to bite you. I think I'll do fine, but I am trying to take this very seriously. Some say that intermediate I is the toughest class that an Accounting major will take. I will for sure pass, but I'd like to keep my high GPA.

If I can make it through summer I'll be fine. It's truly my least favorite season of the year. It's hot, in the TV we get fires and smoke from surrounding regions, and the sun stays out waaaaay past its bedtime. I just had to staple gun black out curtains over our windows to keep the sunlight out. I get in bed around 7:45-8 to start reading before I crash and it's supper annoying to feel like I'm going to bed in the middle of the day. I wish I could time travel to the end of August. I really can't stand Summer.

I think for the rest of the day I'll just take it easy. Gonna make breakfast here soon, get my protein in. Then my wife and I usually watch Joanna Gaines cooking show in the mornings. I'd love to say that I do it to have something to do with my wife, and that is one reason, but I also really do enjoy that show. I have no idea if they are genuine people or not, but I like their television content and that's all that really matters. I also need to make sure my planner is ready for the week. I think it is, but I always like to do a once over on Sunday afternoons.

Well, that's all I got folks.