BritXP

I want to change my life and lose the extra weight I've been carrying around. I'm doing this for me, and also to set a good example for my children. I'm 40 years old, 6'1 and my starting weight is 241. My target weight is 190 so that's 51 pounds I need to lose. I have been on this journey before - in 2003-2004 I was successfully able to take my weight from 237 down to 185 ( -52 lb ) in 33 weeks, so I know first hand that with discipline and dedication and consistency, it can be done. However the results of my previous weight loss program were not optimal because I made a lot of basic nutritional mistakes - I exercised a lot but I didn't eat nearly enough food and cut out way too many carbs - this caused me to lose about 8 pounds of muscle along with the fat so although I got thinner I didn't get the 'beach body' I was hoping for... I got kind of 'skinny fat' ( normal BMI but with a high percentage of body fat ).

Since 2004 the weight has been slowly creeping back on, recently I said enough is enough and I decided to make some hopefully permanent lifestyle changes. I want to DO IT RIGHT this time and be in the best shape of my life - and stay that way without rebound weight gain this time. I'm willing to be patient to get the results I'm looking for.

I'm very focused on nutrition and educating myself about how it all works. I'm pretty open minded and like to research and apply proven techniques to my own way of eating. My current interest in nutrition during this fat loss journey is really due to my previous dietary failures, and my belief now that nutrition determines 80% of your results, with the other 20% being exercise and other factors.
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MY NUTRITION
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NATURAL/WHOLE/FRESH FOODS as much as possible, staying away from processed foods but supplementing with some whey protein to boost protein intake.

Foods mostly from this list, with the occasional indulgence and also drinking red wine now mostly instead of beers.

http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php

Mostly lean cuts of meat, seafood, eggs and egg whites, vegetables, avocado, a small amount of fruit, whole wheat bread and honey post-workouts, brown and wild rice, steel cut oatmeal, sweet potatoes, skim milk, nonfat cottage cheese, nuts etc

I measure all of my calories IN (food) with kitchen scales, measuring cups and measuring spoons and I measure calories OUT (exercise) with a heart rate monitor.

My Current daily maintenance level according to LIVESTRONG is 2,492 NET calories per day

I am currently eating at 2100 NET - that's a daily calorie deficit of almost 400 calories. My maintenance number is probably around 2,600 because I'm losing 1lb per week.

So the way that I try to eat EVERY DAY is to do the following :

1) Hit the calorie target of 2100 NET - no more, no less. That means I eat back the exercise burned calories on the same day to give my body the extra calories and nutrients to repair. On days when I burn 1,000 calories in exercise, I eat 3100 calories. On days of complete rest, I eat only 2100 calories.

2) Hit the daily protein target of 1.5g per pound of lean mass. My lean mass is 175lb so I try to eat (1.5x175)= 260g of protein per day. It can be hard to get that protein in (and expensive) but it's necessary for muscle building/protecting lean mass in a caloric deficit.

3) Hit the daily fat target of 0.45g per pound of lean mass. For general health, help with inflammation, and sanity. (0.45gx175)=78g per day

Carbs = the rest. As long as I hit targets 2 and 3, I don't worry too much about the carbs but I usually get about the same number as protein grams (I'm not really big on the low carb thing and I seem to function better athletically with moderate carbs rather than low carbs )

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MY EXERCISE
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I exercise every day, but make it a balance between very intense (heavy lifting or sprints ) and easy (easy walking) so that I don't get burned out or overtrained.

Priority 1 - STRENGTH training 3-4 days per week.

Priority 2 - LISS Cardio ( low intensity steady state at heart rate <130 bpm ) - low impact easy cardio ... walking, easy mountain biking, elliptical, cross country ski machine, stair climber etc...looking to add swimming and possibly kayaking when the weather warms up. I try to keep it to about 1 hour max but very occasionally it goes to 1-4 hours for long hikes, mountain bike rides etc.

Priority 3 - HIIT Cardio - ( High intensity Interval Cardio ) whenever I feel like it. Once per week usually. 30 minute sessions max - Sprints, mountain bike hill sprints, stair climber etc.

SW : 241 (11/14/11)
LW : 213.0
CW : 211.4
GW : 190

GOALS for 2012 : Age 40, height 6'1"
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WEIGHT
= 241 START ( 11/14/11 )
[X] 230 ( 12/25/11 )
[X] 220 ( 2/14/12 )
[X] 210 ( 4/17/12 )
[ ] 200 ( target by 7/15/12 - summer holiday )
[ ] 190 TARGET WEIGHT - end of 2012

[ x11 ] EXERCISE 7 TIMES PER WEEK
[ x9 ] EXERCISE 6 TIMES PER WEEK
[ x2 ] EXERCISE 5 TIMES PER WEEK
[ 0 ] EXERCISE 4 TIMES PER WEEK


WAIST MEASUREMENT
START 43"
[X] 42 11/24/11
[X] 40 1/9/12
[X] 39 1/25/12
[X] 38 2/21/12
[X] 37 3/16/12
[X] 36 4/5/12
[ ] 35
[ ] 34
[ ] 33
[ ] 32 TARGET

RUN 5K in under 20 minutes ( timed and certified 5K races )

[X] 24:00
[X] 23:30 <===== 23:10 (4/29/12)
[ ] 23:00
[ ] 22:30
[ ] 22:00
[ ] 21:40 ( PB - 2006 weight was 214 )
[ ] 21:30
[ ] 21:00
[ ] 20:30
[ ] 19:59