Hi Everybody

I’ve always found consistent weight loss really hard. I run two very busy businesses and my life completely lacks consistency. Being my own boss means I can sometimes choose where/when I work but msot often I have no ability to do that and no control over how my weeks is going to look.

I think this is a big reason why consistent weight loss has alluded me in the past. One week I may decide I’m going to start exercising and do it well for two weeks but then suddenly I’m away on business trips all week. Sometimes I’m working from home most of the week (so fasting and/or sticking to a healthy diet has been easy) whereas other times I”m having business lunches where self control of not eating or contorl over the menu is impossible.

The biggest demotivator I think for me though has been that I’ve never been able to accurately measure weight loss. In the same week my mrs might say I’m putting on weight and my mate might say the opposite! I’m relying looking in the mirror. Purely using weighing scales is difficult as I put on muscle as easily as I put on fat. I also bloat really easily and the amount of water I retain changes all the time.

I’m now determined to stick to this for the next 6-12 months and only after that period of time m I going to make a decision. I’ve been missing measurement in the past I realise this now. It’s very hard to stick at something you’re only guessing at the success of.

So, my plan:

My long-term goal is to lose 2.5 stone (35 pounds) of body fat. I will aim to do a minimum of 2 fast days per week perhaps more. I know I won’t always be able to do a fast day perfectly as well as other variables so I’m going to assume a more conservative weight loss of 1/2 pound per week rather than the full pound, as well as this making me more likely to be pleasantly surprised rather than disappointed. So, providing I stick to this plan I shall confidently expect it to take 1 year and five months to reach my target goal. Any quicker is a bonus! Not eating as opposed to eating is the easiest way for me to be able to control my dietary lifestyle.

I am going to measure my weight loss (using multiple methods to look at overall trends) by using some decent and supposedly accurate digital scales I’ve just bought (which also measure body fat % etc). I’ll do this once per week. I know those body fat emasurements are innaccurate but, along with all the other measurements, I’m sure I’m going to see some long-term trends as well which are fairly reliable. As well as this I’m also going to measure my body fat with calipers once every two weeks.

The other thing I want to track and record is how many fast days I’ve done per week and what exercise I’ve done.

I’d like to know an app or a wall chart if any of you know of one I can use to input all of this data and bring all this info together in a way that I can see the results of my efforts over time. I also want to be able to quantify the results of my lack of efforts too! I think this is the best way for me to be able to stick at something and feel mindful of the consequences of my decision making.

I don’t want to calorie count and measure calories FYI. I won’t stick to that. It’s more about seeing the results of my habits to help ingraine them into my psyche. Positive feedback loops and all that.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated guys. I’m really pumped to do this and, for once, to stick at something long-term.

Thanks,

David

Thanks Diverdog

You’re right that is a massive exaggeration re muscle mass. I do seem to bulk easily whether it’s fat or muscle though. And I don’t lose muscle as easily as some either. I had a few pt sessions a couple months ago and the guy was genuinely surprised at how much strength I’d kept and how much I could lift considering I hadn’t weight trained for two years.

Yeah I was thinking same day every week as well. Only question is if I set it as, say, a Friday and my fast day changes regularly. Is there not going to be massive discrepancies due to water weight?

I suppose sticking to it over the long term there will still be a trend.

Any chance I could check your spreadsheet out? Something like that I think could really help.

Also, do you or have you ever used skin calipers? If so, what are your thoughts on them?

Thanks,

David

Thanks for the kind offer mate. My email is david.anthony.famo (@) gmail.com.

That’s exactly the type of spreadsheet I was thinking of but had no idea how to start it!