Weight loss by the numbers

In a previous post, I had mentioned my setting the goal of losing 10lbs (approximately 4.5kg) in four weeks.

As I write this, here I am omly two weeks into my program. I've lost 11.6lbs (just over 5.2kg). What now? And, more importantly for anyone reading this who is interested in losing some weight, how did this happen?

Well, for starters, it's important to recognize that everyone has a style (and more importantly- a metabolism) unique to them. That is, what one eats, how one eats and how one's day is spent. In my case, for example... I'm a slow eater. So slow, in fact, that in Air Force basic training, I lost 25lbs (over 11kg) in six weeks. At my current pace, I'm on track to beat that.

So...

In one sense, I'm quite pleased- ecstatic, in fact- with these numbers. I looked back at my weight lifting log, and this is the lightest I've tipped the scales at since March of 2010!  On the other hand, there's a part of me that is a bit alarmed, as these results are based largely on a large, daily caloric deficit- I seem to be in "Biggest Loser" territory, and even though what I am eating is quite healthy, the large drop in weight is a bit unsettling.

So..., how did I get this weight-loss jump start? R.E.A.D. (I just made that acronym up, so don't bother googling it!) Research. Eating. Action. Data. Don't be surprised that Data is in there- after all, this is a blog about data and the management and analysis thereof. But, as Research is first, let's go there.

I've known for some time that I needed to shed pounds. Over the last few years, my weight has been high- but pretty stable. Between 2010-2014, I made a few serious attempts at losing weight. I was slightly successful in that I did manage to dump some fat and build some muscle, but my weight wasn't moving much at all... at least, not in the desired direction. My personal experience was the foundation of my research. Over the years, I had heard from time to time of a ketogenic diet. It sounds simple: take the three "macros" that make up the calories in food (carbohydrates, protein and fat), and flip the weighting. Typically, in a Western diet, we consume a large amount of carbs and fats, and not as much protein (my observation... I may be wrong!) However, I knew that carbs were MY problem. I just love creamy pasta dishes way too much. I ate too many of them in a week, with too large portions.  For variety, I'd have ramen.

As I researched keto more, I decided that I wasn't going to do a "true" keto diet (where approximately 70% of one's calories come from fats, 20% from protein and the balance from carbs), but rather I would do a carb restricted diet. I started off simply enough: I weighed myself. Then, with that simple baseline, I began building my spreadsheet.

The spreadsheet, of course, is the Data, but it's the next logical place for me to go. It currently has four worksheets. Vitals is where I track changes in weight on a weekly basis, as well as other indicators calculated from weight, height, gender, and age. Once I start lifting in earnest again, I will add lean body mass (LBM) to this sheet. Diet is the next sheet, and it's my food diary. Foods are entered on a daily basis, and macros are calculated and then converted to percentages of daily intake. Nutrition is the sheet that stores all of the foods that are in the diary. As foods are consumed, they are copied from this sheet on to the Diet sheet, and new foods are added as necessary. The first week was the most difficult, as I was starting from scratch. The data generally comes from one of two sources: the nutrition facts on the side of the food package, or the Nutririon Data site. The last tab is called training, and it is home to my walking data; this comes from my Runkeeper app and from my pedometer. I don't currently use it for much else other than to track data. A Lifting tab will be added once I start lifting again.

I think Eating and Action were more or less covered already, and besides, it's past my bedtime. So, as always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.