Day 42 : "Sixth weekly weigh-in -- the results"

So here I am.  Three-quarters of the way into my challenge, and still going strong.  Although the last 3 weeks or so seem to have gone quite quickly, it does seem like an awfully long time ago that I was stuffing my face with all-you-can-eat Chinese, in 'preparation' for my forthcoming diet.

Today, I've had a banana for breakfast and a mackerel salad for lunch.  I did 50 minutes on the cross trainer at the gym this morning, followed by about three-and-a-half hours of house work.

Now, although that should have burned off a few calories, I was quite shocked by the results of my weigh-in this afternoon.  If you remember, I lost 14lbs in week one and 10lb in week two, but since then have been losing a steady 2-3lb a week.  And I really thought that, if anything, the weight loss would slow down even more at this stage.  But the results are below:


Week                     0              1              2               3               4             5              6

Body Fat             32.8%       29.4%       27.4%        26.7%       25.6%     25.5%       24.3%

Muscle Mass       33.9%       35.2%       35.8%        36.2%       36.6%     36.7%       37.4%

Weight                16st 7lb    15st 7lb    14st 11lb    14st 9lb     14st 6lb   14st 3lb    13st 13lb


Yes, I've lost 4lb this week!  I am, quite honestly, gob smacked.  And - of course - really, really chuffed.  I can't quite believe that in six weeks, I've gone from "16 stone something" to "13 stone something".  I honestly can't remember the last time I was "13 stone something".  It was, I think, somewhere in the region of at least a decade ago.

Not only that, but I've seen the biggest increase in muscle mass percentage points since the first week, and the biggest decrease in body fat percentage points since week two.  And what's really pleasing is that I've broken under the '25% body fat' mark - putting me in the 'moderate' range rather than 'high' for the first time in years!!

So quite a momentous week all round!

When I think as to why the weight loss may have increased rather than slowed this week, I can - I reckon - put it down to two things:

(1) With my strength increasing, I've been lifting bigger weights in the gym - really trying to push myself to my limits.  The breaking down and rebuilding process (which is what builds muscles) goes on for about two days in any muscle after you work it - with heavier weights breaking down and rebuilding more muscle, therefore burning more calories.  (I think this is the case with me, anyway, as I've ached more this week than ever before! Even my aches have aches today.)  Plus, muscles burn off calories even when resting - so the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn when doing nothing - and (without wanting to boast) I certainly have bigger muscles than I did six weeks ago.  My wife is delighted.

(2) As I mentioned earlier in the week, I've become a bit obsessive with eating protein straight after my workouts.  So I've been eating more fish than before, but eating it as soon as I get in from the gym, which I guess burns the calories off more quickly - and sends the proteins straight to my muscles.  Plus I've been eating a bit less in the way of fruit and veg, which I guess cuts down a bit on natural sugars.

Hey ho, I'm no expert, but that kind of makes sense to me.


Anyway, just to lighten the tone, let's talk about poo.

You may want to make sure you're not eating, or about to eat, if you read on...

I'll try to keep detail to a minimum.  But let's just say that I've always been very regular.  Every morning, virtually without fail.  And - at times of pigging out - sometimes twice a day.  I think last Christmas there may even have been some thrice-daily occasions.

But since the first couple of weeks of my challenge passed, my regularity has dropped, to the point where I can now go 4 days without... y'know... going.

For instance, in the last week:  I dropped the kids off at the pool last Sunday, with the next cable-laying not being until Thursday, and then didn't have a Winnie again until this morning.

I didn't think it was possible to go that long, especially not for a bloke.  I'm not constipated... I suppose I just don't have much to expel.  I guess it must be the lack of food intake, plus the healthiness of what I am actually eating means most of it just converts into muscle/energy with very little waste.

So not only am I hopefully improving my life expectancy with my new lifestyle, but I'll also spend a few less hours per year on the toilet - double bubble!!

Sorry, no more toilet talk, I promise!


Anyway, to move from 'out' to 'in':  it's healthy-treat night tonight, so I think I may forgo fish and salad this evening and cook myself a healthy chicken curry (no rice!) like last Sunday.  As it was a precursor to losing 4lbs this week, it certainly can't be a bad thing!

Coming up:  the final fortnight!!