Trying the snack-free thing again

In my everquest1I still sometimes miss EverQuest 2. You could do a lot of stuff in that game. to get back to my fighting1 weight of 150 pounds, I’ve decided to use an approach that has seen success in the past: going cold turkey. Mmm, turkey.

Specifically, I am going to try reducing my snack intake like so:

Current snack intake: Snacks

Proposed snack intake: No snacks

The beauty is in its simplicity! Will it work? Let’s find out. As of typing this post, I am 100% on track.

  1. What’s a better term for “fighting” in this context? Maybe “preferred” would be better. Let’s just say a weight where my hand can slide over my belly and not undulate. Not that I make a habit of sliding my hands over my belly, mind you. What I’m saying is lose the belly fat, which would presumably happen if I was 150 pounds again. ↩︎

October 2023 weight loss report: Up 2.2 pounds

Oops, I did it again.

However, rather than weep in despair over the weight gain, I’ve decided to step back and take a more nuanced look at what is happening to my body.

First, about an hour after weighing myself this morning (I was up 0.6 pounds) I had to answer the call of nature, which would have effectively meant I had no weight gain today and would have been up 1.6 pounds for the month, which is equivalent to about two days of average weight drops. Not a big deal.

Second, I noted that for the month, my weight only went down on two days around the midway point and both drops were minimal, rounding errors.

Third, the Garmin scale measures other stats, and I’ve added several below:

  • Skeletal Muscle Mass. This is the muscle you can build through exercise.
  • Body water. This is when you feel bloated because you drank at the fountain for five minutes solid after a run.

Both of these result in weight gain–one more permanent, in the form of muscle growth, the other more variable, as your hydration level rises and dips.

And looking at all the stats, I see something interesting for this month:

  • My body fat percentage is unchanged, even as my weight increased
  • My muscle mass has improved slightly, by 0.3%
  • Body water is unchanged (with a higher weight, it also counts for less)

In all, it seems I am not losing much fat (almost entirely due to diet), but am also building muscle (due to running), with the net result of weight gain, which is mostly due to positive changes.

It still means I need to change up my diet to lose more fat, because it’s still too high. So in November, no snacking at all, save what I may have left over from this month, then nothing after (I don’t have vast stores of snacks, so I should deplete them in a few days at most). Then we’ll see if I can actually bring that pesky body fat number down.

I remain, as always, donut-free.

Stats:

Weight:

January 1, 2023: 164.2 pounds  
Current: 168.8 pounds
Year to date: Up 4.6 pounds

October 1: 166.2 pounds
October 31: 168.8 pounds (up 2.2 pounds)

Body fat: 

October 1: 24.9% 
October 31: 24.9% (unchanged)

Skeletal muscle mass:

October 1: 29.8% 
October 31: 30.1% (up 0.3%)

Body water:

October 1: 54.8% 
October 31: 54.8% (unchanged)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

September 2023 weight loss report: Up 0.5 pounds

This was a weird month. I started with an uptick in weight, which normally makes it easier to be down for the month.

Normally.

And in fact, I was down for 21 of the 30 days, so the trend was definitely down. Three days ago, I was still down, by 0.4 pounds (my lowest of the month was a week before at 164.8 pounds), then two days ago I jumped 1.2 pounds, meaning I had to lose 0.8 pounds in two days to be down for the month. I lost 0.3 pounds.

:sadtrombone:

On the plus side, part of the gain was actual muscle mass (if my scale is accurate, and for this I choose to believe IT IS 100% ACCURATE ALWAYS)–about 300 grams in the last week (I ran four times). My body fat was also (just barely) down for the month, too, despite being up slightly. You can’t argue with math!

So while this uptick is unfortunate, I actually believe–not fake believe!–that it’s temporary. Thus, I boldly predict:

I will be down in weight for October.

Stats:

Weight:

January 1, 2023: 164.2 pounds 
Current: 167.6 pounds
Year to date: Up 3.4 pounds

September 1: 167.1 pounds
September 30: 167.6 pounds (up 0.5 pounds)

Body fat:

September 1: 24.9%
September 30: 24.8% (down 0.1%) 

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

Caffiend

Yesterday I found myself with a headache of unknown origin. Ruling out things like alien probes and exotic diseases, I was left to ponder more mundane sources and it occurred to me that one thing had changed over the last few days: I had not had any cola to drink. I only drink sugar-free soda, but I do imbibe on a pretty much daily basis. Our supply was low, so I’d switched to flavoured water or (gasp) just plain water.

And then the headache. Because while the soda is sugar-free, it is not caffeine-free. My body was probably reacting to minor caffeine withdrawal in one of the most common ways–a headache.

I’ve had soda since and no more headaches. This is good and bad. Good, because headaches suck. Bad, because I obviously have a caffeine problem. I will take corrective action soon™.

August 2023 weight loss report: Up (or down) 0 pounds

The good news is I didn’t gain weight this month, yay.

The bad news is I also did not lose weight this month, boo.

The weird news is my current weight is an evil 166.6 pounds.

Fun Facts:

  • I was legit down in weight 11 times during the month.
  • If you count from July 31, when I was 167.3 pounds, I actually did lose weight, dropping 0.7 pounds!
  • My body fat edged up, boo.
  • I did not stick to my “no snacking” rule very well, though it wasn’t a complete disaster or anything.
  • I remain donut free.
  • Despite the cost, I’ve thought about returning to Noom. On Noom I was able to get down to 157 pounds before my plan expired, and I chose not to re-sub.
  • On the other hand, I was able to get as low as 146 pounds on my own way back when.
  • On the other other hand, I was also single at the time, and it was easier to keep away temptations, because I was the only one deciding on meals and what food was kept in the house.

My hopeful prediction: September will see an improvement on “no snacking” and actual weight loss. How much weight loss? I’ll be modest and say maybe a pound or so. I’m not looking at some huge breakthrough here, just a slow decline.

Stats:

Weight:

January 1, 2023: 164.2 pounds 
Current: 166.6 pounds
Year to date: Up 2.4 pounds

August 1: 166.6 pounds
August 31: 166.6 pounds (up 0 pounds)

Body fat:

August 1: 24.4%
August 31: 24.8% (up 0.41%) 

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

My weight, a running tally (first week of August 2023)

I started the month at 166.6 pounds, which was not only devilish, but also up from the previous month. Today I weighed in at 168.7 pounds, meaning in just seven days I have gained 2.1 pounds.

For those who think that you can lose weight just through exercise, I’ll add that I also ran three times during those seven days, including twice where the total distance, including walking, came in at over 18 km.

Now, this is entirely my fault. Yesterday, I had two meals with bacon, for crying out loud. I was slothful to the point of being inert through the weekend. Today, I’m actually going outside. Maybe the fresh air will make me magically shed a pound. It’s possible!

Here is a robot attacking a human, because I don’t deserve a kitten today.

July 2023 weight loss report: Up 2.5 pounds

Yes, I know. How did this happen? Was it donuts? I had a few snacky days, but no real set pattern of snacking, so I’m not altogether sure what caused the weight gain (I added 0.4 pounds just today, which makes it look even worse).

I have decided for August that I must go cold turkey on snacking. Which means no snacking at all–not even cold turkey! I may allow myself the occasional banana or apple, nothing else.

The month started strong, with me down to 164.8 pounds, then got even better the second day when I dropped a massive 1.8 pounds to an even 163. I was also sick with the flu.

Once I got healthy, the fat came back, then it was a rollercoaster of up and down for the rest of the month, but trending more up than down and here we are in Fatville at the end of the month, population me.

One bit of good (?) news: My body fat percentage has gone from 24.3 to 23.9 in the past month, so maybe I’m just building lots of muscle! (I’ll ignore the fact that on January 1 it was 23.1%)

In a way, deciding to go snack-free, no exceptions, is liberating. I don’t have to think about it, I just know that if it’s not a part of a meal, I don’t eat it. Done!

We’ll see if this all proves to be a sham on August 31!

Stats:

Weight:

January 1, 2023: 164.2 pounds 
Current: 167.3 pounds
Year to date: Up 3.1 pounds

July 1: 164.8 pounds
July 31: 167.3 pounds (up 2.5 pounds)

Body fat:

July 1: 24%
July 31: 23.9% (down 0.1%) 

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

Bonus social media thoughts: A July 2023 update

I last wrote about social media stuff just a few months ago: Thinking about how I use social media: A sequel of sorts

At the time, I was checking the usual sites irregularly, as I’d switched to a bedtime routine of reading actual books. Since then, irregularly has become rarely. I just haven’t missed Instagram and Facebook, so this has been a kind of unintentional culling.

The reasons for why I haven’t missed them are summed up pretty much in the post linked above: Once I broke the routine of checking in every night, I found the content was just not interesting enough for me to tolerate the endless piles of “reels” and ads. Instead, I have been spending a bit more time on Mastodon, which has no ads (by design) and no algorithm (also by design). I only see what I want to see. I follow people, then unfollow if they don’t make my socks roll up and down. That is my bar now–you must magically animate my socks or off with you.

It’s worked out decently so far.

Part of me does kind of miss posting my photos regularly, but they were only seen by a handful of people anyway, and now I can focus on posting billions of photos to my blog instead! I think in some small way this may have slightly improved my mental health, too (not visiting FB and IG much, not the posting billions of photos to my blog part, though who can say for sure!)

And now kittens:

My watch watches me

Watching over me

Last fall, I got a Garmin Forerunner 255 to better track my running and sleeping vs. the Apple Watch (Series 5) I had previously. Generally, I quite like it. It’s not as “smart” as an Apple Watch, but it’s smart enough for me, and the battery life is insanely better. I charge it when I jump in the shower and never have to think about it otherwise.

This faboo battery life means I use it to track my sleep and while I’ve heard that smartwatches in general are only about 80-85% effective in terms of accuracy when it comes to sleep-tracking, I feel my watch knows me, almost too well.

This morning it told me my sleep suffered due to stress, and I was indeed stressed out last night. If I start stressing out about something in the moment, the watch will jump in and suggest a breathing exercise. If I get super-stressed out (this has only happened once) and my heart rate gets above a certain threshold, my watch blares an alarm at me in warning (which is somewhat ironic), so I can maybe try to calm down a bit.

Anyway, thanks, Garmin watch, for staying vigilant and reminding me to chill the heck out. I promise to do better!

If sleep is for the weak, I am very strong

UPDATE, July 15, 2023: My score finally improved! See below.

Because my sleep has sucked the past week. But I think I know why.

This horribad flu I’ve had has mostly receded now–mostly (today is Day 16). What remains is fluid in the chest. I am still a little phlegmy. But the way it mainly manifests now is the fluid makes certain sleep positions uncomfortable, which makes my sleep poorer.

My Garmin Forerunner 255 seems to translate this as “stress” so it keeps telling me to not stress out before bed, even if I’ve done nothing more than had a hot bath and spent an hour watching kittens.

For fun, here’s how my sleep score has tracked the past week. Note that in Garmin’s rating system, they found only about 5% achieved an Excellent rating.

I can’t precisely say why my score has continued to get worse, though the Monday to Wednesday range is relatively close. Thursday was even worse still because my side of the bed got accidentally adjusted into an upright position around 4 a.m. and brought me fully awake.

Garmin sleep rankings:

90-100: Excellent
80-89: Good
60-79: Fair
0-59: Poor

My sleep scores, starting July 8th:

Saturday: 79
Sunday: 76
Monday: 69
Tuesday: 66
Wednesday: 60
Thursday: 44
(NEW) Friday: 82

Why did Friday see a dramatic reversal? I suspect two things:

  • Late night foot massage with a massage thingie
  • I ran yesterday so was physically tired, not just mentally

Day 12 of you-know-what

Yep. Let’s take inventory:

  • Energy level: Pretty much back to normal
  • Sleep: Back to normal
  • Running: Still not running, but this is more a knee thing
  • Stretching: I’ll resume today. Promise!
  • Coughing: None unless I contort my body in weird ways
  • Sneezing: Nope
  • Runny nose: A little
  • Phlegm: Let me tell you, I am probably producing that same amount of phlegm right now as a hundred people combined. Maybe a thousand. It’s gross. I am grossing myself out writing about it. But it is finally diminishing.

Really, I’m just surprised I find myself thinking, “COVID-19 wasn’t that bad.” Because it really wasn’t.

Here’s one more (tiny, adorable) kitten:

Day 10 of now-probably-not-officially-sick

I woke up fat and unrested. Is unrested a word? Apparently not. I will add it to Nedlish!

Day 10 my remaining symptoms are the same, but milder in all cases. The nose is a bit stuffy, the chest feels a bit congested (though no coughing unless I contort into a cough-friendly position) and the ears are just a touch plugged, depending on which way I turn my head.

Despite feeling better in all regards, I had an allegedly poor sleep last night and also managed to gain 1.2 pounds, like secret night gnomes were directly injecting fat into my body as I (poorly) slept.

In all, I am nonplussed.

Here are more words for Nedlish:

  • unrested
  • lanker
  • plook
  • bitbarren
  • cowtastrophe
  • wentwill