On the scales, on weigh in day I was 200 grams lighter. Interestingly, averaged over the week I was a full 1 kg less. It's the first time that my loss was bigger on average than the single weigh in day result and the gap between the two figures that I track narrowed as a consequence. I'm looking forward to how the results for next week shape up as I build back up to full intensity. Still feeling less that 100%, but, I hope the week will not suffer too much.
I went back to the Dietician this week for a check up so to speak. With regards to my diet and weight loss progress there was not too much to report from the visit as the results so far stand on their own merit. The message that I received was keep steady on the path I have chosen until such time as there is a need to change. Indicators for that are things like, a plateau in weight loss or a distinct lack of energy and the like.
Whilst it is of no great concern at the moment, I have been finding it hard to meet the macronutrient targets that I have been set. Macronutrients are carbohydrates, proteins and fats and I have been given daily intake targets for each in grams based on my goal weight. For example, I am to try and have 1 gram of fat for every kilogram of my goal weight. That means that each day I should try to consume 93 grams of fat in my diet. Believe it or not, when I eat well, I struggle to reach that amount and so I need to eat certain extra foods to get the overall figure up. Vegetable fats are far better for you than animal fats (naughty animal fats...so yummy). So it can be a case of cooking with olive oil or having some peanuts. Even good quality organic peanut butter is good and one of my personal favourites. It's important to be wary that the calories are high, but, in terms of the overall balance, the fat needs to be consumed as part of the broader plan as counterintuitive as it sounds. The right fat intake will actually aid in weight loss as is the case with all of the macronutrients. Balance is the key!
When I say I'm not hitting the targets, with the exception of protein, I am generally under the intake levels that I have been prescribed. I'm not too fussed to this point. So long as things are not too far out of whack and I am not under in protein, which is rarely the case. With enough protein, I should be able to maintain a good level of fat to muscle loss ratio. After all, the main game is to lose that excess fat and hang on to as much and indeed build muscle levels where possible. I don't use supplements. Nor am I trying to be a bodybuilder. I haven't lifted weights in years. I am however, trying to maintain and improve my muscle density and strength through my training in order to maximise my potential in relation to my martial arts.
To that end, the second part of my visit to my Dietician was to start to track my weight loss in terms of body fat levels. To achieve that, I had a skinfold test done. This is where several predetermined points of your body (7 in this case) are tested using calipers to measure the thickness of the subcutaneous (just beneath the skin) layer of fat present. The measurements of each site are taken between two and three times each to allow for any errors and then averaged and added together to give you a final figure. There are a variety of scientific formulas that can be used to calculate body fat percentage depending on which points of the body are measured. However, in the reading I have done on the topic, the variance is too great for me to bother with that and I am going to use them as an absolute value and measure the progress in those terms against a scale given to me by the Dietician. I have found the same scale (pictured below) in various sources when researching the subject more broadly, so I figure it is a pretty good measure to go with.
My measurements totalled 88.5mm. So if I am considered a 'Normal' male I would be in the 'Good' range, which is a pretty pleasing result really all things considered. My Dietician put me in the 'Athletic' category, which I guess is a compliment albeit one that puts me back in the 'Average' range for the purposes of this measurement. Realistically, I am pretty happy either way. It has not been often in my life that I could say that I have been even average in terms of the dimensions or measurements of my body. I would have been well into the 'Poor' range not that long ago. What a difference 3 months can make. I'll take that result every day of the week!
In a couple of months, I will go back to the Dietician to have the measurements taken again. Assuming that I continue to drop weight it will be possible to determine how much of that weight is body fat and what percentage is muscle. From what she told me for every kilogram of body fat that is lost where the skinfolds total is above 80mm you will drop 10mm from your skinfold test result. Where you are under 80mm you will lose only 5mm for the same kilogram of fat. So using this baseline result (rounded to 90mm for the purposes of the exercise), if I lose 4 kilograms of overall weight in the next 2 months and it is all body fat, my skinfolds would sit at 65mm. If there is any muscle loss then that figure will be higher. If it turns out that I am dropping muscle mass, then I will need to look at both my diet and training methods. This will be possible from an educated perspective with the benefit of the skinfold test results.
I love getting my nerd on! Nothing like throwing a bit of science and statistics into the mix of the sweating and huffy puffy work. I'm just lucky that I have spreadsheets and calculators along with the marvels of the Internet. Without those I would be lost as I don't think my maths or my brain generally could keep up...
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