Art and the Art of Body Maintenance

We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and bones.
- Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (1817-1862)

So after the competition I took about two months off with very little exercise and no calorie limitations. I did this both to reward myself for the hard work and also as an experiment as to how long it would take to pack the weight back on. I started working out again when my weight tipped over 200 (I originally thought I could easily maintain a weight less than 195 just through moderating my food intake - seems I need to be better disciplined than that).

As of today, 2013.06.21, I weigh 198 lb and still look and feel moderately fit. I'm working out about 3 times a week - sometimes I get an extra workout in and others only get two days - I'm trying to juggle a lot of balls these days and sometimes they feel like bowling balls. I still have the short term goal of getting down to 195. I'm at the point that I need to get back into heavy weight training - so far I've only been doing the hour to hour-and-a-half of cardio when I go to the gym or walk the neighborhood.

My plan is to introduce my heavy weight lifting routine after 4th of July weekend - I'd also like to hit the 195 weight by then - I keep drifting close to it after workouts so I believe I can get there but I may need to go to the gym daily to get to that level - we'll just have to see how my scheduling works out.

-- John

Weight Loss Competition - Befor and After

So what's been happening this past week, since the end of the competition? To start, I regained 8 pounds on the same day of the final weigh-in. This was mostly water weight as I dried-out to an extreme to win. We also, as a group ate mucho meats at Fogo. I ended up dropping another pound or so over the course of last week - my current "running weight" is around 192-193 pounds. I've also changed my workout - less cardio and have gone back into weight-training mode. I'm going to try to keep the weight under 195 while weight training, upping the cardio when I go over, to maintain a strength-to-weight balance.

I did want finish up the work competition as I haven't done any Before-and-After photos or analysis. I'm breaking this down by participant (some images weren't available, so the focus will be on those that allowed photos on the first and final days). The Starting Position provides context as to how far down on the list each member was at the start, from lightest at the top (so Starting Position 1 is at the top) to heaviest at the bottom

John Eaton (me)

Starting Weight: 235.0
Starting Position: 5
BMI Start: 33.7

End Weight: 187.6
Ending Position: 1
BMI End: 26.9
Total Weight Loss: 47.4
Weight Loss Percentage of Body Weight: 20.17%

Carlos L

Starting Weight: 268.8
Starting Position: 12
BMI Start: 31.9

End Weight: 215.8
Ending Position: 2
BMI End: 25.6
Total Weight Loss: 53.0
Weight Loss Percentage of Body Weight: 19.72%

Kevin Lu

Starting Weight: 178.6
Starting Position: 1
BMI Start: 24.9

End Weight: 152.4
Ending Position: 3
BMI End: 21.3
Total Weight Loss: 26.2
Weight Loss Percentage of Body Weight: 14.67%

Mike J

Starting Weight: 263.2
Starting Position: 11
BMI Start: 32.0

End Weight: 229.0
Ending Position: 4
BMI End: 27.9
Total Weight Loss: 34.2
Weight Loss Percentage of Body Weight: 12.99%

Jeff B

Starting Weight: 282.2
Starting Position: 16
BMI Start: 40.5

End Weight: 246.2
Ending Position: 5
BMI End: 35.3
Total Weight Loss: 36.0
Weight Loss Percentage of Body Weight: 12.76%

Kevin Li

Starting Weight: 236.8
Starting Position: 13
BMI Start: 32.1

End Weight: 209.6
Ending Position: 6
BMI End: 28.4
Total Weight Loss: 27.2
Weight Loss Percentage of Body Weight: 11.49%

Verlin H

Starting Weight: 434.0
Starting Position: 1
BMI Start: 54.2

End Weight: 394.6
Ending Position: 7
BMI End: 49.3
Total Weight Loss: 39.4
Weight Loss Percentage of Body Weight: 9.08%

Stephen M

Starting Weight: 223.8
Starting Position: 16
BMI Start: 33.4

End Weight: 204.2
Ending Position: 8
BMI End: 29.3
Total Weight Loss: 19.6
Weight Loss Percentage of Body Weight: 8.76%

Steven T

Starting Weight: 272.6
Starting Position: 3
BMI Start: 33.2

End Weight: 250.2
Ending Position: 9
BMI End: 30.5
Total Weight Loss: 22.4
Weight Loss Percentage of Body Weight: 8.22%

Alex V

Starting Weight: 209.6
Starting Position: 17
BMI Start: 28.4

End Weight: 196.6
Ending Position: 10
BMI End: 26.7
Total Weight Loss: 13.0
Weight Loss Percentage of Body Weight: 6.20%

Week 8 - 11 Pounds Lost and End of Competition!

Update for Week 8, ending 2013.03.01

OK, so now we're at the end of the competition and based on the last weigh-in there's a fierce battle going on for the win. Carlos L was really peeved at being edged out by me the previous Friday - seems he had gone into an extreme dieting mode (I had heard 400 or so calories per day - note that I don't recommend that anyone else do something like this). When I came in the Monday following last week's weigh-in I had heard that Carlos had lost 4 pounds over the weekend by going to the sauna. I knew that if I wanted to win I would need to ramp things up a bit. I'll talk a bit about my strategy after the team performance statistics.

Name	Weigh In	Age	Height	BMI In	Current BMI	Weigh Out	%	Total Weight Loss
John Eaton (me)	235.0	50	70	33.7	26.9	187.60	20.17%	47.4
Carlos L	268.8	36	77	31.9	25.6	215.80	19.72%	53.0
Kevin Lu	178.6	27	71	24.9	21.3	152.40	14.67%	26.2
Mike J	263.2	37	76	32.0	27.9	229.00	12.99%	34.2
Jeff B	282.2	45	70	40.5	35.3	246.20	12.76%	36.0
Kevin Li	236.8	40	72	32.1	28.4	209.60	11.49%	27.2
Verlin H	434.0	37	75	54.2	49.3	394.60	9.08%	39.4
Stephen M	223.8	56	70	32.1	29.3	204.20	8.76%	19.6
Steven T	272.6		76	33.2	30.5	250.20	8.22%	22.4
Alex V	209.6	32	72	28.4	26.7	196.60	6.20%	13.0
Chris D	224.6	40	70	32.2	30.5	212.60	5.34%	12.0
Shane M	246.4	41	72	33.4	32.3	238.00	3.41%	8.4
Patrick M	237.4	40	73	31.3	30.5	231.40	2.53%	6.0
Stan Y	249.6	45	69	36.9	36.3	245.60	1.60%	4.0
Jeff M	271.2			N/A	N/A	271.20	0.00%	0.0
Mark F	269.6		72	36.6	36.6	269.60	0.00%	0.0
Cary A	258.4			N/A	N/A	258.40	0.00%	0.0
Mark M	243.0		73	32.1	32.1	243.00	0.00%	0.0
Average	255.8	40.5	72.4	34.3	31.7	236.4	9.78%	348.8

So if you've been following along, you may not be surprised that I won but in fact, I thought I had lost all the way up until I got on the scale. My official weigh-in at work was 187.6 (starting weight of 235.0 so a loss of 20.17%). No one is as surprised as me - after Carlos got on the scale and showed a weight of 215.8 I said to him "Well I guess that's it - you've won!" When I got on the scale and the calculation came up 20.17% I was honestly shocked.

At home that morning, my weight came in at 187.6. I knew based on what I had heard the day before (that Carlos had lost 10 lb) that to win I would need to be even lighter, so I left early for work and stopped at the gym. I'm not quite sure what my "at home" weight would have been, but when I dressed for work at the gym that morning I weight 185.0 on the scale there so I input 185.5 as an average and figured that I had successfully hit my latest 185 lb goal weight - yay! for a total loss of 42 lb (226.6 - 185.0).

 My progress via graphs generated from MyFitnessPal:

 

So now a bit about strategy:

When I heard that Carlos had pulled all stops, I had to consider whether I should just throw in the towel or try to go to the extremes that he was going through. I had heard he reduced his intake to 400 calories a day and towards the end going to the sauna and using diuretics to eliminate as much water as possible, and frankly it showed. He looked emaciated and really transparent, like he was sick. I just wasn't willing to go to that length - if you look at the efforts I've made since the beginning, I've used exercise to increase my caloric burn and moderated my caloric intake, never going below about 1200 calories per day - it's my opinion that for someone my age and weight, 1200 is about as low as a person can safely reduce without having some impact on health - just my opinion but even MyFitnessPal produces a warning when it seems you going below that level.

I had already thought that I might need to do some water restriction via a technique I was familiar with from my body building friends. Basically, you increase your water intake about a week before a competition (doubling your normal) and consume salty foods. Then a couple of days before the show you start restricting your water intake (never going below 2 oz of water per hour). You end up "drying out" which highlights your vascularity for a show. I had also thought about doing the sauna but I was never a big fan of them - I don't think I've ever spent more than 10 minutes in one.

So when Carlos started escalating, I committed to the water trick. When I saw the results of his sauna, I started incorporating the sauna into my routine, I had also increased my routine to about 1200 calories of burn a day and stopped the weight training. Three days out I did 1200 calories of burn, ate about 1200 and did 30 minutes of sauna, only consuming a liter of water the entire workout. Two days out I did the same thing but reduced my calories to 800. One day out, again the same thing but did a protein shake for dinner along with a spinach salad, for a total of 943 calories. The morning of the competition I did 1 cup of coffee in the morning and worked out for an hour before going into the sauna for 30 minutes. I consumed about 4 oz of water, total, before the competition at 11:00 AM. I think that morning workout allowed me to win.

After the competition, we went to Fogo de Chao, a Brazillian steak house. I think I ate about 40 oz of meet (my nickname for the place is "death by meat" - it's a really fantastic experience). I also drank a liter of water before leaving for lunch and about 6 glasses during - when we got back to the office I had gained 8 lb! That evening I ate Italian at Ippolito's (eggplant parm with spaghetti, fried calamari with garlic rolls, ending with an Italian creme cake). I didn't bother tracking or weighing in but by Sunday morning I was coming in at 192.6 lb. So today, Sunday, I've reset MyFitnessPal for a goal weight of 190 lb and have started counting again. I think that's a good weight for me to "park" for a while. I'm next going into a muscle building phase again - although this time I'm going to try to keep the weight down and my belly to a size 34.

-- John

My Cardio and Weight Training Process

I've written a bit about my training process and thought I would provide a few more details. Six months prior to the competition I had already begun a muscle building program with the goal of converting as much of the flab on my body to muscle. I weighed about 235 - the heaviest I've weighed, ever. Through the use of muscle training and light cardio, I was able to reduce my weight to 226.6 on the first day of the competition. I had to be talked into competing as I had already decided to undergo a rip-phase via dieting and upping my cardio. I basically wanted to accelerate my weight loss by "leaning out," for a period of a couple of months to counter-balance what I perceived was too much of a focus on strength and not enough on cardiovascular fitness. Regarding the competition, I found it helpful in that it kept me focused on my weight loss goals, so instead of stopping when I reached 205 (my initial goal), I reset the goal as I continued to lose weight. I'm currently, as of this writing, 193 lb and have reset my goal to 185 - not that I'll hit that in the next few days (the competition ends this coming Friday, about 4 days away), but I did want to have a definite goal in mind. I haven't weighed less than 195 since the early 90's, so my current weight is quite an accomplishment for me - even better, I'm now wearing jeans that are size 34 and not experiencing a "muffin top" as I had begun to experience at my starting weight in size 36 jeans. Actually as of today the size 34 jeans are loose - I may be ready for a size 32.

I've previously described both my strength routine and my starting circuit training routine in an early post:
http://strivingforfhealth.blogspot.com/2013/01/my-food-and-nutrition-changes.html

I noticed that I left out something that I think is important that should be stressed - stretching before and after workouts. Even before I get to the gym I start drinking water heavily - I try to do at least two liters of water before leaving work for the guy - this is over a period of 2 hours or so (note that I usually drink 4-5 liters of water while at work so my water intake is 1-2 gallons a day). The idea is to hydrate my tissues before the cardio workout so that I'm replenishing what's being exhausted as sweat. I also continue to drink several liters of water as I work out. When I arrive at the gym I first start stretching my calves, hamstrings and quads, using a variety of stretching forms that I learned while doing martial arts. I then work through the back and then extremities - I do this whether I'm doing a weight routine after the cardio or not as it's good practice and doesn't take an inordinate amount of time - usually 10-15 minutes. Afterward I do very low lunges (no weight) and approach a cardio machine, usually the treadmill. I like to start with the treadmill when I can because I think it allows for the most flexibility in doing intervals. Before leaving the gym I re-stretch everything similar to arriving, only in a more perfunctory manner so it's only for about half the time.

About half way through the competition I changed the nature of my cardio exercises - instead of doing a fairly consistent level with increases to the elevation (on the treadmill) to increase intensity, I've added an interval burst on the 10s and have increased my treadmill routine to an hour. I start at 3.7 (which seems to be about 3.7 mph) with an incline of 7.0. For example, when I've been doing this for 10 minutes, I crank up the speed to at least 6.0 and run for at least a minute. I then turn the speed back down, but increase the speed by 1/10th to 3.8. At the next 10 minute interval I do this again, but instead of increasing the speed I increase the elevation to 8.0 alternating between the two increases until I've finished my time (typically one hour). After cleaning up a bit I then hit the Stairmaster for at least 20 minutes at level 5, then the Stationary Bike for 20 minutes at level 12. I do the previous on full-cardio days and on weight training days, cut back the Treadmill to 30 minutes before doing the stairs and bike. Afterward I do the weight-training circuit but modified - instead of doing 80% of my weight, I'm doing 50% but repping to exhaustion and going immediately to the next machine on the circuit (no longer than 15 seconds to catch my breath if I need to). The idea here is to make the weight training as cardiovascular as possible (I liken it to cross-fit) - the routine goes by quick. I'm not trying to maintain strength at this point so much as to keep as much muscle mass as possible while maintaining a Catabolic state. I added the bike to start training for a ride (I mentioned this last week).

The second change I've made is to change the frequency of weight training. Previously I alternated weights with full-cardio days and in the beginning I would take Saturday off (I might do a neighborhood walk or hike to get some cardio in but was basically allowing my muscles a rest day - something I think is important - so the tissues can catch up and recover from the constant break-down). About two weeks ago I changed my routine to two-days of full-cardio to one day of weights/cardio and have skipped taking a day off. Now on the weekend instead of taking a day off from the gym, I've been going and then doing an additional cardio activity in the afternoons - this past weekend I went on a 30 minute bike ride (getting used to riding and also the new pedal/shoe setup I've recently gone to). Finally, this last week I'd doing full-cardio every day and working in some cross-fit exercises (calisthenics) to ramp up the intensity.

-- John

Week 7 - 5.6 Pounds Lost

Update for Week 7, ending 2013.02.22

Now that we're leading up to the final week things are getting a bit more interesting.  In week 7, my official weigh-in at work is 198.6 lb (starting weight of 235.0 so a loss of 15.59% - I'm the first to break the 15% weight loss milestone). As a group we've collectively lost over 300 pounds - quite a lot .

Name	Weigh In	One Pound	Age	Height	BMI In	Current BMI	22-Feb	%
John Eaton (me)	235.0	0.43%	50	70	33.7	28.5	198.6	15.49%
Carlos L	268.8	0.37%	36	77	31.9	27.2	229.0	14.81%
Kevin Lu	178.6	0.56%	27	71	24.9	21.8	156.2	12.54%
Mike J	263.2	0.38%	37	76	32.0	28.3	232.2	11.78%
Jeff B	282.2	0.35%	45	70	40.5	36.0	251.0	11.06%
Kevin Li	236.8	0.42%	40	72	32.1	28.6	211.2	10.81%
Verlin H	434.0	0.23%	37	75	54.2	49.3	394.6	9.08%
Stephen M	223.8	0.45%	56	70	32.1	29.6	206.4	7.77%
Steven T	272.6	0.37%		76	33.2	30.8	252.8	7.26%
Alex V	209.6	0.48%	32	72	28.4	26.6	196.0	6.49%
Chris D	224.6	0.45%	40	70	32.2	30.5	212.6	5.34%
Shane M	246.4	0.41%	41	72	33.4	32.3	238.0	3.41%
Patrick M	237.4	0.42%	40	73	31.3	30.5	231.4	2.53%
Stan Y	249.6	0.40%	45	69	36.9	36.3	245.6	1.60%
Jeff M	271.2	0.37%			N/A	N/A	271.2	0.00%
Mark F	269.6	0.37%		72	36.6	36.6	269.6	0.00%
Cary A	258.4	0.39%			N/A	N/A	258.4	0.00%
Mark M	243.0	0.41%		73	32.1	32.1	243.0	0.00%

Carlos is still creeping up towards my percentage (well, I guess they all are for that matter).

At home, my weight comes in on Friday at 194.8 lb for a total loss of 31.8 lb (226.6-194.8). I ended up hitting my 195 lb target and set a new target of 185 lb which I won't hit by next Friday, but it should end up with me somewhere on either side of 190 or so. The next couple of days will determine where I end up by the end of the competition.

My progress via graphs generated from MyFitnessPal:

The increase in my workout intensities seems to be working - I dropped quite a bit more than I expected and dropped another full pound today (Saturday) that's reflected on the graph. I'm still consuming around 1200 or so calories (even though the graphs make it look like I'm eating half of that, it's due to the reset of my goals for the third time). No adverse effects (nausea, light-headed-ness, etc). I've also increased my consumption of vitamin and mineral supplements to twice a day on the multi-vitamin.

-- John