bergusson
Overview of Week 2
Right, week 2 done and in the bag, let’s see how light and tiny I’ve become.. Woah.. Wait whuh?? Where’s that parachute!? Bail bail bail this isn’t working… aaarrgh I’ve put so much energy in and this is my reward? I was lighter last week?
STOP!!
I guess that’s how a lot of people feel, especially when trying to lose weight for the first time in a while. Our bodies, quite rudely, I’d say, simply don’t work like that. It’s only very fortunate people (curse you all) that will see a steady linear weight loss week after week. The fact that the scales aren’t showing big numbers (or maybe even small numbers) masks what’s really going on behind the scenes.
The Numbers Game
Weight
So what is going on? Lets look at the numbers again. I started week 2 at 78.9kg and ended week 2 at 79.3kg (well on Sunday cos I couldn’t weigh myself at a hotel) a Gain of 0.4 kg. I could easily be forgiven at looking at this and thinking “oh no its not working and at this rate I am either going to get bigger or just be stuck”.
Step count
And a couple of other things jump out at me (which help me analyse what has really gone on). My step count for the week was down, about 10000 steps, not great but… not enough by a long way on its own to make a significant difference. (to take this train of thought further 10000 steps , for me, equates to roughly 600 calories. My exercise calories (calculated by my apple watch and includes a portion of my step count) were also down roughly 1000 due to LL having to be at work and me having to walk the honey badger during the time I’d normally nip to the gym. So, I missed a full days training in week 2. That roughly 1500 calories less effort than week 1.
Food intake
Moving on to my food intake. Im week 1 I was under my weekly target by just over 2000 calories and in week 2, I was 84 calories over. Now if we add that to the exercise shortfall we are lookingát almost exactly (classic oxymoron) 3500 calories, 3500 calories coincidentally is a 1lb of body fat. So that explains it..
But wait! Over that period I still have had an overall calorie deficit of almost 7000 calories so I should still have lost round about 2lb (1kg).
Explain That to me then?
Why is that therefore not showing on the scales? I think this can be explained with a couple of reasons.
Muscle gain
One) It’s conceivable that I’ve put on a little bit of muscle. I’m still fairly new to being back at the gym and there’s phenomenon we call “newbie gains”. For the first month or so (i need to look that up before you quote that exact time span!) you will gain muscle at a faster rate. Over time “newbie gains” will tail off (so enjoy it while you can!). i do think though, that even then its highly unlikely that makes up too much of the difference in terms of fat lost/muscle gain
Water weight
Two) Water weight. This is a big ticket item. As we eat carbs, the energy or fuel source it creates GLYCOGEN gets stored in the muscles and in our liver. In order to facilitate that process the glycogen requires water molecules to attach to it (at a rate of roughly 4 to 1) so you’re going to find that for each gram of carbs getting converted to glycogen the body is going to support that with 4 grams of water… the cheeky bugger.
When we go out or eat take out and make less sensible food choices it is likely that you are going to be taking in an excess of carbs and therefore an excess of water… NOT FAT. Equally an increased level of salt in your system (likely due to those same take outs or restaurant choices) is going affect the balance of water in your body and it can take several days to address this imbalance.
Now were getting somewhere!
Body adaptations
Three) My body is making lots of internal adjustments to account for my change in diet and then suddenly hitting it with good old stuff is going to send it in a mini spin. Bottom line is a pretty decent night out (which I had with LL on Friday for our anniversary )has triggered all the above mechanisms leaving me recording what could seem like a disappointing weight loss when you’re trying to convince other people how easy it is!
Summary of week 2
The reality is, all is going well. At some point in the next few days, I’ll likely get a mini boost in my loss. This happens as my body rebalances and loses the excess water stored. Unless of course I make poorer choices! What else is giving me confidence that all is well?
Waist reduction
Well apart from the basic maths that says I’m doing well there’s another cheeky number which gives me hope. My waist measurement. Again not super accurate but there was a 5cm drop in my waist circumference. Even with a bit of inaccuracy in measuring that’s significant.
Progress pic assessment
I cant show it in a simple photo but the fuzzy bits particularly around my abdomen (tummy) feel less solid, another good sign. Finally there’s the progress pics. Whilst not breathtakingly different, I can see the beginning of a few shadows. All of which hints at the start of some definition beginning to creep through.
It’s my bet that by the end of week 3 I will be in the 77’s (kg) or very low 78kgs, and if not still no time to panic I would still expect to see a bit of extra recovery during week 4.
To sign off
As a final note, I would say my hunger is still fairly low. No real periods where I’m noticing anything at all. I would expect this to creep in for me during next week based on my previous experience. Now when I say hunger don’t fret little ones I’m not talking of a mad wild eyed ravenous state. But in a calorie deficit your body is going to try to convince you to eat more. It wants to get back to what it thinks is a sensible norm. You will feel some hunger at times. This is where cleverly timed snackage and meals might help and drink loads of water!!! Tummies are stupid and they think you’re feeding them the fools!
Ooh, final, final note. I’m’ getting up a lot earlier which is fantastic, I’ve always struggled getting out of bed when I’m not being sensible with my choices. To the extent that even working from home I can nearly sleep in (and my boss just isn’t buying the terrible traffic/weather excuses anymore). Sleep is a big issue for me and I’m getting to bed earlier sleeping more and still getting up earlier (more steps whoop) an absolute win for me.
So for anyone reading and following along with me keep going you are doing great, ignore the numbers you don’t like and celebrate ones you do like. As long as you stick to your plan it IS working!
How did my body change over week 2
The big three
So downward measurements across the board. As I’ve said the most significant being waist for me as I have not on paper “lost weight”. I expect my chest and hips to level out before my waist as that’s where I tend to carry excess. Nothing can be done about that we can’t target fat loss in specific areas, only build muscle to perk up those fuzzier elements. Stripping away the excess all over is the only way to guarantee a look at a specific area im afraid 🙁
Those are wise words actually ill probably do a post about that!
Arms and legs
Wont be posting/measuring these for another couple of weeks as I’m cutting not bulking I don’t expect to see huge changes maybe in my legs as they have some excess around the knees but not enough to be interesting..