Sunday, November 12, 2006
Lose weight with TigerHawk: an update
Since we began the "lose weight with TigerHawk" campaign, I have dropped my pre-dinner weight to 207.5, down from 211 at the same time on October 30 and down from 208.5 just before the long ten days of traveling and business entertainment (during which I hoped only to stay even). This has been accomplished with no difficult or gimmicky dieting, just some slight restraint in the food I slam down my throat, plus a tad more exercise. I'm sure the going will get tougher as I approach my target.
Goal: 190 pounds by March 31.
8 Comments:
By 
, at
Mon Nov 13, 06:28:00 AM:
Beware the slimmers dilema.
When you restrict calories your body is indescriminate where the calories come from, - stored fat, or muscle. Net result - you lose both.
If you let lose after getting to target, and put weight back on, absent proper exercise, you put on fat.
Ergo, every time you lose and gain, absent proper exercise, your body quality goes down the pan.
Your heart is a muscle, and there are many involuntary muscles working without your knowledge.
Best of luck, buddy.
By 
TigerHawk, at
Mon Nov 13, 06:51:00 AM:
Yeah, I know that. Historically, I have exercised a fair amount -- several times a week at either weights or running. The trick has been to work that into my schedule, along with work, family and blogging!
By Cardinalpark, at
Mon Nov 13, 09:23:00 AM:
TH - also, get yourself a heartrate monitor. When you do you cardio, I am guessing your zone II (fat burn) will be roughly between 125 - 140 bpm. Try to do 150 minutes per week of exercise in that zone.
Works like a charm. Lots of fruit and veggies. Avoid "white" carbs.
:)
By , at
Mon Nov 13, 09:55:00 AM:
I'll join the fun... had been at 220 a couple of months ago. Went down to 195 (gotta love stress and emotional turmoil) but am slowly creeping back up. I was at 198 this morning.
I'm aiming to get down to 175 over the next few months. As TH posts updates, I'll do the same :-)
By , at
Mon Nov 13, 12:37:00 PM:
Personally I'm waiting for the TigerHawk: Sweatin' with the Oldies vlog to come out.
Yummy!
By , at
Mon Nov 13, 06:02:00 PM:
Heart rate monitors really are an indispensible exercise tool these days. The days when they were only for upper echelon endurance athletes are long gone.
I would very much caution against, however, following that whole "fat burning zone" philosophy. While it is true that the body tends to use fat as its energy source in that exertion range, the relevant weight loss picture is much more complicated. The reason your body uses fat in this zone is because fat burning is not as effective as burning glycogen, which in turn is not as effective as anaerobic respiration. So you're only using fat in the fat burning zone because you're exercising mildly, and, of course, mild exercise does not burn calories nearly as quickly as intense exercise. Since calories are the currency of weight loss, the bigger your calorie deficit (calories burned - calories ingested), the faster you will lose weight. More intense exercise, even if it is well outside the fat burning zone, will cause you to lose weight faster.
In fact, you made a post about this some time back. You cited a news article about a study that had found that people who exercised intensely for like 20 minutes a day lost more weight than people who exercised in the fat burning zone for much longer. The moral of the story is that interval training is where it's at for weight loss and fitness gain. You should be in the fat burning zone on your recovery days, but for reasons completely unrelated to fat loss.
By Steve Burri, at
Mon Nov 13, 07:10:00 PM:
Good luck, TH. Like everyone else, I have a couple of observations and encouragments.
You are at a disadvantage since Iowa is totally dedicated to fattening hogs, er... is it hawks? (I'm a Badger fan, sorry!) Princeton encourages its Tigers to grow fat on carrion.
Be inspired and remember, however, that Lard-assed Hawks and Crisco-butted Tigers will soon end up in zoos! (Disregard if you are running for Congress.)
By , at
Tue Nov 14, 10:10:00 PM:
Beats one of those crazy diets where you have nothing but one puny lettuce leaf
