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Data Driven Weight Loss: Losing 66 pounds and gaining a six pack in 8 months

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Re: Data Driven Weight Loss: Losing 66 pounds and gaining a six pack in 8 months

#51

Post by vikiomega9 »

cheald wrote: post #40
vikiomega9 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

+1 on having a lifting routine. Cardio by itself doesn't seem too sustainable as compared to watching what you eat and building muscle.

Cardio works for some people, but I think a lot of people go run for 20 minutes and then decide they've earned a Big Mac with Behemoth Fries. Data has completely freed me of that delusion - I've learned that I'm not willing to do enough cardio to outrun my diet. I'd rather just not have cheese on my salad than have to go hate the world for an hour on the treadmill. There are the people who run 10 miles on a daily bas…

I completely agree with the first paragraph. I should have made that clear in my comment :)

Re: Data Driven Weight Loss: Losing 66 pounds and gaining a six pack in 8 months

#52

Post by elorm »

forgotmysn wrote: post #35
vamerock wrote: post #31

Don't let the fact that he was 24 deter you. Over at r/bodyweightfitness, there are hundreds of people who started above 45 and are in better shapes than 20 year olds. Obesity is now a taboo topic in tech because you might unfortunately step on the toes of a few sensitive people and be labelled a fat shamer. This is not the case.Obesity in tech is a disease on it's own and it needs to be fought with a sharp edged pit…

a 6-8 month break from work? Who can afford that?

If your health is really important to you, you'll take a 3 year break(Not realistic, I know) if you have to. I know people who quit jobs so they can focus on weight loss. Moved to cheap areas/countries and made their weight a priority. I'll rather go broke a few months than spend the rest of my life with mounting medical bills that pile up as a result of my weight.

Re: Data Driven Weight Loss: Losing 66 pounds and gaining a six pack in 8 months

#53

Post by cheald »

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #41

You call this "data driven"? Look at his explanation of the supplements he takes: >Grenade Thermo Detonator: A scary name, but essentially a dosage of caffeine from concentrated green tea extract that's meant to be a fat-burner/pre-workout pill. It gives you some energy to focus, and suppresses your appetite. It is not very different from simply taking a packet of coffee. I used these for the first 4 months. >Multivi…

The protein numbers are rather incorrect, too. Research supports 0.82g/lb (https://bayesianbodybuilding.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-pr...) - though you're not going to hurt anything if you're getting more than that (unless you start taking in several multiples of that quantity - then renal failure can become a concern).

Protein tends to be more expensive on a per-calorie basis than other macronutrients, though, so it can be advantageous to not overconsume it relative to fat/carbs, presuming you're getting enough to optimally support muscle synthesis.

Re: Data Driven Weight Loss: Losing 66 pounds and gaining a six pack in 8 months

#54

Post by sidlls »

vamerock wrote: post #31

Don't let the fact that he was 24 deter you. Over at r/bodyweightfitness, there are hundreds of people who started above 45 and are in better shapes than 20 year olds. Obesity is now a taboo topic in tech because you might unfortunately step on the toes of a few sensitive people and be labelled a fat shamer. This is not the case.Obesity in tech is a disease on it's own and it needs to be fought with a sharp edged pit…

Some obesity is a disease, and some (perhaps much) in the western world is brought on by the combination of available foods and the lifestyle driven by our culture as it relates to compensation and work "ethic." Quality, healthy nutrition is hard to come by in America, either because it's scarce in an area or else the basic mechanics of putting together healthy things isn't really taught or socialized.

The whole concept of "fat shaming" is outrageous. It is quite hurtful and, if the object is to motivate change, unhelpful anyway. On the other hand, the concept of "fat but fit" is also not helpful. Being fat isn't healthy, period. As one gets fatter one gets even less healthy and it also starts to impact hygiene (which itself negatively impacts health).

Re: Data Driven Weight Loss: Losing 66 pounds and gaining a six pack in 8 months

#55

Post by m00x »

JamesBarney wrote: post #50
vamerock wrote: post #31

Don't let the fact that he was 24 deter you. Over at r/bodyweightfitness, there are hundreds of people who started above 45 and are in better shapes than 20 year olds. Obesity is now a taboo topic in tech because you might unfortunately step on the toes of a few sensitive people and be labelled a fat shamer. This is not the case.Obesity in tech is a disease on it's own and it needs to be fought with a sharp edged pit…

"Sustainable weight loss is achievable by everyone, whether you're 40 or 50 years or 400 pounds or 600 pounds." While I applaud those individuals that have kept off weight long term, the science disagrees that is an achievable goal for everyone.(only about 5% of people who successfully lose large amounts of weight will keep it off long term) For example here is what happened to the contestants on the biggest loser. h…

Do you have any sources for the 5%?

More often than not, the cause of the weight gain is because they fall back to bad eating habits. If you can lose it, you can keep it off. Changing to long-term good habits is extremely difficult though.

Re: Data Driven Weight Loss: Losing 66 pounds and gaining a six pack in 8 months

#56

Post by corpMaverick »

vamerock wrote: post #31

Don't let the fact that he was 24 deter you. Over at r/bodyweightfitness, there are hundreds of people who started above 45 and are in better shapes than 20 year olds. Obesity is now a taboo topic in tech because you might unfortunately step on the toes of a few sensitive people and be labelled a fat shamer. This is not the case.Obesity in tech is a disease on it's own and it needs to be fought with a sharp edged pit…

I discovered /r/bwf six months ago. I love it. Doing the recommended routine (RR). I am 49 and 1.72m; Went from 75kg to 76kg. Which means that I lost some fat and gained some muscle. It is very entertaining to figure out what is the next progression. I look better but not great. But I feel great.

Re: Data Driven Weight Loss: Losing 66 pounds and gaining a six pack in 8 months

#57

Post by mootothemax »

cheald wrote: post #46
mootothemax wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Data-based exercise rocks. I never knew I'd enjoy the rowing machine quite so much until I got into the stats side of thing. It helps that the major manufacturer has a beyond awesome online logbook for analysing and comparing with other real people, plus challenges and so on. If you're looking at creating an exercise app or community, take a look at what Concept2 do, it's lean yet pretty much well perfect.

I'm not at all aware of Concept2 - I'll have to take a look at it. I know there's been something of a revolution lately in resistance rowing and biking tech (some of my friends are SUPER into the Twitch subculture with people who do these competitive resistance bike ride video games), but I'm not really too aware of most of it. I'm generally happy just picking up heavy-ass things. :)

Hah, I'd no idea about this revolution, I'll also have to take a look! While rowing's tedious, I find it much less so than eg treadmill, and calories per hour makes it pretty efficient.

Funnily enough though, concept2 have just released an entirely new machine, the BikeErg, which as the name implies, is a mix of bike and rowing machine.

Only downside of rowing is that there are a ridiculous number of ways to do it wrong and seriously ruin parts of your body. Nowadays you can do well with YouTube and a mirror / reflective window or iPhone-with-advance-permission in the gym.

Re: Data Driven Weight Loss: Losing 66 pounds and gaining a six pack in 8 months

#58

Post by m00x »

dimgl wrote: post #34
vamerock wrote: post #31

Don't let the fact that he was 24 deter you. Over at r/bodyweightfitness, there are hundreds of people who started above 45 and are in better shapes than 20 year olds. Obesity is now a taboo topic in tech because you might unfortunately step on the toes of a few sensitive people and be labelled a fat shamer. This is not the case.Obesity in tech is a disease on it's own and it needs to be fought with a sharp edged pit…

Not everyone can afford to take a 6-8 month break......

I lost 40lbs in 12 months while working. I did a bodyweight routine at home 4x a week for 30 minutes and calculated calories in and out. 4 months in, I eyeballed everything.

I was a pretty experienced athlete in high school/college, so I knew the basics well and knew if I worked at it I'd lose it, so that helped a lot, but I didn't do anything magic.

Re: Data Driven Weight Loss: Losing 66 pounds and gaining a six pack in 8 months

#59

Post by unit91 »

greenshackle2 wrote: post #38
tobltobs wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The upper part of the door in the background doesn't fit to the lower part. Addendum: I was wrong with my accusation.

I don't see it.

Look at the first image (beforeafter.jpg), photo on the right (Dec 2016). The corner of the door is over his right shoulder. If you go straight down, it should come out behind him somewhere around the break between his first and second fingers. But it doesn't. The door sticks out below his 3rd finger. If you look below that, the break in the carpet doesn't line up either.

He probably photoshopped his abdomen to make himself appear skinnier, which is a shame. He's made incredible progress, and dishonesty only detracts from the hard work he's obviously put in.

Re: Data Driven Weight Loss: Losing 66 pounds and gaining a six pack in 8 months

#60

Post by subcosmos »

manmal wrote: post #49
subcosmos wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi. Neuroendocrinologist here. Body fat is regulated by specialized circuits in the hypothalamus. We now know that inflammation of these central nuclei is a key feature of weight gain in both animals and humans. There are two sets of neurons: those that promote feeding and slow metabolic rate, and those that suppress feeding and increase metabolic rate. The former class of neurons is GABAergic (inhibitory in neurosci…

Thanks for the clarification! Do you think rapid weight loss could lead to HPA axis dysfunction as a result, i.e. lowered corticosteroid output (what some call adrenal fatigue, but is actually regulated by the hypothalamus)?

I don't focus on the whole HPA axis much, and in general the "adrenal fatigue" phrase doesn't have a great reputation among most of my colleagues. I hesitate to write it all off though.

From my diabetes work, its clear that corticosteroids definitely have a strong role in the development of metabolic syndrome, but I'm not sure about its ties to hypothalamic functioning. In the hypothalamus, the effects can be a lot more direct. Eventually its decision-making feed into the sympathetic/parasympathetic nervous systems which directly regulate metabolism and fat release in peripheral tissues. IE, your fat and muscle cells take direct neural firings from the autonomic nervous system as marching orders of whether or not its time to store energy or burn it.

So if the central neurons in the hypothalamus adjust to promote a higher setpoint body weight, that central point in control will direct weight gain via many downstream factors, some of which may be hormonal. Right now a central focus in research is figuring out why the hell the hypothalamus is driving the setpoint higher and higher. It seems like inflammation there might be a strong culprit.

Hopefully someday we will figure out what about our mass produced consumables are gumming up the works there.

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