Remarkable

[sham]

Keep it up!

[Emre Yigit]

185 pounds, down 31 (!). Now in pre-maintenance, slowly beginning to feel my way through.

My last week was pretty much spent on the road, trying hard to keep to the diet. Fortunately, I was in the later stages of OWL, so it wasn't too difficult, and I still managed to lose weight.

And since part of the trip was in Paris, I congratulate myself on my willpower. The smell of freshly baked pastries as you emerge from the Metro in the morning.... Ah!

In short everything proceeding OK. Down to 1 pound per week, which is bloody brilliant from many angles.

Incidentally, I looked up my body mass index and my body fat percentage online. In the past 56 days, my BMI has declined from 28.5 (Overweight) to 24.4 (Normal). That is to be expected. What surprised me was the result in the body fat calculator, where I used one of the measures I found at:

Body Fat Calculator.

According to this admittedly imprecise tool, when I started, I had 153lbs of lean body mass, and 63 (!!) lbs of fat. My BF% was 29%! Now, I am at 151lbs of lean body mass and 34lbs of fat, with a BF% of 18%!


Wow. I guess Atkins + exercise really does work.

[cafe_et_creme]

Hello

Ive just been reading your post's and think you have done amazingly well! you have followed the plan and got results. You have really inspired me with my own weight loss journey, i would love to see some photos of your progress. Did you take measurements when you first started?

[Emre Yigit]

Thanks for the kind comments.

The only measurement I took other than my weight was my waist. That was 43" when I started and is now down to 35.5". If I continue all the way down to 176 pounds then I'm guessing I'll be 33" by the time I finish. But I have noticed that I have lost fat everywhere, including upper legs and buttocks. I wish I had taken before and after pictures, but I didn't. I do know that I'm having to have all my suits etc re-sized!

At this stage in the game, especially as I'm eating most foods, it's really the combination of the diet PLUS the exercise that is trimming my weight.

And, frankly, I think genetics is helping me too.

Good luck on your own journey. If you keep to the plan, you will lose all the unwanted weight.

[chinadoll]

Wow. That's incredible. Good for you!

[Emre Yigit]

182 pounds, down 34.

Last week I lost 3 pounds. I have no idea how this happened. It is true that in pre-maintenance, I have begun to stall some days, but this week one day I lost just over 1.5 pounds. All I did that day was delay having lunch until 5pm because there was a massive amount of work that needed to be done before an early-afternoon deadline. I ate the same stuff I am normally doing, and ate dinner at around 9pm, but despite the calorie intake, I lost massively. I guess that intense work concentration also burns calories, just like exercise!

Otherwise, ho-hum. Am getting a bit bored. Plus, I am now just 1 pound away from my second goal. As the end approaches, I must admit that my motivation is flagging. Especially as I am no longer overweight.

(My original goal, set when I was 216 pounds, was to come down to 198. After the third day on the diet, I revised that to 181 pounds. A couple of weeks ago, I revised that to 176 pounds.

My 176-pound new target was set by trawling various internet sites to see what my "ideal" weight would be.)

With so much less fat to burn, and since I am now probably out of ketosis (and getting 2000 calories a day), the weight loss should slow down. But I guess the exercise really does help. Dr Atkins was right when he said that exercise was not an option but a requirement in this diet.

[Emre Yigit]

179 pounds, down 37.

The usual: swimming, walking, weight lifting. On holiday this week, so we shall see.

Best to all.

[imagood1]

You are doing wonderfully!!!! Keep up the great work.

[Emre Yigit]

Well, it's done. There are no "before and after" pictures, but the following should be enough.

Waist size: 43" (109cm) > 34.5" (88cm)
Weight: 215.6 pounds (97.8kg) > 176.2 pounds (79.9kg)
Body fat: c.63 pounds > c.27 pounds
Body lean mass: c.153 pounds > c.149 pounds
Body fat ratio: c.29% > c.15%
BMI: 28.5 > 23.2


My plans for the next three months are:

to maintain my weight at 175-177 pounds
to reduce my body fat by 4 pounds (generally around my waist)
to increase my muscle mass by 4 pounds (generally in my upper body)
(and hence reduce the body fat ratio to c.13%).

Thank you all so much for being so inspirational.
Above all, though, thank you to Donna - you know who you are - for getting me started on this program in the first place. I shan't be posting every week like I used to - unless there's a good reason - but I promise to write in every month at the least to give an update of how it's going. Now, if only I could find some information in the exercise forums about how to maintain some glycogen in my muscles without tipping over into fat...

[cafe_et_creme]

Congrats! you have done so well, i found your journey to be very inspirational. Just goes to prove, if you stick to plan 100%, you will get results!
Thanks for sharing your journey.