My Monthly Fatloss Report July 2018.....

Today's post:  Monday, 7-23-2018

 Here's the key news:

     Short term results worse despite possible long term gains.

Fat Loss Report, measured on Saturday, 7-21-2018

Gained 2.0 pounds to 170.6 from 168.6 pounds last month.

That was in addition to the 3.1 to pounds from 165.5 from May.  That was up from 163.3 in April.

This was an up and down month:

By weeks:

Up .6;

down 1.0;

& down 1.8;

Then, up 3.6! = net up 2.0 lb  168.6 to 170.6.

My chest measured 38 & three quarters -- the same as last month.  This is almost two inches bigger than several months ago when I was 37 & a half inches.

(That two inches is very likely is from muscle growth from my progress in pushups in the style that uses my pectoral muscles better than standard pushups.)

This morning, I did 182 and 45 more after a brief rest for a total of 227!

My waist measurement went up another half inch since last month to about 42.25 inches. I want it to be 34 instead of a bit over 42! This looks like fat gain this time.

My hips measured about 39 and one quarter.   So I’ve kept the muscle I gained and this time added some more fat.

Analysis & changes needed:

1.  When I am able to do barbell strength training with a good bit heavier weights and add more muscle to the rest of me, this may finally begin to reduce my waist.

These results clearly indicate that besides the VIBE that I report on next, I need to prioritize doing this at least once a month for upper body and once a month for legs.

 I got the vibe since last time; and it may yet produce many of the long term changes I want.

        It's much noisier and much harder to use than I expected!

a) After I do the two things that make it much easier to deploy and quieter I will be able to use it more days a week.

I used it Saturday, 7-14 & Sunday, 7-15 and Sunday 7-22, yesterday. 

Without the changes that make it easier to deploy, and those that make it quieter for my wife and our neighbors, doing it after work on weekday evenings was not something I wanted to do.  

Also it was very hot the last few weeks; and I may have needed extra rest to NOT get the flu like illness my wife had. I felt unusually hot and tired,

b) My expectation was that I'd have to use less weight on strength training exercises done on the VIBE because my muscles would work harder but I'd find it easier to balance on.

The VIBE is totally different than that expectation!

It's so incredibly hard to balance on, at first I've had to use tiny weights and found it very hard to do the exercises correctly without falling off!

c)  Oh well, maybe continued use will make my ability to balance improve when I'm NOT on it!

d)  I do think that by doing a little better on the exercise form and number of repetitions each week for a few weeks, I will then be able to gradually get to using the weights I expected and while using the correct form.

e)  Working out on the VIBE does not seem to make my muscles contract harder.  But if I contract them hard, the VIBE may make that build muscle better. The balance problems initially reduced my focus on that.  But eventually I plan to do it just after EVERY exercise.

f)  Because it helps my balance and insulates my head from the vibrations,

I have to bend my knees almost ALL the time I'm on the VIBE. 

Once I can use it most days a week, THAT will gradually build muscle in my butt and legs I think. It will also burn calories each time I use it that I have not been burning before.

g) My son in law, who studied vibration treatments as part of his studies to become a licensed physical therapist, also tells me that doing this will make my stronger leg muscles more flexible at the same time! 

I got a mild hamstring pull recently from trying to start running fast very quickly.  If he is correct, that will no longer happen!

h)  He says using the VIBE also WILL remove excess fluid from my legs and belly once I get to daily use! 

If that does happen, the added muscle may not show on the scale since there will be less water weight.  BUT my waist will measure less and my thighs will look much more muscular. 

If using the VIBE does remove an inch or two from my belly from fluid removal –

-- and an inch or two from adding muscle –

-- and an inch or two from increased calorie burning and metabolism boost,

I may at last have the waist reductions I want!

(My legs are already hard and muscular under a bit of fat now.  If I can add a bit more muscle and remove over half that fat, they will look a LOT more muscular.)

i)  My calf muscles have less fat on them; and I was already beginning to make them more muscular when I injured something that removed nearly half the strength of my left calf. 

I have regained some of the strength in my left calf; but the limiting factors seem no better. 

Bulletproof says using the VIBE speeds healing. If it does in the two ways that might be causing the problem with my left calf, I’ll be able to add more muscle on my right calf and a LOT more muscle on my left calf.

The problem is either too little blood flow to my left calf or a small cracked bone or two in my left foot.  So, if using the VIBE almost every day for my calves restores that, I’ll add muscle and spring in my walking step AND I’ll feel very pleased and successful!

AND, because I can put my weight on my other leg that is on the floor I already found that I can exercise each calf that IS on the VIBE quite well.

So the potential is clearly there to add muscle to my butt, thighs, and calves and remove the fat layer over them by using the VIBE.

Clearly if this does happen, my waist will shrink at least one to three inches.

j) Posture improvement.

Besides the muscle I lost since I was a young man doing powerlifting and gained the belly fat I have, a few years ago I found that the round shouldered look I get when I look down to read a book or newspaper had frozen in place –

-- and without the use of some force to partly reduce it or standing or sitting as tall as I can – or both, my chest looks less muscular than it is and I’m shorter and look round-shouldered.

I’ve found an effective exercise to fight this finally.  Once I use the VIBE most days I understand it will enable me to make progress using this exercise on the VIBE and just after I get off it. (Using the VIBE temporarily loosens the spine and your joints.)

The other consideration is that when I stand tall, my belly looks even bigger and sticks out in front more.

So to look close to as good as I did when younger, I need to straighten my spine a good bit and lose even more fat from my belly.

My report on using the VIBE to do these things is a month delayed from what I expected; but by next month or the month after, I may have some progress to report.

2. Food changes this month and recently:

a) The two weeks I lost 1.0 & 1.8 pounds, I traded using yogurt in three dishes each week for enough Kerrygold Dubliner cheddar cheese to replace the protein and enough apple cider vinegar to replace the fluid.  That removed the carbs in the yogurt and likely the calorie in those carbs too!

AND during the week I lost 1.8 pounds, I did an almost 12 hour fast from about 6:30 am to 6:30 pm the Monday of that week.  The bad news is that it removed the nutrition and fiber the cabbage and kiwifruit I skipped contained. The good news is that it removed their carbs and calories too!  (I took 3 extra bilberry extract capsules for some of the fruit nutrients I gave up.)

b) Since April 28 I've gained almost 5 pounds with most of it going to my belly fat. And the two pounds from May to June and the two more pounds from June to this measurement in July is likely from three things I added:

*Instead of taking time from my getting ready to go in the morning schedule to make coffee, I began making it the night before and adding a few ounces of whole milk to make a cold coffee drink I can drink when I first walk into the kitchen.   I like it and the protein and growth factors it gives me for my exercises later in the morning. But until I add more muscle the calories and carbs in it, may be feeding my belly fat instead.

I did switch from coconut oil to Brain Octane for one or two teaspoons of oil in this to reduce the effective carbs that much coconut oil or milk would have.

**Due to the heat and some extra hassles to overcome from the VIBE, instead of drinking 4.5 to 6.0 drinks of red wine a week,

These last two months I began drinking closer to 8 to 10 drinks of red wine a week. 

Last week I drank some wine each evening instead of always skipping Sunday, Monday, & Friday.

If I want to lose back the last two pounds I gained and keep them off, it will likely help to resume drinking chilled water instead of wine those three days a week!

3.  Way to remove excess gas and Obesogenic bacteria

As I’ve posted on before, one of the ways you can become fat or regain fat you actually lost successfully is that Obesogenic bacteria in your gut tends to cause you to move less and eat more carbs.

Then too, some bacteria tend to cause excess gas when you eat the nonstarchy cruciferous vegetables.

This gas can make you feel bloated and uncomfortable; it can be smelly; and it can make your belly bigger.

So if you can stop these effects, you’ll feel better; your belly will be smaller even before you lose fat; and you’ll have more energy and tend to keep off fat you lose.

The past week when I gained over 3 pounds, I also felt fat and bloated even when my stomach was empty and I was hungry.

This suggests that I need something more than the probiotics I’ve been taking; and eating less yogurt with probiotic bacteria might have caused part of this.

On June 14^th I posted on an Ayurvedic 3 herb combination, triphala, which reduces excess gas by improving digestion and in other ways

So, the supplement Triphala from Gaia herbs looks promising as a fat loss aid for good gut bacteria and to avoid bloating from the high fiber diet.  The herbal combination has a track record of working; and Gaia is a high quality provider of herb and supplements. 

So, besides the using the VIBE, in the next few weeks until my next report I’ll also take triphala.

If it reduces gas and improves digestion, it may reduce the size of my belly by itself.

And, if it also replaces Obesogenic bacteria with probiotic ones, it may give me more energy and partially prevent me from regaining lost fat.