It's been about seven years since I've both shaved, and been at or below this weight.
Showing posts with label Weight loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weight loss. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Haven't seen THAT face in a while...
It's been about seven years since I've both shaved, and been at or below this weight.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Feeling a bit waterlogged...
So, I'd been feeling a bit puffy lately... inflammation and swelling high, edema high etc...
Deciding that more accurate information was important, I stepped on an accurate scale; something I hadn't done in about a few weeks...
...And lo and behold, I'm 45lbs heavier than last time I checked.
I've been eating less, and particularly eating snacks and fast food etc... less (the last couple months in Idaho we ended up eating a fair bit of "convenience" food, because of the baby), so I knew it was all water retention.
I haven't been taking my diuretics for months, because they were screwing around with other things; causing vitamin and mineral deficiencies in particular; and because the edema had been much better since the surgery and radiation.
Unfortunately, while my edema isn't nearly as bad as before the surgery... it's by no means gone...
So, for the first time in months, I took a dose of my diuretics today.
2 hours later I had already lost 10 lbs...
So yeah... back on the diuretics it is for me...
Tuesday, January 08, 2013
My health update for the new year - A.K.A. Woo Hoo... I actually LOST 26lbs over Christmas and New Years
So... in late November of 2010, after years of "ideopathic endocrine disorders" (which we now know to have been caused by endocrine cancer); I reached the peak weight of my life, 497lbs.
This was after having gained almost 60 pounds in less than 4 weeks, and more than 40lbs in less than two weeks; all in excess dependent fluid retention (edema), mostly in the central trunk.
This led to my experiencing a great deal of pain, being unable to put shoes, rings, or a watch on because of it; and finally, having a hypertensive crisis (under more normal health conditions, I actually have LOW blood pressure, and normal cholesterol. This was a question of acute hypervolemia).
I was immediately put on a high dose of diuretics (which took a couple months of experimenting to get right). THAT led me to losing 24 pounds in 48 hours, and over 40 pounds over the next four weeks.
Soon after that we discovered my cancer; but my care team didn't want to operate at the weight I was then at, due to the risk of respiratory arrest, seizure etc... presented by a weight over 350lbs.
Over the next 12 months, I managed to lose as much as 150lbs; getting down to 345lbs briefly... But my weight volatility remained EXTREMELY high; losing or gaining as much as 28lbs in a single day, and as much as 68lbs in a week.
Obviously, mostly due to the fluid retention issue, but I also started regaining real weight over time.
As time went on, I gained more and more weight back, as my endocrine problems worsened. Finally, in the month before my surgery, I had to go off all the medications that were controlling my weight, and I went back up to 468lbs.
We hoped that my weight would start heading back down after my surgery, but it didn't. Then we hoped that it would head back down after my radiation treatment. It didn't.
Or rather it did, but only a little bit, still with very high volatility, and very slowly. Also, my fluid retention decreased, but is still very high.
And guys, I'm barely eating. On a typical day, I might have one meal, 800 calories or so... maybe a snack or two, some cream in my coffee (but generally no sugar)... Most days I'm eating 1200 calories or so. On a heavy day I might eat 1500, and even on thansgiving and christmas I haven't gone over about 2000 calories.
Honestly, with my medications and whatnot, I just can't eat very much anymore, without getting nauseous. I have to take a bunch of vitamin and mineral supplements to make up for it.
So, you'd think I'd be losing lots of weight.
... and I'm just not.
It's been almost five months since the surgery at this point. I had my end of year followup December 21st; and the great news, is that I have no more identifiable masses of cancerous tissue. I'm not entirely recovered of course, but I'm mostly out of the woods on the cancer for now (we're going to followup with additional testing every six months to make sure I stay that way).
... but not on the endocrine problems. There's still a lot of long term damage from the last 7 or 8 years of illness, and of course I'm going to need hormone supplementation for the rest of my life.
In my end of year labs, we found that my hormone levels (particularly my testosterone and thyroid levels) were still very much out of whack.
So, we adjusted my testosterone and levothyroxine dosages; going up to 400mg injectable testosterone every week (2ml injection, 200mg per ml. A very high theraputic dose, but below what weightlifters and athletes would use for "performance enhancement". I had been on the same dosage every two weeks), and 600mcg of levothyroxine per day (a "normal" dose is between 25mcg and 100mcg per day. 200mcg is the highest dosage pill they sell. 600mcg is actually double the normal "dangerous" dose).
As of Saturday, I'd lost 26lbs in the 12 days since I started the new dosage regime.
It seems to be working.
And that's without going back on my diuretics; which I'm starting back on this week.
Let's see how it goes from here.
I'm sure I can't sustain this level of weight loss of course; but I'd love to lose another 50lbs by the time our son arrives in mid April... Maybe even get back down under 300lbs by next Christmas.
My goal is to get down under 295lbs, and under 18pct bodyfat; with a stretch goal of between 265 and 285lbs, and 12-14% bodyfat.
This was after having gained almost 60 pounds in less than 4 weeks, and more than 40lbs in less than two weeks; all in excess dependent fluid retention (edema), mostly in the central trunk.
This led to my experiencing a great deal of pain, being unable to put shoes, rings, or a watch on because of it; and finally, having a hypertensive crisis (under more normal health conditions, I actually have LOW blood pressure, and normal cholesterol. This was a question of acute hypervolemia).
I was immediately put on a high dose of diuretics (which took a couple months of experimenting to get right). THAT led me to losing 24 pounds in 48 hours, and over 40 pounds over the next four weeks.
Soon after that we discovered my cancer; but my care team didn't want to operate at the weight I was then at, due to the risk of respiratory arrest, seizure etc... presented by a weight over 350lbs.
Over the next 12 months, I managed to lose as much as 150lbs; getting down to 345lbs briefly... But my weight volatility remained EXTREMELY high; losing or gaining as much as 28lbs in a single day, and as much as 68lbs in a week.
Obviously, mostly due to the fluid retention issue, but I also started regaining real weight over time.
As time went on, I gained more and more weight back, as my endocrine problems worsened. Finally, in the month before my surgery, I had to go off all the medications that were controlling my weight, and I went back up to 468lbs.
We hoped that my weight would start heading back down after my surgery, but it didn't. Then we hoped that it would head back down after my radiation treatment. It didn't.
Or rather it did, but only a little bit, still with very high volatility, and very slowly. Also, my fluid retention decreased, but is still very high.
And guys, I'm barely eating. On a typical day, I might have one meal, 800 calories or so... maybe a snack or two, some cream in my coffee (but generally no sugar)... Most days I'm eating 1200 calories or so. On a heavy day I might eat 1500, and even on thansgiving and christmas I haven't gone over about 2000 calories.
Honestly, with my medications and whatnot, I just can't eat very much anymore, without getting nauseous. I have to take a bunch of vitamin and mineral supplements to make up for it.
So, you'd think I'd be losing lots of weight.
... and I'm just not.
It's been almost five months since the surgery at this point. I had my end of year followup December 21st; and the great news, is that I have no more identifiable masses of cancerous tissue. I'm not entirely recovered of course, but I'm mostly out of the woods on the cancer for now (we're going to followup with additional testing every six months to make sure I stay that way).
... but not on the endocrine problems. There's still a lot of long term damage from the last 7 or 8 years of illness, and of course I'm going to need hormone supplementation for the rest of my life.
In my end of year labs, we found that my hormone levels (particularly my testosterone and thyroid levels) were still very much out of whack.
So, we adjusted my testosterone and levothyroxine dosages; going up to 400mg injectable testosterone every week (2ml injection, 200mg per ml. A very high theraputic dose, but below what weightlifters and athletes would use for "performance enhancement". I had been on the same dosage every two weeks), and 600mcg of levothyroxine per day (a "normal" dose is between 25mcg and 100mcg per day. 200mcg is the highest dosage pill they sell. 600mcg is actually double the normal "dangerous" dose).
As of Saturday, I'd lost 26lbs in the 12 days since I started the new dosage regime.
It seems to be working.
And that's without going back on my diuretics; which I'm starting back on this week.
Let's see how it goes from here.
I'm sure I can't sustain this level of weight loss of course; but I'd love to lose another 50lbs by the time our son arrives in mid April... Maybe even get back down under 300lbs by next Christmas.
My goal is to get down under 295lbs, and under 18pct bodyfat; with a stretch goal of between 265 and 285lbs, and 12-14% bodyfat.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Positives so far
I'm not back on the diuretics yet, I'm eating tons of pudding and ice cream, drinking probably 2 gallons of fluids a day... and I lost 18 pounds in the last two days.
Friday, July 06, 2012
Trimming the fat?
Just thought I'd post a graphic illustration of how much weight I've lost over the past year and a half:
That piece, is what I just cut off my belt.
When I bought this belt, I wore it on the last or second to last hole, giving it about 5.5" of tail. I just cut 10.5" off the belt, and I'm wearing it on the fifth hole back, now giving it 6.5" of tail (and I sometimes wear it an inch, or even two inches tighter, depending on how fat I may be that day). I've been punching extra holes in it from last summer, but I hadn't bothered cutting the extra off until now.
So... That's about 11.5" off my waist on a fat day, and 13.5" off my waist on a skinny day.
Not bad really.
'Course I'm still only half way to where I want to be (back to between a 38 and a 42), but it's progress.
That piece, is what I just cut off my belt.
When I bought this belt, I wore it on the last or second to last hole, giving it about 5.5" of tail. I just cut 10.5" off the belt, and I'm wearing it on the fifth hole back, now giving it 6.5" of tail (and I sometimes wear it an inch, or even two inches tighter, depending on how fat I may be that day). I've been punching extra holes in it from last summer, but I hadn't bothered cutting the extra off until now.
So... That's about 11.5" off my waist on a fat day, and 13.5" off my waist on a skinny day.
Not bad really.
'Course I'm still only half way to where I want to be (back to between a 38 and a 42), but it's progress.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Back to the docs again, for the roller coaster ride
So, when I checked in on this issue last, I had managed to break down as far as 380lbs, and was holding steady under 395 most days; that being 117lbs weight loss in 9 months.
Unfortunately, a couple months back, my peripheral neuropathy began to get worse... much worse.
By about six weeks ago, I got to the point where I couldn't actually feel my fingers or toes, could only partially feel my palms; and had tingling and shooting pain from my fingertips and toes, to my elbows and knees.
It was a matter of good days and bad days; some days it wasn't all that bad, somedays I couldn't make a fist.
My docs didn't really have any idea what was up. There was no obvious reason for the problem; except for the swelling caused by the edema, and that shouldn't have been enough to cause neuropathy that severe (though some was expected).
One rather nasty possibility, was pernicious anemia; which is the loss of ability to absorb b12. B12 deficiency is the second most common cause of peripheral neuropathy.
At the same time, my diuretics also stopped working; however my kidney function was OK.
That was an indicator, that I was severely deficient in something; but we couldn't figure out what, because my blood serum levels were all in the "normal" range.
As a last ditch measure, we decided to stop all my medications for a week, to see what would happen.
What happened, was that my neuropathy improved dramatically.
What also happened however, was that I gained 48lbs in a week; shooting up to 428lbs.
We also did a series of blood tests before and after, and again everything seemed normal (except my cholesterol is up from 160 to 180 in three months; which is odd since I haven't been eating as much red meat or fatty foods lately). My a1c was 5.6% (the most common cause of neuropathy is elevated blood sugar). My b12 level was 470pg/ml, which is right in the middle of normal (though they prefer to see levels around 700).
Of course, that B12 level was after me taking megadoses of the stuff every day for months (megadoses in the range of 100,000% RDA); so it really should have been higher.
That was an indication that I wasn't absorbing B vitamins properly; but since I've managed to get my potassium and magnesium under control, it was somewhat odd.
We added my medications back one at a time to see if we could induce a problem again; we couldn't.
So... what happened?
Excess vitamin B6 is what happened.
Or rather, I made an idiotic mistake is what happened.
When my neuropathy started becoming more than just an annoyance, and I started having some problems with B vitamin absorption, I started taking large doses of the various B vitamins. At first, that made the neuropathy much better, but after a couple weeks, it started getting worse again.
Apparently, a side effect of large doses of B6 is severe neuropathy.
The funny thing is, that's also an effect of being deficient in b1, b2, b3, b5, and b12; and prior to taking the high levels of supplementation I was experiencing the effects of too LITTLE B6, which include seborrheic dermatitis (really bad dandruff, acne, and skin rashes).
So, I had to supplement all the B vitamins, but I was taking too much of the b6.
So, we switched from a b complex (which is all the B vitamins mixed together), and cut way back on the B6 supplement; and my neuropathy is back to a tolerable level. Now I'm back on my normal ridiculous dose of diuretics and anti-inflammatories.
The only problem is, I may have suffered some permanent nerve damage. We'll know in a couple months whether things go back to "normal", or whether there is going to be some permanent pain and loss of sensation.
In the mean time, I've lost pretty much all of those 48 pounds since Wednesday (when I got the last of my test results); weighing in at 382 yesterday morning (yeah, I know, 46lbs in five days isn't healthy).
The funny thing is, I'm still bloated with excess water (and my weight is still fluctuating as much as 16lbs per day)... I'd estimate at least 16lbs worth; so my "Real" weight is probably something between 360lbs and 370lbs.
Oh and my sleep apnea stopped as soon as I dropped under 400lbs (and was very much reduced when I went under 420).
My endocrinologist is recommending to my surgeon that she conduct the surgery as soon as possible, that I don't need to lose any more weight before she does it (when we spoke a few weeks ago, she wanted to wait 'til I was at 360lbs).
So, we'll see. Maybe I can get the tumor out this year (and under this deductible). If not, I'll have another $16,000 in medical bills I can't afford in the first few months of next year.
Mean time, this is what I look like today:
I have a jaw and cheekbones again. Compare that picture to this picture from my brothers funeral in JAnuary:
or even this picture in August:
The difference is huge. For one thing, I have a chin and cheekbones again.
Unfortunately, a couple months back, my peripheral neuropathy began to get worse... much worse.
By about six weeks ago, I got to the point where I couldn't actually feel my fingers or toes, could only partially feel my palms; and had tingling and shooting pain from my fingertips and toes, to my elbows and knees.
It was a matter of good days and bad days; some days it wasn't all that bad, somedays I couldn't make a fist.
My docs didn't really have any idea what was up. There was no obvious reason for the problem; except for the swelling caused by the edema, and that shouldn't have been enough to cause neuropathy that severe (though some was expected).
One rather nasty possibility, was pernicious anemia; which is the loss of ability to absorb b12. B12 deficiency is the second most common cause of peripheral neuropathy.
At the same time, my diuretics also stopped working; however my kidney function was OK.
That was an indicator, that I was severely deficient in something; but we couldn't figure out what, because my blood serum levels were all in the "normal" range.
As a last ditch measure, we decided to stop all my medications for a week, to see what would happen.
What happened, was that my neuropathy improved dramatically.
What also happened however, was that I gained 48lbs in a week; shooting up to 428lbs.
We also did a series of blood tests before and after, and again everything seemed normal (except my cholesterol is up from 160 to 180 in three months; which is odd since I haven't been eating as much red meat or fatty foods lately). My a1c was 5.6% (the most common cause of neuropathy is elevated blood sugar). My b12 level was 470pg/ml, which is right in the middle of normal (though they prefer to see levels around 700).
Of course, that B12 level was after me taking megadoses of the stuff every day for months (megadoses in the range of 100,000% RDA); so it really should have been higher.
That was an indication that I wasn't absorbing B vitamins properly; but since I've managed to get my potassium and magnesium under control, it was somewhat odd.
We added my medications back one at a time to see if we could induce a problem again; we couldn't.
So... what happened?
Excess vitamin B6 is what happened.
Or rather, I made an idiotic mistake is what happened.
When my neuropathy started becoming more than just an annoyance, and I started having some problems with B vitamin absorption, I started taking large doses of the various B vitamins. At first, that made the neuropathy much better, but after a couple weeks, it started getting worse again.
Apparently, a side effect of large doses of B6 is severe neuropathy.
The funny thing is, that's also an effect of being deficient in b1, b2, b3, b5, and b12; and prior to taking the high levels of supplementation I was experiencing the effects of too LITTLE B6, which include seborrheic dermatitis (really bad dandruff, acne, and skin rashes).
So, I had to supplement all the B vitamins, but I was taking too much of the b6.
So, we switched from a b complex (which is all the B vitamins mixed together), and cut way back on the B6 supplement; and my neuropathy is back to a tolerable level. Now I'm back on my normal ridiculous dose of diuretics and anti-inflammatories.
The only problem is, I may have suffered some permanent nerve damage. We'll know in a couple months whether things go back to "normal", or whether there is going to be some permanent pain and loss of sensation.
In the mean time, I've lost pretty much all of those 48 pounds since Wednesday (when I got the last of my test results); weighing in at 382 yesterday morning (yeah, I know, 46lbs in five days isn't healthy).
The funny thing is, I'm still bloated with excess water (and my weight is still fluctuating as much as 16lbs per day)... I'd estimate at least 16lbs worth; so my "Real" weight is probably something between 360lbs and 370lbs.
Oh and my sleep apnea stopped as soon as I dropped under 400lbs (and was very much reduced when I went under 420).
My endocrinologist is recommending to my surgeon that she conduct the surgery as soon as possible, that I don't need to lose any more weight before she does it (when we spoke a few weeks ago, she wanted to wait 'til I was at 360lbs).
So, we'll see. Maybe I can get the tumor out this year (and under this deductible). If not, I'll have another $16,000 in medical bills I can't afford in the first few months of next year.
Mean time, this is what I look like today:
I have a jaw and cheekbones again. Compare that picture to this picture from my brothers funeral in JAnuary:
or even this picture in August:
The difference is huge. For one thing, I have a chin and cheekbones again.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Back under 400, for a minute...
Well, good news, i have dipped back down to my four year low level of 396lbs.
For a minute.
Saturday I was under 400. Sunday I was back up to 412. Monday back down to 403 etc... etc...
Unfortunately, my weight volatility continues unabated; going up 18lbs one day, down 12 the next and so forth.
If there was some kind of logic to it, I would be less irritated; but it seems to happen no matter what dosage of medication I'm on, how much I eat or drink, what I eat or drink etc...
It's a pain, literally. Gaining 18lbs in one day means tissues are swelling rather dramatically. Usually tissues in my fingers, toes, large joints, and face. Very uncomfortable.
But it means I am, once again, making progress.
Another 40 or so pounds, and I can have my cancer surgery... probably 60lbs actually, just to make sure that my weight fluctuations don't put me back over 360. At this rate, that'll be 4-6 months.
For a minute.
Saturday I was under 400. Sunday I was back up to 412. Monday back down to 403 etc... etc...
Unfortunately, my weight volatility continues unabated; going up 18lbs one day, down 12 the next and so forth.
If there was some kind of logic to it, I would be less irritated; but it seems to happen no matter what dosage of medication I'm on, how much I eat or drink, what I eat or drink etc...
It's a pain, literally. Gaining 18lbs in one day means tissues are swelling rather dramatically. Usually tissues in my fingers, toes, large joints, and face. Very uncomfortable.
But it means I am, once again, making progress.
Another 40 or so pounds, and I can have my cancer surgery... probably 60lbs actually, just to make sure that my weight fluctuations don't put me back over 360. At this rate, that'll be 4-6 months.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Illegal procedure, malnutrition, half the distance to the goal, repeat first down.
So, over the weekend, after figuring out my vitamin and mineral deficiency (to be confirmed via blood test shortly); my diuretics once again became effective, and I immediately began losing weight again.
Yay.
I've stayed off my stimulants and anti-inflammatories for the last few days, to help give my body time to recover; and I've been awake for about 40 hours at this point; to help me sleep through and get back on a normal schedule.
As of today, I've re-lost 27lbs of the 45lbs I gained in the week I was sick.
I felt pretty good today for the first time in about two weeks; and thought I even looked decent, if a bit disheveled (and obviously from my face, still a bit bloated):
Yes, it's so sad... I have been reduced to the internet mirror/arms length self portrait... or rather Mel was busy, and I was too lazy to set up the tripod so...
Anyway, from today, I've got just about 130lbs to go... Hopefully before this time next year (and another 60lbs or so before the oncological surgeon wants to operate.
Yay.
I've stayed off my stimulants and anti-inflammatories for the last few days, to help give my body time to recover; and I've been awake for about 40 hours at this point; to help me sleep through and get back on a normal schedule.
As of today, I've re-lost 27lbs of the 45lbs I gained in the week I was sick.
I felt pretty good today for the first time in about two weeks; and thought I even looked decent, if a bit disheveled (and obviously from my face, still a bit bloated):
Yes, it's so sad... I have been reduced to the internet mirror/arms length self portrait... or rather Mel was busy, and I was too lazy to set up the tripod so...
Anyway, from today, I've got just about 130lbs to go... Hopefully before this time next year (and another 60lbs or so before the oncological surgeon wants to operate.
Saturday, October 08, 2011
Interactions: 45lbs gained in 9 days; 11lbs lost in 90 minutes
Well... that was an interesting week.
9 days ago, I became ill, with what seemed to be a mild flu. At the same time, I started retaining water pretty badly, and my joints swelled; I was severely fatigued, had a lot of pain, digestive disturbances, severe insomnia etc... None of which really alarmed me, because that's pretty much what happens to me when I'm sick these days.
After a few days, most of the flu-ish sickness was gone, but the other symptoms remained, and were worsening. In particular, the peripheral neuropathy (mostly paresthesia) was pretty bad, as was the water retention; and it was pretty clear that my medication was not only not working, it was making things worse. I was also having pretty bad muscle weakness, aprticularly in my hands, and I was ridiculously fatigued.
This happens sometimes too; because several of my medications (my anti-inflammatories, my omeprazole, my testosterone, the stimulants for my excessive sleepiness, my diuretics etc...) can cause pretty severe vitamin and electrolyte deficiencies, and when they do, they stop working.
Usually when the edema gets out of control, and the non-inflammation type pain gets bad; stopping the diuretics, stimulants, and anti-inflammatories for a couple days helps; particularly when I make sure to keep my potassium intake up (using potassium chloride supplements twice a day, and drinking lots of OJ).
Instead, things kept getting worse. By yesterday, I had gained 40lbs (by this evening, it was 45lbs). My blood pressure went up from my 115-125/170-185 normal range, to as high as 160/95 (which I attributed to my edema being crazy this week).
Two days ago, I couldn't make a fist, and I slept for 14 hours.
I called my doc and scheduled an appointment and blood test for next Monday (the earliest I could get non-emergency).
Today (well, yesterday now) things got a little bit better...
My edema was still awful, but the neuropathy was a bit better, and I wasn't really sure why.
I don't think it was from stopping the medication... I think it might have been from what I was eating. Between Thursday and Friday, other than my "normal" things, I had eaten some dark chocolate, some almonds, cashews, peanuts, some dried fruits and raisins, some black beans, some milk, some goat cheese, some quinoa...
All foods high in magnesium... and mostly high in B vitamins.
As it happens, while I was sick I hadn't been taking my vitamins, because I couldn't stomach them. I could barely force my potassium down my throat without vomiting (I heaved up when I swallowed it each time, but I forced it down). I also had diarrhea, and I didn't eat much for four or five days; but I did drink plenty.
I had thought I was keeping up on the electrolytes, between the gatorade, the OJ, and the chicken broth (besides the obvious benefits of OJ and chicken broth, I always drink full sugar gatorade when I'm sick, and add some powdered potassium chloride to it, plus taking my potassium pills; because at the very least it keeps me hydrated, and stops me from becoming electrolyte depleted; and hopefully between all three gives me enough calories to keep some strength up when I can't eat); but I forgot about two really important things.
Magnesium, and B vitamins.
You see, without magnesium, and B vitamins, it doesn't matter how much in electrolytes and minerals you consume (in particular potassium) your body won't be able to use them (and may in fact, void them out).
It's actually a vicious circle; because becoming deficient in any one of them, causes the others to become more deficient; and that causes the others to get worse etc... etc...
Low magnesium also causes muscle weakness, pain, pins and needles, excessive sodium build up (and thus excessive edema),
I was in fact consuming enough potassium; but apparently I have been living on the edge of hypomagnesemia and probably systemic magnesium deficiency, probably for months, without realizing it. My diet often has a lot of magnesium in it; but I'm on a number of drugs (listed above) that in addition to causing potassium deficiency, and various vitamin deficiencies, also cause magnesium deficiency.... and again, there's that vicious circle thing I mentioned above.
Gatorade doesn't have any magnesium.
... and apparently, neither does my normal multivitamin; which I hadn't realized. I supplement the other vitamins and minerals that I get deficient in, but I didn't think of magnesium. I assumed my multivitamin covered it, and since I hadn't had a problem before...
When I got sick, and my diet shrunk down to crap for a few days, and the fact that I stopped taking my vitamins for a few days; I must have slipped over into full magnesium deficiency and hypomagnesemia; which then made me hypokalemic and B deficient, even though I was taking the supplements again. No matter how much I took it didn't matter, because I didn't have enough magnesium to use what I was taking in, and the body just excretes out unused potassium and B vitamins.
So, I had Mel grab me a magnesium supplement, took a max dose, along with a big dose of B1 and B6, and my potassium supplement; and I waited for a while and took my diuretics.
After 30 minutes, I started peeing.
After 90, I had peed six times, and lost 11 pounds. After 120, I had lost 15 lbs.
The pain and weakness in my feet and hands is going away. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be able to sleep normally tonight... or as normally as I can while my body is doing its best to expel the extra 45lbs of water it accumulated over the last week.
Amazing how a couple hundred milligrams of a single mineral can make such a difference...
Update: by the time I woke up for the day (after not actually sleeping until 9am, since I was up every 20 minutes to pee all night long), I was up to 22lbs lost in about 11 hours. Actually 26lbs if you count the fact that I drank about 4lbs worth of water in that time.
9 days ago, I became ill, with what seemed to be a mild flu. At the same time, I started retaining water pretty badly, and my joints swelled; I was severely fatigued, had a lot of pain, digestive disturbances, severe insomnia etc... None of which really alarmed me, because that's pretty much what happens to me when I'm sick these days.
After a few days, most of the flu-ish sickness was gone, but the other symptoms remained, and were worsening. In particular, the peripheral neuropathy (mostly paresthesia) was pretty bad, as was the water retention; and it was pretty clear that my medication was not only not working, it was making things worse. I was also having pretty bad muscle weakness, aprticularly in my hands, and I was ridiculously fatigued.
This happens sometimes too; because several of my medications (my anti-inflammatories, my omeprazole, my testosterone, the stimulants for my excessive sleepiness, my diuretics etc...) can cause pretty severe vitamin and electrolyte deficiencies, and when they do, they stop working.
Usually when the edema gets out of control, and the non-inflammation type pain gets bad; stopping the diuretics, stimulants, and anti-inflammatories for a couple days helps; particularly when I make sure to keep my potassium intake up (using potassium chloride supplements twice a day, and drinking lots of OJ).
Instead, things kept getting worse. By yesterday, I had gained 40lbs (by this evening, it was 45lbs). My blood pressure went up from my 115-125/170-185 normal range, to as high as 160/95 (which I attributed to my edema being crazy this week).
Two days ago, I couldn't make a fist, and I slept for 14 hours.
I called my doc and scheduled an appointment and blood test for next Monday (the earliest I could get non-emergency).
Today (well, yesterday now) things got a little bit better...
My edema was still awful, but the neuropathy was a bit better, and I wasn't really sure why.
I don't think it was from stopping the medication... I think it might have been from what I was eating. Between Thursday and Friday, other than my "normal" things, I had eaten some dark chocolate, some almonds, cashews, peanuts, some dried fruits and raisins, some black beans, some milk, some goat cheese, some quinoa...
All foods high in magnesium... and mostly high in B vitamins.
As it happens, while I was sick I hadn't been taking my vitamins, because I couldn't stomach them. I could barely force my potassium down my throat without vomiting (I heaved up when I swallowed it each time, but I forced it down). I also had diarrhea, and I didn't eat much for four or five days; but I did drink plenty.
I had thought I was keeping up on the electrolytes, between the gatorade, the OJ, and the chicken broth (besides the obvious benefits of OJ and chicken broth, I always drink full sugar gatorade when I'm sick, and add some powdered potassium chloride to it, plus taking my potassium pills; because at the very least it keeps me hydrated, and stops me from becoming electrolyte depleted; and hopefully between all three gives me enough calories to keep some strength up when I can't eat); but I forgot about two really important things.
Magnesium, and B vitamins.
You see, without magnesium, and B vitamins, it doesn't matter how much in electrolytes and minerals you consume (in particular potassium) your body won't be able to use them (and may in fact, void them out).
It's actually a vicious circle; because becoming deficient in any one of them, causes the others to become more deficient; and that causes the others to get worse etc... etc...
Low magnesium also causes muscle weakness, pain, pins and needles, excessive sodium build up (and thus excessive edema),
I was in fact consuming enough potassium; but apparently I have been living on the edge of hypomagnesemia and probably systemic magnesium deficiency, probably for months, without realizing it. My diet often has a lot of magnesium in it; but I'm on a number of drugs (listed above) that in addition to causing potassium deficiency, and various vitamin deficiencies, also cause magnesium deficiency.... and again, there's that vicious circle thing I mentioned above.
Gatorade doesn't have any magnesium.
... and apparently, neither does my normal multivitamin; which I hadn't realized. I supplement the other vitamins and minerals that I get deficient in, but I didn't think of magnesium. I assumed my multivitamin covered it, and since I hadn't had a problem before...
When I got sick, and my diet shrunk down to crap for a few days, and the fact that I stopped taking my vitamins for a few days; I must have slipped over into full magnesium deficiency and hypomagnesemia; which then made me hypokalemic and B deficient, even though I was taking the supplements again. No matter how much I took it didn't matter, because I didn't have enough magnesium to use what I was taking in, and the body just excretes out unused potassium and B vitamins.
So, I had Mel grab me a magnesium supplement, took a max dose, along with a big dose of B1 and B6, and my potassium supplement; and I waited for a while and took my diuretics.
After 30 minutes, I started peeing.
After 90, I had peed six times, and lost 11 pounds. After 120, I had lost 15 lbs.
The pain and weakness in my feet and hands is going away. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be able to sleep normally tonight... or as normally as I can while my body is doing its best to expel the extra 45lbs of water it accumulated over the last week.
Amazing how a couple hundred milligrams of a single mineral can make such a difference...
Update: by the time I woke up for the day (after not actually sleeping until 9am, since I was up every 20 minutes to pee all night long), I was up to 22lbs lost in about 11 hours. Actually 26lbs if you count the fact that I drank about 4lbs worth of water in that time.
Thursday, October 06, 2011
396... for about a minute...
Up until I got sick last week (almost better now, thanks), I was doing pretty damned good on the weight loss.
As it happens, I managed to lose 101 lbs, getting down to 396:
Unfortunately, since then I managed to swell up another almost 40lbs... I hate being sick, and for some reason my diuretics aren't working worth a damn right now; and yes, 40lbs in a week is screwed up, but that's the way it is with endocrine cancer... but I got there once, I'll be able to get back there again.
As it happens, I managed to lose 101 lbs, getting down to 396:
Unfortunately, since then I managed to swell up another almost 40lbs... I hate being sick, and for some reason my diuretics aren't working worth a damn right now; and yes, 40lbs in a week is screwed up, but that's the way it is with endocrine cancer... but I got there once, I'll be able to get back there again.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Changes - Part 2
So...
This is me at my peak weight of 490lbs:
Honest to god, I can barely bring myself to say that. 490lbs... that's just insane. I'm almost ashamed to even admit that. How in the hell did that happen. That's me... plus 200lbs.
I get angry thinking about it... How could my doctors not know? Not understand? How could it have taken so long for them to listen, to do something. Why did I have to go from doctor to doctor for years...
But yaknow what... anger isn't helping me. It isn't helping my health, or my stress, or my life... It's just not worth it.
Now... Thing is... I still didn't look like 490 there (thank god). I'm just a huge guy by nature. The two women given the Burqa treatment here (I didn't feel like getting their permission to use the photo) are 5'7 and 5'9 respectively, not petite shrinking flowers. You can see, my hands are about as big as their heads.
Now, here's me, 8 months and 90lbs later:
And rest assured, my eyes CAN open more than that, but it was DAMN bright out there.
Oh and yes, that giant bulge on the left (right from my perspective) side of my neck, is the big damn tumor.
90 lbs... another ohh... 125lbs or so to go...
It's a start.
This is me at my peak weight of 490lbs:
Honest to god, I can barely bring myself to say that. 490lbs... that's just insane. I'm almost ashamed to even admit that. How in the hell did that happen. That's me... plus 200lbs.
I get angry thinking about it... How could my doctors not know? Not understand? How could it have taken so long for them to listen, to do something. Why did I have to go from doctor to doctor for years...
But yaknow what... anger isn't helping me. It isn't helping my health, or my stress, or my life... It's just not worth it.
Now... Thing is... I still didn't look like 490 there (thank god). I'm just a huge guy by nature. The two women given the Burqa treatment here (I didn't feel like getting their permission to use the photo) are 5'7 and 5'9 respectively, not petite shrinking flowers. You can see, my hands are about as big as their heads.
Now, here's me, 8 months and 90lbs later:
And rest assured, my eyes CAN open more than that, but it was DAMN bright out there.
Oh and yes, that giant bulge on the left (right from my perspective) side of my neck, is the big damn tumor.
90 lbs... another ohh... 125lbs or so to go...
It's a start.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Changes - Part 1
Last Monday, I did something I haven't been able to do in over two years.
I worked out.
Actually, I worked out twice, once in the morning, and then again in the evening.
I haven't been able to, because the pain, inflammation, and dependent fluid retention in my joints was so sever that I simply could not do it. My body wouldn't support my weight, and the weight I wanted to lift. It wouldn't let me pedal the bike and then walk away...
And now, that's changed, because my doctors have finally found a good balance of medication for me.
For the past few years they've been... experimenting shall we say... with what medications actually help me, what does nothing, and what actually makes things worse.
I've been on almost every anti-inflammatory out there up til now; except lodine, celexa, and vioxx (which they pulled off the market a few years ago.
Most recently we were trying meloxicam (aka Mobic); and it did help, but only in very high doses (60mg daily. Normal is 15mg). That said, if taken in combination with Ibuprofen or Naproxen, it made them more effective.
It wasn't enough, but it took the edge off.
The problem with strong prescription anti-inflammatories, is that they all tend to have nasty side effects; including ones that make my other symptoms worse (like edema, and gastrointestinal difficulties). Some of them also interact badly, or are at least partially counteracted with testosterone, and somebadly with strong diuretics).
Given that, my normal docs were very leery of prescribing anything "stronger" than Naproxen. My GP only agreed to prescribe Meloxicam on an "as needed" basis, for when the inflammation got so severe I had trouble walking.
Which, unfortunately, it had been since fourth of July weekend (I slipped and fell on the dock while swimming, and torqued something. I couldn't walk at all the next few days).
Then, two weeks ago, I finally had my appointment with my new orthopedist. He listened to my history, examined my joints, and immediately sent me down for x-rays (same office visit, came right back up with them 30 minutes later).
And he said something that surprised me.
He said I don't need knee replacements yet.
That yes, they're both in rough shape ( I have osteo-arthritis, synovitis, and cartilage and tendon damage in both; and I may be developing rheumatoid arthritis, but it's too early to tell); I can regain much of my mobility with proper drug treatment and the right exercise regime.
Because I have been in so much pain for so long, my supporting muscles have atrophied and tendons and ligaments have lost flexibility(because the joints hurt so much, I try to avoid moving in the ways that make them hurt worse, which means I don't exercise those muscles and stretch those tendons enough). This in turn made the joints less stable, which made them hurt worse and so on, in a vicious circle.
That day, he started me on Lodine (aka Etodolac), 400mg twice a day (1200mg is the highest daily dose allowed. They make it in 400, 500, and 600mg tabs).
The next day, I was able to walk up and down the stairs in my house without pain, for the first time, ever.
I wasn't flexible... I was stiff, and slow... but I wasn't actually hurting when I started, or when I finished.
Thing is...
I haven't used a flight of stairs without pain in 10 years.
I should be clear... The pain isn't GONE by any stretch of the imagination; but it's so reduced as to be nothing in comparison. I went from a level 4 constant background pain with spikes to level 7; down to a 1, with spikes to a 2 or 3.
And walking up and down the stairs, doesn't really aggravate it. I can go up and down the stairs a half dozen times in a couple hours now, and be fine; whereas before more than two or three times a day and I wouldn't be able to move for hours.
It's not perfect of course. It works a lot better when I double them up to 800mg, and its peak effects only last for two hours or so; but two of them, timed properly, cut the pain and improve my mobility dramatically all day long.
I've asked the doc to up me to two 500s a day and see how that works (the 600mg is extended release only; and ER formulations don't work well for me; plus diuretics tend to make them much less effective).
The next thing the doc wants to do hasn't happened yet; but the medication is ordered (should be here next week actually).
Instead of cortisone injections in the knees (which only last a few weeks, and have their own side effects, like accelerating joint degeneration), he wants to try my out with injections of Synvisc (hylauronic acid in an oil based lubricating transport).
It's supposed to both lubricate the joint, and reduce inflammation dramatically.
Unfortunately my copay is $400 a piece for the injections, even after my out of pocket max for the year (yeah I know... insane). Apparently this stuff is also popular in cosmetic surgery (where it's sold under the trade name Restalyn), so they can charge a fortune for it; and they won't price the orthopedic version any less so it won't be used cosmetically, off label.
Also, it doesn't work for everyone; and for a small percentage, it actually causes a bad histamine reaction (like a nasty bee sting, only inside the joint). So, he wants to try me out and see how it works for me on one knee, wait a few weeks then do the other one.
If it works, I would need to get a series of shots in each knee; but the inflammation should be dramatically reduced for several years, delaying, or even eliminating, the need for surgery (at least until my mid 40s to early 50s. The doc is pretty sure by then I will need the knee replacements).
The final thing the doc ordered (other than losing weight of course), is that I absolutely MUST work out again (particularly with the testosterone).
Of course I knew that already, and it was part of the plan; but the pain was in the way.
Now the pain isn't in the way (or at least not enough to stop me).
I am under strict order to exercise my legs, and in particular my knee joint, and the supporting muscled and tendons. Not to overstrain them, but to give them frequent, repetitive, no impact tension and stress. I.E. the exercise, and leg extensions and thigh curls at high reps and low weight.
So, last weekend I snagged myself this:
Which, after a couple hours of effort became this:
And along with this (325lbs on a weight tree):
and this (which I already had):
And I'm working out again, finally.
20 minutes on the bike in the morning, followed by 40 minutes on light to moderate weight and high reps; then 20 more minutes on the bike in the evening.
At least when I have the time, which starting this week is a lot less (more on that in a later post).
I worked out.
Actually, I worked out twice, once in the morning, and then again in the evening.
I haven't been able to, because the pain, inflammation, and dependent fluid retention in my joints was so sever that I simply could not do it. My body wouldn't support my weight, and the weight I wanted to lift. It wouldn't let me pedal the bike and then walk away...
And now, that's changed, because my doctors have finally found a good balance of medication for me.
For the past few years they've been... experimenting shall we say... with what medications actually help me, what does nothing, and what actually makes things worse.
I've been on almost every anti-inflammatory out there up til now; except lodine, celexa, and vioxx (which they pulled off the market a few years ago.
Most recently we were trying meloxicam (aka Mobic); and it did help, but only in very high doses (60mg daily. Normal is 15mg). That said, if taken in combination with Ibuprofen or Naproxen, it made them more effective.
It wasn't enough, but it took the edge off.
The problem with strong prescription anti-inflammatories, is that they all tend to have nasty side effects; including ones that make my other symptoms worse (like edema, and gastrointestinal difficulties). Some of them also interact badly, or are at least partially counteracted with testosterone, and somebadly with strong diuretics).
Given that, my normal docs were very leery of prescribing anything "stronger" than Naproxen. My GP only agreed to prescribe Meloxicam on an "as needed" basis, for when the inflammation got so severe I had trouble walking.
Which, unfortunately, it had been since fourth of July weekend (I slipped and fell on the dock while swimming, and torqued something. I couldn't walk at all the next few days).
Then, two weeks ago, I finally had my appointment with my new orthopedist. He listened to my history, examined my joints, and immediately sent me down for x-rays (same office visit, came right back up with them 30 minutes later).
And he said something that surprised me.
He said I don't need knee replacements yet.
That yes, they're both in rough shape ( I have osteo-arthritis, synovitis, and cartilage and tendon damage in both; and I may be developing rheumatoid arthritis, but it's too early to tell); I can regain much of my mobility with proper drug treatment and the right exercise regime.
Because I have been in so much pain for so long, my supporting muscles have atrophied and tendons and ligaments have lost flexibility(because the joints hurt so much, I try to avoid moving in the ways that make them hurt worse, which means I don't exercise those muscles and stretch those tendons enough). This in turn made the joints less stable, which made them hurt worse and so on, in a vicious circle.
That day, he started me on Lodine (aka Etodolac), 400mg twice a day (1200mg is the highest daily dose allowed. They make it in 400, 500, and 600mg tabs).
The next day, I was able to walk up and down the stairs in my house without pain, for the first time, ever.
I wasn't flexible... I was stiff, and slow... but I wasn't actually hurting when I started, or when I finished.
Thing is...
I haven't used a flight of stairs without pain in 10 years.
I should be clear... The pain isn't GONE by any stretch of the imagination; but it's so reduced as to be nothing in comparison. I went from a level 4 constant background pain with spikes to level 7; down to a 1, with spikes to a 2 or 3.
And walking up and down the stairs, doesn't really aggravate it. I can go up and down the stairs a half dozen times in a couple hours now, and be fine; whereas before more than two or three times a day and I wouldn't be able to move for hours.
It's not perfect of course. It works a lot better when I double them up to 800mg, and its peak effects only last for two hours or so; but two of them, timed properly, cut the pain and improve my mobility dramatically all day long.
I've asked the doc to up me to two 500s a day and see how that works (the 600mg is extended release only; and ER formulations don't work well for me; plus diuretics tend to make them much less effective).
The next thing the doc wants to do hasn't happened yet; but the medication is ordered (should be here next week actually).
Instead of cortisone injections in the knees (which only last a few weeks, and have their own side effects, like accelerating joint degeneration), he wants to try my out with injections of Synvisc (hylauronic acid in an oil based lubricating transport).
It's supposed to both lubricate the joint, and reduce inflammation dramatically.
Unfortunately my copay is $400 a piece for the injections, even after my out of pocket max for the year (yeah I know... insane). Apparently this stuff is also popular in cosmetic surgery (where it's sold under the trade name Restalyn), so they can charge a fortune for it; and they won't price the orthopedic version any less so it won't be used cosmetically, off label.
Also, it doesn't work for everyone; and for a small percentage, it actually causes a bad histamine reaction (like a nasty bee sting, only inside the joint). So, he wants to try me out and see how it works for me on one knee, wait a few weeks then do the other one.
If it works, I would need to get a series of shots in each knee; but the inflammation should be dramatically reduced for several years, delaying, or even eliminating, the need for surgery (at least until my mid 40s to early 50s. The doc is pretty sure by then I will need the knee replacements).
The final thing the doc ordered (other than losing weight of course), is that I absolutely MUST work out again (particularly with the testosterone).
Of course I knew that already, and it was part of the plan; but the pain was in the way.
Now the pain isn't in the way (or at least not enough to stop me).
I am under strict order to exercise my legs, and in particular my knee joint, and the supporting muscled and tendons. Not to overstrain them, but to give them frequent, repetitive, no impact tension and stress. I.E. the exercise, and leg extensions and thigh curls at high reps and low weight.
So, last weekend I snagged myself this:
Which, after a couple hours of effort became this:
And along with this (325lbs on a weight tree):
and this (which I already had):
And I'm working out again, finally.
20 minutes on the bike in the morning, followed by 40 minutes on light to moderate weight and high reps; then 20 more minutes on the bike in the evening.
At least when I have the time, which starting this week is a lot less (more on that in a later post).
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Excess volatility
Just thought I'd illustrate for you the kind of day to day variability the "excess dependent fluid retention" brings to my life.
Last Wednesday morning, I weighed 434lbs.
Last Friday I had a doctors appointment, and I weighed 444lbs. I could definitely feel the swelling start Wednesday afternoon and build through Thursday.
All day Saturday and Sunday I could feel the swelling increasing in my feet and calves. Saturday I was 452. Sunday night I hit 458lbs.
As I type this, I weigh 446 lbs.
This is all same dosage of diuretics taken the same way, with approximately the same level of fluid intake (four to six quarts each day), the same vitamins, approximately the same salt intake, close to the same caloric intake. The only thing different is how much my body retains.
Did you know it was possible to be "brown urine" level dehydrated, while still retaining enough water to float a canoe?
It's rather irritating when you work and starve yourself for three months to lose 35 real pounds, and then in four days, you're back right where you started.
Last Wednesday morning, I weighed 434lbs.
Last Friday I had a doctors appointment, and I weighed 444lbs. I could definitely feel the swelling start Wednesday afternoon and build through Thursday.
All day Saturday and Sunday I could feel the swelling increasing in my feet and calves. Saturday I was 452. Sunday night I hit 458lbs.
As I type this, I weigh 446 lbs.
This is all same dosage of diuretics taken the same way, with approximately the same level of fluid intake (four to six quarts each day), the same vitamins, approximately the same salt intake, close to the same caloric intake. The only thing different is how much my body retains.
Did you know it was possible to be "brown urine" level dehydrated, while still retaining enough water to float a canoe?
It's rather irritating when you work and starve yourself for three months to lose 35 real pounds, and then in four days, you're back right where you started.
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Overstuffed Sausage
Well, there is some good news. As of this morning, I've lost 60 lbs... actually 58lbs but close enough... Since I hit my peak weight last December.
However, I wanted to show you what severe edema really means; because on Sunday, after over a week of being sick and only being able to take my diuretics intermittently, I was 26lbs heavier than I was this morning , and my limbs looked like this:
That was after about two hours, with a light dress sock on; and the swelling above... oy. That's about an inch from the bottom of the dent, to the swollen upper calf.
And that's about 3/4" from the wrist, to the swollen forearm.
You can imagine, that gets very uncomfortable. Sore, painful to touch, feeling like your skin is going to burst whenever you put any weight on it.
The joints swell too, as the fluid builds up around them. It's almost as bad as the arthritis.
And then there's the peripheral neuropathy that goes along with the edema. When the fluid builds up so much, it squeezes the nerves, and you get pain, numbness, tingling like bad pins and needles. Add to that it squeezes the blood vessels, screws up your circulation and your blood pressure.
It seems rather lame and inadequate to say, it really just sucks. A lot.
However, I wanted to show you what severe edema really means; because on Sunday, after over a week of being sick and only being able to take my diuretics intermittently, I was 26lbs heavier than I was this morning , and my limbs looked like this:
That was after about two hours, with a light dress sock on; and the swelling above... oy. That's about an inch from the bottom of the dent, to the swollen upper calf.
And that's about 3/4" from the wrist, to the swollen forearm.
You can imagine, that gets very uncomfortable. Sore, painful to touch, feeling like your skin is going to burst whenever you put any weight on it.
The joints swell too, as the fluid builds up around them. It's almost as bad as the arthritis.
And then there's the peripheral neuropathy that goes along with the edema. When the fluid builds up so much, it squeezes the nerves, and you get pain, numbness, tingling like bad pins and needles. Add to that it squeezes the blood vessels, screws up your circulation and your blood pressure.
It seems rather lame and inadequate to say, it really just sucks. A lot.
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Oh hey, there IS actually some unambiguously good news...
In the last 4 weeks, I've lost a little less than 30 lbs; and i've lost 50 lbs from my peak weight of 5 months ago.
So, there's something.
So, there's something.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Do you want to know the secret to starving without being hungry?
Pickles.
Actually, pickles and cucumbers . They're mostly water, and what isn't water is mostly vegetable fiber.
They're crisp, light, refreshing, and they wake up the palette.
Now, I love pickles anyway, but 4 days in to a diet that has me eating less than a third of my required daily calories (and having lost about 1.5lbs over and above the water weight thing), they are a godsend.
See, pickled cucumbers (so long as they're the no sugar added type) only have about 5 calories an ounce (raw cucumbers are more like 4 calories an ounce).
Others recommend celery, and certainly it has it's points (4 calories per ounce, lots of fiber); but I just don't like the stuff.
No... I'm on the pickles, protein, and tea diet.
Rather, I'm not on any particular diet at all, excepting "restricted calorie" and "high protein"; it just works out that way.
I'm not atkinsing, or deliberately going for a low carb diet. I just need so much protein, that to get it within the calorie limits I'm under, I need to make the vast majority of my calories protein.
Pure proteins run something like 91 calories per ounce (3.2 calories per gram, 28.34 grams per ounce), vs carbs at l14 calories per (4 calories per gram), and pure fats at 255 calories per ounce.
Of course, since nothing in this world is laboratory pure, actual calorie counts run a little different.
Lean meat (trimmed to 0 visible surface fat) runs from about 30 calories to about 60 calories per ounce raw weight. By lean meat, I mean the lean component of the separable lean and fat, deboned, with all fat trimmed off. All animal protein has some intramusucular fat that can't easily be separated out.
Ground meat can have a large proportion of fat mixed in with it; as much as 30% in some commercial grinds, as little as 10% in others. Most hamburger is mixed 80/20 (resulting in about 72 calories per ounce), most sausage is mixed 70/30 (resulting in about 85 calories per ounce).
Shrimp and lobster are at the bottom of lean meat calories, with around 30 calories per ounce. Tuna and other similar fish are just above that at about 31-33 calories per ounce. Chicken and turkey breast just above that at 35 or so. Pork tenderloin is just above that at 39 or so. Choice Beef tenderloin is above that at 45 or so (beef sirloin strip is right around 49. Prime beef is about 10% more calories).
All the fattier cuts of common proteins, like shoulders, thighs etc... are up over 45 calories per ounce, because they have more intramuscular fat; but most are under 55. About the highest calorie lean meat, would be a full fat pork butt, at about 58 calories per raw ounce trimmed to 0 separable fat.
I can't think of any lean meat that's over 60 calories per ounce raw, except wagyu beef, which has so much intramuscular fat (Wagyu run about 20-25% fat, which is about twice as much as prime beef) it runs between 80 and 90 calories per ounce depending on cut.
Eating the separable fat of course makes a huge difference. If you eat prime a ribeye with the full fat on it, you're eating about 100 calories per ounce.
Also of course, the way you cook things makes a difference. Grilling and pan searing fully trimmed lean meat, with a very small amount of fat either in the pan or brushed on the meat, and any surface fat patted or drained after cooking; and you often end up losing a fair bit of their fat without getting dry (if done properly anyway), such that the cooked piece of meat can actually end up with less calories than the raw.
Hamburger, and wagyu beef are both prime examples of this (no pun intended). When cooked over a high heat grill to medium rare or medium (respectively... never cook wagyu past medium rare), they both lose a lot of their fat; perhaps as much as 10% of the total weight of the cut (another 10% of the weight might be lost in evaporated moisture).
A 4oz 80/20 hamburger would have about .8oz of fat (200 calories per), and 3.2oz of pure lean, raw (about 40 calories per), making for something like 290 calories. If you grill that burger to medium, you're probably going to lose .4 ounces of fat, and the patty is going to end up at 210 calories (and around .4 ounces of water for a cooked weight of 3.2 ounces, or about 65 calories per ounce, about 7 calories per ounce less than raw).
On the other hand, if you cook meat with the fat on it, but trim it off afterward, or if you cook the meat in fatty liquids (stewed or braised with fat left in for example); the meat will have some of that fat permeating it, and may actually be more caloric than raw.
Various long braised meats used in mexican cooking for example, where the lean meat might only have 45 calories per ounce; but once braised for a few hours in a fatty broth, the end product might be 55 calories an ounce.
Either way, you're not going to find any cooked meat (even the fattiest wagyu, hamburger, sausage, or meat stewed in fatty liquid) that runs more than about 90 calories per ounce, no matter how it's prepared; and the vast majority of lean meat is going to end up at under 60 calories per ounce cooked (again, presuming you eat only lean, and intramuscular or melted fat, and not the separable fat).
Carbs are MUCH higher calorie per ounce in the real world. By contrast to beef, white flour runs about 105 calories per ounce. Pasta and rice also both run about 105 calories per ounce (uncooked). Typical white bread, because there's a fair bit of water in it, has about 80 calories per ounce (100-120 calories in a typical slice). Granulated sugar runs about 110 calories per ounce.
Yes, 1 ounce of flour, has almost as many calories as 1 ounce of sugar. Every piece of bread you eat might as well be a tablespoon of sugar.
To put it another way, two pieces of dry white toast, have almost as many calories as a 6oz filet mignon.
And of course, dietary fats are by far the most calorie dense; with butter running right around 200 calories per ounce (give or take a couple calories depending on the exact butter), and most oils around 240-250 calories per ounce.
Using the same comparison, two and a half tablespoons of butter (about 1/3 a "stick") has about the same calories as that 6oz filet; and a full stick of butter, about the same as a 16 ounce ribeye.
So obviously, in terms of bulk, you get a lot more "full" for your calorie with proteins, as compared to straight up grains, or fats.
Of course, you get even more full per calorie with green vegetables (which are mostly water and fiber and run almost universally between 4 and 15 calories per ounce), potatoes (mostly water and starch, about 20 calories per ounce raw, mashies with whole milk and butter about 32 calories per ounce. Even steak fries deep fried in peanut oil are only 40 calories an ounce), and leguminous beans cooked in water (most run 80-125 calories raw, but usually about 1/4 to 1/3 that cooked. they absorb a LOT of water).
So as I said, while I'm not deliberately Atkinsing, I end up with a very high protein, low carb diet; just by optimizing for protein and fullness.
So far, my meals have consisted of a fair sized hunk of lean protein (4-6 ounces per meal), a few bites of carbs (mostly roast potatoes), maybe a little broth, maybe some beans, some cucumbers or pickles, some fruit etc... Also I've had a couple of eggs, and a little bit of cheese.
I haven't had any bread, rice, or pasta this week at all; and I've made up for some of the bulk with pickles and cucmbers, apples, and oranges (which do have a fair bit of sugar, but also a lot of fiber, water, and raw bulk).
Also I've only had a little bit (well... in comparison to my usual intake) of coffee or tea, with a little milk, and splenda; some diet soda, some drink mixes with splenda, and some water.
When I'm feeling a little empty, I'll have a cup of broth (typically around 1.2 to 2 calories per ounce), or a couple of pickles, or some tea or coffee; and then I'm fine for a couple hours.
And really, I haven't been all that hungry.
When I'll get REALLY hungry, is after about a week and a half, when my body earnestly kicks into famine mode. It'll be sending me "starving to death" signals pretty constantly for about six weeks, until it readjusts to the lower intake level.
Those weeks are going to suck.
Actually, pickles and cucumbers . They're mostly water, and what isn't water is mostly vegetable fiber.
They're crisp, light, refreshing, and they wake up the palette.
Now, I love pickles anyway, but 4 days in to a diet that has me eating less than a third of my required daily calories (and having lost about 1.5lbs over and above the water weight thing), they are a godsend.
See, pickled cucumbers (so long as they're the no sugar added type) only have about 5 calories an ounce (raw cucumbers are more like 4 calories an ounce).
Others recommend celery, and certainly it has it's points (4 calories per ounce, lots of fiber); but I just don't like the stuff.
No... I'm on the pickles, protein, and tea diet.
Rather, I'm not on any particular diet at all, excepting "restricted calorie" and "high protein"; it just works out that way.
I'm not atkinsing, or deliberately going for a low carb diet. I just need so much protein, that to get it within the calorie limits I'm under, I need to make the vast majority of my calories protein.
Pure proteins run something like 91 calories per ounce (3.2 calories per gram, 28.34 grams per ounce), vs carbs at l14 calories per (4 calories per gram), and pure fats at 255 calories per ounce.
Of course, since nothing in this world is laboratory pure, actual calorie counts run a little different.
Lean meat (trimmed to 0 visible surface fat) runs from about 30 calories to about 60 calories per ounce raw weight. By lean meat, I mean the lean component of the separable lean and fat, deboned, with all fat trimmed off. All animal protein has some intramusucular fat that can't easily be separated out.
Ground meat can have a large proportion of fat mixed in with it; as much as 30% in some commercial grinds, as little as 10% in others. Most hamburger is mixed 80/20 (resulting in about 72 calories per ounce), most sausage is mixed 70/30 (resulting in about 85 calories per ounce).
Shrimp and lobster are at the bottom of lean meat calories, with around 30 calories per ounce. Tuna and other similar fish are just above that at about 31-33 calories per ounce. Chicken and turkey breast just above that at 35 or so. Pork tenderloin is just above that at 39 or so. Choice Beef tenderloin is above that at 45 or so (beef sirloin strip is right around 49. Prime beef is about 10% more calories).
All the fattier cuts of common proteins, like shoulders, thighs etc... are up over 45 calories per ounce, because they have more intramuscular fat; but most are under 55. About the highest calorie lean meat, would be a full fat pork butt, at about 58 calories per raw ounce trimmed to 0 separable fat.
I can't think of any lean meat that's over 60 calories per ounce raw, except wagyu beef, which has so much intramuscular fat (Wagyu run about 20-25% fat, which is about twice as much as prime beef) it runs between 80 and 90 calories per ounce depending on cut.
Eating the separable fat of course makes a huge difference. If you eat prime a ribeye with the full fat on it, you're eating about 100 calories per ounce.
Also of course, the way you cook things makes a difference. Grilling and pan searing fully trimmed lean meat, with a very small amount of fat either in the pan or brushed on the meat, and any surface fat patted or drained after cooking; and you often end up losing a fair bit of their fat without getting dry (if done properly anyway), such that the cooked piece of meat can actually end up with less calories than the raw.
Hamburger, and wagyu beef are both prime examples of this (no pun intended). When cooked over a high heat grill to medium rare or medium (respectively... never cook wagyu past medium rare), they both lose a lot of their fat; perhaps as much as 10% of the total weight of the cut (another 10% of the weight might be lost in evaporated moisture).
A 4oz 80/20 hamburger would have about .8oz of fat (200 calories per), and 3.2oz of pure lean, raw (about 40 calories per), making for something like 290 calories. If you grill that burger to medium, you're probably going to lose .4 ounces of fat, and the patty is going to end up at 210 calories (and around .4 ounces of water for a cooked weight of 3.2 ounces, or about 65 calories per ounce, about 7 calories per ounce less than raw).
On the other hand, if you cook meat with the fat on it, but trim it off afterward, or if you cook the meat in fatty liquids (stewed or braised with fat left in for example); the meat will have some of that fat permeating it, and may actually be more caloric than raw.
Various long braised meats used in mexican cooking for example, where the lean meat might only have 45 calories per ounce; but once braised for a few hours in a fatty broth, the end product might be 55 calories an ounce.
Either way, you're not going to find any cooked meat (even the fattiest wagyu, hamburger, sausage, or meat stewed in fatty liquid) that runs more than about 90 calories per ounce, no matter how it's prepared; and the vast majority of lean meat is going to end up at under 60 calories per ounce cooked (again, presuming you eat only lean, and intramuscular or melted fat, and not the separable fat).
Carbs are MUCH higher calorie per ounce in the real world. By contrast to beef, white flour runs about 105 calories per ounce. Pasta and rice also both run about 105 calories per ounce (uncooked). Typical white bread, because there's a fair bit of water in it, has about 80 calories per ounce (100-120 calories in a typical slice). Granulated sugar runs about 110 calories per ounce.
Yes, 1 ounce of flour, has almost as many calories as 1 ounce of sugar. Every piece of bread you eat might as well be a tablespoon of sugar.
To put it another way, two pieces of dry white toast, have almost as many calories as a 6oz filet mignon.
And of course, dietary fats are by far the most calorie dense; with butter running right around 200 calories per ounce (give or take a couple calories depending on the exact butter), and most oils around 240-250 calories per ounce.
Using the same comparison, two and a half tablespoons of butter (about 1/3 a "stick") has about the same calories as that 6oz filet; and a full stick of butter, about the same as a 16 ounce ribeye.
So obviously, in terms of bulk, you get a lot more "full" for your calorie with proteins, as compared to straight up grains, or fats.
Of course, you get even more full per calorie with green vegetables (which are mostly water and fiber and run almost universally between 4 and 15 calories per ounce), potatoes (mostly water and starch, about 20 calories per ounce raw, mashies with whole milk and butter about 32 calories per ounce. Even steak fries deep fried in peanut oil are only 40 calories an ounce), and leguminous beans cooked in water (most run 80-125 calories raw, but usually about 1/4 to 1/3 that cooked. they absorb a LOT of water).
So as I said, while I'm not deliberately Atkinsing, I end up with a very high protein, low carb diet; just by optimizing for protein and fullness.
So far, my meals have consisted of a fair sized hunk of lean protein (4-6 ounces per meal), a few bites of carbs (mostly roast potatoes), maybe a little broth, maybe some beans, some cucumbers or pickles, some fruit etc... Also I've had a couple of eggs, and a little bit of cheese.
I haven't had any bread, rice, or pasta this week at all; and I've made up for some of the bulk with pickles and cucmbers, apples, and oranges (which do have a fair bit of sugar, but also a lot of fiber, water, and raw bulk).
Also I've only had a little bit (well... in comparison to my usual intake) of coffee or tea, with a little milk, and splenda; some diet soda, some drink mixes with splenda, and some water.
When I'm feeling a little empty, I'll have a cup of broth (typically around 1.2 to 2 calories per ounce), or a couple of pickles, or some tea or coffee; and then I'm fine for a couple hours.
And really, I haven't been all that hungry.
When I'll get REALLY hungry, is after about a week and a half, when my body earnestly kicks into famine mode. It'll be sending me "starving to death" signals pretty constantly for about six weeks, until it readjusts to the lower intake level.
Those weeks are going to suck.
Friday, December 03, 2010
Well, the good news is, I lost 25 pounds...
Actually 24.4 according to my fairly accurate scale (I get the same reading three times in a row... best I can do right now); but I figure a little rounding never hurt anyone.
The bad news... there's always bad news... is why and how.
So, for a few months, I've been experiencing peripheral edema; because of the hormone fluctuations basically, plus being overweight, and sitting in a chair for 8+ hours a day etc...
If you've never felt it, it's not particularly pleasant... Kinda like your limbs are overstuffed sausages.
When it gets bad, it become so painful you can't stand, or walk, or put shoes on, or socks, or even have a sheet resting on your feet (gout sufferers know the feeling as well).
I've actually had general edema as well, around the face, eyes, neck etc... but that hasn't been as bad. Just makes me look puffy. It's also probably why I've suddenly started experiencing apnea, after years of never having a problem.
The testosterone therapy made the edema MUCH worse. It was a little uncomfortable before, but after the injections started, there were days it was genuinely painful.
Along with that of course was huge water retention, and weight gain. I actually gained 40lbs in one month, on a 2000-2400 calorie a day diet; basically all from excess water retention (yes, that's 5 gallons of excess water).
Finally, yesterday, it was pretty bad. My feet looked like summer sausages, and they HURT. We went out to eat after running some errands that had me on my feet for a while, and it was so bad I had to take my shoes, and my socks off at the restaurant, or the pain was too much for me to eat.
So after we finished dinner, I squeezed my sockless feet back into my "loose" slip on shoes (they were loose and comfy when I bought them) and went to urgent care. The doc gave me scrip for Lasix, a rather powerful diuretic; 80mg every 24 hours.
I've been on them for 20 hours, and net, even after lunch, and all that I've drunk (about a gallon between water, fruit juice, and diet soda... which is actually light for me) I have lost 24.4 lbs.
Yes.
Seriously.
24.4 lbs in one day, lost using diuretics.
Yes, I've urinated over 20 times in that 24 hour period. I was up all night pissing the edema away (seriously. I was up til 4 peeing every half hour, then I woke up at 7).
Can you say hypermicturation anyone?
Yes, seriously, 24.4 pounds. Yes, I know, that's 3 gallons. Actually more; because I've drunk about a gallon of liquids, and had a sandwich for lunch... Call it another 8-9 lbs.
4 gallons...
I've slowed down a bit, now I'm only going once an hour, maybe once per 90 minutes.
Honestly, I think I've got a good 60lbs of excess water in me... or did when I started. I'm guessing I can get rid of all the excess in a week or two on these things... now if we can just figure out how to stop it from happening again.
The bad news... there's always bad news... is why and how.
So, for a few months, I've been experiencing peripheral edema; because of the hormone fluctuations basically, plus being overweight, and sitting in a chair for 8+ hours a day etc...
If you've never felt it, it's not particularly pleasant... Kinda like your limbs are overstuffed sausages.
When it gets bad, it become so painful you can't stand, or walk, or put shoes on, or socks, or even have a sheet resting on your feet (gout sufferers know the feeling as well).
I've actually had general edema as well, around the face, eyes, neck etc... but that hasn't been as bad. Just makes me look puffy. It's also probably why I've suddenly started experiencing apnea, after years of never having a problem.
The testosterone therapy made the edema MUCH worse. It was a little uncomfortable before, but after the injections started, there were days it was genuinely painful.
Along with that of course was huge water retention, and weight gain. I actually gained 40lbs in one month, on a 2000-2400 calorie a day diet; basically all from excess water retention (yes, that's 5 gallons of excess water).
Finally, yesterday, it was pretty bad. My feet looked like summer sausages, and they HURT. We went out to eat after running some errands that had me on my feet for a while, and it was so bad I had to take my shoes, and my socks off at the restaurant, or the pain was too much for me to eat.
So after we finished dinner, I squeezed my sockless feet back into my "loose" slip on shoes (they were loose and comfy when I bought them) and went to urgent care. The doc gave me scrip for Lasix, a rather powerful diuretic; 80mg every 24 hours.
I've been on them for 20 hours, and net, even after lunch, and all that I've drunk (about a gallon between water, fruit juice, and diet soda... which is actually light for me) I have lost 24.4 lbs.
Yes.
Seriously.
24.4 lbs in one day, lost using diuretics.
Yes, I've urinated over 20 times in that 24 hour period. I was up all night pissing the edema away (seriously. I was up til 4 peeing every half hour, then I woke up at 7).
Can you say hypermicturation anyone?
Yes, seriously, 24.4 pounds. Yes, I know, that's 3 gallons. Actually more; because I've drunk about a gallon of liquids, and had a sandwich for lunch... Call it another 8-9 lbs.
4 gallons...
I've slowed down a bit, now I'm only going once an hour, maybe once per 90 minutes.
Honestly, I think I've got a good 60lbs of excess water in me... or did when I started. I'm guessing I can get rid of all the excess in a week or two on these things... now if we can just figure out how to stop it from happening again.
Monday, April 19, 2010
PT, good for you, good for me
PT can have a couple meanings. To anyone who served in the military of course, it means (officially) "Physical Training" (unofficially, there are a number of other, and more creative, names for it), and has a certain association with pain... And for anyone who's had serious orthopedic injuries it means "Physical Therapy"... and has certain associations with pain...
The constant there seems to be joint and muscle pain.
Now, for my money, the best relief for joint and muscle pain is the hot, wet, pounding (dirty bastards... besides, that causes MORE joint and muscle pain... even if it is worth it) of a nice hot tub/spa.
As it happens, I've been doing a bunch of yard work recently (fence mending, constructing yard shelter, felling and splitting wood etc...); and my new house has four different sets of stairs for me to deal with (two bad knees, overweight, and stairs... joy).
Thankfully, our new house ALSO has one of THESE:
Actually, particularly, a Dolphin Spas Luxor:
Oh lord, how I love hot tubs. I can't even tell you. If you happen to have a bad back, or bad knees, you almost certainly know what I'm talking about.
We filled the hot tub yesterday around noon, and I expected to have to wait 24 hours (as I had in all my previous hot tub experiences); but the thing had hit 104 (from 48 degrees to start) by 7pm.
By 9pm, we were relaxing in the tub, and stayed in there 'til almost 11.
Late night, cold (about 45) clear, with a new moon and bright stars reflecting off the lake, geese honking every once in a while; in a hot tub with my wife.
Heaven.
Now, there's the physical therapy, where the physical torture... uhhh I mean training?
Well, in other good news, I've lost 40lbs in the last six weeks. Yay me...
Of course a non trivial portion of that is from the pneumonia; but hey, 40lbs is 40lbs.
Just PART of that loss is from the illness though; the other part is that I'm being much more active, and eating somewhat less than I was in AZ.
In general, the atmoshphere here is just better for me. I like it more, I have more fun, I can spend a lot more time outside (even in the cold. I just prefer the "feel" here).
What I can't do right now, is work out. When we moved, we gave away our home gym, and our excercise bike.
I really liked our smith machine, but it was always a bit limiting for me anyway; and we really didn't want to (or for that matter, really couldn't) carry that extra thousand+ pounds of weight with us.
I've noted before my feelings on gym memberships vs. home gyms; and moving to the middle of frikken nowhere has only strengthened that opinion. For me, where I live, it's a home gym or nothing.
So, more PT... and in my case, it's really both, since the more I exercise for fitness, the more I reinforce my joints with good muscle tone etc... (presuming I don't overdo it).
So, I figure, this time I'm going to get what I wanted when I was buying last time. Again, I liked my smith machine, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted... it was just such a great deal (massive clearance) that I couldn't say no.
And I do LIKE smith machines; but they have disadvantages. For one thing, you can only have one station active at a time. For another, although the motion is generally good, it's not good for squats (it causes hip issues), or leg presses; and it requires a lot of reconfiguration while you're working out.
What I really want, is a powertec leverage machine; and they cost less than half as much as they used to (they were well over $2k when I was looking last time) so I'm going for one:
That is the Powertec WB-MS10 leverage gym; and with a couple add on accessories (leg press, leg lift, pec fly, all $130 each) it does everything I want.
Check out the video, and you'll see how versatile these machines are.
Add an accessory bench ($250), and you can actually set one of the other accessories (the leg press, pec fly etc... above) on it, and have four stations ging at once if you like; or have a dedicated station, or use it as a crunch bench or a dumb bell bench (which is what we'll do).
The only thing I'm trying to decide, is whether I also want to grab their power rack, since I'm already getting the accessory bench and accessories (that's the accessory bench in the picture with it):
There are a few exercises that the power rack is better for (like squats, and bench pressing), but the only thing set of excercises I can do with a power rack that I can't do with the leverage machine; are safety dead lifts, cleans, and clean and jerks (doing lifts inside the rack). Also if you get the lat tower, it gives you a few more options for pulling exercises (rows, lat pulldowns etc...)
Watch the video, you'll see what I mean.
I've got the floor space for it, and it's not much extra money for one, but I'm not sure if it's worth it.
If I get the power rack, I'm going to want two 700lb plate sets anyway; just so I don't have to move plates around all the time. If I don't get the rack I can probably get away with a 700, and a 300 or 500.
Oh and of course we'll need a dumb bell set. Not sure if I'm just going to grab the cast iron bells, or a couple sets of olympic bars and a small plate set. I don't much feel like dropping $500 on a decent set of bells, and if I'm getting two 700lb plate sets, I've got to do SOMETHING with all those 2.5 and 5lb plates they stick in the things.
Of course we also need cardio; and I need a 0 impact solution, that can work with my bac back, ankles, and knees. For me that leaves pretty much just recumbent bikes.
I'm thinking about this one, a Diamondback 500sr:
It looks good, I like the features, it gets great reviews, and a decent price. The only problem being the "user weight limit", but there isn't a single consumer grade bike that doesn't set their limit that low.
Now, all of these aint cheap... Probably around $3k or a bit more total (and thus aren't in the budget yet. Debt service and a new transmission come first); but neither is a good local gym (and near as I can tell, there ISN'T a good local gym. There are four gyms in the area, but they're all of the "Curves" variety. The nearest gym with adequate facilities for me is 35 miles away).
This is a full gym setup for me, and my wife (and eventually, the kids), and if we can find some friends to work out with, for the next ten years...
... and we'll actually use it, unlike our gym memberships. Worth every damn penny.
The constant there seems to be joint and muscle pain.
Now, for my money, the best relief for joint and muscle pain is the hot, wet, pounding (dirty bastards... besides, that causes MORE joint and muscle pain... even if it is worth it) of a nice hot tub/spa.
As it happens, I've been doing a bunch of yard work recently (fence mending, constructing yard shelter, felling and splitting wood etc...); and my new house has four different sets of stairs for me to deal with (two bad knees, overweight, and stairs... joy).
Thankfully, our new house ALSO has one of THESE:
Actually, particularly, a Dolphin Spas Luxor:
Oh lord, how I love hot tubs. I can't even tell you. If you happen to have a bad back, or bad knees, you almost certainly know what I'm talking about.
We filled the hot tub yesterday around noon, and I expected to have to wait 24 hours (as I had in all my previous hot tub experiences); but the thing had hit 104 (from 48 degrees to start) by 7pm.
By 9pm, we were relaxing in the tub, and stayed in there 'til almost 11.
Late night, cold (about 45) clear, with a new moon and bright stars reflecting off the lake, geese honking every once in a while; in a hot tub with my wife.
Heaven.
Now, there's the physical therapy, where the physical torture... uhhh I mean training?
Well, in other good news, I've lost 40lbs in the last six weeks. Yay me...
Of course a non trivial portion of that is from the pneumonia; but hey, 40lbs is 40lbs.
Just PART of that loss is from the illness though; the other part is that I'm being much more active, and eating somewhat less than I was in AZ.
In general, the atmoshphere here is just better for me. I like it more, I have more fun, I can spend a lot more time outside (even in the cold. I just prefer the "feel" here).
What I can't do right now, is work out. When we moved, we gave away our home gym, and our excercise bike.
I really liked our smith machine, but it was always a bit limiting for me anyway; and we really didn't want to (or for that matter, really couldn't) carry that extra thousand+ pounds of weight with us.
I've noted before my feelings on gym memberships vs. home gyms; and moving to the middle of frikken nowhere has only strengthened that opinion. For me, where I live, it's a home gym or nothing.
So, more PT... and in my case, it's really both, since the more I exercise for fitness, the more I reinforce my joints with good muscle tone etc... (presuming I don't overdo it).
So, I figure, this time I'm going to get what I wanted when I was buying last time. Again, I liked my smith machine, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted... it was just such a great deal (massive clearance) that I couldn't say no.
And I do LIKE smith machines; but they have disadvantages. For one thing, you can only have one station active at a time. For another, although the motion is generally good, it's not good for squats (it causes hip issues), or leg presses; and it requires a lot of reconfiguration while you're working out.
What I really want, is a powertec leverage machine; and they cost less than half as much as they used to (they were well over $2k when I was looking last time) so I'm going for one:
That is the Powertec WB-MS10 leverage gym; and with a couple add on accessories (leg press, leg lift, pec fly, all $130 each) it does everything I want.
Check out the video, and you'll see how versatile these machines are.
Add an accessory bench ($250), and you can actually set one of the other accessories (the leg press, pec fly etc... above) on it, and have four stations ging at once if you like; or have a dedicated station, or use it as a crunch bench or a dumb bell bench (which is what we'll do).
The only thing I'm trying to decide, is whether I also want to grab their power rack, since I'm already getting the accessory bench and accessories (that's the accessory bench in the picture with it):
There are a few exercises that the power rack is better for (like squats, and bench pressing), but the only thing set of excercises I can do with a power rack that I can't do with the leverage machine; are safety dead lifts, cleans, and clean and jerks (doing lifts inside the rack). Also if you get the lat tower, it gives you a few more options for pulling exercises (rows, lat pulldowns etc...)
Watch the video, you'll see what I mean.
I've got the floor space for it, and it's not much extra money for one, but I'm not sure if it's worth it.
If I get the power rack, I'm going to want two 700lb plate sets anyway; just so I don't have to move plates around all the time. If I don't get the rack I can probably get away with a 700, and a 300 or 500.
Oh and of course we'll need a dumb bell set. Not sure if I'm just going to grab the cast iron bells, or a couple sets of olympic bars and a small plate set. I don't much feel like dropping $500 on a decent set of bells, and if I'm getting two 700lb plate sets, I've got to do SOMETHING with all those 2.5 and 5lb plates they stick in the things.
Of course we also need cardio; and I need a 0 impact solution, that can work with my bac back, ankles, and knees. For me that leaves pretty much just recumbent bikes.
I'm thinking about this one, a Diamondback 500sr:
It looks good, I like the features, it gets great reviews, and a decent price. The only problem being the "user weight limit", but there isn't a single consumer grade bike that doesn't set their limit that low.
Now, all of these aint cheap... Probably around $3k or a bit more total (and thus aren't in the budget yet. Debt service and a new transmission come first); but neither is a good local gym (and near as I can tell, there ISN'T a good local gym. There are four gyms in the area, but they're all of the "Curves" variety. The nearest gym with adequate facilities for me is 35 miles away).
This is a full gym setup for me, and my wife (and eventually, the kids), and if we can find some friends to work out with, for the next ten years...
... and we'll actually use it, unlike our gym memberships. Worth every damn penny.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
I had a pretty good day
Do you know what happens when you put your boot down on the pedal of an all wheel drive, six liter, twelve cylinder, twin turbocharged coupe with 553 horsepower and 479ftlbs of torque?
Well, I do.
You reach 60 miles per hour in a little under 5 seconds, with a BIG DAMN SMILE ON YOUR FACE.
I drove this today:
Damn... It isn't the prettiest thing in the world, but it is for damn sure the best car I've ever driven. Incredibly comfortable, fast, GREAT noise, refined, great handling... I love it.
It's a 200mph car and it feels as comfortable at 25mph as it does at 100mph. It's amazing.
Of course, for $267,000 (new, MSRP anyway) it had better be. Yeah... not gonna buy a car that costs as much as a house.
But still... damn.
Before that, my wife and I found a really decent, and very cheap, Greek/Armenian/Chicago diner food place that delivers, and we happen to be in the delivery area. Great gyros, great baklava... can't ask for more.
Also, I've lost eleven lbs in the last three weeks. Let's hope I can keep that up (not visiting the Greek place too much would be a good plan for that).
Well, I do.
You reach 60 miles per hour in a little under 5 seconds, with a BIG DAMN SMILE ON YOUR FACE.
I drove this today:
Damn... It isn't the prettiest thing in the world, but it is for damn sure the best car I've ever driven. Incredibly comfortable, fast, GREAT noise, refined, great handling... I love it.
It's a 200mph car and it feels as comfortable at 25mph as it does at 100mph. It's amazing.
Of course, for $267,000 (new, MSRP anyway) it had better be. Yeah... not gonna buy a car that costs as much as a house.
But still... damn.
Before that, my wife and I found a really decent, and very cheap, Greek/Armenian/Chicago diner food place that delivers, and we happen to be in the delivery area. Great gyros, great baklava... can't ask for more.
Also, I've lost eleven lbs in the last three weeks. Let's hope I can keep that up (not visiting the Greek place too much would be a good plan for that).
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