fat loss – Journeys With Dave

Anyone who has read this blog knows that I’ve had my share of health challenges, but despite that I’ve continued to exercise. Primarily with weights and an emphasis on building muscle. Well, after some thought, I’m changing tactics for the coming year. My number one goal is fat loss.

You’ll notice that I didn’t say “weight loss.” In my mind I don’t care if I weigh 150 pounds or 300 pounds as long as I have a low bodyfat percentage as compared to my muscle weight. Okay, truth be told, I don’t think I’d like to weigh 150 pounds. My skinny days are behind me and I’d still like to be able to bench 225 pounds!

So today is the first of a series of weekly “accountability” posts. Here are my current stats:

Height: 5’10.5″ (179 cm)
Weight: 236 (107 kg)
Bodyfat %: 36% (too darn fat)

The last stat is the only one I’ll be focusing on lowering. The weight will come down along with the bodyfat, but I’m tracking out of curiosity. My goal is to get down to about 20% bodyfat which is just a little more of my all time low of 18%. I’m guessing that I’ll lose about 20 pounds (9 kg) to get there.

I’m not giving up on strength training. My cardiologist says I should continue that as we all need functional strength as we get older – and getting off the floor is tough enough as it is without getting weaker!

The plan for this week is simple. I’m not looking to make sudden changes that I can’t maintain so I’m easing into things:

Track everything I eat. You can’t change what you don’t know. My meal tracker of choice is MyFitnessPal (though I’m open to something else if you have a recommendation just comment below).
Avoid the drive-through and eating out for lunch. Homemade food, even a sandwich, almost always has fewer calories and fat than anything from McDonald’s or even Subway.

That’s all for now – more next week!

All photos by David P. Wahr unless otherwise noted in which case the original artist retains all rights. Otherwise photos and words @copyright by David P. Wahr

The good news is that I’ve been keeping busy since my last blog. I’ve actually completed production on two plays that I acted in (one in February and one in April), I’m feeling pretty comfortable with my “new” position at work (I’ve been in it since September so I can’t really call it new anymore I suppose), and over all my health has been good. Not great, but good.

My Crohn’s seems to be more active over the last couple months. I haven’t had much in the way of full-blown flare ups but I’ve had some significant pain on and off, digestive issues, and an overall malaise/weakness/weariness which are all signs of Crohn’s activity. Things have been mild enough that I feel the Humira is still working but something has been going on. I’m also suspicious that some of what I’m attributing to Crohn’s is actually gallbladder related as the pain is just below my right rib cage. However, the “gurgling” and assorted noises sure don’t sound like my gallbladder! On top of this I’ve been plagued with a on again/off again cough. Sometimes it’s a full blown cold, sometimes it’s nasal congestion, all the times is annoying.

In terms of my fitness efforts, well…due to the previously mentioned feeling of malaise I haven’t been working out like I should. My weightlifting has been spotty at best, I haven’t been getting in my walks regularly, and as far as running goes…I don’t. I have had an attempt or two and now that spring seems to actually be here I really need to get back on track. I’ve been averaging less than 10,000 steps per day for some time and it’s time to get that count up at the very least.

On the plus side I’m at my lowest body weight this century! I have been tracking my food and macros so I think that is really helping. I’ve noticed that I’m not getting enough protein and too many fats so I need to reverse that. Especially since the protein will help me to retain/build muscle which becomes more critical as I approach yet another birthday next month.

I have goals for the summer which includes some mountain climbing on a trip to Colorado. If weather and conditions permit I hope to finally summit Long’s Peak – one of Colorado’s 14,000 footers. I had gotten as far as the Keyhole once in the past but due to a storm was not able to push on to the peak. Fortunately, I have a cousin who is an avid climber and he’s offered to take me up when I’m out there. But, in order to make it I’ve got to be in good cardiovascular shape – especially since I’m not used to the “thin” air – and my legs have to be strong enough to tackle the 15 mile round trip (half of it uphill).

The good news is that I won’t be lugging as much fat on the mountain. Wish me luck.

Onward!