16 Days into my Challenge and……
It’s at this point in any challenge that most people quit (if they haven’t done so already). and I am seemingly stuck, particularly if I judge my progress on weight lost. I stepped on the scale and was shocked to find that I am only 0,5kg less than when I started focusing on this new direction a fortnight ago.
Fortunately I know that I am in the most critical phase of my new Journey and I need to revisit a few things. Why did I start? What is my Vision? What is my Purpose? How will my mantra of Burning the Boats help me now?
Truth be known, my ultimate success or lack of it will depend on how I answer the above questions and also how I respond to this challenge within a challenge. I cannot quit now, I have to persevere, remain committed and pull through, as this ‘week’ may define many of my future successes or lack of them.
“You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight” (Jim Rohn)
The early days, seems like I’m having to dig deep once more!
1. Why did I start?
I believe that the majority of us have been eating badly and arguably the biggest culprits are Ironman athletes, as we can seemingly get away with it due to the hours spent swimming, running and cycling. I am living proof of that, but I’m also starting to ask myself have I realized my potential; how has all this junk that I’ve been eating affected me inside my body; has the food I’ve been eating (in the past) been a contributor to my poor sleeping habits or my energy levels?
The more I read the more I believe I’m heading in the right direction and it may take months, or years to reach my new destination, but I am sure it will be worth it. One thing is for sure it will be an interesting Journey.
2. My Vision?
Bill Hybels said in his book Courageous Leadership that Vision “Is a picture of the Future that creates Passion!” I have a Crystal Clear Vision of my future, of being healthier, of being more streamlined and this picture of the future is creating sufficient Passion for me to stay focused and to remain committed.
3. My Purpose?
It was the tragic passing of my 19 year old Stepson Reece that was the catalyst to me getting started and that little spark became a fire within, enabling me to chase my dreams and compete in ironman competitions worldwide. My transformation appeared to encourage others to want to dream again, to want to get off the couch and back into the game of life.
So this has become a huge motivator for me, trying to encourage others, to inspire people to change direction in an effort to pursue a new direction within their lives.
4. Burning the Boats?
The beauty of Burning the Boats and committing your Goals to Stone is that you cannot simply erase them, or rub them out. This is one of the reasons I Burnt the Boats and why it is so much easier for me to push on and to persevere. What message would I be sending out now if I called in and said sorry (to anybody following this weekly Blog), it’s a little tougher than expected so I’ll start again next month, or next year? (http://ironmansa.com/2013/08/22/burn-the-boats-maximise-your-potential/)
Week Two and how am I progressing?
Perhaps the only progress I have made this week is that I know I’ve broken a really long, bad habit. I no longer desire some of those really bad refined carbohydrates, things like chocolates, biscuits, chips, rusks and muffins. Before I proceed let me record my gratitude to my wife Michelle, who is supporting me in my efforts but more importantly preparing the meals… thanks very much!
I stuck to my Plan very well, yes I had a couple of Light beers and Future Life on one of the days (my Treat Day- never call it a Cheat Day as you want to digest positives not negatives), but other than that I did great and stuck to my Plan to a T! My one concern is, should I be cutting out the Capuchinos (a big weakness), so if you have an opinion on this I’d be grateful to hear from you?
My reactions to the week: Well sticking to the Plan was so much easier than I thought it was going to be and it was a case of building upon the momentum of the first week. Strangely enough I never seem to be very hungry any more which is a great sign and I think now I’m snacking (nuts and kudu biltong) purely out of habit. It’s important to snack, but I probably do snack too often and in too large quantities, but it was important that I snacked often those first two weeks, but this will be one of my key focus areas going forward.
I even had two social commitments including a staff braai and drank 2 glasses of red wine and snacked on carrot sticks and nuts, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Strangely enough I had no desire to sample the chips & dips, nor the pasta or potato salads, something I would have got stuck into a few weeks ago.
My energy levels have been more constant and I think I am sleeping a little better. Even going to the toilet is different these days and one big plus is that there is far less gas emissions around the home.
But while I chalked up a big Plus on the Plan, I must say it is very disappointing that the weight is being stubborn and not falling off me like we would all hope it does. (If anyone has any encouragement or rationale on this please let me know as I would be grateful for that but it would be great to share it with those who face similar challenges?)
Do Not Let the How Limit You?
I’m not sure of the How, but I cannot afford to let the How limit me. I do know that some of the best Visions are the ones that we have no idea how we are going to achieve them. Somebody once said let imagination be your only limitation.
I can recall a bike ride in 2007 when I wasn’t very fit or in great shape and somebody asking me what is my ultimate goal. I said I’m aiming to get to the World Championships and challenge for a Podium in my Age Group. Sure he laughed and so did I, as I had no idea if it was possible and it certainly appeared not, except for one thing…. I had a vivid imagination and if you can imagine it, it is Possible. It was Possible! View Las Vegas race report here (http://ironmansa.com/2011/11/13/the-riddle-of-the-iron-man/)
I have no idea how successful I will be on this new challenge, but I can imagine it and I’m starting to see myself as I can become and no longer as I am, which is an amazing vision. I don’t know the How, but I’m inspired and while it is important to me, there is something ‘bigger’ than me at work here. I am hoping that others can learn from my experiences, my mistakes, my successes with this challenge and improve the quality of their lives, or enhance longevity.
This week I took a phone call from an old University friend, Douglas Gerber, who now lives in America and he is struggling with similar weighty issues since a back operation (must be an age thing), but a little over a year ago he ran a 33 minute 10km, which is inspiring in itself. So come on Douglas time to get back on track. Also chatted to Mark Wolf, who is seemingly a fundi on Nutrition and I hope I can learn a trick or two from him. In the meantime I’m sampling some of his recipes.
Australian cricketer Steve Waugh once said and I live by this motto..
“If you want something to happen with all of your heart, you will always find ways to make it happen: If you do not really want it with all your heart, you will find an excuse to explain why it did not happen!”
It’s important to remember that life begins at the end of your comfort zone and nothing worth achieving is easy, so it’s time to get into the trenches and put your back into something. Unfortunately most Goals (Vision) fail either at the start or in the execution, as we never expected it to be stubborn or difficult, which is what I am experiencing. But, I am going to keep fighting back, getting up once more than I am knocked down and I will finish strong!
So this week will be trying to do a few more training sessions (last week was particularly poor as I hurt my shoulder at swimming so only swam twice and ran & biked once, but both were very short). However, my main focus will be on pushing through on the new Nutrition Plan, trying to stay away from refined carbohydrates. I will be bold, it will be measurable and I will be accountable and in time I will start seeing the benefits.
Enjoying the Journey, although it is very Challenging!
Cheers for now, Alec (@alecriddle)
During the course of this week @davepearce76 sent me a link to an article by Ben Greenfield entitled ‘Does endurance exercise make you age faster?’ Wow, this was a wake-up call and below is a brief extract from Ben’s article, together with a link to the article. I highly recommend that you read it, you may just view Life through a different Lens thereafter.
For a long time, Chad stayed fit on the outside, but broken on the inside, and it eventually caught up with him. Within just a few years, Chad will barely be able to do any of the exercise that he relied on for so long to keep him sane and keep him lean. Even simple movements will hurt.
And Chad will quit enjoying life.
If Chad had taken the trouble to have some tests done, he would have discovered…..
-hampered fat metabolism and a pre-diabetic condition from excessive sugar, starch, carbohydrate and high-glycemic index carbohydrate intake…
-chronically elevated cortisol hormone levels, systemic inflammation and blood vessel and nerve damage from oxidative stress and free radical production…
-skin, joint and connective tissue breakdown from hormone depletion and high levels of inflammatory markers like HS-CRP, fibrinogen and interleukins…
-rock-bottom vitamin D, depleted omega-3 anti-inflammatory fatty acids and plummeting testosterone levels from a low-fat diet combined with energy depletion from overexercise…
-a leaky intestinal wall, fungus overgrowth in the gastrointestinal tract and severe neurotransmitter and sleep imbalances related to a broken gut…
-depletion of elements crucial to the heart’s electrical activity, such magnesium and trace minerals, combined with excessive levels of oxidized cholesterol and plaque formation…
YES, you Can, you Will, you Want to!!
The Riddle of an Ironman's Life 
Don’t give up, it’s known for the weight drop to be very gradual in the beginning but the truth is weight is not always a critical measurement as sometimes you might be gaining some lean muscle mass yet losing fat. I would also use %fat as a measurement of body composition it can give u quite a clear picture. One of my LCHF customers loser only 1/2kg in the first 3weeks by week 4she was despondent but by week 5 she had shredded around 3.6kg’s and it just kept going after that. I found though first few weeks lean muscle mass was better body fat has certainly dropped even though weight had not :-). Hang in there :-).
Thanks Mark, was hoping to hear something like that as I can imagine the body taking time to adapat after years of being exposed to a different way. I am committed and believe I may only see the benefits in 2014, but that’s cool as I’m in for the long haul.
Let me just preface this with the fact that I don’t agree with cutting out carbs and replacing it with fat so take this from where it comes.
Firstly a quick nutrition lesson, apologies if this is not news to you.
Weight loss is all about calories in vs calories out. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) our bodies are very efficient at what they do and it is very difficult to run off a pizza or a burger etc.
An example for you, a Steers burger chips and a medium coke will set you back around 1000 calories. With a 10k run you will be able to burn between 600 to 800 calories, depending mainly on your size (more you weigh, more calories you burn) but also on how fast you run.
So how many calories do you need in a day? Well this depends on your size and whether you are trying to gain or lose weight. But the average 80kg man needs around 2500 calories a day to stay level at 80kgs. If you want to lose weight subtract 500 calories from that. Leaving you with 2000 calories a day OR 2 Steers burgers combos.
So where does exercise fit into this? Well obviously exercising will increase your calorie needs. But as we have already seen not by that much. Other things that affect your calorie needs are what type of work you do – standing burns more calories than sitting, what medication you are on – stimulants (including coffee, green tea etc) increase calorie requirements, many anti depressants reduce your calorie requirement.
But don’t fall into the trap of thinking that exercise will solve your weight issues because it generally won’t, this might be one of the reasons you see obese people doing the Ironman.
Ok now to one of the most important parts of nutritional information.
Each gram of protein = 4 calories.
Each gram of carbs = 4 calories.
Each gram of fat = 9 calories!
As you can see replacing carbs with fats and eating the equivalent amount of food will actually make you fat. So I really would totally disagree with just replacing carbs with fats without also limiting the amount of food you eat.
As far as losing weight is concerned its actually a pretty simple mathematical formula, it’s not magic, you don’t need to go on the latest fad diet you just need to eat less calories than you expend.
Now for a little bit of magic (ok its’ not magic it’s science)
One kg of fat = roughly (on average) 7700 calories. Remember that 500 calorie deficit I suggested earlier to lose weight? Using that method you can lose 1kg every 15 days, or half a kilo a week. You can eat a deficit of 1000 calories and do 1kg a week. Any more than that and you are probably asking for trouble.
Something a lot of people forget about is water weight. If you are retaining water you are going to look fat and weigh more than necessary. How does one cut out water retention? Mainly by not loading yourself full of salt and drinking a lot of water.
Ok nutritional lesson over. Sorry that wasn’t as quick as I thought it would be.
Now in your situation I am worried about how many calories you are getting a day, possibly you are eating too much fat (9 calories per gram vs 4 calories per gram of carbs/protein)
Also I am worried about how much salt you are getting in your diet. Biltong specifically is jam packed with salt and therefore you could be retaining a lot of water. Cutting out the salt could very well get you to lose 3kgs of water weight in a couple days.
To answer your question about the cappuccinos, also my guilty pleasure, I think a couple day isn’t a problem. The problem with them is that they are usually made with full cream milk. Get them to make it with fat free milk and don’t add sugar and you should be fine.
Just remember at the end of the day losing weight is calories in vs calories out. I can’t give you much advice on being healthy. But I do know how to lose weight.
Good luck!
http://authoritynutrition.com/debunking-the-calorie-myth/
If you have the time or inclination, read this article regarding calories and see if it changes your mind at all. what like best about it is that it has references to scientific studies, as do all his articles.
The calories approach did not work for me. I eat huge amounts of meat, fat butter full cream dairy, cheese and veggies nuts etc, no calorie counting,and shed 12 kgs., in 6 months and have kept it off for a further 18 months.
i hope whatever you try works for you. good luck
Thanks Ian, interesting article and I’m starting to think along those lines too. Looking to the future with a positive mindset.
Calorie in calorie out is not a proven science, in actual fact its quite flawed. Its not new that fat is 9 calories per a gram, its why it makes it such a powerful form of fuel when harnessed :-). Not sure if you are an endurance athlete David, but this is not purely about weight loss, its about conditioning getting to that optimum power to mass weight ratio to ensure maximum performance and health. Calorie in vs calorie out wont factor here at all, especially as an endurance athlete because trust me the calories out are huge, this is about types of calories. I have been low carb for 11yrs body fat is 8% for 11yrs I eat 70% fat in my diet 😉
Thanks David for taking the time to write, I’ve done the Calories in vs calories out and I’m not 100% convinced. I’m not necessarily cutting Carbohydrates out, nor replacing with Fat. I’m experimenting and at this stage cutting out mostly refined carbohydrates (well certainly a drastic reduction thereof) as I do think that excessive refined carbohydrates is not good for one. I’m certainly not overdoing the Fat thing, but am now enjoying bacon with the eggs and having the odd Lamb Chop. Thanks again, keep well.
I agree with cutting out refined carbs, we as a society have become addicted to sugar so it’s not easy. Someone just brought a box of doughnuts in and it has taken all of my will power not to eat one. I do think that cutting out all carbs is a bit silly though, so I’m glad you haven’t done that.
You say you have tried calories in vs calories out, did you keep a food journal, did you religiously check calorie information on food labels? It’s a bit of extra work but is the difference between making it work and it not working.
That approach to food isn’t for everyone though and you must find what works for you.
I really enjoyed reading this.
On the point of cappuccinos, I had a real weakness for those and found that when I cut them down to 1 or 2 a week my energy levels actually rose. I had a tough time with caffeine until my nutritionist suggested having green tea instead (a little of an acquired taste for some, but I’ve found some with Orange and Lotus flower that I can stomach) and keeping the cappuccinos for my treat days. Worked a charm.
Good luck and well done so far – I look forward to reading more about the challenge and your progress on it!
Thanks for the advice Karin, I will be cutting down on the Cappucchinos for a while to see the impact.
Keep at it. I have been on a LCHF diet for over two years and have never felt better. No other way of eating has given me the same results. Calories in vs calories out is SOOOO wrong, it’s frightening. The type of calories is what counts but you cannot go this way half/half. It is all or nothing! Going back to carbs and sugars just gets your body back to where you where.
Your athletic performance will improve but it will take 4-6 weeks for your body to adapt.
Thanks Jean, I must say I cannot believe how well I am feeling and it’s only been 17 days. I realise that nutrition is like endurance training and one cannot expect immediate or short term results, so I’m in for the long haul.
HI Jean, thanks and I really appreciate the encouragement. As somebody once said as an athlete or a coach would you expect results after training for 2-3 weeks? We all no we wouldn’t, so it is with Nutrition and I’m looking forward to a month or three from now, when I will be able to enjoy the changes and share them.
Great progress. Initial change always the hardest. Great you stated goals publicly, harder to back down. Cappuccinos, whatever you decide make it black and white.. Either you do or don’t. Otherwise you will waste energy. On weight loss as someone else has mentioned, it’s secondary, body composition is more important and will take time. The most important benefits will be inside, healthy gut, less inflammation etc.. Keep going!! I am inspired to give it a go.
Hi Dave… it’s amazing how going public helps (Burning the Boats) and the encouragement of people like yourself. I’m already feeling better, sleeping better, etc. Go For IT!
Alec,
Thanks for being a motivating force to so many of us plebs out there! I listened to your “burn the boats” talk at WMC some time back and left inspired!
I went to go listen to Prof Noakes when he was in PE in November last year. I have been a recreational distance runner for 16 years and decided to give the LCHF thing a go. The 1st thing that went was the peanut butter and jam sandwiches (my weakness), especially after long runs.
The 1st 6 weeks was tough, as I often felt sluggish after workouts. I then learnt that full metabolic adaption takes about 6 to 8 weeks. Once the adaption took place and the fat burning switch was triggered I started losing weight and had noticeably more energy and plenty of lean muscle.
This year I ran my 2nd best marathon time ever (out of 40 odd attempt), my 2nd best Two Oceans (done as a warm-up for Comrades) and went on to run a PB on Comrades (under very tough conditions).
I read a tweet by Bruce Fordyce earlier this year when he said that he had just ran a marathon… on just water. On Two Oceans, a few weeks later, I was privileged to run km 54 and 55 with the great man himself and asked him about him calorie intake on the day (we were doing 5:30 splits and he was gaining speed for the finish). He told me that he had just had water all day; he also told me that Prof Noakes deserves a medal! I couldn’t agree more.
Thanks again and stay patient. The results will come!
HI Jacques, thanks for writing, I appreciate you sharing and find it encouraging. Bruce is a great guy and he, Tim and I travelled overseas together way back when. For me the first week was tough, now I’m actually enjoying it, never hungry and no cravings. Yes I do realise I need to be patient to kickstart the metabolism, but I will persevere. Thanks