Height: 5’11"
Weight: 186.6
Waist, 1" above navel: 34
Waist, navel: 35
Waist, 1" below navel: 35.5
Left Thigh: 23.5
Right Thigh: 23.75
Right Arm: 15
Left Arm: 15
Chest: 39.5
Actually started diet on 9/15 but just getting around to logging today. Pretty happy with my weight right now but one thing I’ve struggled with for a long time is late-night cravings and eating really crappy food when watching TV at night/mindlessly eating on the couch.
That’s what appealed to be about the diet, the testimonials of resetting your brain for these cravings. Also have some abdominal fat I would like to reduce a bit.
Also like the simplicity of the diet no counting calories, complex meal planning, and just cooking one meal per day.
Been doing the Metcon for Muscle workouts which have been a blast so far and a nice change. Chinup holds at the top of the bar are super hard!
So far I like the diet and usually when I start to get hungry is also when it’s time for my next protein shake. Gotten some cravings at night after dinner but knowing that the bedtime shake is coming up helps me get through them.
Felt pretty tired yesterday for most of the day, think I’m adjusting to the reduced calories/fewer carbs than I’m used to. Not worried, I know I’ll adjust to this pretty quickly.
Whoops, been forgetting to log daily. Day 6 of the V Diet today. Saturday and Sunday felt tired at times, could be adjusting to the decrease in calories. Energy levels felt fine yesterday, but also had work to distract me.
Shifted to working out in the afternoons after years of working out in the morning in a fasted state. Loved it, energy levels higher and stronger, was able to move more weight. Now I’m like, why didn’t I do this years ago? Creature habit and slow to change. Also, family/work schedules now make it an option.
Following this diet and eating the Healthy Solid Meal I realized I was probably overeating at dinner. Feels like the HSM fills me up, but I’m not stuffed. Huge realization for me.
Also noticed I seem to have fewer little aches and pains which I attribute to the higher dose of fish oil and the curcumin. Love this as a side effect!
Get a little hungry between protein pulses but it’s usually enough to know the next one is coming up soon.
My wife says my stomach already looks smaller, I’ll take measurements again on Thursday and be able to measure this.
Big win! Related: I’ve seen two things with people who struggle with their weight (and I experienced both myself back in the day):
They forget it takes roughly 20 minutes for the stomach to signal the brain that it’s full. They eat until they feel full, which then makes them feel uncomfortably stuffed half an hour later. We’ve all experienced this: you’re starving so you make a big plate for dinner. Then the phone rings or your kiddo needs attention so you stop halfway through your meal. When you finally get off the phone or get that LEGGO out of Junior’s nostril, you realize that you’re satisfyingly full. You may think, “I was going to keep eating all that?” Lesson: When you’re not counting calories, stop before you’re full. And it’s okay to not clean your plate. Screw you, Mom!
Related to the above maybe. We forget the difference between full and bust-a-gut stuffed. Many fall into the habit of thinking they must be stuffed, otherwise they’re not full. A little cheat here is to volumize each meal, usually with near-zero calorie veggies. I try to avoid being stuffed and follow my own advice, but I still throw in extra green veggies, mushrooms, radishes, etc. into dinner. Those stomach-fillers help to remind me that I’m full… and maybe a little stuffed.
Day 8. Down 3 pounds and 0.5 inch on my waist at navel! Exciting progress in just a week.
Came down with the cold my kids had, will still try to do what I can as far as walking in a fasted state and workouts in the gym. Mostly just a sore throat so far.
Day 9 of V-Diet. Battling a cold, got some moments when I was hungry yesterday and some cravings. Really want ice cream when you have that nasty sore throat feeling!
My wife started the V-Diet yesterday when she heard about my progress which is really cool to be able to share it with her. We’ll see how long she sticks with it, but it would be great if she lost some weight, some of her health issues would be improved by weight loss.
Still doing the walking in a fasted state despite the cold, hate slowing down for illness.
V Diet Day 10. I found myself hungrier the last few days, I think that has something to do with battling this cold. I always feel hungry when I have a cold for some reason.
Worked out yesterday but felt tired towards the end, not as much energy. I attribute more towards being sick rather than diet. Should probably take it easy this weekend to rest and recover but I hate slowing down due to a cold.
My wife said her knees felt better yesterday, could be the fish oil and curcumin, which she hasn’t taken before.
V Diet Day 12. Weighed myself this morning, down almost another 3 pounds at 180.8. My wife says I’m getting too skinny because you see it a lot in my face/jawline when I lose weight.
Finding the diet easier, feel less hungry between protein pulses yesterday. I was working on my bedtime pulse and thinking “I’m not even hungry but need the protein.”
Sleeping better, slept 9 hours on Saturday which I never do. Apple Health says I average 7 hours. I sleep with my Apple watch on. I wake up but I’m able to get back to sleep, a big improvement for me.
Charles Poliquin mentioned this to me years ago and it always stuck with me. While the belly area measurements are my go-to progress tracker, Charles noted that fat loss often “begins” in the face or under-chin area.
I’ve noticed this myself: If I’m getting a bit too thick for my liking, I notice that when I read with chin pointed down at a book, I can feel the under-chin chub. It’s my signal to tweak a few things in my diet and training.
Bonus: A leaner face typically makes a man look younger and, well, more manly. If you take any progress pics from the side, check the chin and neck area. Our eyes always go toward the belly, but chin/neck tells a story too. Hard to measure this with a tape, but pics help.
V Diet Day 14. Yesterday tried going up to 3 scoops of protein powder in a couple of shakes to slow my weight loss while still maintaining some progress. I liked it, definitely kept me fuller longer between meals/protein pulses.
Overall things are humming right along, other than getting over this cold. Just ordered a Ninja® Nutri-Blender BN300WM to take into the office and make my shakes while working. Excited for that.
One thing I will definitely keep doing after the diet ends is the fish oil/curcumin regimen. I was thinking this morning how I used to have some aches in my lower back that have reduced quite a bit since starting the diet. This could also be tied to eating less junk/sugar? Which I know has been linked to inflammation.
I think the reduction in aches and pains is in part due to those two supps, but also the cleaned-up diet, and – we can’t forget – the fat loss itself, which not only reduced inflammation but also took a lot of stress off the body. It’s surprising what a few extra pounds can do to the body, especially the back.
It’s a vicious cycle that I’m glad you’ve remedied: fat gain causes pain, which makes us not want to move around as much (even subconsciously), which causes more fat gain, which causes more pain, which causes…
