Squeezing off a few pounds: 205 to 196

Yesterday was 3 weeks since I began the quest to ‘squeeze off a few pounds’
https://irondaughterirondad.com/squeezing-off-a-few-pounds/

My ‘official’ first period weigh-in will be next Friday, so it’s still a bit early to draw my first period conclusions, although I’ve liked the trend that I see so far.

As you can see, the last 3 days, I’ve been at 196 which is actually within the target range that I had set for the end of October 🙂

By adding a trendline to the data (the straight green line) and taking a look at the rolling 7 day average (the red line), I can conclude that my starting weight was really probably closer to 203 (my 205 initial weigh-in probably caught me on a ‘fat’ day) and my current weight probably closer to 197, so I’ll call it a 6 pound drop in 3 weeks…so I’ll take that 🙂

…one reason that I’m not ready to declare victory quite yet is a commentary written by the Mayo clinic dealing with ‘weight loss plateaus’…in part:

The progression from initial weight loss to a weight-loss plateau follows a typical pattern. During the first few weeks of losing weight, a rapid drop in pounds is normal. When calories from food are reduced, the body gets needed energy by releasing its stores of glycogen, a type of carbohydrate found in the muscles and liver. Glycogen holds onto water, so when glycogen is burned for energy, it also releases the water — about 4 grams of water for every gram of glycogen — resulting in substantial weight loss that’s mostly water.

The full article: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss-plateau/MY01152

…so it’s probably safe to say that a portion of that weight drop was just water, as my body makes it’s initial adjustment to the idea of operating with a few less calories each day…although I do have a pair of shorts that have been on the tighter side, that are looser now, so I’ll take that as a good sign.

…that little pocket of love handle fat still remains unchanged, so I expect that I’ll keep on going until I see that gone…well, at least, less jiggle to it…since we can’t control where on our body the weight/fat comes off, I’ll need to wait until my body finally gets to that part…I’m not really sure where the 6’ish pounds came from that’s now gone

One lingering concern about losing weight for us age group athlete’s is the question of losing muscle instead of fat…and in the reading that I’ve done, the conclusion seems to be that some muscle loss in inevitable as weight is shed off…although there appears to be a benefit to exercising and keeping up the protein…and not being too aggressive in the weight loss quest…1-2 pounds per week is a commonly quoted ‘safe’ range…a bit more if you’re ‘bigger’, so I’m right about there considering an initial few water pounds
https://irondaughterirondad.com/losing-fat-not-muscle/

…so with 11-12 hours of training each week now…and soon to start sliding up towards 16-18, I’m hoping that my body’s drive to recover and rebuild muscle from training, exceeds my body’s drive to wipe out muscle to counteract a calorie deficit

…and I keep a constant daily mental picture of that love handle fat gone, to guide my body to the right spot 🙂