Supernatural Baloney: How I Spent My Pandemic, Part II: The Experiment

Over the course of my life, I have only a few minor regrets. Setting goals was never a priority for me. My modus operandi has been to take advantage of opportunities as they arise and roll with the punches, rather than setting a goal and seeing it through. And while I'm satisfied with my current state of being, setting and achieving some goals would likely have boosted my overall satisfaction.

My original weight loss goal was to get down to 185 pounds. A finite goal like this is more challenging than a general goal of losing “some” weight and can result in frustration when it doesn’t happen quickly. I had doubts that I could hit that mark, but a two-step process helped me make it happen: Setting the goal and reaffirming the goal. Setting a goal is obvious – you can’t hit a target without knowing what it is. The reaffirmation came in the form of my 2020 running log which was subtitled “Target 185”. Every time I opened the document to record my time, I was reminded of the goal.

Target 185

I reached 185 pounds in mid-November after four-and-a-half months of running - 116 workouts for a total of 71 hours. But I wasn’t fully satisfied with the aesthetics and wondered how far I could take it. Let the experiment begin!.

Diet is a four-letter word that for many implies a temporary eating plan employed in an attempt to lose weight, typically for a wedding or a class reunion. But to truly sustain the results, a diet must be a lifestyle change.

Many of today’s most popular diets are based on restricted carbohydrate consumption, a.k.a. “low-carb” diets. Dr. Robert Atkins promoted a low-carb diet way back in 1972 with his book, Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution. Today we have the Ketogenic (or Keto) Diet, the Paleo (or Caveman) Diet, the Low-Carb High-Fat (LCHF) Diet, the Mediterranean Diet, and several others. While Atkins was the low-carb pioneer, the Paleo crowd - who insist on eating as our prehistoric ancestors did - can stake an anachronous claim to the title.

I started with a reduction (not an all-out ban) of refined carbs, including bread and pasta, and eliminated yogurt and half-and-half, which I replaced with oat milk. I also stopped using maple syrup and honey as sweeteners. I like the taste of oat milk in coffee but I've since discovered it contains sunflower oil (a seed oil) and am now reconsidering half-and-half and full-fat yogurt.

By the end of December, I was down to 177 pounds. I was now able to navigate the crawl space beneath the house to investigate and correct a problem in the HVAC ducting. On January 8, 2021, I dropped below 175 pounds.

Creepy-crawly crawl space

January 8, 2021

I had a colonoscopy scheduled for the last week of January and took a welcomed two-day exercise break. During the prep for the procedure, the nurse asked if I was feeling all right.

“I feel great,” I replied. “Why?”

"Your heart rate is below fifty beats per minute and it triggered an alarm. Are you an athlete?"

"Yes,” I acknowledged. “I’m a runner.”

I continued to boost my monthly minutes through March and began stopping at neighborhood parks to do bodyweight lifts on the playground equipment, including a variety of dips, pull-ups, and rows. I also noticed a lingering soreness in my left knee that got worse in April. I originally attributed the knee pain to increasing my volume too quickly so I backed off a bit. I had also been using discounted (i.e. cheap) running shoes and began to suspect them as well, so I switched to a new brand with a wider toe-box that allows the forefoot to splay naturally. After the shoe swap, the knee pain subsided. One way or another I was going to keep on running.

Topo Magnifly 3

In the meantime, I continued to tweak my diet. I was eating fewer carbs and highly processed foods, drinking less alcohol, and stopped buying “energy” bars. At the other end of the spectrum, my consumption of meat, avocados, eggs, nuts, peanut butter, and dark chocolate(!) increased significantly. Higher protein and fat content are hallmarks of a low-carb diet. Highly processed foods are the enemy.

Stores today are filled with an embarrassment of ultra-processed, ready-to-eat, food-like substances that are essentially empty calories. As a culture, we’ve been conditioned to believe that it’s OK to snack around the clock to avoid feeling “hangry”. Weight loss involves burning more calories than one consumes, which makes hunger a requirement. It also makes the next meal more satisfying.

I stopped weighing myself daily in March. I stepped on the scale only three times in April. On May 1st I weighed in at just under 165 pounds. The lowest documented weight I could find from my first running life was 164.5 pounds in the spring of 2008. I was not focused on diet in those days and was running more while doing significantly less resistance training than I am today. Back then some of the guys at work referred to me as Skeletor (but not to my face). Although Skeletor is jacked, it was not a term of endearment.

Skeletor on a throne of bones

Through May and June, I continued to increase resistance training: dumbbells at home and bodyweight lifts at the park. Resistance training and cardio are two different methods of achieving the same goal. The elevated heart rate of cardio burns calories as does the lean muscle developed via lifting. Resistance training also gives the body some definition, which improves aesthetics - in and out of clothing.

The final piece of the puzzle was intermittent fasting (IF). A common IF schedule involves an eight-hour “feeding window” (an absolutely horrible term) followed by a sixteen-hour fast. For me, that meant no eating after dinner and then skipping breakfast - except for coffee. I’m still following a schedule with a 9-hour eating window and a 15-hour fast. Fasting teaches the body to burn fat and also gives the digestive system a break, allowing blood flow and energy typically used for digestion to be repurposed for other bodily functions.

I now believe that diet is a bigger driver of weight loss than exercise. That doesn’t mean one should not exercise, because I also believe our bodies were made to be wrought. As I approach the first anniversary of my second running life, the combination of whole foods, low-carb, IF, cardio, strength training, and a supportive family has proven to be a recipe for success. I feel fantastic.

June 12, 2021

No chance for these pants!

Here’s the bottom line for weight loss:

Start with a goal - general or specific - and commit to it. If you make it public, family and friends can help keep you on track.
Calories burned must exceed calories consumed. Stop snacking. It’s OK to be hungry.
Eating plans are not one-size-fits-all. Experiment and find what works for you.

Eight Popular Low-Carb Diets

The same goes for exercise. Some may call my routine extreme, but it works for me and I enjoy it. Just get moving and get healthy.
Drink more water.
Disclaimer: Your mileage may vary.