The Fat Project–Grand Finale….

Well this is it… the big final weigh in of the fat project.  After our week in Austria filled with plenty of exercise and plenty of beer and snacking we have returned to the scales in the lovely home base at Entringen.

After a brief discussion, today seemed to be the best day to weigh in and then relax and enjoy whatever food we want for the rest of the holiday.  Mike and I donned the official weigh in uniform of lederhosen swim suits and a T-shirt.  Since Mike and I both were doing the ongoing weigh-ins post shower and “au naturelle” I weighed the clothes first so we could subtract them from our final score. 

They come in at a scale busting 400 grams. This will be deducted from each fatties score to stay consistent with the weights we have been reporting throughout this endeavour.

First up, Mike waddled up to the scales and sucked in everything possible to try and look good for the camera.

The week of beer and sausage did not do too much damage…. Mike came in at 89.5 kg (it was wiggling between 89.5-6 and he gets the benefit of the doubt.)  That brings his total weight loss to 8.6 pounds since the start.

Next up was this handsome piece of man…

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I weighed in at a very blurry 83.5kg, less the weight of the clothes 83.1kg.   My total weight loss for the project then is 9.9 pounds.

Here is the full break down of the project.  Since we had no scale in Austria with us last week, I just took the start and end weights and then calculated it purely linear between the two points.  Not perfect, but I was not about to pack a scale on vacation.  The final total weight loss is measured in Black Forest Cake.

All in all pretty great results with both of us losing close to 10 pounds and not sacrificing too much in the way of foodish enjoyment.  I for one plan to continue with the fat project round two once the vacation period I over and I am back on a regular routine.  I think next round will be with less frequent weigh ins and perhaps only weekly updates.  I f there have been any fans of this who want to jump on board with my quest for fitness, feel free to participate.  Start will be first week of September.

 

Dance School in Hulb…

As I work on my overall fitness level, I am frequently taking some nice walks on my lunch hour these days.  This takes me through the wonderfully picturesque parts of Hulb, Böblingen, a town known for its dedication to both industry and car dealerships.  Seriously though, Hulb is basically an industrial park with a few office blocks, some factories, mega groceries and a furniture store or two. 

As I was strolling along though, I noticed this place tucked into the corner of a building next to a window-builder (Fensterbau)

The Elaine Walker Acadamy of Irish Dance, complete with a  catchy looking stylish line art dancer logo.  I am not sure why I found this so amusing, but I just laughed when I saw it.  It seems very out of place to have a “dance acadamy” in the middle of Hulb between a glass shop some factory or other.  It is almost as strange as the scuba shop in the middle of Böblingen (we are at least 5-6 hours drive from the sea in any direction.)

Anyway, it is good to know that my Irish dancing needs will be taken care of along with any double glazing.

The Fat Project Day 28

Oh boy… The last days were quite a setback for me as I saw my weight go up 2 pounds and slowly start to come back down.  I am not about the initial spike, but my own enjoyment of a big BBQ steak and beer on Saturday, followed with a gorging on yummy sushi on Sunday certainly did not help me any.  Oh well, back to the gym.  Mike has pulled back ahead of me by dropping to 195 and hitting the amazing mark of losing 10 pounds in 28 days.  Very impressive.  The Starrs will be en route to the airport shortly and around this time tomorrow I will be picking them up here.  I plan to stop for food at least four times on the way back to my place to make sure Mike has fattened up enough for the final weigh in.

Total Weight loss today is measured in pancakes.

The Fat Project Day 25

The final days are closing and I will see if I can surpass the 10 pounds lost before next Tuesday.  I think it is possible based on the recent numbers, but I will have to see how tempting BBQ and beer are this weekend.  I think it is rough on Mike at this point as he does not have as much available exercise time as I do since he is preparing for the big trip, but he has still been doing pretty awesome all the same.

As far as Fraser vs. Mike, it is fairly much neck and neck at this point.  I still like my chances to squeak out ahead, but Mike can be a pretty determined guy.  He will also have a nice 8 hour flight right before our final weigh-in, so I will have to assume he will have the usual levels of air-cabin dehydration working for him.  I am going to have to be at my best between now and Tuesday if I hope to win.  To be honest, I don’t really care too much about winning any more, I am just so pleased with the results. 

Todays weight loss icon is chocolate croissants.

I have been really enjoying this endeavor so far and I fully intend to keep going until I hit 75kg (165 pounds)  I am keeping careful track of my body fat% and my lean vs fat mass.  Dieting is not doing anything for my overall health if I am cutting out food and just losing muscle weight.  Then I would be less massive, but just as fat.  However, in my 4.2kg loss so far, I have lost 3.3kg fat and 0.9kg lean mass.  I am doing my best at the gym to keep the muscles going, but some loss there is inevitable I suppose.

To put those numbers into perspective though, I have lost 4.2kg of total mass (-4.8%) in 25 days.  However, I have lost 14.8% of my fat mass (-3.3kg)  No wonder my pants are looser.  Anyway, I would like to try for the 75kg end state while keeping all my lean mass, or even going up a little.  This means I need to try for 14% body fat.  That will be tougher, but not unattainable.  The fat project will certainly have a second round starting after this one!

 

The Fat Project Day 24

Despite now having lost 9 pounds, I still feel tired, slow and sore.  When does the healthy energy begin?  I am pretty sure that as soon as this is over, I am going to buy the biggest steak I can find and give myself an enormous BBQ treat.  Then I will be back at it on my quest for 75kg.

The total weight loss unit of measure today is…. Cupcakes

Moustache

My recent posts that used the supercomputer to spy on “fat Mike Starr” made me wonder what other things would be possible to have it display for me.  For no particular reason, I wondered what I would look like with a huge moustache.  I plugged the variables into the supercomputer.

Start with this handsome devil

and then add one of the greatest moustaches in all history

and I would look like this

I don’t think I am puling that one off.  However if we go more modern and huge and take say… the Ron Swanson

we get this….

Clearly something that looks amazing.  now I just have to convince Claudia.

The Fat Project Day 23

Today my weight seemed much lower than it should, I am not sure what is up there, I did do quite a lot of exercise yesterday, so maybe I am at a fluid-low or something.  I expect that I will bounce back up a bit over the next day or two and will try not to be too disappointed when that happens.  At any rate, I am pleased to see that nice low number on the scale in the morning.  Today also marks a pretty major milestone for me.  my BMI has hit 25.0 meaning that I am no longer fat.  That’s right, I am now considered “normal” by this definition.  That makes me happy.

I am not sure if Mike is measuring anything else beyond weight, but as a crazy person, I have been tracking quite a few details… Since the bet started;

• I have lost 4kg (8.8 pounds)
• Decreased body fat % from 26.7% to 23.5%
• Decreased my waist size by 4cm (1.6 inches)

I have to say my short term goals on total KG and fat% have certainly been met.  My waist size is still a fair bit larger than I like, but I hope that it will continue to shrink if I keep eating well and exercising.  I am reasonably sure that I will continue with this diet and fitness program after the end of the official time.  Ideally I would like to drop down to 75kg, under 20% body fat and a 32 inch waist, but that will certainly take some time.

Todays total weight lost is measured in sandwiches.

 

The Fat Project Day 22

Only 7 more days until the Starr trip here and it looks relatively close between the battle of the fatties right now.  A tiny margin of 0.1 pounds which is well within the margin of error of the scales I would say, so it is anybody’s game at this point.  I am going to try and ramp up the intensity of my gym visits for the next few days, I read some very good things about sprinting as a fat burning exercise and I am going to see if I can actually drive myself to do it.  I have a feeling that sprinting as a workout may be crossing the line into so much non-fun that I will not be able to stick with it, but hey, in the interest of being competitive I can try it for a week… haha

I will be totally honest, Mike did not send me a measurement today, so his 198 is a carry over from yesterday.  It is rather late and I don’t feel like making the update later though, so it is getting posted as is.  Chances are that Mike has just become too fat and slovenly to drag himself from the bed to the scale, so the 198 is optimistic in his favour anyway.(Amendment - Mike sent me today's total and it is still 198)

Today the total fat loss is measured in chocolate chip cookies.



I have also used my super computer to visualize the sort of epic struggle that is going on right now.  I think this really captures the spirit of the moment.

Fat Project–Day 21 amended

In a shocking turn of events, Mike has sent me over todays weight of 198, which changes the results entirely.  His weekend hump seems to have been  a crazy turn of events, or maybe his scale is not working reliably straining under the weight of all that Starr….

Anyway, this revised data tips Mike back into the lead in terms of total weight loss, here is the new chart.

The Fat Project Day 21

Wow, I can hardly believe that we have been at this for 21 days now…   Continued progress on my side has brought me from a ballooning 193 pounds to a slightly plump 187 pounds.  Still a ways to go before I am officially “normal” weight, but progress is progress right?  Mike on the other hand has had a beer and BBQ fuelled disaster over the weekend, crashing and burning as he swells back up to a staggering 200 pounds.  I mock you sir, you and your enormous belly.  Look, look at the leaderboard today and feel the pain that is your feeble 5 pounds lost since the start to my amazing 6.4.  I have gone from the underdog to front runner  and you must now catch me fatty.

Today’s total weight loss is measured in delicious ice cream cones.

 

To be fair, Mike’s 200 pound total was actually from Sat, but I did not get an update today from him so I have to assume he is still there.  I wondered how he could possibly miss a morning weigh in communication, but then my spy cameras revealed that he may be experiencing some technical difficulties that keep him from sending it to me.

The Fat Project Day 18

I recently read somewhere that it is not a good idea to weigh yourself every day when trying to lose weight.  That our bodies will fluctuate a bit in weight in the short term and a check on a weekly basis is more than enough for meaningful data.  I have to say that on the one hand I can see this in my own measures, especially in the last week or so, where I bounce up and down a pound or two each day.  The article was saying that a bad reading in the short term can be too frustrating to the dieter as they see a lack of progress…  I tend to disagree, I have been sticking to a pretty tight diet and exercise program the last 18 days and when I see that my weight goes up, it is inspiring me to put extra effort in on the exercise side of the equation the following day.
 
I am in no way starving myself, but working to maintain a gap between calories in/out of –1000 per day.  I have found that I don’t get much of a result if I am on the low end, consuming 1200 calories and burning 2200 compared to a day where I consume 2200 and burn 3200.  The latter has a much more direct impact on my overall weight and body fat percentage.  I don’t always have time to put in exercise worth 3200 calories of work, so on those days I have to be content to limit the ingoing food.


For me the experience remains very positive.  I have lost some cm off my waistline and my pants are feeling a bit looser, it is a good feeling.  Also, the logging and charts have been something of a game for me and I look forward to the second half of the bet.


I had a colleague in my team come up to me and ask if I had lost weight, which is also a good feeling.  Hopefully Mike is having a similar experience on his side.


Todays total weight loss is measured in delicious waffles.



Maybe at the end of the bet, when Mike is here, the loser should have to cook all of the fatty food items I have used for the winner.

Mike seemed a little down that he gained back a pound for todays check in, but I don’t think he should sweat it.  He has lost SEVEN pounds so far, to inspire you further Mr. Starr, here are some things that weigh seven pounds.  Imagine that two weeks ago, you were carrying this around with you:











a newborn baby
























A Bowling Ball





















Jack-n-Grill’s Seven Pound Breakfast Burrito

Olympic Women’s Weightlifting

As I was watching the Olympics the last few days, I did of course notice that TV coverage of women’s events tended to focus on the sports that featured attractive women.  Lots of beach volleyball, rhythmic gymnastics, short skirted hockey players…

I could also not help but notice very little coverage of women’s weightlifting.  This is a sport that in my mind is practiced by brawny unattractive distinctly non-feminine women and that made it TV-unfriendly by the standards of our broadcast networks.  Brief moments on “the Google” proved me unequivocally wrong and there are many very attractive and feminine competitors in this sport.

From Germany…



From Canada and France….




From Great Britain…



and of course the always present USA.














I know this post is distinctly sexist, but you know what, I don’t care, it made me laugh.

The Fat Project Day 17

Camping appears to have treated Mike well as he lost an amazing 2 pounds over the extended weekend.  I am sure that his glorious return to civilization will be marked with many celebratory beers, so this progress is sure to be erased as beer and gravity go to work on his hulking belly.  I once again some a step back as I went up 0.2kg since Wed morning.  I am pretty sure that in my case it is all the muscle I’m putting on though, that is the most obvious explanation.

Today’s total weight loss is measured in poutine.

The Fat Project–Day 16

I get the distinct feeling that progress has slowed in my results over the past 3-4 days.  Maybe it is typical when starting a new diet/exercise to see a quick few pounds drop and then a slower change after that.  All being said, I did have some more progress on the scales today, clocking in at a slightly less portly 85.1kg (187.6 lbs) showing a total weight loss of 5.5 pounds.  I am creeping up on Mr. Starr in the standings unless his camping trip resulted in a massive leap forward.  Since the start of this project on July 17, I have lost 2.85% of my original weight and Mike 2.93%  I also have to say that I have been enjoying the entire experience much more than I thought I would…. 

Today’s total weight loss is measured in chicken wings. 

CALL FOR IDEAS

ok, I have to admit my pool of fatty food chart objects is starting to run a little low, so I would be delighted if anyone reading this could drop me a comment with a suggestion (or two) for some chart items.

I am also open to requests for Mike Starr images.  I am sure my spy cameras can catch that fatty doing almost anything.  I have not seen any contributions from the Starr camp, showing again that they know defeat is inevitable.