This is a bit lengthy but for anyone interested in nutrition and transformation you may find it extremely useful.
OK. Who are you
My name is Steve, I am a married, 37 year old father of three, I work in tech teaching enterprise companies how to adopt Lean Startup principles. This gives me advantages (income to invest in scans/equipment) and some drawbacks (working away, life balance) and a lot of motivation.
Why should we care?
I am clinically obese and have a raft of data about my health.
Go on.
My stats are
- 183.5cm height
- 113.6kg weight
- 1.1 waist to hip ratio
- 32.1 body mass index
- 67 resting heart rate
- 160 / 110 blood pressure
BMI is not a great indicator...
I know. Which is why I have paid for a DEXA body scan. You can read thefull report here (link coming) but the headlines are not good.
- 36.4KG of body fat
- 77.1KG of lean mass
- 1.35 Android/Gynoid ratio
- 180cm squared of Viceral Adipose Tissue
OK. That last one sounds pretty bad.
It is. For my weight and height I am carrying more fat around my organs than 90% of other men. All of my weight is currently primarily in the middle and particularly around the abdominal. See pics attached taken over a three year period.
So you are unhealthy. That is not new to this forum.
My blood pressure is 160/110 measured 21 times (fasted) over the last three weeks. My GP wants to medicate me. I am not doing it.
It has actually been high for 3 or more years. In 2015 I went into hospital unrelated and my BP was 165 over 121 but they said it was white coat syndrome since I looked OK and my pulse rate was normal.
OK. That is really unhealthy. Have you measured anything else?
Yes.
- 6.7 blood sugar (fasted)
- B12 (Active and Total)
- CRP
- Full Blood Count
- Fasting insulin
- Folate
- Free Testosterone Profile
- HBA1C
- Advanced Iron Profile
- Liver Function
- Lipid Profile
- Omega 3/6
- Thyroid Profile
- Vitamin D
What do they say?
Basically I am a walking ball of fat but with the genetics of a weight lifter and I have squandered most of genetic advantages.
Luckily I have never smoked and I don't do drugs at all. However my grandfather had 3 heart attacks before the age of 60 eventually dying at 56. My male side of the family has a history of cardiovascular disease. My auntie had a stroke in her late 40s.
So, you got to 37...got a bit scared and are now scared enough to make the lifestyle changes you ignored your entire life?
Pretty much yes.
How did you get this way?
Sugar.
And a metric fuckton of it.
From childhood my parents gave me unlimited access to fizzy carbonated drinks despite resulting in over a dozen fillings. I have consumed, on average, 2 litres of full fat coca cola or Irn Bru every day for 25 years. I replaced the majority of my beverages with Coke and Pepsi. I replaced meals with it. On a weekend it is not uncommon to drink 14-20 cans from the Friday to the Sunday. I also eat gummy sweets (wine gums, haribo) on a regular near daily basis along with copious amounts of white bread.
A 36 ounce rump steak is not uncommon.
I convinced myself of every excuse...I need cola to study, to be creative, as a pick me up, it is not that bad. Bill Gates and Buffet drank coke. I worked out so I deserve this. I don't drink so why shouldn't I have a vice etc etc...
Are you exaggerating?
Nope. My former partner was a fitness instructor and she estimated my daily sugar consumption at 100 teaspoons or even more. I would be quite happy living on breakfast cereal, white bread and fizzy drinks for the rest of my life if it meant my risk factors were low.
Are you diabetic?
Not yet. But the visceral adipose measurement basically says it is a question of when, not if.
Any good news?
Yes. I served in the military where I quite literally outran a bad diet. My fitness was high. I could run 2.4KM in 9 minutes and bench press 120 kilos. I still had body fat but I was weighing in around 88KG in training and 86KG learning to box.
When did you leave?
- At which point I ballooned from 91KG to 118KG and went fully sedentary.
So you have done nothing for 6 years?
Does sitting in an office chair, eating and drinking refined carbs count as something?
Any injuries?
Yes. Two slipped discs in the lower back. Moderate back pain. Also, broke one ankle, severe ligament damage in the other. Pretty much blew out the proprioreceptors in them completely. I twist ankle 10-12 times a year even standing on flat ground. The physio back then said "the damage is done. Wear hiking boots."
No shoulder or knee injuries. I seem to have a propensity for shin splints when I was serving.
Are you at all active?
Around once a year, maybe twice, I do some strenuous hiking. In 2014 I solo'd Mount Triglav in the Julian Alps and in 2015 I did the UK three peaks by driving between them and sleeping in the car. I climb Snowdon once a year etc. So outdoorsy stuff, walking uphill carrying 10 kilos.
36 kilos of fat is already a lot of weight to shift up a mountain
Yes it is. Prob why there is some muscle under there.
OK. So why are you telling us all of this?
Today, the day after my DEXA body scan and blood tests is the day I make fundamental changes to my lifestyle. I will be having another scan in exactly 4 months along with more bloods and measuring my blood pressure daily. I want to have a complete log of what resistance training, cardiovascular activity and a plant based fasting diet can do to the human body and I have a baseline to show it all. No medication. No protein shakes or meal replacement. No Slimfast. No artificial additives etc.
Do you have a plan, did you pull it out of your ass?
I do.
No I didn't.
The plan is threefold.
Step 1 is to reduce to the blood pressure using whole foods clinically suspected of lowering blood pressure combined with aerobic exercise daily. No rest days.
Step 2 is to move to a Ketogenic diet and introduce more resistance training
Step 3 is to move from Ketogenic to a more balanced diet with whole grains and replace daily aerobic with greater resistance training.
The diet is based primarily on the work of Dr Jung and of Michel Greger.
Step 4 is to have an amazing holiday in Italy in August and eat carbs for a week :-)
That seems sensible but weird. Why 3 steps?
The foods suspected of lowering blood pressure are also quite likely to kick you out of ketosis. It would be hard to do both and blood pressure is the great risk right now. So if I can get BP down 10 points or more I will then go to intermittent fasting ketosis, prob 16:8.
Will you be in deficit?
Yes. 1200 calories minimum per day.
How are you achieving that?
My resting metabolic rate plus exertion is almost exactly 3000 calories. I will be consuming exactly 1800 calories and adjusting weekly as body fat is reduced.
As time goes on I expect my deficit to decrease from 1200 to 700.
Fasting as well?
Yes.
All calories consumed between 2pm and 8pm.
What are you tracking?
Everything.
I am logging every fasted hour, every 100ml of water, every workout, every single thing that passes my lips.
So in a nutshell the immediate diet is...
- No to Low Sodium
- Low Sugar
- Medium Fructose
- Medium Protein
- Plant Based
- Caffeine free
Ah, so you are eating some so-called superfoods?
Yes.
- Hibiscus Tea with some small green/mint tea
- Chickpeas / Lentils
- Mushrooms
- Beets / Beetroot
- Oatmeal
- Cruciferous Vegetables
- Lots of mixed berries (rasp, black, blue), watermelon and daily pomegranate
- Small amounts of whole grain/wholemeal
- Spinach, Rocket
- Bananas / Apples / Avocado
- Broccoli / Cauliflower / Tomatoes / Carrots / Cabbage
- Sweet Potato (occasionally), Turnip
- Mixed Nuts and Seeds
- Cacao powder / square of dark choc
Can you eat the same meal every day?
Yes. Luckily I can. I once lived on the same ration pack for a month in the forces. *shrug*
Which is why it is perfect to measure. I won't be making Courgette Lasagna or anything.
It will simply be raw/cooked ingredients into a single tupperware dish and eaten. Easily measured and tracked.
What is your fitness level?
I just ran 4KM at a pace of 7mins per kilometre which was enough to make me sore the next day but I was able to finish it without stopping.
When are you checking in?
Weekly. Followed by the results of the follow-up scan in exactly 4 months time.
Where are all the pics you promised?
I am uploading them to IMGUR now.
Holy Shit this post has grown arms and legs.
Yes. Sorry about that.
Is this selling something?
No. I earn enough with my own company. I am not a blogger.
Last words?
I also built a CrossFit box in my back garden with parallel bars, monkey bars, TRX and olympic rings just to reinforce my dedication. I will post pics later. I am too heavy to use most of the equipment though. :-(
If you are at all interested in the measured, demonstrable effects on human obesity of the following plant-based diet with movement then please follow along. Happy to accept comments below.
I am not taking the blood pressure medication. ACE inhibitors can simply fuck off. You never get off that shit.
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