50 pounds lost in 2025!

 Officially hit my main weight goal for this year!    Hit it yesterday and again today,  241.4 and 241.2 respectively (just shy of 110kg)

I needed to get under 241.6 to have officially lost 50 lbs since June (291.6 lbs).    Yay me!   LOL 

This also means, if I can get to 239lbs before my Jan 7 physical, I will officially just be "overweight" per the BMI chart instead of obese (height of 6'3").   I haven't seen 230 something since 1999/2000.

Just to repeat my earlier blogs, my new diet feels very sustainable and satisfying.   I love it.   I don't crave the chips, donuts, greasy pizza, burgers, etc like before.  I truly LIKE what I'm eating now.    Learning to make 50% whole wheat sourdough bread probably helped a lot too.      The main downside of how I eat now is I can't find fast food variations of healthy bean/lentil dishes when traveling.   But I have my fridge and microwave in the truck, and there are always Indian and Mexican restaurants.    

The Viva Longevity youtube channel just posted a very applicable video to what I've discovered this past year.    My appetite is no longer overwhelming.  Eating high fiber, mostly plant based helps me feel full during the day.     The following video also explains why my blood test results back in November were so good while still technically "obese".     Only my LDL was outside the healthy range (108 instead of <100).     I expect everything to be in range after another year, and after getting under 220lbs/100kg.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks0hHmkXXuo  

 

From the Viva Longevity youtube link above, Miguel has a google drive link to his food pyramid.   I've attached it here too.  You can double click on the photo to make it bigger.

It's what I was saying in my earlier blogs.   I still eat meat, but just a few times a month.   I still probably have more dairy than I technically should.   Lately I've been making my own cheese crisps, and I still have 2% Fage Greek Yogurt almost daily, but I did recently switch to Silk Soy milk.     China's not going to buy our soybeans anymore, so I think Americans should step up.   Planting Soybeans replenishes the soil.   Soy milk needs less water too 

 

Soymilk alone tastes more bean/nutty than milk, but I drink it with my protein powders, so it's not noticeable.    The "soy boy" insults are nonsense.     Soy's phytoestrogens don't raise estrogen levels in men.    https://sniglobal.org/origins-of-the-soy-feminization-myth/

 

My last health topic on this blog, when I had my colonoscopy, the doctor told me I have early Diverticulosis too.    So if you watch that video above, Diverticulosis eventually becomes the much worse Diverticulitis, which ended Miguel's father's life far too soon.   If you're like me, don't ignore it.

Diverticulosis is another motivation for me to follow the diet plan above.   The Keto/Paleo diet would be extremely uncomfortable for my gut now. 

 

B

 

Before I do longer bike touring, I need to figure out how to cook bean/lentil dishes on the road.   

 

I may get one of these, and learn how to use it.   A lightweight pressure cooker.    

 

https://www.keith-ti.com/products/keith-titanium-ti6302high-altitude-mountainpressure-cooker

 It only gets up to half the pressure of my Instant Pot, but it's lightweight, 520g or a tick over 1 pound.   That's a manageable weight to haul bike touring/back packing.   The size is relatively ok too; I could probably store my primus stove in it.    Then I could bring dried beans/lentils on the road, a few spices, a small oil jar and maybe some dehydrated coconut powder, so I can more easily follow my high fiber diet while bike touring.    With some experimenting, I can learn to pre-soak the dried beans/lentils to shorten the cooking time too.    When I did the Erie Canal too, it was fun to revert to junk food from Stewart's gas station for a few days, but my gut didn't feel as good and I felt bloated in general.    

 

 

I have the Keith multicooker already, so this Winter I'm going to experiment with soaking beans/lentils first and see if that works with the multicooker.   Probably won't work.   It's smaller, but not pressurized.  It's more like a lightweight, double cooker, steamer.   Works great for making rice and not burning it to the bottom of the pot, but plain white rice takes 10 minutes.   Brown rice takes 20minutes.      I'd rather have a bigger pressure pot and only need 5-10 minutes.   More on that later.

 

https://www.keith-ti.com/products/keith-titanium-ti6300-plastic-free-multifunctional-cooker 

 

 

Finally, I think my next steps will be to make some short Youtube videos for my Dad, or maybe guys/gals that don't cook much.   The videos will require an Instant Pot.   I want to make wuick videos that are "good enough" to help people try making these dishes.   When they master my level, they can watch the better youtube videos on those dishes. 

Weight loss, the short short version

 

Currently down to 247lbs from 293 back in May,  hoping to hit 243 before end of year to make it officially 50lbs lost in 2025.    Want to get under 220 eventually.

Switched to eating way more beans and lentils 

eating mostly beans seems to have made my appetite manageable.   I still eat dairy and eggs often, also eat meat on cheat meal days, once or twice a month. 

Highly recommend the following recipes from https://www.rainbowplantlife.com   

• hummus (skip the drizzle part)
• shepherd's pie (brown lentils)
• red lentil curry (mix with roasted vegetables)
• butternut squash lentil curry (I roast the butternut squash, onion and garlic )
• sweet potato lentil curry  (I bake the sweet potato separately too)
• lentil bolognese  italian
• fried tofu 
• tastes good with this Chili Sesame Peanut Sauce  (add at the last 30 seconds so it doesn't burn) 

this black bean patty recipe 

Baked beans for dessert, Recipe here 

Healthy, Filling Peanut flavored Ice Cream recipe using a Ninja Creami machine, click here 

Also make home made 50% whole wheat sourdough bread weekly.   Rounds out any amino acid deficits from the bean/lentils. 

 

Exercise 

Zone 2 workouts in the morning  (easy biking, brisk walking)  for 1 hour while fasted or before eating carbs/fat.   (protein ok).       Zone 2 means you can still talk, but don't want to talk for long or you'll get out of breath.

I did way more biking this year,  but tweak your bike setup to handle your weight, read more here

Find an indoor exercise option for bad weather days (no excuses when it's too hot, too cold, too wet, too sunny, too windy, etc)    

Do the zone 2 workouts 6 days per week, 1 rest day.  

 

Check your weight and BP daily

My weight loss plan was to lose 2lbs/week.     Mostly worked, got stuck around 258 from end of September to early November.    Made some diet tweaks to get things going again.

The tracking is keeping me motivated.

 Google Spreadsheet 

Side Note:   Tracking weight helped me to eventually figure out that after super long, hard rides (>3 hours),  I'd retain 2lbs of water for a couple days.   My body was retaining water to help with muscle recovery.     It had nothing to do with diet/salt.    Read more here     after opening,  scroll down below the map.

 

That's it for the short version.   you can keep reading here if you want more info  weight loss strategies