Week 3 Report - 11 Lbs and Counting

I'm a number of days late posting this, but I've been busy on other projects and this one had to take a back seat. Fortunately, I recorded all of my measurements Saturday night. I'm just now getting to putting them here.

	Start	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6
*Weight and Body fat taken on a Tanita Body Fat Monitorimmediately upon waking.
Weight (lbs)*	216.4	211.0	208.0	205.4
Body Fat % *	32.0	31.4	31.0	29.7
Waist (inches)	46.5625	45.875	45.75	45.375
Hips (inches)	45.875	44.0	43.5	43.6875
Chest (inches)	44.0	43.50	43.0	43.5
SAD (Standing)	12.0	12.0	11.875	11.75
SAD (lying down)	11.375	10.25	9.875	10.125
Neck (inches)	-	-	15.75	15.75

Notice that some of my measurements actually increased, while my weight continued to drop. I'm not sure if that is a measuring error on my part, or if my shape is shifting.

One thing I'd noticed through the first couple of weeks is that I seem to be shrinking proportionally. That is, my shape wasn't changing, but I was getting smaller everywhere.

The recommendation in the book is to weigh and take measurements at the end of each two-week section. However, the Patient Data Form they sent me with the book has an entry for each week. Diligent and obedient soul that I am, I am measuring weekly.


There is another observation that I can report. Even though my waist measurement is still a lot higher than I thought (or hoped) it would be, I am wearing 38" jeans comfortably now, and I'm on my last belt notch. There are a few possibilities as to why, and I'm not sure which is correct.

1. Although my resting waist diameter hasn't shrunk dramatically, the fat is more pliable and easily shifted from place to place. In fact, that's what the SAD measurements in the chart indicate. As the visceral fat decreases, leaving only the subcutaneous fat behind, the entire midsection becomes more like jello. Once that happens, the body will mould itself to the clothing.
2. The widest diameter, the measurement that isn't dropping, is shrinking vertically, and it will take some time for it to start shrinking horizontally. Imagine a pillow case filled with butter. If you measured it all the way around at its widest point, removed half of the butter and measured again, you'd likely end up with almost the same number. Half the butter would be gone, but the largest girth wouldn't change. I don't have a way to measure that, other than the SAD values, and they only approximate the effect. What I should have done was taken some front and side silhouettes that I could compare. 
3. The cynical part of me simply thinks that the sizes reported on the clothing labels aren't based on reality. 

I do know that at one point not all that long ago, I had to buy 44" pants. Today my 42" are too big; the 40" fit well; and my 38" fit snugly, but comfortably. So regardless of the reason above, I'm achieving success on the plan.

This is my final "meat week," and it's been a fun one for me. The other day, I grilled a 1-pound rib eye for lunch. Breakfasts have been primarily bacon, with three eggs fried in the remaining bacon grease. In fact, if you look at my numbers on fitday, you'll see that more than 60% of my daily calories come from fat, about 35% or more from protein, and the rest from carbs. I've never been happier!