Weight Loss Update - almost the end of November 2015

Almost 11 months of weight loss. Down about 10 kg (22 lbs) overall.

I've been doing these monthly updates about the end of the month. But this month I know I will VERY busy in a week's time, so I'm doing this a week early.

The big "headline" is that for the 6 days I have been 86 kilos (about 190 lbs) or less.
I started the year at 96.6kg (about 212 lbs).
In the Spring I was losing weight at about 2 kilos (4.4 lbs) per month.
5 weeks ago I switched to a low saturated fat diet, and lost 4 kilos (8.8 lbs) in that time.

Because we have "fancy" weighing scales, I can check whether I am losing fat or whether I am just dehydrating (although if one lost 10 kg of body water the physical signs of that would be VERY obvious!).
I bought the new scales shortly after starting the diet which is very low in saturated fat.
This is what the scales say:
25th October 2015.
Wt 88.3 kg, Body fat 21.1%, total body water 56.9%, muscle 38.8%

24th Novemebr 2015
Wt 85.7 kg, Body fat 20.3%, total body water 57.7%, muscle 39.3%

So lets turn those percentages into weight
25th Oct: Wt 88.3 kg, BF 18.6 kg, Water 50.2 kg, Muscle 34.3 kg
24th Nov: Wt 85.7 kg, BF 17.4 kg, Water 49.4 kg, Muscle 33.7 kg

The reason why each set of numbers "doesn't add up" is because muscle also contains some water, so that gets counted twice! I suspect that body fat also involves a very small amount of water being stored.

What is important is that, in the 4 1/2 weeks I have been doing this advanced measuring, I have lost 1.2 kg of body fat.
That's actual body fat.
You can't fake it by skipping breakfast the day of a weigh-in at a slimming club.
You can't fake it by taking diuretics
It's actual body fat.

When most people say they want to lose weight, they mean they want to lose fat.
I have also lost a bit of muscle, but that may be because my fitness regime has been intentionally less that it was in the Spring/Summer.
It also demonstrates the adage that fat people have big muscles - we have to have in order to just shift our butts about!

As I have mentioned before, "real" weight loss has physical signs beyond the weighing scales.
I have lost about 2.5 inches (about 6 cm) from my waistline, and I had to buy a smaller belt.
My current pair of trousers (US: pants) have a 36" waist, my previous pair was a 38" waist.
only a couple of years ago, the 38's were getting tight, and I was considering a 40" waist!

The effect of my running is more difficult to measure as there is a "confounding" factor. Do I seem to run faster without too much effort because I am lighter, or because I have developed my muscles to run better?
Owen Barder's excellent "Running for Fitness" website suggests that my 10k time will drop by about 34 seconds for every kilo I lose in weight. So I need to do another "threshold" 10K just to see how much I can get under my previous PR, and compare that with the predicted figure for the weight loss.

Similarly, the effect on my cycling, although I haven't really tested yet, is likely to be substantial.
My bike weighs in at 18kg, but as everyone agrees that it is total weight that counts (bike and rider), the weight I have lost from myself could have been "bought" by staying fat and buying a lightweight bike.
An 8 kilo bike.
How much does an 8 kilo bike cost?
$5000?
$10000?
That's how much money I have saved by losing weight rather than get a lightweight bike!.
And before anyone suggests that I can get a 9kilo bike for such and such, I said an 8 kilo bike.
And remember, most lightweight bikes have the weight quoted WITHOUT pedals.
My figure of 18 kg is from weighing my ACTUAL bike, in full running order, pedals, mudguards (fenders), rack and all.
And guess what: - I can get Mermaid down by another kilo just by changing from my Marathon Plus tyres to a lighter tyre (like Marathon Supreme, for example - cost twice as much as "plus", but half the weight!). Cost $100 to $150 for a "quality" item.
I could take off the STEEL mudguards.
I could take off the rack.
And suddenly, compared with the diet, I am looking at staying fat and buying a bike UNDER the UCI weight limit!
Sub-UCI limit bike, or spend $150 and go on a diet.

I could take off more weight, too.
I have heavy-duty double-wall wheels with 36 spokes each. Another couple of hundred dollars would save quite a bit on the weight of the wheels.
Carbon? I'm pretty sure there are NO carbon parts on Mermaid - even the handlebars are steel!

Seems to me that only a fool would buy a really lightweight bike while still being fat.
But then, as they say, a fool and his money are easily parted.

The logic is compelling.
If you want to go faster and you are overweight, keep your hand in your pocket and lose some weight. I did and saved a fortune.
It is also easier to lose weight on a heavier bike because you have to expend more calories to get up hills etc!

Already got a lightweight bike, but you're still overweight?
Next time you want to buy a fancy upgrade part, get a "winter training bike" - something heavy and tough that can withstand rain and bad roads and salt. 

And then ride it. 

A lot.
That'll get you thinner so when you switch back to your fancy bike, the fancy bike will seem VERY easy to ride, and you'll be a good bit quicker, too.

The mistake folks make is they try to buy speed first (with a lightweight bike), then do the hard bit (losing weight and doing a lot of training) later.
What I am suggesting is that you do it the other way round.

Morning Commute Report: Saturday 21st November 2015

Left the house as usual. Weather forecast was not too promising.
Wearing "Cat" boots, with my waterproof trousers on top.
#teamplatform, of course!
Some "noob" told me last week that you can't tuck your boots inside your waterproof trousers, but I do it anyway (I have loose trousers, and use a modern variant of cycle clips to keep stuff out of the chain! The waterproof trousers are even loose enough, just, to put them on without taking the boots off)
5 thin layers on my main body, and a "helmet liner" (oversized skullcap that covers the ears).
It's about 2 C (36F), so I am wearing knitted gloves.
Reach the roundabout on the main road, and the sleet starts, quickly followed by a power outage on my side of town.
The quiet is broken by burglar alarms going off.
Suddenly, my "urban" commute under streetlighting is VERY dark.
Switch my headlight from "low" to "high", and continue, pushing hard against the 20 mph (32 kph) headwind.
I'm glad my skullcap has a bright yellow band on the lower part, to complement my hi-viz vest (make that 6 layers, including the hi-viz vest!)
My line is a little loose exiting the next roundabout, because I am having trouble locating the edge of the road. But the sleet is fairly light.
After I pass the prison, there are streetlights on again (must be a different substation or something), and it is downhill from here.
Get to work, but the heating is on the blink, so I keep my skullcap on.
Didn't see any wannabee racers out in the sleet - in fact I didn't see any other cyclists.
When I get there, John is already there. John rides MTB with cleats, and comes in early and changes into regular work boots later. The rest of us go #teamplatform, and ride in in what we wear for the day. Back in the day (20+ years ago), John was a  "sponsored" MTB rider, but that was 20+ years ago.
A while later, Richard comes in, wearing hiking boots (#teamplatform again) - he has cycled in on his bike that has a 8-speed Shimano rear hub, but he is complaining about the cold. About 6 hours later he cheers up :-)
Of the three of us, I have by far the cheapest bike, the others having arrived on bikes worth about twice what mine is. Indeed, John has quite a few bikes - a "work" bike, a "turbo trainer" bike, and a few MTB bikes. He is the only one of us with any titanium parts, but not on his work bike. John has a skullcap, too, a merino wool one, with a small peak. And a merino "base" layer. Me, I've just got merino undertrousers on. Plus my polyester skullcap. Richard, who is feeling the cold, doesn't have any merino OR a skullcap.
Just another day in the lives of 3 all-year-round bike commuters.

Long Term Review - Aldi (Crane) Cycling Jacket

Crane breathable and waterproof cycling jacket

Length of testing: about 6 weeks so far (since late September 2015)
Price: About 20 pounds ($31, 26 Euros)
From: My local Aldi store, during one of their periodic cycling promotions

Pros:

1. Colour/Color - I was looking for a yellow waterproof jacket for cycling . Some folks insist on being dressed in black, and they profoundly believe that colour makes no difference to safety, but they are profoundly wrong. Get a nice, bright, jacket! I sometimes wear red in daylight, but when it gets dim it really has to be yellow or white.
2. Waterproof - I am not a maniac for cycling in the rain, but, hey, I live in a country where it rains quite a bit (Gulf Stream and edge of a continental shelf and all that!).

Garmin 310xt at an even lower price!

Garmin have officially discontinued the 310xt, so the remaining ones are being reduced in price to clear the stock. I payed (iirc) £125 (about $190, €167) for mine, including an HRM belt, but they are now on Amazon for just £110, including postage/shipping.
That's cheaper than the Forerunner 25! (Garmin's current entry-level running watch).
OK, the FR25 has Bluetooth, and phone integration, but the 310xt is a previous model pro-triathlon watch!
You want power and features to make you a better athlete, but you are on a modest budget, then the 310xt has to be THE "value" purchase out there!

So this is what you get.
Bike : £500 max
Tools: £100
Garmin 310xt with HRM: £110
Stages 105 power meter or powertap g3  wheel: under £600

Forget the rest. For £1300 quid YOU can be a monster rider.

You could substitute the 310xt for the also discontinued Edge 500 (Wiggle is currently clearing them out for just £120, with premium hr belt and cadence sensor).
However, for the "value" athlete, running will form part of your program, and an Edge 500 isn't that good for running!

What many folks actually do:
Bike (maybe on bike to work scheme)  £1000
Fancy cycle clothes £300.

Which do you think will go faster after 6 months of training?
The £500 bike plus the "training" stuff, or the £1000 bike with the rider looking very sophisticated?

If you have big bucks, buy what you want, but for value and features, nothing matches the 310xt!

Not got £1300?
Then drop the power meter, and that lowers the budget to just £710.
Power meters allow pacing for rides to be worked out. Heart rate is a bit variable, but as long as you eat properly and go to bed nice and early every night, then they make good pacing tools, too.

My budget was, I guess, only about £500, that's why I have a 18kg (40 lb) bike!
But I still have the 310xt - a well- trained rider on a heavy bike will wipe the floor with a novice on a fancy lightweight bike over any distance more than, say, 50km (30 miles).

Remember, this is old stock being shifted, and once they are gone, they are gone.
It could be a good couple of years before the "replacement" ( the 910xt) is offered at anything like so good a price!

No longer overweight - 10 months on the "Exercise" diet, with a new diet twist for the last couple of weeks

10 months of a diet high in exercise, with a diet low in saturated fat , and still high in exercise, for the last couple of weeks

Just a quick summary, as I already trailed the "big news" a few days back - I am now the lightest I have been for the last 15+ years.
There is always "physical" evidence of the sort of weight loss I have achieved this year - I have just moved from a pair of 38" waist trousers (which fitted a little closely) to a pair of 36" trousers (which fit comfortably). The trousers are the same style from the same supplier, so barring minor manufacturing differences, they should be the essentially the same, apart from the size.