halfdev: Fat Developer after 6 months

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Igal Tabachnik

Six months ago today (November 19, 2010), I was set to begin a new path to lose weight and get healthy. There were many reasons for it, but most important was that I was tired of being fat, and I was ready to do something about it. How did it go?

Starting weight: 103.5kg (228 pounds)
Current weight: 87.2 kg (192.2 pounds)
Total weight lost: 16.3 kg (35.9 pounds)

What I had realized is that in order for this to work I needed to change my lifestyle. Knowing what you need to do and actually doing it are two very different things. Most smokers, for instance, know that smoking is bad for them, but they are doing it nonetheless. Having quit smoking myself, after having being a heavy smoker for a decade, I realized that I could control my weight and health if I understood the underlying problem! Luckily, I have found a way to understand it – in a free book called The Hacker’s Diet, written by a fellow software developer, the creator of AutoCAD, who had managed to approach weight loss as an engineering problem.

Having successfully losing weight in the first few months, seeing the results with my eyes – by going down a clothing size, needing a new belt and a change of wardrobe to go with it, I was more determined than ever to keep going. I began running with the Couch-to-5k program, slowly at first. Then as weeks passed I could run longer and longer, and the feeling is unbelievable!

When I started I had an certain deadline in mind – I am getting married this August to my beautiful girlfriend of 7 years! I decided that I am going to look good in a suit, and finally going to have pictures taken, which I would also be comfortable showing to others. I am finally confident to go way beyond August – there’s not a single reason not to continue this healthy lifestyle! Seeing results is the best motivator – and I am more motivated than ever!

So what’s next? I am starting P90X – an extreme home exercise program developed by Tony Horton. It consists of 90 days of extreme workout, 6 days a week, almost an hour each day. I’ve almost survived my first week – it’s hell, but worth it! Like they say in P90X – I hate it, but I love it!

Before I show you some before/after pictures and graphs, I wanted to thank everyone who supported me this past half year with my change. My loving fiancée, thank you for not giving up on me! My colleague and a contributor to this blog, Yoav, thank you for being an inspiration to me. My friends, family, co-workers, and great people I’ve yet to meet in real life – thank you all for your support and encouragement – I couldn’t have done it without you!

And now the moment you’ve been waiting for. Brace yourselves Smile

Before: November 2010 – 103.5kg

After: May 2011 – 87.2kg

My weight chart (generated by The Hacker’s Diet online tools)

image

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And 4 months later…

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Igal Tabachnik

HUGE SUCCESS!Four months went by since I started my journey to weight loss. For the first time in several years I am finally below 200 pounds (90 kg). Without further ado…

Here are the results!

Current Weight: 90.1 kg (198.6 pounds)
BMI: 29.7
Δ: 4.2 kg (9.2 pounds)
Total: 13.4 kg (29.5 pounds)

So many things happened in the past two months. I started running using the Couch-to-5k program, and now have made it to week 5, however I am repeating week 4, since it’s still too hard for me. I had to buy a new belt, because I ran out of holes on my previous one. I also bought some new pants, because I went down to size 46 (US 36) from 48 and previous pairs became way too loose. I wore a shirt I didn’t remember I had, only to realize it was a size L. But most important of all – I am happy! Happy that for the first time I am able to do so many things I previously thought impossible!

Looking back I can honestly say that it is not as hard as it sounds. Sure there were some physical pains, when I started running, sore muscles, shortness of breath, but I never gave up! Towards the end of the second week of the Couch-to-5k program something wonderful happened, I wanted to go running! Towards the end of week 4 I was able, for the first time in my life, to run 5 minutes straight!

And here is what 4 months of progress looks like:

Size 50 (US 40) jeans on top of size 48, on top of my current size 46!

I am nowhere near done! By the next milestone I will have completed the Couch-to-5k program, went down another size and maybe built some muscles. Or at least I hope to!

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I never thought I’d say this…

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Igal Tabachnik

It was such a beautiful day in Tel Aviv today, 20° C, and outside my office there’s a great stretch of road right on the sea-shore, and all I could think was: “Wish I could go running right now!”. In fact, the thought of going running had occupied me the entire day.

Something happened as I was finishing Week 2 of the Couch-to-5k program, when I was on my last run I didn’t silently beg it to stop! Suddenly there was no pain, no sore calves, no shortage of breath. I was tired, yes, but I wasn’t completely beat! I felt like I could keep going.

I am now starting week 3 of Couch-to-5k. The plan for this week consists of the following:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:

  • Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
  • Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
  • Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
  • Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)

The iPhone app I use for this helps by interrupting the music at the end of each interval, telling when to walk and when to run. The app is not free and each additional feature (such as GPS support and burnt calorie counter) requires an additional in-app purchase.

Instead of using an app (or maybe in addition to), there are several music sets timed exactly to the Couch-to-5k intervals, such as Podrunner Intervals, however this music is not exactly my style. For more resources I recommend asking (and searching) the amazing community at /r/LoseIt on reddit.

It’s hard to believe that after hating running for most of my life I now actually can’t wait until the next time!

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It’s the small victories that count!

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Igal Tabachnik

Things are going well for me. It’s been almost 3 months since I began my journey. I’ve started week 2 of the Couch-to-5k program. My weight graph is in a near-constant downward slope. I feel great!

But visible progress takes time. Losing weight takes as much time as gaining weight – years maybe, and any physical changes that happen along the way are slow. My friends and colleagues often ask – “wow, have you lost weight”? I always smile and nod, it’s nice to get compliments like that, but is it just because they know I’m trying to lose weight, and just being polite, or is it because it really shows?

I don’t know. Maybe. But there’s one thing that had occurred to me a few days ago – without really noticing it, I was able to buckle my belt using the last hole! When I realized that my belt was too loose using the “usual” hole, I tightened, and realize that I’m now on the last one! This realization is incredible – if there’s ever a motivator that can keep you going – this is it!

My belt

(My belt. Those poor holes were holding me together!)

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NotFatDev: Keep the water flowing

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Yoav Zobel

The most important diet tip I can give is: drink lots of water! I discovered that in so many cases I confused my feeling of thirst with feeling of hunger, and it turns out that that’s the case for most people.

  • Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
  • Carry a water bottle with you everywhere.
  • Use extra large glasses. (beer glasses work great!)
  • Drink water in room temperature. Cold water will cause you to drink less.
  • Drink 2 glasses of water before every meal. Trust me, you’ll eat way less.
  • Don’t drink anything other that water.
  • Stay away from carbonated drinks. Even diet coke! It might have zero calories but it confuses your stomach. You’ll feel much better without it.
  • Stay away from juices. They pack lots of sugar and calories.
  • Alcohol has loads of calories. Sorry guys. Only water for me…
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Couch-to-5K: Week 1, Day 1

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Igal Tabachnik

As promised in the previous post, I had my first walk/run with C25K last night. The first week consists of the following:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

The c25K iPhone app helps by interrupting the music, and telling you when to run and walk. After the five minute warmup I was told to run, so I did, slowly. I was able to repeat the cycle twice, after which it became more difficult for me to run, mainly because I probably didn’t breathe properly. So I walked when I should’ve been running, running only every alternative iteration.

C25K iPhone app

I must say that although it was exhausting, it really wasn’t as horrible as the first time I tried to run! My legs didn’t hurt at all, and I’m confident that in time I will be able to do more and more!

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Day 62: Running with Couch-to-5k

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Igal Tabachnik

I am extremely satisfied with the progress I’ve made in my first 2 months. It’s time to take this to the next level, and try to figure out running. Running is something I have tried to do, failing miserably time after time. When I first started, I decided to do fast-paced walking, but when I tried running (albeit slowly), I managed to bang my left heel, and could barely walk for days. Then our “winter” came, and the motivation to go outside in the cold disappeared almost completely.

My goal for the next two months is being able to complete the Couch-to-5K running plan, a plan designed for complete beginners. Its goal is getting a complete beginner (“couch potato”) to running three miles (or 5 kilometers) in just two months. To help me started, I have purchased a C25K app for iPhone.

I would love to hear your tips for me, please leave them in the comments!

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My eating plan explained

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Igal Tabachnik

Ever since I posted my 2 month milestone results, I’ve been getting lots of great feedback. Some people have asked me if I could detail my daily routine and meals that I eat. I will try to describe this as best as I can:

Waking up

After waking up (and for the lack of a better word, urinating), I weigh myself on the scale and write down my weight, inputting it later to my Hacker’s Diet Online log.

Breakfast

Depending on the observed weight I decide my breakfast as follows: if my weight didn’t change, or there was a slight increase, I will mostly have 1 cup of tea without sugar, otherwise I will probably eat 1 yogurt (3% fat, Yoplait), sometimes a small bowl of cereal without milk.

Lunch

I don’t pack any lunch to work, so I eat in the food court of the building I work at, or order in. The lunch will typically consist of a basic set menu, part meat (chicken or beef) with a side dish of white rice and/or mashed potatoes, topped with vegetables. I drink water with my meals. Other times it’s takeaway Asian food, such as noodles with shrimp or meat, sometimes pizza (with all the good stuff).

If, however, I am not satisfied with the daily results (slight increase or no change in weight), I will probably eat a salad (sometimes with chicken or tuna), lots of vegetables such as tomatoes and lettuce, sometimes sprouts and zucchini. Sometimes instead of a salad I might eat a chicken/turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread.

Dinner

Unless I eat out, my dinner usually consists of food I cook myself. A few years ago I discovered an amazing cooking photoblog called Kayotic Kitchen (previously “Dutch Girl Cooking”). Prior to that my experience in the kitchen was limited to making scrambled eggs at most. On Kayotic Kitchen, the recipes are completely detailed with step by step preparation instructions, and they are complemented with amazing photographs!  As a programmer, I could never understand cook books or recipes that tell you to “season as required and cook until ready”. Kayleigh’s blog taught me how to cook, and I am forever grateful for that!

I usually cook dinner based on recipes from Kayotic Kitchen (and other food blogs), as well as few recipe books I have (such as Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art, Sushi: Taste and Techniques and Soup). Depending on the meal, I usually drink water, juice, beer or wine with the food.

Miscellaneous snacks

I do not restrict myself from having anything I enjoy – be that potato chips, chocolate or waffles with maple syrup. As long as I’m within my weekly calorie deficit I adjust freely what I eat, without feeling guilty, and I’m feeling great about it, because it’s something I really want to do!

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My 2 month milestone results!

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Igal Tabachnik

Note: I was supposed to publish this post on the 19th, but I am extremely excited with the progress I’ve made, so I’m posting this a few days early!

It’s been 61 days since I started my journey to weight loss. Frankly, I didn’t know what to expect back when I started. In my heart I had hoped that it’s not another blank promise to myself. I was determined, and I set myself to understand the problem of weight loss, just like I have when I quit smoking 5 years ago.

The results are in!

Current Weight: 94.3 kg (207.8 pounds) (was 103.5kg (228 pounds))
BMI: 30.1 (was 33.8)
Loss: 9.2 kg (20.2 pounds)

In just two months I have lost little over 9 kg by simply being aware of the change! The rest is simple technical details which I have explained, and will continue to explain as my journey continues. There is still a long way ahead of me, but I am getting there!

Here are a few things I’ve learned over the two months which had a tremendous effect on my progress:

  • You’re not “on a diet” – this is perhaps the most important thing to remember. Many people fail because they fight their own will power, a tug of war which they eventually lose. By realizing that there’s no “diet”, no need deny yourself of anything, no “forbidden foods”, no “cheat days”, you will become free, free to make your conscious decisions what to eat and when. Want that extra slice of pizza? Go ahead! But adjust what you eat next to make it within your weekly calorie deficit. The point is that you will want to do it, instead of feeling guilty that you have to!
  • Weigh yourself every morning – buy a digital scale. Apparently, digital scales are so advanced now, they can calculate BMI and other statistics. Personally, I bought the simple cheap model, which comes without a reference manual – a simple scale which turns on when you stand on it, and turns off shortly after that. Having a digital scale to help you get the precise weight is imperative to help calculate your daily weight trend.
  • Switch to non-carbonated drinks – if there is exactly one thing to “give up” for this to work, make it soft drinks and sodas. Before I started I would drink approximately 4-5 cups of Cola with every meal, not to mention the amount washed down in front of the computer. When I started my journey I made a decision to switch to water – and that’s what I’ve been drinking for the past two months with my meals. This had reduced my daily calorie intake by an order of magnitude – and I don’t miss it at all!
  • Don’t obsess about calories – this is perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned about losing weight – don’t count every calorie, not meticulously at least. You can’t always do it anyway, although there are some tools that can help. Do write down the foods you consume every day. Get an idea for your daily calorie intake by estimating the total calories in your meals, then gradually adjust the daily intake. You will calculate your calorie deficit by weighing yourself daily, and using a weight chart to track your progress.

Here is my weight loss chart, generated by The Hacker’s Diet Online Tools:

(no before/after photos yet)

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More 200 calorie goodness – Calorie Gallery

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Igal Tabachnik

Visualizing food in terms of calories greatly helps in calculating the total calorie intake, and the deficit required to lose weight. In my previous post, “What does 200 calories look like”, I linked to a gallery of different foods, each amounting to 200 calories. While that was a fairly large gallery, it is nowhere near the amount available on soon-to-be-launched website, Calorie Gallery.

Calorie Gallery, as the name says, is a gallery of different foods, each amounting to 200 calories. The website contains photos, amounts, nutrition information about each food, as well as a handy calorie calculator, where it’s possible to see how much running or rope jumping it takes to burn those calories.

Calorie Gallery is a welcomed addition to my ever-growing list of tools!

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