As I mentioned previously, since starting Neanderthin my weight
first dropped a bit, then began to creep up. In a few weeks it
will be 3 years on the diet, fairly strictly implemented.
When I started, three years ago, my LBM was about 170, measured by
calipers and later by immersion. The two methods agreed within a
pound or two. My body weight had already gone from 255 to 222 on
the Zone, but I had lost LBM as well. Switching to Neanderthin I
lost 7 more pounds, weighing 215, and stayed there for about a
year. At that weight, my BF was about 21%. My goal was, and
still is, 15%.
The following year I did some weight training. My body weight
went up, but so did my LBM, to about 180. So, at 220 pounds, my
BF was then down to 18%. By limiting calories, I was able to get
it down to 17%, but I didn't keep it there long.
During the past year I didn't weigh myself much, or take
measurements. I recently got an immersion test again and my LBM
is about 183, but my body weight is up to 235. That puts me at
22% BF, so I am fatter than I was when I started Neanderthin,
though also stronger.
To stay at LBM 183 but get to my goal of 15% BF, I would need to
get down to about 215 again. In short, I need to lose 20 pounds
of fat. Of course, the reality is that it is very difficult to
lose 20 pounds of fat without losing at least *some* muscle, but
I'll ignore that and pretend that my LBM will remain constant.
How to do it? I already know that out-of-the-box Neanderthin
doesn't work. The Zone works but is so calorically restricted
that LBM loss is guaranteed. So the trick is to find a
Neanderthin variation that creates a small caloric deficit and
try that. I already am getting as much exercise as I want.
What I have tried this past week is a simple trick to reduce
calories without counting them. I still eat what I feel like at
meals but allow myself just one small paleo snack in the evening.
Yesterday's menu:
Morning: 2 boiled eggs, 1 landjaeger, about 6 strawberries, a
handful of walnuts.
Afternoon: sliced chicken breast (only about 4 ounces,
unfortunately) on salad greens, with olive oil and wine vinegar,
plus a boiled egg.
Dinner: about 8 ounces of steak, with mushrooms cooked in coconut
oil. Another half dozen strawberries and some walnuts.
Late snack: 1 landjaeger.
Was I hungry? Yes. But I did succeed in losing one pound by
eating this way for a week. Can I sustain it? I don't know.
Todd Moody
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