Saturday, December 12, 2009

_lose_34_lbs_in_42_days


i just pigged out today with a post-BLC lunch at TGIF with Eire, and it was simply satisfying. it was my first time in a very long while to feel too full from eating chicken, french fries, and other oily stuff that i had to completely avoid for 42 days in the Takbo.ph BLC.

today's lunch...a day after the BLC


sharing what i actually did to lose 34.4 lbs, not implying that this is for anyone out there who wants to shed some pounds. i'm 5'11" and internet literature says my ideal weight should be around 160-185 lbs, considering my build & age. since i started at 200.8 lbs with the BLC, i had a lot to lose.

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i confess that i consulted once (only once) with a nutritionist 2 weeks into the BLC period who gave me a meal plan, which i eventually didn't follow as i didn't like the idea of measuring portions and timing my meals & snacks. the plan entailed that i consume 2,200 calories consisting of about 60% carbs, 20% protein, & 20% fat. i completely dropped the plan and decided to work on my own.

from internet research, intuition, pondering, & determination, here were the 2 simple rules i followed throughout the BLC weight loss period:

1) FOLLOW A 2,000-CALORIE DIET WITH 60:20:20 CARB, PROTEIN, FAT RATIO

i tracked every single fruit, drink, & food morsel that i consumed everyday and recorded them at daily burn, including my weight progress. i could actually eat anything i wanted, but i focused on those foods that would make me full longer, either high in fiber (like papaya/apple) or known to lessen people's appetite (like coffee).

since my food cravings included high-calorie goodies that i knew wouldn't satisfy my hunger, i skipped all of them.

a normal list of foods that i usually eat in a day include:

BREAKFAST
1 cup of oatmeal or corn flakes with soy milk

A.M. SNACK
1 hard-boiled egg
1 mug brewed coffee with cream & non-calorie sweetener
1 banana

LUNCH
1 viand from bodhi or canned tuna (any flavor, either century tuna or san marino)
1 cup brown rice

P.M. SNACK
2 slices of multigrain wheat bread
2 tbsp sugar-free strawberry jam
1 cup instant coffee, sugar-free

DINNER
1 bowl tuna pasta
1 banana
1 apple

when you search these foods at daily burn, they come to around 1,900 calories with about 62% carbs, 17% protein, & 21% fat. i'm not totally strict about the 60:20:20 rule.

notice that this food list actually seems too much for someone on a BLC diet. :) this complements what i did in #2 as i needed a lot of energy to run. without energy, i'd be stuck at home just watching TV or hanging out at the SB. :P

2) RUN AS MUCH AS I CAN, WHENEVER I CAN

another net tool that i've been using since i started with my running addiction is daily mile.

for 42 days, i ran a total of 274km consisting short & long runs, with a few races. most of the time, i ran in the evening, around 2 hours after dinner and there were even a few times when i started past 10pm (with eire getting a bit worried about what i was doing to myself). my usual route includes the fort, mckinley hills, and pioneer-ortigas (when i'm lazy to drive to the fort). i hated waking up in the morning as i preferred sleeping a bit more. :) except for the races, i did only 1 solo run in the morning and it was probably just 5km.

daily mile weekly log--the 88km log was when i ran nightly for at least 12km, including the 32km baguio race


i noticed that for every run, i'd lose around .5 to .7 lbs the following day, even after eating breakfast. that even got me motivated to run more.

the only danger when i did consecutive runs, up to 7 straight days of long runs, i knew that i would become more prone to injury based on what i've heard & read from other runners. i just said to myself that since i'm running only at a slow, fat burning zone pace, i'd be okay...while crossing my fingers & toes. :) i was very, very fortunate that i didn't have to face any injury during that entire running frenzy.

as for gym, i only did weights 3 times (with 1 week intervals) in the entire period as i didn't want to build muscles. :P

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like i said in my FB status, i thank Takbo.ph for sparking & nurturing such a very fun Filipino running community, all the inspiring BLC participants who gave so much of their effort to lose weight as their passion to change for the better, to Rico & Gerard for organizing the BLC, and to Eire for her untiring support and tolerance to my nightly runs and sacrifice to test my limits in this competition.

i have changed for the better. i am truly blessed & i am sincerely grateful. :)

gobbling a cupcake 1 minute after my final weigh-in


me & alan (2nd placer, super weight-loser too)


final scores/percentages


happy BLCers at the takbo.ph party...Ley, Rico, Mike, Marga, me, Sam, Alan, Gerard, Raff, Yan, Gail, Rodel, & Neil


thanks to Brando & Pio for the photos!

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after the BLC, i plan to maintain my weight and not go over 185 lbs. :) i think it seems realistic as i want to start eating the foods that i crave for...without overindulging, of course. ;)

23 comments:

Unknown said...

congrtatulations bry! thanks for sharing your secrets, im planning to continue my BLC mode for my April project =D

roo :) said...

:D

i'm glad i can finally stop worrying now :P

what you did was seriously phenomenal...i knew from the start of the contest almost without a doubt (i guess that means i doubted a bit :P ...well, i didn't know how tough the competition was going to be...and really, alan was one enormously strong contender) that you would win, given that i knew how determined, uberly focused and obsessive-compulsive you are on your set goals...but losing that much weight in so little a time was almost like winning against cris sabal in a marathon (then again, maybe soon you'd get to do that, too! :P)...and the 0.1% difference?!? that was really amazing! :D there's one uberly proud roo here (i'm sure you already knew that :P)

so now, let's start getting back some of that weight again, shall we? (don't panic...i said, "SOME"):P

Anonymous said...

Congrats Bryan! Marvelous feat! :D

Sana nilagay mo rin yung "Before and After" pic! ;P

truman said...

@julie thanks! for the daily calorie intake, the 2,000 figure is for me. it varies, depending on age, weight, gender, & physical activity. :)

@eire thank you! :D i couldn't have done it without you. :) meow.

@eric thanks a lot...and for the tip. i added the before & after pic na! :)

Julie @ HotlegsRunner said...

congrats bryan! =)

truman said...

@julie (hotlegs) hey there! :) thanks! hope to meet you on sunday at the celeb run. :)

Erick(shocks_5) said...

Galing Bry...Congrats!Thanks for the "secret"...i'll try this...i still have 8weeks before Condura42K:)

jetpaiso said...

congrats bryan! cheers to long life!

Rico Villanueva said...

Bryan, ang galing. Dinaig mo ang sheer will ko. Haha. I really admire people who are focused on their goals and do their best to achieve things. Hope the BLC loss will not just be a short-term thing, but a lifestyle choice. Knowing you, you can certainly do that :-)

RUNNING DIVA said...

You deserved it, Bry. Your persistence and commitment paid off! ;) O kelan ka magpa-burger?hahaha.

RUNNING DIVA said...

Oh, I forgot! Now, that you're slimmer, my only request, don't change your avatar yet. hahaha

truman said...

@eric thanks! wala ka naman ipapayat eh! :P hehehe good luck on your training for condura! :)

@jet salamat! kampai! :D

@rico you're right...this is now influencing my entire eating lifestyle. i do want to maintain this weight--about 180 to 185 lbs--and i'm starting to think about everything that i eat. :P

@roselle hahaha burger ba? alright, i won't change my avatar so i'd have a constant reminder as to how i was before BLC. :) thanks!

Sam TheRunningNinja said...

I honestly thought when I joined this competition I could easily kick your asses (you and Allan)...but then knowing that you guys lost more than 30lbs in 42 days, there's no way in hell I could lose that much without sacrificing my over-all health. Mag uunderweight nko nyan hahhaha!

Pero brian ang galing mo, I saw myself in you when I first joined BLC dito sa office (i won obcourse). Hope we can maintain this weight. Join na sa KantoBoyz!

RPA said...

congrats, bry!

keep it up bro!

to all BLCers...
ang galing ng determination and focus nyo.

taas kamay ko sa inyo!!!

truman said...

@sam bilib nga ako sa 'yo, dude. :) ibang klase determination mo coz you still lost a lot of weight despite not being overweight. :D congrats sa 'yo!

@rod thanks, dude. :) kaya natin 'to! :D

Gail said...

congrats again bryan! you look great! medyo late na comment ko :) hehe!

Anonymous said...

grats on losing the pounds. looking forward to do the same although not under the same circusmtances. i'll basically go with your diet but not run as much, how do much you think does your running contirbuted to your weight lose? i'll prolly run once or twice a week but that ain't set in stone yet.

appreciate your inputs.

thanks!

truman said...

hi...anonymous! :)

personally, i think the running part helped me burn extra calories--about 750 to 1,000 for each run depending on the distance--and keep my metabolism at a level where my body doesn't go into starvation mode. :) it also accelerated my weight loss. hmmm... i'd say about 40% contribution. :D with the diet alone, i think you would also hit your target weight but it might take a much longer time.

Anonymous said...

can i join ur blc club? pls email me at maie@ymail.com thanks and more power!

Anonymous said...

hi truman.

thanks for the response. i was the first anonymous poster with the question about how much did running contributed to your weight lose. appreciate the response. by the way, recently joined takbo.ph and looking forward to being part of the running community there.

thanks!

allen0187

truman said...

hey, allen0187! you're welcome. :)

great that you joined takbo.ph! i'm sure you'll find everyone there very friendly & you'll be off to running with the group very soon. it's a diverse & fun-loving community. :D

hope to meet you in a race soon! :)

poch bermudez said...

hi! just to tell you that i was so inspired by your story that I'm doing all these myself. we're the same height and starting weight, and I've already lost more than 10 lbs following your style in about 10 days time (am shooting for 160 lbs by early March -- and I know this is called crash dieting!). I'm fairly new to running regularly and am enjoying it very much. I'll actually join the 21K in Condura on Feb 7. Iactively compete in executive road races right now with a cycling team, and have been struggling with my weight plateau for almost 2 years now. I used to weigh 260 lbs in 2004 - 2005 (I'm 187 today). I got diagnosed with diabetes in 2006 and have been actively trying to lose weight to have a longer life. I haven't been successful with diets because I used to think that hard training alone will make one lose weight and that the body will adjust with its diet naturally. Hindi pala! There's still the will, discipline and consistency components involved. Needless to say, one can never cheat oneself in weight loss. :)

Anyway, thank you so much for the inspiration and I do hope you'll keep off that weight successfully. :)

When I get to see you in a race, hope you don't mind if I'll approach you and introduce myself. ;)

truman said...

@poch wow! i was truly touched by your story and i am equally grateful that you shared your current weight loss success. :)

my health problem early last year was high cholesterol and even if i haven't had it checked again, i'm confident that it's no longer a concern for me. right now, i'm maintaining 175-180 lbs even as i've been eating more than before. i still try to run at least 30-40kms per week.

yeah, don't hesitate to approach me in any succeeding race. i'd like to meet you as well. :)