Category: Phase 8

Wolverine and Spider-man, who in their strange ways inspire me on this journey. Where are you for Christmas? Vancouver for us for a change.

Mutant Diet Phase 8 Early Finale
I declare Phase 8 over on Day 82 of 89. There are a few reasons for this.

I had a good strict run for the last couple of weeks and I’m stressed out.

My time for the next couple of weeks is insanely busy and the blogging and documenting is tough. It will be tougher given the number of social events with food.

It’s time to go into holiday mode and damage control mode.

However, before closing out, I saw the doctor of naturopathy yesterday and put forth the 2.75 years of data and asked the question, “How the hell can I routinely burn 15 hundred calories a day more than I eat and have such a small impact on the scale?”

It was nice to have someone convincingly agree with me that my allergies I’ve had since I was 6 can’t possibly not play a role here. There is no answer but there are new lines of inquiry. Thyroid function. Cortisol levels. Gut bacteria. Tests and different supplements have to happen and be acquired. It may yield no magic improvement, but it looks like it will give me new information.

It was also nice to have someone look pretty impressed when I mentioned yoga since 1998 and my trainer. I suspect many people see this as some sort of luxury. I see it as death deferral.

As I face another Phase of the Mutant Diet in January, I can’t help but recall the definition of insanity where you do the same thing over and over and expect different results.

Batwoman will be appearing in this year’s crossover episode and honestly I’m dying of curiosity. I always wanted to go to Bamfield.

Mutant Diet Phase 8 Day 81
Today I see a naturopath and I’m trying to be open minded. I’ve been at this so long that I can’t imagine someone having a better idea that the thousands of ones I’ve looked at. The focus will be digestion. The key mystery is how can I routinely burn 1500 calories more than I take in – routinely – and not drop weight at the 1-2 pounds per week.

There is of course the possibility that the 1-2 pounds per week figure is utter horseshit.

And, no one has ever given me an explanation of why my allergies cause me to retain water. That’s been happening since I was 8.

Those are the questions.

Batman, Constantine and Swamp Thing. There was sun in Vancouver yesterday, but that didn’t last.

Mutant Diet Phase 8 Day 80
I weighed-in yesterday. I am down 4.4 pounds from the Oct 16 weigh-in. That’s about six weeks. I weighed slightly less than this in October 2017. The problem is that the pants I wear now, last year, were tight and two belt notches higher. Now my pants are falling off and I need a belt notch.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

What I conclude is weight training and functional training may not make you lose much weight, but it sure does change your shape. That what my wife says.

It’s not as wet as yesterday, but I thought I’d keep with the Swamp Thing theme. There’s probably a swamp in Kenora.

Mutant Diet Phase 8 Day 79
Today is a weigh-in. The last of the phase because the risk of dietary issues as the Christmas season comes along is high. Plus I see a Naturopath tomorrow and I don’t want her office trying to weigh me.

I’m on Day 79, which means I technically have ten days left, but honestly I don’t know if I’ll make it. I’ve been very good with zero “cheats” in the sense of anything alcohol or sweets. The strain of schedule is mounting and I’m trying to manage stress.

We’ll see what today brings. I’m committed at least until Friday. Send calming thoughts.

In honour of Vancouver weather today, I give you Swamp Thing.

Mutant Diet Phase 8 Day 78
Last night was one of those opportunities to throw in the towel. I had a plan with the family to go wheat free, but that restaurant was closed and the next best thing was Rocky Mountain Flatbread which is lovely but it’s still pizza. However, no alcohol, no dessert, no known sugar. And when I got home, it was just water.

It was an involuntary rest day. I was stuck waiting for my son to finish a Nutcracker rehearsal when I should have been in yoga class.

But you can tell the recreational eating season of Christmas is nearly upon us. I think all diet/fitness programs should go into damage control mode.

Staying with She-Hulk, I notice in this image Deadpool is surprisingly un-scarred. For some reason I want to hide in Brighton Ontario.

Mutant Diet Phase 8 Day 77
On a soggy day, I contemplate a Tuesday weigh-in (last for Phase 8) and a visit to a Naturopath to try to discuss digestion. I worry the Naturopath will be like everyone else and assume I’d dieting wrong instead of actually looking at the data I have and wondering what body chemistry is at work that is so insistent on keeping weight.

Today is a rest day because I have to sit around in a mall waiting for my son. I will miss yoga class but given yesterday I worked so hard I was pinned by my bench press bar, I’m OK with that.

I made dinner last night with non-keto cheese sauce and potatoes. I did not eat afterwards and the calories consumed to calories burned ratio was still OK. We did watch Scrooged and I realize watching Christmas movies makes me hungry for chocolate. Damn. I have to wait four more days.

There were a couple of Things and She-Hulks at the gym today in Vancouver.

Mutant Diet Phase 8 Day 76
Because I took the day off, yesterday was weird. There were carbs and I tried to penalize my calorie count as much as reasonable. I was still burning 1500 more than I took in.

At what I call the stinky gym, which is not my regular one, but is super close to my son’s ballet studio, I did a heavy lifting workout because tomorrow’s schedule will force me to miss yoga. Well, I’m certainly sore enough now. I for sure know exactly on the bench press when to give up. On my last set I reached the “gosh you should do one more” stage. However, I was wrong; I realized I couldn’t make it and brought the bar back to my chest. I could hold it in place but I could not move it. I was stuck there for a few seconds until I could ask a fellow to help me. This particular guy looked in good shape, but he was exerting himself on my meagre 130 pounds.

That kind of experience does not help you feel less self-conscious. However, I’d rather that than drop the damn thing.

I was trying to sneak in an episode of Green Arrow last night but it didn’t work. Calgary has been in the news.

Mutant Diet Phase 8 Day 75
Friday morning. It’s raining. I just had a breakfast with carbs. It feels good. If I stay strict for the rest of the day, things should be OK. If you look my sheets for the last week, I’m burning 1100-2500 calories more per day than I’m eating. This isn’t a real equivalence but it demonstrates I’m not kidding around.

For me – I don’t know about other people – the strain of this is significant. With me approaching the 2-week point of being super strict, it’s become a bit easier. The key effective thing is having supplies and planning ahead. I.e. Today I planned my mini cheat this morning, but I’m confident in how the rest of the day is going and have a mental food plan. Part of it is to say to yourself, “when lunch comes plan to grab x, y, z foods.” I find if I repeat it to myself a couple of times in the period prior to the meal, it helps push out the “but I’d rather have bad food a, b, c.”

Now, if I could only figure out what steady state looks like.

I’m trying to catch up on my Green Arrow on TV. It’s filmed in Vancouver.

Mutant Diet Phase 8 Day 74
For a moment there, I thought this would be OK. But yesterday the fatigue kicked in. I had to go home and have a nap. The yoga class was weird because poses were difficult due to weakness in shoulders. Lots of strength elsewhere, but you need it all to hold these poses.

And the sense of “What’s the Point?” is huge. The mirror still does not show me what I want. I would bet serious dollars at the final weigh-in for this phase the numbers will be kind of meh. No doubt there’s progress but the goal feels unattainable. And what is the goal? I won’t be what I looked like at 25 ever again nor will I look like what I wanted to look like when I was 25.

An effort to align expectations to reality is needed.

I think we should have a black Superman in film. TV shows were filming in Kitsilano.

Mutant Diet Phase 8 Day 73
I’m less freaked today and I’m wondering if my system has figured out that I’m being strict on calories and is finding a way to retain mass as a retaliatory action.

The workout yesterday pressed the boundaries of repetitions not the actual weight. I think my days of fast jumps in weight are done. It will be interesting to see if I can maintain that feeling of gaining strength even if I don’t jump in weights as dramatically.

I am 8 days away from the complete sugar and baked good embargo I promised my trainer. We shall see.