Hristo's FI Journal

[Hristo Botev]

Quick update to say we've been very spendy of late.

First, because there are some lessons I refuse to learn, we bought another boat.

Specifically, DD is now 14 years old and, given where we live, she's aching to be able to get out on the water without having to wait for an invitation from friends with boats to do so. At her age I had a jet ski, and I know from my experience that handing a jet ski over to a teenager is a horrible idea. Also, I spent most of my time on these same waters as a teenager not on my jet ski, but instead on my friend's aluminum jon boat, powered by a 25 hp 2-stroke outboard. We'd spend pretty much every day during the summer and a whole lot of weekends during the school year skiing and fishing and camping with that boat (a 25-hp outboard can pull a skilled teenager-weight skier out of the water, with the added benefit that a slalom skier can actually control the direction of the boat). So, after some research, we set our sights on finding an old 13' Boston Whaler, and DD found what we were looking for not too far from us:



We've had it out on the water a few times already, and it's exactly what we were looking for: a super simple boat with plenty of power that can be used for all sorts of inshore water activities, and that is also super simple to launch and to clean and maintain. Also, the benefit of these boats is that there are a LOT OF THEM for sale, in all sorts of shape: from boats that have been fully restored to perfection ($$$), to boats that are not currently seaworthy ($), and everything in between ($$). And we were looking for something in between--seaworthy such that no immediate work is required, but that will also be a fun project for DD and I to work on over the next few years.

So the plan is to run it hard this summer and then perhaps spend the winter doing some restoration work, as ultimately I would love to restore it back to its beautiful early 1970s glory, with shiny mahogany benches and console, and with a fresh paint job.

That said, I'm sure it won't be too long before I'm on this forum bitching about how much I hate being a boat owner again. But . . . , my buy in this time around was MUCH less than my buy in with the last boat--a couple thousand dollars for the boat and trailer, plus registration, and apart from having to buy a new $10 drain plug for the boat, that's all I've got into it.

Second, in other "new motorized stuff" news, as DD gets closer to driving we've been on the look out for a third car. We currently have a new third row Honda Pilot that is used for soccer car pool and for family road trips, and a 2015 Prius that is used for running errands and by DW as her commuter on the couple of days/week she goes into the hospital. So, for a third car we were looking for an old compact/midsize pickup truck, for doing truck things, and also for being DD's daily driver to school, etc. Sadly, but fortuitously for us, DW's brother-in-law's father recently passed away, and among the things he left behind was a 2001 Nissan Frontier that had been sitting in his backyard for years. The truck was in pretty bad shape, but the price was right (a $500 donation to charity, as per the will), and after some work last weekend it's actually looking pretty OK.



It runs, and it's been my primary means of transportation for the past week, running errands and such, but it definitely needs a mechanic to do a diagnostic and provide us with a priority list of punch items that should be taken care of before DD starts driving it. But it's a joy to drive a small, bare bones truck with crank windows and nothing but a radio. I wish it was a manual, but given the price tag I'm not going to complain about that.

OK, that's it for now.

[ffj]

I watched a video this morning showcasing the sticker price of a F250 Shelby Superduty. $154,999

I'm sure your daughter appreciates her good fortune because you raised her right. It's mind-boggling the prices of trucks these days. My old school Ranger with the roll-up windows will stay with me until it falls apart.

[Hristo Botev]

It's mind-boggling the prices of trucks these days.

For real! I've been monitoring Carvana, Auto Trader, and FB marketplace for the past several months for used compact/mid-size trucks (Tacomas, Frontiers, Rangers, the GMC/Chevy ones), and I truly cannot believe how expensive they are. Seriously, who is buying these things at those prices?!?! If ever I needed a reminder that most people I interact with around town on a daily basis are likely leveraged to the hilt, it's knowing just how expensive used cars are and also knowing that people are financing those purchases. I mean, it seems like every other car I see on the road is a Tacoma--which I get, they are great trucks--and yet the cost of those things (new and used) is ASTRONOMICAL!

So, needless to say, when our original plan to buy our neighbor's old S-10 fell through (his wife vetoed the plan when she realized that her husband planned to replace the truck with a new one), we were very happy to be the new home for DW's brother-in-law's dad's old truck. It's got just over 100K miles, so assuming the mechanic doesn't identify any big issues, it should easily give us another 100K miles at least.

I'm sure your daughter appreciates her good fortune because you raised her right.

Thanks; we're trying.

[Hristo Botev]

With alcohol gone now I see it as inevitable that I will finally get rid of the midsection layer of fat I've carried around my entire adult life.

I'm actually making some progress on this front, and with a few weeks of actual consistency, I think I'm going to track my numbers here, because numbers are fun.

The plan, in addition to teetotaling, is to get at least 12K steps a day, strength train 3x week, and try and maintain at least a 500 daily calorie deficit and preferably more like 1,000, prioritizing protein intake.

Thus far I've only tracked both steps/calories expended AND calories consumed for one full week; though I hope to continue doing so until I reach a point at which I will consider Mission Accomplished (I HATE tracking calories.)

Here is what I have for last week:

April 13-19

- 14,294 steps per day average
- 3,119 calories expended per day average
- 1,967 calories consumed per day average
- 1,157 average calorie deficit
- 8,072 actual* total calorie deficit for the week

*These numbers are generated by the fitbit and "my fitness pal" apps, so they are just educated guesses.

I was solidly somewhere in the 190s back in February, when I stopped drinking and started to get more consistent with my daily walks and with my strength training. I'm currently sitting pretty solidly at somewhere around 186/187. (I have an old school analog scale, and my eyesight isn't very good, so I can't really say for sure.)

In my adult life I've never been in the 160s, and I'm curious what that would be like, given that at my height a "normal" BMI range is 139 to 169. The lightest I've ever been is about 175, which was after a 50 pound weight loss following college. And even at that weight I still had a pretty soft midsection (though I also had significantly less muscle mass than I do now).

So, we'll see. I will try and remember to post my numbers here since I'm tracking them anyway.

[white belt]

The plan, in addition to teetotaling, is to get at least 12K steps a day, strength train 3x week, and try and maintain at least a 500 daily calorie deficit and preferably more like 1,000, prioritizing protein intake.

Here is what I have for last week:

April 13-19

- 14,294 steps per day average
- 3,119 calories expended per day average
- 1,967 calories consumed per day average
- 1,157 average calorie deficit
- 8,072 actual* total calorie deficit for the week

Common advice in the evidence based fitness community is to not exceed 1% of BW a week in weight loss if you are trying to maintain lean body mass. Having said that, your deficit seems a bit too high. I wouldn’t exceed a deficit of 6300 calories a week since that equates to 1.8 lbs. I also wouldn’t aim to lose 1% a week for longer than 4-6 weeks before having a maintenance period of the same length that you were in a deficit.

Also you probably already know this, but I wouldn’t go below .8 grams of protein per pound of BW daily (recent research indicates that the “golden rule” of 1 gram per pound of BW is a bit higher than necessary but also easier to math). In terms of fats and carbs, you probably know what works best for you. When I’m trying to lose weight, I cut out fast digesting carbs (no bread/pasta, brown rice instead of white race, sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes, etc). Everyone is different on preferences for fats vs carbs so as long as you are hitting dietary fat minimums for basic functioning, you can play around them (I always preferred lower fat and higher carbs but some people are the opposite).

[Lemur]

+1 to what White Belt stated but also will add that if you're already at a highish bodyfat % (say over 20% or even over 15%), muscle loss is even less of a concern as its pretty easy for the body to pull energy needs from fatty acids.

Muscle loss becomes more of a concern when trying to get to lean levels (<15%) as energy stores are not readily available. Both conditions that white belt stated (resistance training and meeting protein needs) need to be met but I did learn recently that the former takes more prioritization.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37724991/

Take this one with a grain of salt but there have been some interesting n=1 anecdotes I've read about occassionally on Reddit and elsewhere on natural bodybuilders who have cut on extremely low calorie diets but claimed to not lose any muscle whatsoever because they were maintaining weight on the bar. Obviously only run this sort of stuff in the short term. Protocols such as this one: https://www.amazon.com/Rapid-Fat-Loss-H ... 0967145643 are more detailed and pretty extreme.

[Hristo Botev]

Thanks both!

Having said that, your deficit seems a bit too high. I wouldn’t exceed a deficit of 6300 calories a week since that equates to 1.8 lbs. I also wouldn’t aim to lose 1% a week for longer than 4-6 weeks before having a maintenance period of the same length that you were in a deficit.

Admittedly, I'm sure I undercount my caloric intake via the myfitnesspal app, as very little of what our family eats has a bar code on it, and as much as I'd like to just eat a handful of standard meals while I'm trying to lose weight--to keep things simple and to ensure I am accurately tracking what is going into my body--the reality is I'm married to a dietitian who cooks all sorts of different things, which means my dinners and my lunches (leftovers) vary pretty dramatically. So I just kind of guess, finding whatever is already in the myfitnesspal database that seems to approximate whatever casserole or dish I just ate. FWIW, the "goals" I have set in my apps are 2,400 caloric intake and 3,000 caloric expenditure, for a 600 daily deficit, and that is in fact probably more like what I'm actually hitting.

Also you probably already know this, but I wouldn’t go below .8 grams of protein per pound of BW daily (recent research indicates that the “golden rule” of 1 gram per pound of BW is a bit higher than necessary but also easier to math).

It has been surprisingly difficult to hit my protein goal, which is currently set at 160. Greek yogurt for breakfast with granola and berries, 2 protein shakes during the day (Fairlife chocolate milk with unflavored whey protein), and then whatever is on the menu for lunch and dinner, typically with some eggs and some beef sticks thrown in somewhere along the way, and I still am lucky to hit about 150.

In terms of fats and carbs, you probably know what works best for you. When I’m trying to lose weight, I cut out fast digesting carbs (no bread/pasta, brown rice instead of white race, sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes, etc). Everyone is different on preferences for fats vs carbs so as long as you are hitting dietary fat minimums for basic functioning, you can play around them (I always preferred lower fat and higher carbs but some people are the opposite).

The reality is that I don't have much control over the menu. DW is very much one that plans the week's meals based around what shows up in the farmshare for that week, and what beef cuts happens to be at the top of the chest freezer. This has been an obstacle to me sticking with a calorie deficit plan in the past, but this time around I'm just trying to monitor my portion sizes and not go back for seconds, and to avoid snacking other than raw fruits and vegetables. That, with removing alcohol, will get me there I think.

ETA: When I went from 225 to 175 after college, I did it by not drinking but also by eating pretty much the exact same thing every day (I still remember exactly what I ate 20+ years later). That was something that was very easy to do given that I was a bachelor. That would be impossible to do now without pissing off my wife and souring family dinner time.

[Stasher]

The other thing to be mindful of is metabolic adaptation when running a prolonged caloric deficit. You don't want to keep doing too much of this type of reduced calorie intake while at the same time being so active. Your body will eventually start to get in a scarcity mindset and will be like "hey this guy isn't feed me enough so I'm going to stop burning fat cuz damn I'm gonna need it later and better start storing it". So thus your weight loss plateaus and you aren't feeding your body enough to have the energy to tackle the day.

[Hristo Botev]

The other thing to be mindful of is metabolic adaptation when running a prolonged caloric deficit.

It's a concern, for sure. Honestly, with alcohol removed, I find for the first time in my life that I'm having to figure out how to get more calories in. As in, at the end of the day, I often find myself looking at myfitnesspal app thinking I must have forgotten to log a meal, because the number should be higher. I'm sure prioritizing protein has something to do with that, given that it keeps you satiated longer. Also, mostly cutting out chips and pretzels and the like goes along way, and replacing those snacks with an apple or a banana or carrots.

[Hristo Botev]

April 20-26:

- 18,360 steps per day average
- 3,913 calories expended per day average
- 2,320 calories consumed per day average
- 1,593 average calorie deficit
- 11,152 actual* total calorie deficit for the week

* Again, this is mostly just a semi-educated guess.

These numbers were skewed pretty significantly by the fact that I refereed 5 soccer games on Saturday, so my step count for the day skyrocketed to 28,739 with 6,838 calories burned for the day. That said, my average calorie deficit was still comfortably above 1,000 for the week even taking Saturday out of the equation. This is more of a deficit than I want to run, but since quitting alcohol I: (1) find it hard to take in more than 2,400 calories a day; and (2) am much more likely to spend my evenings being active by doing work around the house, as opposed to drinking a cocktail(s) and watching TV.

That said, the number on the scale is mostly unchanged since last week, but I am definitely noticing clothes being loser, muscles being more defined, and my midsection feeling less soft. Also, I've had to go up a belt hole.

So, definitely progress.

[Hristo Botev]

April 27 - May 3:

- 13,411 steps per day average
- 3,213 calories expended per day average
- 2,296 calories consumed per day average
- 917 average calorie deficit
- 6,421 actual* total calorie deficit for the week

* Again, this is mostly just a semi-educated guess.

Still no significant movement on the scale; clothes fitting a bit looser and I'm certainly feeling a bit fitter.

If there's any truth to the 3,500 calories = 1 pound of fat thing, then I should have lost 7 pounds of fat over the past 3 weeks. Have I? I honestly don't know as my weight fluctuates so much it is hard to tell, plus the fact that I have been weight training consistently.

[delay]

If there's any truth to the 3,500 calories = 1 pound of fat thing, then I should have lost 7 pounds of fat over the past 3 weeks.

Thanks for sharing! If there's any truth to calories, I have been unable to find it.

[philipreal]

I mean, a pound of fat is roughly equal to 3500 calories, that part is true, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you'll lose a pound of fat by being in what you think is a 3500 calorie deficit. It seems to me like where the calorie map diverges from the weight-change territory is in the black box that is our calorie expenditure. I'm interested in how you're calculating/tracking your calorie expenditures, because from what I know it varies a lot between people. If you're feeling fitter and clothes are fitting a bit looser that would be the metric I would care most about.

[Hristo Botev]

I'm interested in how you're calculating/tracking your calorie expenditures, because from what I know it varies a lot between people.

I'm wearing for a fitbit for this little run at getting into the 160s. So the calorie expenditure number is coming from whatever algorithm fitbit is using. I don't expect that number to be accurate; I just hope it's at least consistently inaccurate, such that it's at least reliable to judge how my activity levels progress or regress from one day/week to the next.

FWIW, ChatGPT tells me that fitbit tends to undercount calories for things like weightlifting, and it tends to overcount calories for things like stress. So, who knows.

Funny story (at least funny to me): One of DS's soccer games went to PKs this weekend, and as DS was walking up to the penalty mark my fitbit started vibrating to tell me I was gaining "zone minutes"--i.e., another words, my heart rate jumped over 100 bpm despite me sitting on my ass in a lawn chair, purely from the stress of watching my son take a PK.

(He missed, btw--put it on goal but the goalie made a good read; thankfully DS's counterpart from the other team also had his shot blocked, and DS's team ended up with the "W.")

ETA: Related anecdote, if you ever start having your faith in humanity restored, spend some time at a youth soccer game, either as a parent or a ref--you'll quickly be reminded that we are in fact a fallen people.

[Scordatura]

I don't expect to have my idealism about humanity restored, but if I do, I'll be sure to follow your advice.

I appreciate your writings, sir. I've been on a religion kick for a few years now, and I particularly like reading the words of people of faith. The constrained view of humanity interests me in particular.

Good tidings.

[chenda]

ETA: Related anecdote, if you ever start having your faith in humanity restored, spend some time at a youth soccer game, either as a parent or a ref--you'll quickly be reminded that we are in fact a fallen people.

Why ?

[Lemur]

My guess would be either agressively overzealous or overprotective parents. No kidding when I think referees at even youth sports outta know a little bit of self-defense..just incase. Seen some stuff at even my kids basketball games lol.

[chenda]

My guess would be either agressively overzealous or overprotective parents. No kidding when I think referees at even youth sports outta know a little bit of self-defense..just incase. Seen some stuff at even my kids basketball games lol.

Now you mention it I remember someone telling me that a school had banned parents from attending some local football tournament due to past 'incidents'. And this was in a nice middle class area.

[Hristo Botev]

Why ?

The sh*@ parents say and do at a kid's soccer game--directed at the ref, the other parents, the other team's kids, their own kids--it's pearl-clutching conduct to say the least.

[chenda]

The sh*@ parents say and do at a kid's soccer game--directed at the ref, the other parents, the other team's kids, their own kids--it's pearl-clutching conduct to say the least.

It is amazing to me how low level sports can bring out the worse in people. But then I have always disliked competitive sports.