I wrote this email to Rick, my health coach on January 18th, 2016.
I was serious. It felt like a calling, a mission I had to accomplish. 2015 had kicked my ass and I had a new resolve to write about my weight loss and to help others.
2014 changed my life. 2015 nearly ended it. 2016 was the year I was going to change other people's lives as well.
I insisted that it was going to be free. Free with donation if people were so inclined. I was tired of people getting scammed, I was tired of the weight loss industry taking advantage of people. I was going to include only the information that people needed to stop the endless cycle of crash dieting and systemic illness due to excess insulin production.
First, I had to handle my business with my own health. What I did in 2014 really worked, what I did in 2015 really didn't. It was time to fine tune my habits into a consistent pattern that worked. Writing about my diet was the best thing I could do to put every habit I had into perspective and fortify the techniques for effective weight loss.
Here is every progress photo for 2016. The Fat Loss Arsonist 1st draft was written between January and March of 2016. It was edited throughout the year until it's digital release in January of 2017.
1/1/6 Starting point
189 lbs.
1/6/16 W: 186.4
GW: 188
1st week of bulletproof diet and BWF recommended routine.
1/13/16 W-185.4
GW-187
High quality coffee, grass fed butter and coconut oil for breakfast every day. BCAA and almond milk as pre-workout. Feeling productive and amazing.
1/21/16 W-187.2
GW- 186
Carb bloat from a stupid week. Do better.
1/27/16 W-183.6
GW-185
TI- 116
Fantastic work. Keep going.
2/3/16 W-181.8
GW-184
TI-115.5
Excellent
2/10/16 W-181.6
GW-183
TI-114
Super Bowl slow down. Stay in path.
2/17/16 W-181
GW-182
TI-114
Stalling on weight loss. Starting sugar fast leading up to my birthday.
2/24/16 W-179.4
GW-181
TI-113.5
Birthday week. Stay on point and get after it.
3/2/16 W-177
GW-180
TI- 112.5
1 week of aerobic base training. No sugar, no grains.
3/9/16 W-177.2
GW-179
TI-113.5
No more backsliding. Stay on point. Never give in.
3/16/16 W-175.4
GW-178
TI-112.5
Initial goal met. 10 lbs. to go.
3/23/16 W-176.6
GW-177
TI-111
Foolish weekend excess. Stay on point and take this seriously.
3/30/16 W-179
GW-176
TI-112
Congrats. You gained an inch and you're three pounds above GW due to your foolishness on Easter. Correct this behavior and refocus. The time is NOW.
4/6/16 W-176.2
GW-175
TI-111.5
Get over the wall!
4/13/16 W-178.6
GW-174
TI-111
COMPLETE THE GOAL.
4/20/16 W-180
GW-173
TI-112.5
The program must adjust.
5/4/16 W-177
GW-171
TI-111
Need to monitor calories more.
5/18/16 W-180.6
GW-169
TI-111.5
Reassess and readjust.
It was clear that at this point 165 was not happening. I was in a state of homeostasis and I was at a healthy weight for my body type. My body wanted to stay at 175-180. I kept trying to move the number on the scale.
5/25/16 W-179.2
GW-180
TI-111
Readjustment
6/1/16 W-180
GW-179
Memorial Day shenanigans.
6/8/16 W-183
GW-178
TI-112.5
6/21/16 W-181.6
GW-176
TI-114
Fathers Day weakness. Started swimming 5 days a week.
6/28/16 W-179.6
GW-175
TI-111
Keep swimming
At this point, triathlon goals ran into conflict with weight loss goals. I needed to stay strong and active. 180 was my fighting weight. I stopped trying to cut and just went for body composition maintenance. Progress photos were less frequent.
7/27/16 W-185
TI-113
W-180
Mad goggle tan.
11/10/16 W-186.4
TI-113.5
After the triathlon I was sick for the month of November. It sucked.
This is a good place to stop. I started the year motivated and focused and as the year wore on I couldn't maintain a highly regimented eating pattern. I released "The Fat Loss Arsonist" on January 1st 2017 and I'm going to update on my application of the book's principles on The Fat Loss Arsonist's Facebook page.