My on again, off again diet has paid some dividends this past week, although my periodic checks throughout the past half-year were discouraging along the way.
The principles of my diet were to push protein and fiber while still maintaining between 1500 and 1800 calories. When I was keeping track, my calories never dipped below 1350 or above 2100, although any day that started off poorly tended to not get tracked. I had mixed success with the protein: various fitness magazines recommend 2-3g of protein for every pound of body weight, but the best I ever did was right around my body weight (~220g) and my calories for that day were at or in excess of 2100. I also had poor showings on any weekend where I had my sons with me, although I know rationally that this was just an excuse for me to pig out.
Still, I figure that I've been 50/50 with my efforts since my last PT test (April). I had a good month right before that PT test, showing me shaving down from ~230# to 220# and around 20% body fat. I was discouraged throughout this past 6 months since my weight would get as low as 213 but then bump back to 220 with a quickness. My efforts in the month prior to this PT test (October) were pathetic, meaning that I put off the meaningful start to the strict trainup I should have had by over two weeks, and wasn't nearly as strict as I should have been when I did track. I was 216 the morning of the PT test, so expected to be 215 when I got weighed in (due to water loss on the run), but forgot to account for the weight of the PT uniform since I weighed in the buff that as usual.
Still, 216 showed a 4 pound drop from 1/2-year ago and, although the scores for the individual PT events averaged out to my previous score (with minor drops in situps and the run), the real gain for me was in the circumference measurements and calculated body fat.
And by "gains" I mean "losses." My neck was down (that's bad) to 16.25" (I believe I was 17" in April, and I've had it as large as 18" in the past), but that actually pointed to an overall body composition change. When SFC Smith taped my waist (at the navel) as 35.25", I was ecstatic. The (inaccurate) Army calculations (based only on height, neck and waist measurements) peg me as 16% body fat... overall, that's about a 5 inch drop on my waist and 4% drop in body fat.
I've been splurging since Wednesday, but I've also seen how some of my good habits are becoming permanent, as I still choose things that are a little better for me than I used to (I feel terribly guilty about the Burger King, but mostly because of the white bread they use, along with the other terrible terrible carbs in those meals). But I told myself that today is "Day Zero," which means that tomorrow is the first day of being better about it.
At the very least, I'll update here in, oh, six months.