Down 50 lbs!

It was Christmas 2023 and I weighed 246.4 lbs. It wasn’t a lack of exercise. As a matter of fact, I’d wake up at 03:30 in the morning so I could start exercising by 04:00. This would give me an hour to exercise. And an hour to shower and drive to work.

I was dedicated. And had been doing this five days a week since September of 2022.

Why not workout in the evenings?

Because I learned after a day’s work, you are rundown mentally and physically. However, you are freshest in the morning! Plus this gives your body plenty of time to unwind before going to bed.

This was proven to me with data collected from my Garmin watch, when my wife and I hiked to Tolmie Peak Fire Lookout, to catch the setting sun. That night we slept; sort-of. Our bodies weren’t resting, they were busy trying to unwind, before repairing.

With all this exercise, why was I gaining weight?

It wasn’t muscle… Looking back now, I was under the impression that zone 2 (low aerobic) and strength training was the only thing I needed. Also, the stress from waking at 03:30 to squeeze in a workout before going to a job that I hated, didn’t help either. Plus, when I’m stressed, my body just wants to consume anything that looks unhealthy.

At 246.4 lbs in December of 2023, I was looking for a different strategy. I started doing the Norwegian 4×4 (high intensity) one day a week. With a couple of exception I have done one a week to this day. The rest of the week being three days of low intensity and one day of mid intensity

A Norwegian 4×4 consists of a warmup. Although a typical warmup is 15 minutes; I prefer 25 minutes before a Norwegian 4 × 4. The main set consists of four, four minute intervals of all out effort, with three minutes of active rest in between. Active rest being: low effort and trying to catch your breath before the next set.

Example: 25 minutes of warmup, 25-29 (all out), three minutes of active rest, 32-36 (all out), three minutes of active rest, 39-43 (all out), three minutes of active rest, 46-50 (all out). Then, ten minutes of cool down. One hour in total.

Also, in December of 2023, I changed from Heart Rate based training to Watts (power) based training. This is critical for letting Garmin know how much effort you can honestly do in a certain amount of time. Such as, knowing how many Watts to hold for a four minute all out interval. This would be the Light-Orange power zone for me.

You can’t cheat Garmin, it records too much information.

This is why the Norwegian 4×4 will never get any easier. You get stronger, Garmin will expect more. If you get weaker, Garmin adjusts for that too.

It was training at all the different intensity levels throughout the week that got me from 246 lbs down to the 220’s. But diet, and watching what I eat wasn’t a thing. Yet.

After plateauing in the 220 lb range for quite some time, it was apparent I needed another change.

Counting calories.

Garmin knows how much I burn, resting and during exercise. The MyFitnessPal app connects to Garmin and allows a easy way to record calories I’ve consumed.

The app provides many methods of counting calories, making it as easy as possible. My current goal is 190 lbs. So MyFitnessPal puts me on a 1,890 calorie limit per day, plus whatever extra calories I burn through exercise.

So, if I burn 1,100 calories through exercise, I get a 2,990 calorie limit for the day. That’s doable! On the weekends when I rest, its difficult to stay under 1,890 calories for the day.

I am actually 194.0 lbs today (Sunday, May 18th, 2026), so that puts me at 56.4 lbs less than Christmas 2023.

Even though I am breaking personal records with push ups, pull ups and other strength exercises. I am a little concerned about my track day strength, with all this weight loss.

But how much those broken personal records are attributed to the weight loss?

The exercise bike removes the weight loss factor, all of your weight or lack there of, is on the seat. I am breaking personal records on the Garmin Power Curve also, although it’s been a while since my Functional Threshold Power (FTP) has increased. Hmm…

If strength isn’t a limiting factor, what is my track bike performance modification this year?

How about a rider that weighs 30 lbs less than last year!