Week 120 Update

It was 04:00 and the temperature outside was 61° when I stepped up on Mr. Scale and he said, "185.0 pounds!"

This has been an uncomfortable week for me. I picked up an intestinal bug early in the week, and it has not gone away yet. It has made exercising tough and I am hoping that it will disappear soon.

Eating and weight – It was a bit weird seeing my weight go back and forth between 183.0 and 185.0 all week. It was either one or the other. On "Saturn's Day," (for a little variety, I thought that I would use the names for the days that they originated from) I weighed in at 185.0 pounds. I ended up eating 38.0 points. On "Sun's Day," my weight fell to 183.0. I ate 52.0 points. On "Moon's day" the scale responded with 185.0. I ate 46.0 points and the scale held steady at 185.0 on " Tiu's Day." I ate 49.0 points and on "Woden's Day" I fell back down to 183.0. I ate 47.5 points. That was a bit low but on "Thor's Day" I still went back up to 185.0. I knew I was low on points, and the scale was about to drop, so I ate 53.0 points but it was not enough. On "Freya's Day" I weighed 183.0 once again. I didn't want to fool around with eating low and possibly falling out of my target range this morning, even though my stomach was not feeling very good yesterday, I ate 63.0 points. That brought the scale back to 185.0 pounds for weigh-in.

Physical Therapy – Was held to only one session this week. On Monday Dotti and went to the Oregon State Fair, and so I didn't have a PT session. On Wednesday, I had a session that included a new level of weight on nearly all of the machines I was working on. So, I "got my money's worth" on that session. Some days my back is feeling pretty good, and others it still flares up. Overall, I would say there has been a significant improvement.

I have a few more sessions and then I will be done. (The Physical Therapist decided that 6 sessions was not quite enough.)

Exercise – Saturday Dotti and I did a long hike up to Tunnel Falls. We took our time on the way up taking pictures but came down fairly quickly from the top. Overall we hiked for 6 hours and 20 minutes, and I counted that as 38.0 aerobic points. We went to bed early that night, and slept well. On Monday we walked around the Oregon State Fair. We both had our pedometers on, and it came out to about 2.0 miles that we walked. It was at too slow of a pace to count for aerobic points though.

On Tuesday it was back to work, and I got there early enough to do a 2-mile walk. But, when I got out of my car, and started walking across the parking lot to the start of my walking path, my stomach felt pretty bad. I realized that I would not be able to walk 2 miles. So, I headed off on my 1 mile trail and walked it slowly. It took me 16:22 and was only good for 1.66 aerobic points. I felt like I might have some stomach rebellion a couple of times along the walk, but I finished it okay. On Wednesday and Thursday I took a rest from exercise and just concentrated on making it through the workday. On Friday, I felt a bit better in the morning and I arrived early for work and I headed off on a 2-mile hike. The temperature was nice and cool. In fact my hands were feeling cold even at the end of the hike, although I could not see my breath that day. I completed the first mile in 13:17 and the second in 13:15, for a total time of 26:22, and it was good for 6.10 aerobic points. I felt pretty good when I was doing the walk. Later in the day I didn't feel so good, but at least I seem to be improving slowly.

Thoughts – It has been about two and a third years since I started my journey. I had no idea that it would turn out as it has. I look back at it, and I feel that it has been more successful than I had any right to expect it to be, after years of failed weight loss attempts. But I had something new going for me this time, and her value cannot possibly be overestimated.

For 5 years Dotti has kept off more weight than I have lost, and in the middle of that, she quit about a 3-pack-a-day smoking habit to boot. I am in awe of what she has accomplished since starting her journey in December of 1997! She is really something, and I am so very proud of her!!!

If it hadn't been for Dotti's journey, there never would have been an Al's journey. It is as simple as that. And she has been such a cool example for me. I watched her as she lost her weight, and she was having a ball! She ate fun things and she wasn't suffering. And the weight was just falling off, and then it stayed off. Now, I had seen her lose weight before, not that much of course, but significant amounts. It was always good for a while, until she ran out of gas and couldn't "do the diet" any more. The weight would just climb back on, sometimes slowly, but often it would come back in a hurry, and with interest. The idea that she could lose this much weight and keep so much of it off for over 5 years was something I just wouldn't have accepted in November of 1997.

I learned from watching Dotti that weight loss didn't have to be painful. Dotti showed me that if you plan your eating, and get the right foods, you can be eating something nearly all day long, and never be hungry, and still lose weight. She had fun things to eat at meals, and treats to eat between them. We went to restaurants and she had a smile on her face as she was eating OP. I was flabbergasted at first. It was like watching a magician at work. How did she do that?

After watching her lose her weight and then maintain it, I finally had the guts to try it myself. She had blazed the trail for me. We already had an OP house, and were loaded up with OP snacks. Dotti is a points encyclopedia; when I was unsure of what the point value was of something, 9 times out of 10 she had it right off the top of her head. She made my journey, and continues to make my journey, much easier than it ever could have been without her. I never have to worry about what my dinner is going to be, I know it will be OP. Dotti and I working together has made my journey simplicity itself. I support her all that I can in her journey, but I could never repay all that she has given me in making my journey a success. Whatever success I might have had came directly from Dotti's efforts, and it is truly a wonderful gift that she has given to me. She is a real jewel!

2 years, 110 days OP; a lifetime to follow.

-Al-

6 '3" 239.5/185.0/180±2/BMI:23.12/WK-120
Weight Loss Graph/Year 1 Maint. Graph/Year 2 Maint. Graph/Success Story