Week 129 Update

This morning I got up at 05:00, and it read a nippy 29º on our outside thermometer. I stepped up on Mr. Scale and he said, "185.5 pounds!"

This week presented yet another challenge in trying to keep my weight down while interfacing with anti-inflammatory medications. It seemed to push me to the brink, and then I was able to pull it back; but it was a chore. Who said it was going to be easy?

We started the week off over at the coast, visiting with my Mom and her husband, and later with his son and girlfriend. We didn't get a lot of exercise in, but we were fairly active. We didn't spend a lot of time just sitting. It made things challenging in the eating area, with lots of temptations before us. But we did okay, and by Sunday morning the scale was looking really good.

The weather at the coast was unbelievable! Normally, the coast is cloudy and rainy, even when it is clear and sunny in Portland. However, the entire 3 days we were at the coast, the clouds were gone, leaving the sky perfectly clear. It was amazing!

Back home, this week the temperature took a serious drop, and the autumn weather appears to be here with a vengeance! Just a few days ago, we were complaining about the fact that two of the air conditioners were gone from our windows too soon, and now the heaters are being used.

I have now completed my first 900 days of my journey. (My first 903 days to be precise.) That is nearly 2.5 years. It just doesn't seem that long ago that I started. I had no idea where I was headed on day one. I had not started this written journal yet, and had no idea that I was going to do a daily report online. Now, what lies behind me points the way to what might lay ahead. Each month that goes by, the road signs grow easier to read, and the way levels out a little more. Other than dealing with the water retention caused by the pain medications, things are in a pretty good groove now.

Now is when I have to be most careful not to lose focus. When you are on a curvy dangerous road, it is easy to stay awake at the wheel. It is on the long straight, boring stretches where you are most likely to lose focus and fall asleep, and crash into the ditch. The curvy road is more difficult to drive, but you know you must pay attention there. When thing get easy is when you have to be especially careful. History has shown us that when a civilization is struggling with tough times, that is when it is vibrant and healthy. When things grow easy, decay sets in.

What is true for a society is true for the individual. Most people who work with electricity, and who are electrocuted on the job, have been working around it so long that they have grown complacent, and have lost their respect for the danger. Complacency can be deadly. Now is when I have to be most careful not to lose focus, and not to think that I have it all locked down and can no longer fail. Anyone who can start smoking again after 5 years off cigarettes can fall off any wagon, anytime. So, I must remain vigilant. This weekly update is a very critical part of that!

Eating and Weight – I began the week on Saturday, weighing 186.5. Not a lot of wiggle room at the top. So, what did I do? I ate 62.0 points. The big points item was some filet minion, which added up to 20 points. But since we were at the beach, and therefore "on the road" the road magic kicked in, and on Sunday my weight fell to 184.0. I ate 68.5 points and Monday morning I weighed 185.5. I ate 58.0 points on that day, and Tuesday the scale once again said 185.5. I held my points down to 38.0, and Wednesday the scale jumped up to 187.0, thanks to some anti-inflammatory medication I took. I still ate 56.0 points, and on Thursday, I weighed 186.5. I then set my goal at holding my points low for Thursday and Friday. I asked Dotti to make evening meals of no more than 8 points and she did great! Thursday I had 8 points exactly for dinner, and 39.0 points for the day. Friday, which was Halloween, I weighed 187.0, but I only had 5.0 points for dinner. I steered clear of the Halloween candy and ended up with 40.0 points for the day. That led to my weigh-in for today.

Exercise – It was not a big exercise week. However, I did at least get in some exercise. On Saturday night, I took a short walk with Mom in the parking lot. It may have been a half-mile, at a very leisurely pace. On Tuesday I took a 1.2-mile walk with a friend of mine at work (who is just one pound from reaching goal!), and it took 25 minutes, and gave me 1.25 aerobic points. It wasn't a lot, but it did shake me out of the no exercise mode. On Wednesday I took a walk on my own for 2 miles and it took 32:40. Then, after I ate, my friend wanted to take another walk and so we did for 1.2 miles, and it took 23:58. The two walks combined gave me 5.75 aerobic points.

On Thursday I didn't have a normal lunch hour, because we had a major part of a machine taken apart, and we needed to get it back together. So, I didn't have time to get a walk in. I was on my feet all day, and even worked an extra 1.5 hours, so I did get some activity in anyway. On Friday, I did another 2 mile walk, and it took 30:06 to complete. (4.97 aerobic points.) I really enjoyed that walk because the temperature was down, and there was a very stiff breeze blowing. I had my heavy coat on for the first time this season, with the hood pulled up over my knit cap. I had my gloves on, and I walked at a pretty good clip on the second half. The first mile took 15:28, so the second mile I got in 14:38. At the end I was still not very overheated even with the hat, gloves, and the heavy coat on, which says something for how cold it was with the wind chill. Normally, even on a cool day, by the end of a walk I have the coat unzipped and I will even take the coat off during my cool down phase to radiate off the extra heat. Not this time. I did unzip the coat, but not until the cool down phase, and that was more than enough.

For the week, I only got 11.97 aerobic points, and didn't get to the gym at all, but at least I did start exercising again. Hopefully, next week I can improve on that.

Water – I got 6 or more cups of water every day this week. I average 72 ounces (9 cups) of water each day, which is over my minimum target range of 6 to 8 cups per day.

So, for the week, I am happy with the results. I was feeling better and started to get more exercise in. I averaged 51.64 points per day, which is only 1.64 points over my target of 50 points per day. My average weight for the week was 185.86 pounds, easily inside my target range, and I got in plenty of water. I consider this another successful week of maintenance.

Now, on to face the first week in November.

2 years, 173 days OP; a lifetime to follow.

-Al-

6 '3" 239.5/185.5/180±2/BMI:23.19/WK-129
Weight Loss Graph/Year 1 Maint. Graph/Year 2 Maint. Graph/Success Story