Week 131 Update

It was 05:00, dark, rainy, and 43º outside when I got up and stepped on Mr. Scale. He replied, "186.0 pounds!"

Well, I held on for another week. It seems that the closer I get to the end of my second year of maintenance, the more the weeks have become "interesting". At very least, I have to admit that things are not boring!

This week I attempted to use Excedrin as a painkiller for when my back flared up. As it turned out, my weight started climbing just as if I were using an anti-inflammatory or muscle relaxant medication. And, as if that were not bad enough, I started getting some very painful headaches. I think the latter was from the levels of caffeine in Excedrin. I wrote that whole experiment off as a failure. Back to square one.

I don't know if it was the weather or if I had just had enough of not exercising, but I got back into walking again this week. I really enjoyed getting out and walking the paths in the park across the street from where I work. It is a lovely park, and a very peaceful place to walk through.

My average for points-per-day for the week was 46.71. On my highest day I went 6.79 points over that average, and on my lowest day I went 7.21 points below. So, I ate within a 14 point window all week, with it's center at 46.5 points, just 0.21 points below my actual average for the week.

I have completed 131 weeks of my journey, which is over 4 "months of Sundays" (4.37 to be more precise). It seems that anytime things get to be a little complacent, something in life jumps up and stirs up the pot, and complacency gets chased off again. Dealing with my back issues has been a real challenge, and has left me feeling anything but complacent about my journey. It hasn't shaken my confidence, but it has certainly popped any bubble of over-confident optimism that I might have been inflating for myself. Maintenance will be a lifetime of hands-on control. I will not be able to coast along without thought or planning. There are way too many icebergs and other uncharted hazards on these seas. I have the tools to detect and counter them, but I cannot ignore them completely, or else I will run aground. Paying attention will always be part of this "game."

Eating and Weight – The week started out with my weight sitting right at the top of my target range. We had a busy day that day, and my eating was not packaged into my normal three meals and some snacks. We didn't get to lunch until very late in the day. In fact it was so late that I ended up skipping the third meal, and just counted the afternoon meal as both lunch and dinner. I had eaten a larger than normal breakfast and my two meals added up to 37.0 points. When I added in my 15.5 snack points my total came to 52.5 points. On Sunday the scale dropped a half-pound. Since I thought that I was safe from water retention with the Excedrin, I felt that I was right on track. I ended up eating 30.5 points for my 3 meals and snacked for another 21.5 points, bringing me to 52.0 points for Sunday. Monday morning I was back up to 187.0. I decided that "playtime was over." And the Excedrin "solution" may not be all that I had hoped for. I only ate 41.0 points, and on Tuesday the scale went up another half-pound to 187.5. I was not at all happy with that. So, I ate 39.5 points and the scale just kept going up to 188.0. Hmm. Besides the scale increase, I was suffering from some nasty headaches from the Excedrin, and on Tuesday I had only taken two in the morning. Obviously this was not going to work for me. I terminated the experiment with gusto on Wednesday, by taking no pain meds at all, and by eating my highest number of points for the week: 53.5. The scale responded almost instantly, by dropping to 185.5 on Thursday. I ate 43.0 points, and the scale held steady at 185.5 on Friday morning. I felt fairly confident that if I ate below 50 points, I would have no problem with the scale going up for my official weigh-in. I ate 45.5 points, but I still was up a half-pound at 186.0 this morning. You just never know for sure what the scale is going to do!

Exercise – I started off very slowly on exercise this week. In fact I was effectively stopped until Tuesday, when I finally felt like I had to do something. I got an early start on my drive on Tuesday morning. I arrived about 35 minutes early for work, which gave me enough time to get in a 2-mile walk. I headed out on my path, with the temperature around 49º, perhaps a little cooler than that. I used my gloves while wearing my heavy coat and felt very comfortable. The geese in the ponds that I passed seemed to be enjoying the weather. I completed the 2 miles in 27:32, for an average time of 13:46 (4.36 mph). Not bad for my first walk in awhile. It was good for 5.71 aerobic points, and I was telling myself that I probably wouldn't be getting my 30 aerobic points this week, but I might get half of that, and it would be a good start on getting back on track.

On Wednesday, I wanted to get in early once again, and I left early, but there was a heavy fog in the Portland/Vancouver area. I was worried that the traffic would be really slow and I would not arrive in time to walk. However, I did get in a couple of minutes earlier than I had the day before. So, I headed off on another 2-mile walk. The mists of fog were hanging just over the pond water, and the grassy field off to the side of the path. The temperature had been in the low 40s in Vancouver, but west of Portland, it was somewhat cooler. I walked across a wooden bridge that was covered with a thin layer of ice, and had to be very careful to avoid falling. I completed my 2-miles in 27:21. So, my time averaged 13:41 per mile (4.39 mph). I was perfectly happy with that! It also gave me another 5.77 aerobic points.

At lunch, the temperature was in the very low 50s. I was still feeling energetic, and so I headed out on a 3-mile walk, wearing my lighter Columbia jacket. It had occurred to me that if I could complete that walk in a good time, I would be pushing my aerobic points for the week up high enough where I could think about getting my 30 in. I completed the first 2 miles in 27:05, which was a time of 13:32.5 per mile (4.43 mph) and faster than my time in the morning that I was so happy with! After having already walked in the morning, and then to better the morning time, that I had felt was a good one, left me quite happy with how things were going. I continued on to do the extra mile and I completed mile three at 41:19. It gave me an average time for 3 miles of 13:46 (4.36 mph) and 9.07 aerobic points! That meant for the day I was up to 14.84, and for the week I had already moved up to 20.55, two-thirds of the way to my goal. Perhaps I could reach it yet!

Thursday, I didn't have time to walk in the morning, but when lunch came along, even though I was feeling a bit stiff, I was ready to go. I headed out on a 2-mile walk, and I completed it in 28:04. That was only a rate of 14:02 per mile (4.28 mph), but I was not going to complain. At least I got the walk in, and it was good for another 5.5 aerobic points. After I ate my lunch, a coworker came by and asked if I was up for a walk. I said that I certainly was! We walked 1.5 miles at a leisurely pace, and completed it in 25:59. That was 17:19 per mile (3.46 mph). Even at the slower pace, the benefits add up, and so do the aerobic points, as I earned another 2.70 for that. That evening Dotti and I decided to try some mall walking. We put on our pedometers and walked around the upper floor, down the stairs and around the lower floor. The pedometer said that we had traveled 0.88 miles. We had walked it in 17:32. That was a pace of 19:55 minutes a mile (3.01). That really wasn't too bad, since we were dodging the shoppers sharing our crowded path. It was good for another 0.88 aerobic points, and brought my total for the day to 9.13, and for the week up to 29.68. On Friday morning I was stiff and sore, but I knew I only needed a short walk to put me over the top for my goal. At lunch I did a one-mile hike in 14:31 (4.13 mph). It gave me 2.13 aerobic points and I was home free for making my exercise goal! However, after I ate my lunch, my friend at work was looking for another walk. So, we headed out. This time I showed him my entire 2 mile path, and we completed the 2 miles in 35:16. Our pace was 17:38 minutes per mile (3.40 mph) and it was good for another 3.80 aerobic points. That brought my total for the day up to 5.93, and for the week I finished with 35.61.

The way the week had started I would have expected to end up with another dud for exercise, but as it turned out, I made my goal!

Water – I hit at least 6 cups every day this week! I averaged 81.14 ounces (10.1 cups) per day, which is 2 cups over my minimum target range of 6 to 8 cups.

Week's Evaluation – I feel this week was a success! I managed to get my weight down a pound for my weekly weigh-in, thereby moving it towards the center of my target range. My average weight for the week was high (186.57) but it was inside my target range. For exercise, I did not make it to the gym at all, however, I did get in 14.38 miles of walking (including 5 miles on Wednesday!), and I reached my standing goal of 30 or more aerobic points per week. For water I hit my goal every day and exceeded it for the week.

I am happy with this week, but there is always room for improvement, and I will strive to make this upcoming week even better.

2 years, 187 days OP; a lifetime to follow.

-Al-

6 '3" 239.5/186.0/180±2/BMI:23.25/WK-131
Weight Loss Graph/Year 1 Maint. Graph/Year 2 Maint. Graph/Success Story