Week 136 Update

After getting to bed early last night, I woke up just before 4 AM, and stepped up on Mr. Scale, who promptly said, "185.5 pounds!" Seven days passed by, and here I am again. I am certainly not complaining.

When I started the week, my back was feeling pretty bad, in fact I was very concerned that I might have to miss some work. But Monday it felt a bit better. Tuesday it improved more, and by Wednesday I was nearly back to where I had been over a week before. I was able to take a long walk, and do some lifting without causing any additional discomfort. I was back to enjoying life again!

This is my 52nd weekly weigh-in of my second year on maintenance! I have now had 104 weekly weigh-ins in a row under 187.0 pounds, which is the upper limit of my target range. (There were 5 weekly weigh-ins before that, where I was at, or below, my personal goal of 190 pounds. So, I have been at goal for 109 weeks total.) My second year of maintenance inside my target range is now "in the box." It helps to bring into focus what I still need to do, when I consider that 2 years is not that long really, because it makes up less than 4% of my life. But it is a start! A wise man once said, "Even the longest journey begins with the first step."

One thing that I have learned is that maintenance requires every bit as much commitment to the journey as losing did. If I didn't watch what was going on each day, it wouldn't take long at all for my weight to start drifting back up. Then I would be in the position of trying to reignite the journey zeal every time my weight went up over some mental threshold, like 190 or 200 pounds, and then trying to fight my weight back down. I feel that it is better to keep the pot on a slow simmer all the time, rather than letting the water get cold and then having to bring it to a boil over and over again. Being in a routine of daily maintenance is relatively simple and easy, as long as you do the work each and every day. Or to look at another analogy; repeatedly cutting loose and drifting, and hoping that you can get the motor started again each time, in time, is where the danger of going over the falls lies. Too many people have taken that route for it to be considered a safe one! Maintenance is relatively easy (barring uncontrollable medical issues, etc.), but it is not free. We have to do the daily work, in order to remain where we want to be.

Eating and Weight – This week I hung around up near the top of my target range all week. I ate low in points to keep it from running away from me, but that only helped some. On Saturday I weighed 185.5. I ate 46.5 points in hopes of keeping it there. But I moved up to 186.5. On Sunday, my back was hurting a lot, and I was wondering whether or not I was going to have to see a doctor again. My pain medication was doing very little to help. I made it through the day, and only ate 38.0 points. On Monday, my weight held steady at 186.5. I was tired of the results my pain meds were giving me, so I switched over to Ibuprofen, and it seemed to help. My back started to improve. I ate 43.0 points and on Tuesday my weight moved up to 187.0. I hit my second highest point total that day and ate 45.0. My weight dropped to 186.5 on Wednesday. I was feeling optimistic at that point. Perhaps my weight would hold steady, even with the medication, as long as held my points low. I ate 44.5 points, but my weight jumped up to 188.0 on Thursday. Hmm. I had walked 5 miles that day, and then was on my feet all afternoon, and even did some lifting. Well, I held my points down to 40.0 just to see what would happen. (I am doing a lot of that these days.) On Friday morning, my weight came back down to 187.0. I wasn't taking any chances last night, and I only ate 34.5 points.

Exercise – My back had me feeling very bad on the weekend, and it wasn't until Wednesday when I was finally feeling fit enough to try walking. I actually felt very good that day, and circumstances were such that I had some extra time to work with. It didn't look like rain, but it was fairly cool. So, wore my heavy coat, and my gloves. It wasn't quite cool enough for the knit cap, so I didn't wear that.

Normally I start my walks at point A on the diagram. If I am going to walk a single mile, I walk from point A to point C and back again. If I am going to walk 2 miles, I walk from point A to point B and the back again. A three mile walk would go from point A to B, then back to A, for two miles, and then on to C and back to A. I have recently added the half mile stretch from point B to point D. It makes it possible to walk for 4 miles without having to walk the same path in the same direction more than once. My normal 4 mile hike goes from point A to B (1 mile), on to D (1.5 miles), back to B (2 miles), returning to A (3 miles), on to C (3.5 miles), and then back to A (4 miles). I also have a measured turn around point that is 0.65 miles from point A on the route to B. When I walk 1.3 miles, I go to the 0.65 mile point and turn around and come back.

Wednesday, since I was going to be working in the afternoon closer to point B, I started out from there rather than from point A. I walked from point B to D and then back for one mile. That stretch is located on a hill, and it is downhill most of the way out, and naturally uphill coming back. I completed one mile in a leisurely 14:13 (4.2 mph). Next I headed out, at an even more leisurely pace, on the back half of my normal 2-mile walk (point B to point A). I completed my second mile at the 28:52 point. (Mile 2 took 14:39 minutes for 4.1 mph.) I next did the other 1-mile path (point A to point C and back), to bring my total distance up to 3 miles, and my total time up to 43:57. So, my third mile I did in 15:05 (4.0 mph). My speed seemed to be trending consistently downward. I was pacing myself, but I was feeling pretty good. I headed back along what is normally the front half of my 2-mile path (point A to point B). I picked up the pace, because I was finally feeling confident that I would be okay on the longer walk. I completed that 4th mile at time 57:49. That mile was done a little faster. (13:52 minutes or 4.3 mph). As it turned out, I had time to do one more mile. So, off I went on the same path that I had started my walk on that day (point B to D and back), and I completed mile 5 at 1 hour 11 minutes and 19 seconds. At 13:30 (4.4 mph), that mile was my fastest for the day. Overall I averaged 14:16/mile (4.2 mph). My last two miles I averaged 4.35 mph, and I kept both of them below 14 minutes per mile. I was very happy with the results since I hadn't walked in nearly a week. I earned 15.03 aerobic points for the walk, which took me half way to my goal of 30 for the week!

On Thursday the weather was awesome! The temperature was warm enough so I didn't even need my gloves, let alone my knit cap. The sun was out and the skies were blue. I was a little stiff when I started but that worked right out. I didn't have as much time to work with, and so I set my goal for 3 miles. I started off by walking from point A to point B to complete my first mile. I did it in 14:21. (4.18 mph). I next went from point B to D and back, for my second mile. The two miles took 28:06 to complete, and that meant mile 2 took 13:45 (4.4 mph). Lastly, I walked the one-mile stretch from point B to point A. I completed my 3-mile walk in 41:30. Mile 3 took 13:24 (4.5 mph), my fastest mile so far this week. Overall I averaged 13:50/mile and 4.3 mph. I also earned 9.01 aerobic points, which brought my total for the week up to 24.04. With one day left, I only had to get a little less than 6 more aerobic points to hit my goal.

Friday morning, I got to work early enough to get in some walking. I didn't have enough time to get in a 3-mile walk, but a 2-miler was definitely a possibility. I needed about 6 aerobic points. I knew that walking 2 miles normally got me somewhere in the 5's for Aerobic Points. What if I stepped up my pace to "very fast?" It was worth a shot and the morning was just right for it. The temp was in the forties, and there was some wind. The clouds were looking black, but the sun was just coming up, so it was hard to tell how black. I took off my heavy coat, and put on my Columbia jacket. It is not quite as heavy, but it is waterproof, and fairly warm. I grabbed my gloves and knit cap, and I was ready for business. I headed off on my standard 2-mile walk. I moved up to a fast pace and it felt good. By the time I reached the turnaround point (1 mile) I was still feeling fine. My time on the first mile was 12:31 (4.79 mph), the best time that I have had in a while. I set my goal for the second mile to come in under that time. I worked at holding my pace up, and when I got to the finish, the second mile took 12:25 (4.83 mph). My total time for the two miles was 24:56, making my average time 12:28/mile (4.81 mph). I found that the higher speed also netted a reward on the aerobic points, as they came to 6.62 for the walk, and brought my total to 30.66 aerobic points for the week. After 4 days of not being able to do any serious walking, I am happy that I was able to make up for it during the last three days. At lunch, I just relaxed and read a book.

Water – Once again I had at least 6 cups of water every day this week! I have been doing better in that area. My average amount of water consumed per day was 76.57 oz (9.6 cups). That is well over my target of 6 to 8 cups per day.

Week's Evaluation – I am very happy with how this week turned out. My weigh-in was quite near my target weight, and even my average weight, at 186.71, was inside my target range, and only one daily weigh-in actually fell outside of that range. For exercise I hit my 30 aerobic points, and I got in 10 miles of walking. I did well on my water consumption, drinking over 9.5 cups per day on average. All and all, I consider this week a complete success. For improvement on the upcoming week, I would like to get my exercise started earlier in the week!

On this upcoming week, we will be celebrating the "Happiest Day of the Year" with Christmas occurring on Thursday. It is hard to believe that it is this close to Christmas already!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL ! ! !

2 years, 222 days OP; a lifetime to follow.

-Al-

6 '3" 239.5/185.5/180±2/BMI:23.19/WK-136
Weight Loss Graph/Year 1 Maint. Graph/Year 2 Maint. Graph/Success Story