Week 146 Update

I stepped up on Mr. Scale for the 146th time for my weekly weigh-in, at 04:40 and he said, "184.5 pounds!" Even though this is the 1027th day of my journey, and the 791st day since I first weighed in inside my target range, I still am not tired of seeing that!

The temperature outside was 44º, up 2º from last week, but it is raining.

Week's Highlights:

Peaches heard about my weigh-in this morning and was smiling as you can see.

It seems that our lives have been turned completely upside down since we got her, but she is such a sweetheart that it is worth it.

Last Saturday we took Peaches for her very first walk with leash around the neighborhood, and we were really pleased with how it went. She got to meet a couple of other dogs, as well as being fussed over by a bunch of strangers, and walked a whole mile very well on the leash.

We took her to a pet store the other day, where they welcome dogs on a leash, and customers and store employees, and even some other dogs were lavishing Peaches with attention. She is one spoiled dog. When Dotti was waiting in line to pay for the toys, treats, and tools (including nail clippers) that we got for our pet, I squatted down beside Peaches, petting her and talking to her, and she was sitting (Dotti has been training her on that) most of the time, and being a very well mannered pup for 9 weeks old.

All and all it was a fun outing, but Peaches didn't know what to make of the car at first. Dotti drove and I had Peaches in my lap. She was clearly not at ease, but I found that if I rolled the window down a bit it settled her down. With the rain pouring down, I didn't roll it down too far.

One last Peaches item, she gained 2 pounds this week! We weighed her at 17 pounds a couple of days ago. She is growing fast.

Sunday we had a Zonie Lunch at Sweet Tomatoes and it was a lot of fun! We really enjoyed visiting with those who showed up, as we enjoyed a good meal, and then continued right on visiting after we were done eating. (Fortunately, although it was busy when we arrived, by the time the meal was done, there were a lot of empty tables. So, our sitting there for an extended time was not a problem for the restaurant.)

This week I was busy at work, but it was a very different kind of busy. There are a couple of subtle problems with a machine, where it is working, but not quite rightly. So, I was collecting data, and talking with the factory, and the process engineer all week, as well as doing paperwork. I just never know what any day will be like when I head for work. Spin the wheel and see where it stops.

For exercise things worked out well this week. I walked a total of 15.9 miles during the week, reaching my goal of 15 miles. I earned 38.95 aerobic points, getting past my goal of 35. Also this week, I passed my monthly goals of 145 aerobic points and 62.1 miles. By the end of the week I had accumulated a total of 179.91 aerobic points, and walked a total of 67.9 miles during the month.

All of my weigh-ins for the week were within my target range, and my average weight for the week was 185.0; right on target.

Eating and Weight – Last Saturday, I weighed 186.0 pounds, and I ate 48.0 points, which included a 16.5 point lunch at Sweet Tomatoes. On Sunday I woke up weighing 185.0, right where I wanted to be. I ate 41.0 points, including another 16.5 point lunch at Sweet Tomatoes (the Zonie Lunch). Monday I weighed 184.0 pounds. That is actually my favorite weight, because it gives me room to do just about anything I want for eating that day. So, what did I do? I only ate 39.0 points. The scale naturally responded by going up a half-pound to 184.5 on Tuesday. I ate 48.5 points, and Wednesday the scale moved up a whole pound to 185.5. I held back to 41.5 points and on Thursday I weighed 185.0 pounds. I ate 47.0 points and Friday the scale jumped up to 186.5. Naturally, as I am cruising along with no problems all week long, on Friday I jump up towards the top of my range. However, I had a TV dinner the night before, which had a lot of sodium in it. I knew that I had not over eaten, so I wasn't too worried. When I got home from work last night, I weighed 186.0 pounds. That was a very good sign, and so I didn't worry when we went out to dinner at Sharis, where Dotti and I split a burger meal. (We each got half of a burger, and half a serving of fries.) With the 2.0 point cappuccino, and my salad added in, my meal came to 14.0 points, and my total for points for the day was 43.0. Just before getting into bed last night, I stepped on the scale, and was already down to 186.0 pounds. Since I had done my water consumption early in the day, I slept easy last night knowing that I was already in my range.

Exercise – I earned fewer aerobic points this week, but with 38.95 of them, I made my goal of 35! I also got in 15.9 miles to reach my weekly goal of 15.

Although I didn't earn any aerobic points last weekend, on Saturday Dotti and I took Peaches for a one mile walk. (It wasn't timed, so I couldn't calculate aerobic points.) Two half-mile walks really, since we took a break in the middle. (You can see that Peaches is casting a very pronounced shadow, because the sun was out and the skies were blue.) Since I ended up with only walking 15.9 miles this week, that walk helped me to get over my goal of 15 miles.

Monday I arrived at work just early enough to get a one-mile walk in. I moved along at a good pace (4.53 mph) and finished it in 13:15. That earned 2.52 aerobic points. At lunch I took a 2.4 mile walk with my walking partner, and we finished it in 40:59. That came out to 17:04 per mile (3.51 mph) and earned 5.03 aerobic points, bringing my total to 7.55, and miles walked to 4.4.

Tuesday I got to the parking lot at work about 07:30. I was able to get out of the car, and start my walk by 07:32. I decided to go for 2 miles, but I knew I needed a fast time to get back in time. So, I set out determined to run on the downhill portions of the path. None of the downhill sections are very lengthy but they add up over the 2-mile route. I ended up taking 12:33 on the first half of the walk, but only 12:10 on the second mile. That is 4.93 mph for that mile. For the entire walk I took 24:43, which averaged 12:21 (4.86 mph), and it earned me 6.71 aerobic points. At lunch my walking partner and I did 2.4 miles in 40:00. (16:40 per mile, or 3.6 mph) It earned another 5.24 aerobic points bringing my total to 19.5 for the week, and my total miles to 8.8.

Wednesday, it was raining very heavily and on my way in to work the traffic was backed up nearly all the way. I just barely made it to work on time, let alone early enough for a walk. At lunch it was raining way too hard for my walking partner, so I did the 2.4 mile circuit by myself. I had on my Columbia Jacket, and my raincoat over the top of that. Normally that is enough to keep me completely dry on the top and reasonably dry on my pants, even in heavy rain. But Wednesday, there was a very strong wind on top of the heavy rain. The rain came in from the side and soaked my pants legs pretty good. After the walk I sat in my car and ran the heater on my legs but they were not dry when lunch was over. It took a couple of hours for them to completely dry out. However, I did complete the 2.4 miles in 33:14, which came to 13:50 per mile and 4.33 mph for the entire way. That earned 6.99 aerobic points, bringing me to 26.49 for the week. My total for miles was up to 11.2 for the week as well.

Thursday, as lunchtime neared, I looked out the window and saw heavy dark clouds, puddles all over the ground, and the water dancing in the puddles. It looked a lot like the day before from where I stood. So, I figured that my walking partner would be canceling out on me again. I set out early on my walk. By this time the rain had suddenly halted, but I was on my way already. I did a mile in 14:25, and then did my 1.3-mile walking path for a total of 2.3 miles completed in 32:21 (14:04 per mile, or 4.26 mph). Just as I was getting back to the parking lot from my walk, here came my walking partner ready for his walk. I didn't even miss a step, as we headed out on a 2.4 mile walk, that took 40:38. When that was added to my other walk, it came out to 4.7 miles in 1:12:59. For the whole thing I averaged 15:31 per mile and 3.86 mph. That gave me another 12.46 aerobic points, bringing my total to 38.95, surpassing my goal of 35 for the week. It also moved me to 15.9 miles of walking for the week, exceeding my goal of 15.

Friday, I nearly called in sick. I didn't feel very well at all in the morning. By lunch I felt a bit better, but I was not excited about taking a walk. My walking partner came by to tell me that his wife of 28 years (they have been married about 6 months longer than Dotti and I) was coming by for lunch to take a walk with him. She wanted to come and see the course that he had been talking about walking. ("Checking up on him" is how he worded it. ) So, they took a walk and I took a break from walking for the day; and was glad to do so.

I was happy this week to reach not only my weekly goals but my monthly goals!

Water – I didn't have any trouble getting in my water this week. I drank at least 6 cups every day and I averaged 60.57 ounces ( 7.6 cups) per day, which at the high end of my minimum target range.

Week's Evaluation – I am very happy with how the week went. Besides weighing in at 184.5 for this week, I weigh-in each day inside my target range, and averaged weighing right at 185.0. I can't ask for more than that. I met my exercise goals for both distance (15 miles) and intensity (35 aerobic points). For water I got my fair share in every day.

On to week 147.

2 years, 292 days OP; a lifetime to follow.

-Al-

6 '3" 239.5/184.5/180±2/BMI:23.06/WK-146
GRAPHS: Weight Loss/Year 1 Maint./Year 2 Maint./Year 3 Maint.
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