Week 149 Update

It was 05:35, this first day of spring, when I stepped up on Mr. Scale and he said, "183.5 pounds!" I was a bit worried that I might be low this week. I didn't eat a lot last night, and looked to be a little light before I went to bed. But I actually was up a half-pound from last week.

Week's Highlights: The watchword this week was exercise. I focused on getting in as many miles as I could this week, aiming for 26.2 as my goal. By week's end I had reached my goal. At the same time, I held my focus on my weight control journey and continued to maintain.

The workweek was fairly quiet, with most of my days spent on administrative tasks, and running down information on a chronic problem that one of the machines is having.

Last night LeRoy came over and we played guitars again. This is something that I always dreamed of doing when he was younger, but he never really took to the guitar that much until he joined the navy. On the ship he practiced and now he is picking and strumming pretty well. We spent a couple of hours playing and I really enjoyed the time we spent together. It is also surprising how physically demanding playing music can be. After we finished I could tell that I had been through a workout.

Eating and Weight –Saturday, I was down to 183.0 pounds. So, I wasn't too concerned about holding my points low. And we often have a busy day on Saturday, which can lead to more out of the ordinary eating situations. I ended up eating 51.5 points. Sunday the scale was up to 184.5. I ate 49.0 points. The scale held steady at 184.5 on Monday. I was back up over 50 with 50.5 points that day. Tuesday the scaled climbed up to 185.0 pounds. I held my points down to 45.0, and Tuesday the scale moved up to 186.0. Okay, I decided that was enough of that, so I ate only 38.0 points. The next morning, I had my schedule disrupted by having to take my walk before leaving for work. As it turned out, I didn't weigh until I got back. That always drops a pound or two on my reading. So, when I weighed in at 182.0, I would have probably been 183 or 184 if I had weighed before my walk. I ate 44.0 points on Thursday, and Friday I weighed 185.0 pounds. I ate my 46.5 points early, with the guitar playing taking up the evening (and I never eat when I am playing, other than a throat lozenge if my voice is horse). When I went to bed, I weighed exactly the same as I had when I got up, so I knew I would be down this morning. I was a little concerned that I might fall below 183.0, but as it turned out I didn't get down that low.

Overall I averaged 46.36 points per day this week, and my average weight for the week actually fell from 185.57 to 184.36. That did include the artificially low reading on Thursday, but even if I had weighed 184 that morning my average weight for the week would only have been 184.64, and would still have been less than last week.

Exercise – Saturday I wanted to get in a little more walking than I had the weekend before. Since I walked 23 miles last week, it hit me that was fairly close to 26.2 miles, the length of a marathon. I thought it would be nice to get in 26.2 miles (42K) this week. But to do that, I needed more miles on the weekend to make it easier during the workweek. So, I hopped in the car and I drove around a loop near our house, and using the odometer and the GSP together I came up with a 3.1 mile (5K) walking path. Then I set out to walk it. I took 39:47 to walk it, averaging 12:50 per mile (4.68 mph). The cool temperature of 42º kept me moving along pretty well. It was good for 10.39 aerobic points. (Dr. Kenneth Cooper recommends getting in at least 30 aerobic points per week for basic cardiovascular fitness.) I was happy with how the week started.

Sunday, Dotti and I did the same 3.1-mile loop, and it was very enjoyable! We took 57:09 to complete it, averaging 18:26 per mile (3.25 mph) and earned 5.98 aerobic points. That brought me up to 6.2 miles (10K) for the week, and also up to 16.37 aerobic points. In the afternoon, Dotti and I walked around Home Depot for 1 hour and 45 minutes (my pedometer registered 4473 steps). We then went home and spent the evening working on getting our garage better organized, and I built a workbench near my toolbox. We finished up late but it was a fun and active evening.

On Monday I got an early start to work, and I arrived in time to do a 2.4-mile loop. It was a cool 46º for the walk, and that helped keep up my pace. This week I started wearing my Columbia jacket without the liner, and even went without gloves and a hat for most of the week. Also, this week I didn't use my raincoat all. The lighter clothes help to motivate me to keep moving fast, so I won't get cold. I completed the loop in 30:38, averaging 12:45 per mile (4.7 mph), and earning 7.88 aerobic points. By lunchtime it had warmed up a bit and I did the 2.33 loop with my walking partner in 47:49, averaging 20:31 per mile (2.92 mph), and earning 3.48 aerobic points. He had done a big hike on the weekend, and he was a bit sore from it, so we kept the pace nice and slow. At Monday's end, for the week, I had walked 10.93 miles and earned 27.73 aerobic points.

On Tuesday the weather was outstanding once more, and I arrived early enough to get in a 2.4-mile walk again. I completed it in 31:18, averaging 13:02 per mile (4.60 mph), earning 7.64 aerobic points. At lunch my walking partner and I moved back closer to our normal pace and completed the 2.33 mile loop in 42:13, averaging 18:07 per mile (3.31 mph), and earning 4.38 aerobic points. At this point in the week I was up to 15.66 miles, and 39.75 aerobic points. The goal that I set this month for each week is to reach 15 miles, and 35 aerobic points. By Tuesday I had already passed both of those marks!

Wednesday it was 45º out and I really got an early start to work! I arrived with enough time to throw in a little something extra. During my normal 2.4 mile loop, I pass by one of my standard "jumping off points" for a one mile "out and back." I took that extra mile and added it to my 2.4 miles to do a 3.4-mile walk. With no hat or gloves on, and a cold wind cutting at me, I held a very good and consistent pace throughout, and I completed it in 42:45, averaging 12:34 per mile (4.77). That was good for 11.82 aerobic points. At lunch my walking partner and I did our normal 2.33 mile loop, and it took 43:37, averaging 18:43 (3.21 mph). That added another 4.13 aerobic points. With Wednesday's totals added in, I was up to 21.39 miles and 55.70 aerobic points. I was now very seriously eyeing the 26.2-mile goal for this week.

Thursday morning I had to stop on the way into work at our office to pick up a part for my customer. Normally that is a “show stopper” for my morning walk, because I have to leave way too early to get to the office, then drive on to the customer site, and still have enough time to walk. But this week I was determined to get in my “marathon” of 26.2 miles. It was going to be a slow marathon, taking 7 days, but I wanted to finish it. So, I did a two-mile walk at home as soon as I got up. The sun was about a half hour away from coming up when I started, so there was a little light starting to break, and the road was well lit with street lights all the way. I did two miles in 26:38, (13:19 per mile and 4.50 mph) and that, when added to my previous total miles, brought my week’s total up to 23.39 miles, leaving me just 2.81 miles from my 26.2-mile goal. It also added in another 6.00 aerobic points.

At lunch, I was set to do my 2.4-mile walk and bring myself to within spitting distance of 26.2 miles. My walking partner said that he thought it was too rainy and he was going to pass on this day’s walk. So, I set out on my own. As I was coming around the corner, about 1.5 miles into my walk, I saw my walking partner coming towards me. He had decided to go ahead and walk, since the rain had stopped, and he was walking the loop in the opposite direction than I was going. I quickly told him that I would finish my 2.4-mile loop, and then I would continue to walk in the reverse direction from his, and when we met up I would then turn around and walk back with him. I finished the 2.4 miles in 31:39 (13:11 per mile, 4.55 mph). I then started on the loop again to meet up with my friend. Well, I was nearly a mile into the loop the second time when I finally reached him. He had bumped into an old friend along the path, and stopped to chat while I was walking. So, after I walked to meet him and then walked back, it had added an additional 1.82 miles to my total. I completed 4.23 miles in 01:05:55. Overall I averaged 15:34 per mile, and 3.85 mph. That was good for 11.06 aerobic points, and it drove my total miles for the week to 27.62! I was done! I had reached my goal of 26.2 miles, and earned 72.75 aerobic points to boot. I was going to rest on Friday, or so I thought.

Even though I had some time, I didn't walk on Friday morning. I also told my walking partner that I was going to bail out on our walk at lunchtime. I wanted to give my knees a rest, because I was looking ahead to Saturday, when I hoped to take a hike with Dotti. My walking partner caught up with me after I ate my lunch and gave my arm a slight and figurative twist, and the next thing you know I was out doing another 2.33 mile loop at a leisurely pace. It took us 47:57 to complete, averaging 20:34 per mile, and 2.92 mph. It brought my aerobic points total to 76.21 and my total miles for the week to 29.95. That is 264 feet short of 30 miles. When you add in the 4473 steps that I took walking for 1 hour and 45 minutes around Home Depot on Sunday, but didn't count, I did more than 30 miles of walking this week. That doubled my original goal for the week!

Getting back to the "marathon." If you add all the minutes together that it took me to walk 26.2 miles, it comes to about 6 hours and 10 minutes. (I averaged 14:04 per mile, or 4.05 mph.) It is a good benchmark to shoot for in the future, in case I ever decide to actually walk an entire marathon in one day, rather than taking 6 days. This week has also brought the idea of walking 100 miles per month into the realm of being possible. It might be tough to reach this month, but it could be done, and certainly next month should hold that possibility.

Water – Water was good this week. I got in at least 6 cups everyday, and I averaged 64 ounces (8 cups) per day. That is at the top of my minimum target range of 6 to 8 cups per day. I am very happy with that.

Week's Evaluation – It was a good week! My weekly weigh-in was on the low side of my target range, but it was in it. The only day one of my weekly weigh-ins fell out of my range was when I weighed after my walk on Thursday. My average weight was within a pound of my target weight. For exercise, I got in 29.95 miles (48K), and earned 76.21 aerobic points. My basic goals for the week were 15 miles and 35 aerobic points so I nearly doubled the former (I did if you count the store walking) and more than doubled the latter. I had a new personal goal this week that was driving me to walk more, and that was to get in 26.2 miles, or a marathon distance over the week. I exceeded that as well. For water I was right at 8 cups a day and that is optimum in my opinion. I would settle for a week like this every week, if only I could manage it.

A Few Thoughts – 1043 days have been completed on my weight control journey. It is sometimes tempting to say to myself that I have this thing licked and I don't need to keep up all this posting, and documenting to stay thin. Like bowling your 8th or 9th strike in a row and thinking to yourself, "This game is easy." Why do I need to keep my weight within a window of 2 pounds up or down from 185? What's the point?

But then I stop and look at my life before the journey, and I know why. If I don't set my goal within a fairly tight zone, I will get sloppy. At first it will be just a bit. You can eat 10 extra points a day and only gain a pound in one week. If I wasn't watching closely, I could easily find myself up 5 pounds and be wondering where they came from. If I don't do a little bit every day to hold the course, I will find myself completely off course in no time. Sure it is pretty easy when I am doing the right things each day, but if I cut my boat loose for a little easy drifting, I will find myself suddenly up 10 or 20 pounds, and then it isn't so easy anymore. I know myself, and I know that either I am on my journey, doing it right, or I am heading back to 240 (or more) pounds, sooner or later. I don't have it in me to move back and forth between drifting and hard rowing. I have to hold to a steady, but gentle pull on the oars everyday, to avoid the mad heart thumping, frustrating, and maybe even unsuccessful pulling-with-all-of-my-might to return my weight control boat to where it should be.

As the years pass, it becomes more and more critical that I do not let things run away again. My grandfather died of a heart attack in his 50s. I take after him in my height, and when I am not paying attention, I take after him in my weight. So far my heart has checked out okay, but I don't want to push it. Dotti's Dad died just before turning 30, and my Dad died before turning 46. This is a real unforgiving world that we live in, and in the same way that words have meanings, actions have consequences. If I don't do the things that I know are good for me, I will ultimately have to face the results that come from doing things that are bad for me. This is a rule of life that is very hard to learn, but in the end we all do. As the old commercial used to say, "You can pay me now, or you can pay me later." I can learn from the mistakes of others now, or I can learn the hard way, and be an example to others, as a statistic.

Why do I journal everyday? Because it is an investment in tomorrow. Like a farmer who goes into his field and harvests his crop, today I am reaping the harvest from the effort that I spent yesterday preparing for that harvest. Each time I write down everything that I ate for the day, it is like turning the ground for tomorrow. Each time I monitor what I eat, and keep it within my limits, it is like throwing seed into that plowed field. Drinking my water is like the rain soaking into the ground for the thirsty seed. Today I am both planting for tomorrow and harvesting from yesterday. And just like with the farmer, if I should stop planting today, my future harvests will disappear.

It would be easy to think that I am well. I have been at goal for a couple of years, and my maintenance graph appears to show a stable weight that is totally under control. But it is an illusion of wellness. I can simulate a normally thin person, but I cannot be one. I will never be one. I am a thin person who owes my thinness to the effort that I invest everyday. It is now a slight effort, compared with when I started, but it is just as necessary now as it was then. There is no doubt that if the effort stops, so will the results.

The greatest challenge in weight maintenance is the very same one in weight loss: creating and holding the right mental attitude. When my attitude is right, Godzilla couldn't push me off track. When my attitude is wrong, Bambi could easily move me aside. My attitude is set by the thought that today, is it. Today is all I ever have. I can't touch yesterday at all, and the only way I can touch tomorrow is indirectly through actions that I either take or I don't take today. Tomorrow a student may have a college degree, if he does the schoolwork today, or he won't because he didn't do the work. Tomorrow I may be thin, or I won't be thin: totally based upon my actions today. By scribbling just a little ink down into my journal each day I am molding my tomorrow.

I wrote a letter to myself nearly 16 years ago, ( A Letter from Smoking Al) where I was visualizing what it would be like to be a nonsmoker who might be tempted to go back to smoking, and I was warning my future self against it. Even then I understood how what is done today will impact my existence tomorrow. It is the lessons that I have learned while quitting smoking, and while losing weight, that today hold my hand to the pen, and that make me journal. I know that I am a smoker who is not smoking, and an overeater who is not overeating. I would not have to actively pursue smoking, or overeating in order to be overwhelmed by either one. All I have to do is to stop acting in my own defense against them. They are there, waiting patiently for me. I have built a barrier between them and myself, but it requires daily maintenance. It will fall to pieces if I turn my back on it. I have learned this, and surprisingly it brings me peace, rather than frustration. Yes, I am a smoker at heart, but I don't have to smoke today! I don't even want to smoke today! I am free to live my life, not only not having a cigarette, but I don't even yearn for one. Thanks to daily maintenance of that barrier, I am free to not even think about cigarettes as I go through life, even when life gets stressful. This is such a big deal that I can't even express it in words.

And today I am an overeater who will routinely cut a burger in half and only eat one of the halves. Today, I eat what I need, and am satisfied with it. The barrier is built and I am safe as long as I continue to do the daily maintenance upon it. I do not yearn for any food that I am not having. I am eating ice cream, peanut butter, candy bars, and other treats routinely. I am not suffering at all. Moderation is possible today, when before it was impossible. (I firmly believe that you don't give up anything, or do anything to lose weight that you are not willing to give up, or do for the rest of your life. Otherwise you are "on a diet," and you will fail when you get to maintenance.) I set my goal right at the start to have a fun journey. If it isn't fun, and I am not satisfied, I will ultimately quit. I know my own limitations and that is one of them. I still have that rule in place for my journey. I make sure that I eat things that I enjoy everyday, and I do not deprive myself. But I enforce moderation.

The big advantage in weight maintenance over quitting smoking is that I still get to eat. The enjoyment that I got from smoking is just gone forever. (Along with all the medical issues that are associated with that dreadful habit.) But the enjoyment that I got from eating before isn't even diminished. I honestly am enjoying my food more today than I was then. I have to think about what I am eating more today, but that is such a small price to pay for being able to enjoy my food, and to remain at my goal weight.

After 1044 days, that is where my thinking has led me. We'll see where the next 1044 days lead.

2 years, 313 days OP; a lifetime to follow.

-Al-

6 '3" 239.5/183.5/180±2/BMI:22.94/WK-149
GRAPHS: Weight Loss/Year 1 Maint./Year 2 Maint./Year 3 Maint.
                Success Story