Week 205 Update

It was 06:34, and for the 206th time, I stepped up on Mr. Scale for my weekly weigh-in, and he said, "185.5 pounds!" I did my starting weigh-in (Week 0) on May 12, 2001. On my first weigh-in after Christmas that year (Week 33), I fell below 187.0 pounds, and every weekly weigh-in since then (172 of them) has been at or below that number. Some weeks I have had to really struggle to get there, other weeks, it is just the opposite, with everything just working together without effort.

The last couple of weeks, I have been taking Ibuprofen for my back pain, to give myself a break from the Tylenol. It has made the scale a little trickier to control and I have been riding on the high side of my target range, or even a bit above it during the week. This week I was able to pull my average weight back down into my target range, which I was happy to see.

Taking a step back from the microscopic image of my journey, it is very gratifying to see that I have remained at or below my personal goal weight of 190 pounds, for every single daily morning weigh-in since November 2001. Stepping even further back, it is really nice not having to worry about whether or not I will go over 240 this week. J The big picture, by blurring out the little fluctuations of day-to-day weigh-ins is a happy one to look at now. Often I get caught up in focusing on the day-to-day microscopic items, and forget to appreciate the more important big picture. By working day-to-day to keep within my micro-goals, my focus is usually there. It is good to step back from time to time and see what the overall results are.

Comparing my weight control efforts before documented in my Diet Graph, with the results of my weight control journey beginning in 2001, documented in my graphs for Weight Loss , Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, and Year 4 maintenance, the number one thing that jumps out at me is stability. Instead of jumping all over the place as it had for years, my weight now has normal fluctuations within a safe and healthy range.

In addition, while looking at the years from 1990 to 1996, keep in mind that my upper limit for the normal range is 200 pounds for my height, and that my personal goal (where the Navy had required me to be to meet its standards prior to my discharge in 1988) is 190 pounds. Even when I thought I was doing great back then, I never once got down to 190, which is the weight that I have remained below the entire time I have been in maintenance since 2001. In all of the monthly weigh-ins for those 5+ years I had one stretch where I was at or under 200 pounds for 7 months, and then 2 years earlier I hit 198 for a single weigh-in. That was a total of only 8 weigh-ins that would be considered in the normal range, out of a total of 66 weigh-ins, in over 5 years. That means that 88% of the time I was in the "Overweight" category.

Also, look at the range of weights that I swept through. From October 1990 to January 1991 I went from 198 to 226. During the next 5 months I was down to 216 and up to 229. The next 5 months I moved down to 211 and back up to 224. Then in 7 months I fell 32 pounds, only to put on 35 pounds during the next 8 months. A couple of months later I had given up trying to lose, and for a couple of years I held myself between 227 and 239, before trying again in October of 1995 to "go on a diet." That process was so frustrating, and demeaning, because of the repeated failures.

If it hadn't of been for the miracle of Dotti, I don't think that I would have ever found a way to control my weight. She has made my life better in so many ways, I can't begin to count them!

After what I have learned on my journey, when the scale says something that I don’t like today, I know just what to do about it. With the focus on weight control that the journey has developed within me, not only do I know what to do, but I am motivated to do it as well. This is not like anything that I have ever done before for my weight. It is not perfection by any means, but it is documented significant improvement: a continuing work in progress.

Here is how this week went… (If you are interested in any of the details on my walks, such as the speed or accumulated mileage information, for this week, or for any of the weeks in 2005 just click here or follow the link at the bottom of this page called 2005 WALKING DATA.)

Saturday - I weighed 186.0 pounds. Dotti spent the morning and early afternoon with her twin sister. I did my write up and posted it, and worked on a few things during the day. I didn’t get in any walking, but I ate a bit high at 52.5 points.

Sunday - I weighed 186.0 pounds. I spent most of the day working on my new song for the conference, getting it recorded, and then converting the WAV file to MP3 and RA files for the web page.

In the evening Dotti and I walked to Red Robin for dinner (1.9 miles). After dinner we continued on to the drug store (0.75 miles), and finally returned home (1.79 miles). That gave us 4.49 miles of walking by the end of the trip.

I ended up eating 46.0 points for the day.

Monday - I weighed 187.0 pounds, and it was back to work and back on the pager, after only a week off of it. With conference fast approaching, I could have really done without the pager this week. (The original pager schedule had me on pager the week of the Bloomsday Race, the week after conference, which I had scheduled to have off months ago. When I pointed that out, I was given this week instead. Oh well.)

In the morning I arrived early enough to get in a 3.17-mile walk. The skies were blue and it was 43°. I put on my blue heavy coat and did my loop. It was very nice. During the workday things were fairly quiet. And lunch came around quickly. I did my 2.4-mile loop, but the blue skies had gone, and I had to wear my raincoat in the light sprinkles that were falling.

I had some high sodium for dinner, with sauerkraut and fries, but my points were at 39.5 for the day. I had walked 5.57 miles during the day.

Tuesday - I weighed 189.0 pounds in the morning! Wow, that sodium can do some really weighty things on the scale. When I got to work it was a nice 42°, but it was a little too late to get in my normal 3.17-mile loop. So, I had to settle for 2.56 miles, where I walked around the western ponds (0.56 miles), and then did an out and back to a pine tree that is exactly one mile away from my starting point.

At lunch, I was able to get my 3.17-mile walk in. The temperature had only gone up to 44° by that time, and the rain was light.

In the evening Dotti picked me up a 6" Subway sub sandwich for dinner, and I ended the day eating 38.5 points. (I wanted to keep the points low after the morning weigh-in of 189.0 pounds!) I walked 5.73 miles for the day.

Wednesday - I weighed 188.0 pounds; a little better, but not there yet. Dotti was really tired and sleeping soundly when I was getting ready to leave. I hadn’t realized that she had not made my lunch yet, until it was far too late. I would have hated to bother her anyway that morning. So, I had to find an alternative for when lunchtime rolled around.

On the way to work I didn’t feel like walking. When I arrived, I went through quite a bit of internal dialog as to whether or not I was going to walk. I had over an hour before work started, and my final argument to myself was, "Well, what are you going to do if you don’t walk?" It worked, and soon I was off on what turned out to be a 3.73-mile brisk (4.11 mph), and very enjoyable outing in the 41° air. The highlight of the walk was the point where I was on the western side of one of the lower, filled ponds, which has an island sporting a small but full pine tree. The sun was completely clear of the horizon and was throwing pure white light into the clouds that were lying between it and me, forcing the black centers into a brilliant white frame. Higher in the sky, there was a lot of beautiful blue sky showing and this spectacular view was mirrored perfectly in the glassy smooth surface of the pond. It was perfect! It made me smile to think that I had been contemplating skipping my morning walk, and I had made the right choice!

By lunchtime I had figured out what I was going to do. On my 3.17-mile loop, there is a McDonald’s. I decided that I would walk to McDonald’s using my GPS to get the distance to there. Stop, eat lunch, and then continue on with my GPS to see how it all added up for distance.

I set off and arrived at McD’s in 1.47 miles. I ordered up 2 cheeseburgers and a small fries, and diet drink. (That came to 22.0 points and that’s why I don’t do this very often!) Afterwards, I went on around the loop, and that came to 1.75 miles more. So, turning the corner and walking to the restaurant and then back, added an additional 0.05 miles (about 264 feet). If I have to have a meal like that for lunch, it is great being able to get my walk it too. I used to just skip my walk when I had to buy my lunch, but this is much better. J

When I left for home in the evening, I got a call from my supervisor saying that one of our customers might be needing after-hours work. I was a few miles into my drive and had to turn around and head back. Just about the time I got back to my customer site (I had to pick up something from there before going on to the other site) he called back to say that the problem had been resolved and I could head home. A little scenic buggy ride, in search of the wild goose. Oh well, it could have been worse…

By the end of the day, I had eaten 54.0 points, thanks to the high lunch. I had walked 6.95 miles, which I was very happy with.

Thursday - I weighed 186.5 pounds, and happy to be back inside my target range again. I had not gotten much sleep during the night. I woke up around midnight and couldn’t get back to sleep until 2:30 or later. By the time the alarm went off, I was feeling pretty dragged out.

When I got to work I didn’t feel at all like walking, and I didn’t. The same went for lunch. As Murphy’s Law would have it, at work it was the busiest day for me of the entire week. I was very glad when it was time to go home.

On the drive home, my cell phone rang and my friend and coworker, who normally is at the site that was having difficulty on Wednesday, told me that his customer was requesting after-hours service. After what had happened the day before, and after my night of too little sleep, I got spun up quickly, mainly about the late notification that there was a problem. Then I found out he was just "pulling my chain" and there was nothing going on really. J I told him he got me good, but I owed him one.

Needless to say, I got to bed early that night, after doing no walking, and eating 46.5 points for the day.

Friday - I weighed 186.5. After a great night’s sleep, I got a nice early start out the door in the morning and as a result I was able to get a long walk in the morning, which I felt I needed after my day off from walking on Thursday. I did my 3.17-mile loop, with a walk around the western ponds (0.56 miles), and a one-mile round trip add-on in the middle, all adding up to 4.73 miles at the end. It was 45° and nice walking conditions.

At lunch I did my 3.17-mile loop in the rain, and the 48° temperature.

By the end of the day I had eaten 36.0 points, and walked 7.90 miles.

How did this week measure up?

I ate 329.5 points total for the week. My normal maintenance target is 322 points (46 points-per-day) so I was pretty close to that, just about a point-per-day high. My average weight for the week was 186.93, which is a bit on the high side, but inside my target range anyway. So, there is room for improvement, but I am satisfied with how the week went on that score.

For exercise, I was shooting for at least 25 miles this week, and I have a standing goal of reaching at least 30 aerobic points each week. I walked 30.59 miles, well over my goal, and at 79.79, I more than doubled my goal for aerobic points. I didn’t set any records this week for distance, but it was a good solid week for exercise. And, I moved my totals up to: 66.17 miles for the month and; 451.19 miles for the year.

For water, I was the picture of consistency with drinking 6 cups each day of the week. J

My next weekly weigh-in will be at the DWLZ conference. It is just around the corner, and coming at full speed. I better finish getting ready. See you there I hope!

3 years, 340 days OP; a lifetime to follow.

-Al-

6 '3" 239.5/185.5/180±2/BMI:23.19/WK-205

GRAPHS:

Weight Loss Maintenance Year 1 Maintenance Year 2 Maintenance Year 3 Maintenance Year 4 2005 Walking 2005 Walking Data

2004 Walking Data