Week 214 Update

At 05:56 I stepped up on Mr. Scale and he said, “184.5 pounds!” It was nice seeing something below 185 instead of above it.

I did better on my exercise this week, although I did not get completely back on track. My foot seems much better, and I walked everyday except Sunday.

We had Barb come to visit us, and we even had dinner with her very nice daughter Becky.

Week 214 went something like this …

Saturday - I weighed in at 185.0 pounds. I always like to see the scale say that number, since it is my target weight. My eating choices, and goals, are centered on how close I am to that number. So, I was off to a good start.

After breakfast, and doing my weekly write-up, and after having a Dotti Latte (that is mispronounced, "Dah-tee lah-tee" in our house J ) for a mere 2 points, we set off on a walk to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch. Just like last week, I had a 15.0-point meal. After our walk back, we had covered 3.99 miles. (Dotti said, "That is four miles to me!" And of course she was right. To even the nearest tenth of a mile it is 4.0 miles. J We always have these fun discussions about numbers.)

At dinner I had a treat that I haven't eaten in quite a while: peanut butter toast. I was able to have 2 slices of our low calorie bread, some I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray, some peanut butter on each slice, and all for only 4.0 points. It was good!

One of the primary things about my journey that I love, and that keeps it doable for me, is that I can eat anything I want. As long as I eat in moderation, and work it out at the end of the week where my points average out okay, I am on program and doing fine. Now and then I want a piece of cheesecake. I can have one. (However, based upon my past experience, I do have to avoid Costco's monster cheesecakes.) I can have cake, pie, ice cream, or anything else my heart desires, as long as it is in moderation.

When I first started my journey, I cut everything out that might be a problem. No peanut butter, or any rich deserts. Nothing at all that was really high in points. It took time for me to become comfortable enough with my new lifestyle to be able to settle in to having controlled, but rich treats. Still, I journal everyday, because I know that I cannot trust my instincts alone to hold my weight steady. I have to use my conscious control, rather than relying on my unconscious habits entirely.

The habits are pretty strong now, and it makes the control part much easier. But that is a danger as well. It is often the man who has been working around high voltage for more than a decade, and who grows complacent who is killed by a shock. Familiarity breeds contempt, and that is why I continue to journal everyday and refuse to just coast along, trusting my instincts. I know, given enough time, they will fail me.

Also, I read an article in AARP Bulletin that quoted Thomas A. Wadden, director of the Weight and Eating Disorders program at the University of Pennsylvania as saying, "There is pretty good evidence that people can lose 10 to 15 percent of their weight and can sustain it. But I am not sure most people can sustain a weight loss of 20 to 25 percent." That gave me pause!

I am sitting at 55 pounds down from where I was at around 240 pounds. That is a loss of 23% of my bodyweight. So, according to this expert, I am in a zone of weight loss that most people would have trouble "sustaining." It is no wonder that I need to continue to monitor what I am doing closely for the rest of my life.

Of course, for those who need to lose more than 10 or 15 percent, there are a few items that need to be inserted here. He didn't consider a stair step approach! What if you lose 10 to 15 percent of your bodyweight and then keep it off for 3 or 5 years? Then is it not possible that you can then lose another 10 to 15 percent, and go on to sustain that? Then another 10 to 15 percent, and so on, as required?

It is my firm belief that each person's body learns to acclimate to where it is at, and given enough time, that condition will become the "norm" for it. Its "set point" changes and then the dials, at least to some degree are all realigned to that new condition. Once that happens, then a new program of change can be initiated, with the starting point being the "new condition." Now, new progress can be achieved that is sustainable, and so on.

Another point that should be emphasized is that he said that he is "not sure that most people" can sustain the higher weight loss. Those words actually mean that most people might be able to do it, but he not sure that they can. Is that what he meant to convey? He also only was speaking of the majority; "most people." We are all individuals, and what over half the people can do, may have nothing at all to do with what we can do.

I am already living in the "forbidden zone" of 23% bodyweight loss, and the water is fine thank you very much! I will keep on my toes, but I do not consider this to be "Mission Impossible." Like with driving a car, I cannot just let go of the wheel and let things run themselves.

On the other hand, if I had to lose 40 or 50 percent of my bodyweight, I think I would use this information to make a long term plan. I think that either the "stair step," or the "long gradual ramp" approach would be a wise approach. This is not something that will be cured overnight. The body must develop new set points along the way, or there may very well be a problem. It appears to me that, like driving a car in a crowded situation, being in a hurry WILL CAUSE FAILURE. Only a slow methodical approach, a permanent lifestyle change, that allows plenty of time (and I am talking about years here) for the body to absorb and embrace the changes that are desired, will normally work. Before you can build upon concrete, you have to let it set up, and I think the body's set point is just like that!

At the end of the day, I found that I had eaten a total of 61.0 points. It wasn't any one single thing that pushed up high. The day was one of snacks and eating a bit more than usual for my meals. (This shows what would happen all the time if I just stopped journaling and tried to coast along!)

Sunday - The scale jumped up to 186.5 pounds. Now, I was high on points the day before (about 15.0 points), but not that high. A pound of weight is close to 70 points. So, that was less than 0.25 pounds worth of excess. My sodium intake was up, and I think that was it as much as anything. But even so, I was a little more careful on what I ate on Sunday.

Happily, Barb (librarylady2 from the message board) came to pay us a visit, and we all had a very nice time. We went out to dinner at Shari's in the evening, and I had 27.0 points worth of food.

Dotti and Barb stayed up later than I did, because I had to get up for work the next day L, but alas we have to eat, as well as satiate the ever expanding appetite of Uncle Sam.

Even with the large dinner, I only consumed 42.5 points for the day (getting 3.5 of those excess points from Saturday backJ ).

Monday - Oh no! It was MONDAY THE 13TH! (Much worse than Friday the 13th, I have always felt.) I weighed 186.0 pounds, dropping back a half pound from Sunday. After a day off from walking, I did 3.17 miles in the morning. It was a pleasant 58°, and I walked at a slow 15:10 per mile pace. My foot felt pretty good, and I was happy to be able to get back to walking again.

In the evening, Barb's daughter Becky had come into town, and the four of us went out to dinner at a Mexican food restaurant (the same one that Dotti and I went to on Mother's Day). It was nice getting to visit with Becky. (I had only briefly met her once before, at the Sunday night dinner at the Space Needle, at Dotti's first conference in Seattle.) She is a lovely and charming lady, and Barb's pride in her is very well placed!

We said our goodbyes after dinner, as they were heading off for a couple of days on the coast, and we headed home.

The dinner was 24.0 points, and I ended up eating 53.5 points for the day. (That added anther 7.5 excess points to my week's total. So, I was sitting at 19 points over for the week so far.)

Tuesday - I weighed 186.5 pounds again. I was still sitting below the top of my target range, but it was time to start pulling in the reins.

I walked 3.17 miles in the morning once more. This time I walked a bit faster at a 14:29 per mile pace. The temperature had dropped to 48°, and I felt pretty good throughout.

I had a conservative day in eating, and after all was said and done, I had consumed 41.0 points, leaving me 14 points in the hole for the week.

Wednesday - I was back down to 186.0. I got in my walk in the morning of 3.17 miles, at a 14:35 per mile pace, in the pleasant 48° morning air.

I was a little more careful with my eating, and by day's end, I had only eaten 35.5 points. That pulled my week's total excess points back down by 10.5 points, leaving me only 3.5 points in the red.

Thursday - I moved down another half pound to 185.5 pounds. Better! I got to work early enough to walk 3.17 miles once more. The temperature was up to 60°, and the threat of rain was in the air. But it still was a really nice morning for a walk. I moved along at a slower pace (15:15 per mile) perhaps because of the temperature increase.

I ate light for dinner, and my total points for the day ended up being only 35.0. My excess points for the week were completely wiped out now, and I was 7.5 points to the good.

This was the very last day of my 8th journal book. I look at that stack of books and it seem unbelievable that so much time has passed since I began my journey. This is week 214, and if it were the 214th day of a normal year, it would be August 2nd! I still have a long ways to go to reach week 365, but I am 59% of the way there!

Friday - My first entry in my new Journal Book 9 was that I weighed 185.5 pounds. I left on time for work, but there was an accident on the freeway, and it slowed things down. When I got to work, I didn't have enough time to do my full 3.17, but I did have just enough time to walk 3.0 miles. So, I did that instead, and finished with about 2 minutes to spare. I walked at 14:39 per mile pace in the 56° air.

I was happy that had I walked at least 3 miles each workday this week. After our walks on Saturday, I was nearly up to 20 miles for the week.

I ate moderately for the day, and finished off with 34.0 points, leaving me 12 more points to the good, or 19.5 points below my normal maintenance level. That set me up for my weigh-in this morning of 184.5 pounds.

How did this week go?

This week turned out pretty well. My weight never went above 186.5, or below 184.5. That is 185.5 ± 1 pound. My average weight for the week was 185.79, and that is less than a pound above my target weight. It wasn't quite as good as last week, but it was close enough.

My points were high on two days this week, but both times I followed the high day with a lower than average day, and then I finished off the week quite low for three days straight. My average of 43.21 points-per-day, was even lower than last week, and I was very happy with that.

For water, I am not sure what happened on Sunday. I either didn't drink much, or I just forgot to write it down. I probably had something at the restaurant at least, and I am sure I had some in the morning when I woke up, because I always do. But since I didn't write it down, it will remain zero for the record. Even so, I did just fine for water for the week! I averaged 59.4 ounces (7.4 cups) per day, which is on the high end of my goal of 6 to 8 cups per day. Not bad after having a zero for one of the days!

For exercise I started working myself back into the swing of things. I didn't get my goal of 25 miles in but I did get close to 20 and I will settle for that gladly. I have decided to not push myself so hard, and refocus my goals back to where they should be. I will be looking to get my 25 miles per week in, and be happy with that.

I am still over 100 miles ahead of where I was last year, and over 80 miles ahead of where I should be at this time to reach my goal of 1,300 miles for the year. So, if I get back on track this week, walking 25 miles, I will be all set for a successful completion of my walking year.

We have a fun week coming up, with our niece coming in for a visit. We are really looking forward to that!

4 years, 38 days OP; a lifetime to follow.

-Al-

6 '3" 239.5/184.5/180±2/BMI:23.06/WK-214

GRAPHS:

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

2004 Walking Data