Week 226 Update

I woke up in Olympia Washington, and it was 05:36, dark, overcast, and 53º outside when I stepped on Mr. Scale, and he said, “187.0 pounds!” I was quite relieved. It has been that kind of week.

Saturday - I weighed in at 186.5.

We have been blessed the last couple of weeks with visits from our friends. Last week it was Tom, who flew out from Maryland to visit us. And this week it was Jim and Tammy, who drove down for a couple of days on the long weekend. When life comes down to the essentials, it is our friends and family--those who love us--who make life so precious.

After 27 years of being friends, Jim, Tammy, Dotti, and Al have a lot to be thankful for in each other. We have spent many years living very close to each other, and many years living very far away from each other. We have managed to go through it all and come out the other side as a close knit family. We love their children like our own, and they love our LeRoy like he was their son as well. The only downside right now is that we are living in different towns. But that will not be forever either. J

Speaking of children, Jamie, Jim and Tammy's youngest daughter, had been up in Seattle visiting with her grandmother, aunt and uncle. On Friday last week, LeRoy, who lives just south of Seattle, picked her up and drove her down to our house so we all could visit. They stayed Friday night and drove back later on Saturday.

In the morning, everyone else was still sleeping (I had gone to bed earlier than the restJ) when I got up and started my weekly update. Later on Jim joined me in my study and we visited for a while waiting for everyone to wake up.

We all decided to head over to the mall so that Jamie could get her hair trimmed, and we could do some shopping. I had eaten my breakfast fairly early in the morning, and then when everyone else got up, I had a light brunch. At the mall we stopped at the "All American" ice cream stand and got a cone. Between that and all the snacks I had during the day, at this point I had eaten 27.5 points. We then took the kids to lunch at Newport Bay. I had a very good half turkey, bacon, avocado sandwich with some fries, and one cheese stick "appetizer," and suddenly I had added another 25.5 points to my total. I finished the day eating 53.0 points. For a Saturday, that actually isn't too bad for me.

We have become a family of "geeks" it seems. At one point earlier in the day, Tammy had her laptop going, Dotti had her laptop and her desktop up and running, I had my laptop running and my desktop fired up, and LeRoy was running his laptop. Our home network was really humming away with bits flying back and forth.

The kids headed back to Seattle after that, and in the evening the four of us had a nice visit.

Sunday - I weighed 186.0 pounds.

Unfortunately, Jim and Tammy had to head back on Sunday. They wanted to visit with Jim's brother in Seattle, and then head back home where some things awaited their attention. We had a short visit in the morning, and then they were off. It is always sad saying goodbye, but we were very happy that they had come down for a visit.

Dotti and I ran a couple of errands, but otherwise had a quiet relaxing day. I had pager coverage for the long weekend, and so we couldn't make any major plans. I worked on dressing up the DWLZ E-Letter + that we will be sending out in mid-September. (One of the things that I love about working against a deadline is that it paralyzes my natural tendency to procrastinate. –Thought: can inactivity be "paralyzed?" J) Dotti told me that she loves my article for the first issue, and that makes it a success already in my mind. C Having the commitment to produce the E-Letter is a wonderful push to force me to do the writing that I should be doing. I am very excited about the project. We'll see if anyone else feels the same way. J

As I went through the day I didn't eat a lot. I finished up having eaten only 34.5 points. For the week, I was already very near my maintenance target of 46 points-per-day. I didn't drink much water for the day, only 3 cups. However, this was the only day this week that I didn't get in at least 6 cups, and overall, I did very well on water.

Dotti took a walk with me in the evening. We walked 3.05 miles around our normal loop. It took us just over an hour, but that was okay. It was wonderful having my walking partner back again!

Monday - I weighed 186.0 pounds. It was labor day and I had the day off. As long as the pager didn't go off (and fortunately it didn't), Dotti and I had another day together.

Dotti and ran a couple of errands and then we stopped at our Mexican Food restaurant once more. (It is a very strong magnet for me.) I ended up eating 30.5 points during our stay. But, it sure was good. J

Dotti walked with me again in the evening. It was a great night for a walk, with the stars shining brightly. We once again took just over an hour to complete the walk. Walking with my very best friend was the highlight of my day!

By the end of the day I had eaten 63.0 points. That was my highest day for the week. It brought my running 7-day average points-per-day to 48.0 points. The was the highest that got to this week as well. From Monday on, the average dropped down each day until it reached the 41.64 mark I am sitting at now.

Tuesday - "Monday" came on Tuesday this week, and I weighed 188.0 pounds when I woke up, on top of the fact I had to go to work. It was an indicator of how the rest of the week would go.

I got to work early, and since the temperature was a very pleasant 56º I set off on a 3.00 mile walk. I completed it in 43 minutes and 58 seconds.

At work we had an issue with a "dusted wafer" and I spent the day finding all the part numbers and the prices for the parts that would have to be replaced. I was digging in the schematic books, and on the company Intranet, digging out information. I was amazed when the day was over so quickly. The morning had flown by and then I went out at lunch and walked 3.17 miles in 50:45. The temperature had climbed to an unpleasant 79º at that time, but I made it through okay.

Dotti and I had a nice evening, and just relaxed. I ended up eating 42.0 points for the day.

Wednesday - I woke up weighing 188.5. Since my points-per-day average was down to 45.36 at that time, there was no reason for my fat weight to have climbed at all, let alone a couple of pounds. Nonetheless it was not pleasant seeing that number on the scale. I determined to go a bit lower on points for the day.

I got to work earlier than normal, and so I walked 3.73 miles before work. It was a pleasant 61º for the walk. Also, the sun is coming up later, and when I first set off on my walk, the sun is just below the treetops, with a nice red glow. It won't be long and I will be walking in the dark during the morning.

I spent the day working on the computer for the most part. At lunch I walked 3.12 miles. It was a not so pleasant 79º, but I stuck it out.

The drive home was not too bad, and that is always appreciated. J

In the evening it was 71º when Dotti and I walked our 3.05-mile loop. Dotti was a girl on a mission, as she picked up the pace. We took about 55 minutes to do the loop.

I ended up eating 35.0 points for the day, dropping my running 7-day points-per-day average down to 44.0 points. In other words, I was well under where I should have had to be in order to maintain 185.0 pounds.

Thursday - I weighed 187.0 pounds. Okay, back down into my target range. Better, but not as good as I would have liked.

I got to work early enough to get in a 3.17-mile walk in the 59º morning air. As I set out, I noticed the first acorn I had seen on the ground this season. Every fall the pathway gets covered with the little "tree seeds" and I love to see them. Each nut has a beret-like "top hat," its presence reminds me that fall is nearly here. Yes!

Later on I noticed that the leaves on the trees in the parking lot were just starting to show some color. J My favorite time of year is just around the corner!

At lunch it was 78º when I walked 2.96 miles. I combined my 2.4-mile loop with a 0.56-mile loop around a lake, and ended up with close to 3 miles.

I ate a total of 42.5 points for the day, and had a 44.86 points-per-day average for 7 days. Normally that would mean that all is well with the scale. However. . .

Friday - I weighed 188.5 pounds! I always hate it when I go up like that on a Friday. With weigh-in hanging over my head on Saturday, it leaves me no "wiggle room" for the day. In fact, when I am that high up, I have to pull out all the stops on getting my weight back down in time.

I ate my normal 6.0 points for breakfast, and 6.5 points for lunch. I have done that pretty consistently for a long time on workdays. However, in the evening when I was planning on stopping by Jamba Juice and have a 6.0-point smoothie, Dotti and I discovered that they were out of the low fat yogurt they normally put in their drinks, and I ended up just skipping dinner, except for having one plum. I was determined to pull my weight back down for my weigh-in.

I knew that my walking this week was causing some serious water retention, and so I didn't walk at all on Friday, hoping that things would sort of "drain off."

At work I spent the day typing away on my computer. A couple of times I took a break and looked out the window where there were numerous airplanes of various types practicing for an air show that would be going on over the weekend. I saw bi-planes and jets doing some pretty crazy things. I think the one thing that stuck in my memory more than any other was when a crop-duster like plane went straight up into the air and then just stalled out, but using his engine to hold him stationary as if he were just floating like a balloon. He didn't go up, and he didn't go down. He hung there for quite a while before suddenly turning over and plummeting straight down into a crash dive. My stomach did a lurch as it appeared that he wasn't going to pull up in time. But just in time he leveled off and then went into a powered climb, turning into a backwards loopty loop, releasing a stream of smoke behind him. The fighter jets were loud and they were impressive as well.

In the evening I had a pretty easy drive home, especially for a Friday. Dotti and got our things together and we loaded up our car, so we could drive up to see our son LeRoy for the weekend. We were on the road by 7:00 PM and pulled into his apartment parking lot around 8:30. It was a pleasant drive, with Dotti and I swapping off behind the wheel. (She gave me a rest at the beginning, after my drive home from work. J)

LeRoy gave us a very nice welcome, and even had his fireplace all ready to go. Fortunately the weather cooperated by giving us a nice cool evening to enjoy the fire by. LeRoy is doing well, and we had a very nice visit!

I didn't eat anything in the evening, and I ended up drinking 13 cups of water during the day. I only ate 21.5 points, and still I was worried when I went to bed, because I still weighed 190.0 pounds according to the scale. Fortunately, overnight I was able to drop off 3 pounds of the water weight I was holding, and slip in under the wire this morning at 187.0 pounds. I don't much care for roller coasters anyway, and I am going to try and avoid this cliffhanger finish next week.

How do I rate this week? A roller coaster ride with a happy ending.

Eating – I actually ate low this week averaging only 41.64 points-per-day. So, I did very well on my eating.

Weight – What a crazy week! I went from 186.5 all the way up to 188.5, and averaged 187.29 for the week. I have two things to be happy about: I didn't go over 190 pounds for any of my daily weigh-ins (a consecutive string that I have been holding on to for nearly 4 years); and I weighed-in inside my target range!

Since my eating was not out of control, I know that the extra weight is a combination of water and muscle, and that is not a problem. It was really just the number on the scale I was fighting with, not my fat level. So, in reality, it was a very good week. J

Water – I did much better this week. I only had one day where I didn't get at least 6 cups in. I ended up averaging 59.43 ounces (7.4 cups) per day. I will be happy with that any week.

Exercise – I finally had a good week! I walked 28.30 miles, and would have cleared 30 except I was working the scale back down for my weigh-in today. For the most part I felt pretty good after my walks, and the soreness was not too horribly bad, walking so much after such a long lay off.

The only thing I really hope to change from this week is what the scale is doing, but that is minor. All and all I think this was a very good week.

4 years, 122 days OP; a lifetime to follow.

-Al-

6 '3" 239.5/187.0/180±2/BMI:23.37/WK-226

GRAPHS:

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

2004 Walking Data