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*** Weigh-in for WEEK 344 ***
12/15/2007
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| Week Completed: | ___344___ |
| Weigh-In Weight: | 197.0 |
| Body Mass Index: | 24.62 |
| Average Weight for week: | 199.79 |
| Miles Walked for week: | 3 |
| Miles Walked in 2007: | 262.18 |
| Week’s Average Points/Day: | 44.43 |
| Pounds +/- for this week: | -3.0 |
| Pounds lost total: | 42.5 |
| Made GOAL: 9/22/2001 † | |
* Made 10% at 215.5 pounds on 7/14/01
† Goal is 200 pounds.
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Week’s Data
|
Day |
Date |
Weight |
Points |
Water |
Miles
Walked |
| Saturday |
12/08/2007
|
200.0
|
46.0
|
6 cups (48 oz)
|
0.00
|
| Sunday |
12/09/2007
|
202.0
|
35.5
|
6 cups (48 oz)
|
0.00
|
| Monday |
12/10/2007
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201.0
|
57.5
|
6 cups (48 oz)
|
0.00
|
| Tuesday |
12/11/2007
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200.0
|
43.0
|
6 cups (48 oz)
|
0.50
|
| Wednesday |
12/12/2007
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199.0
|
41.0
|
6 cups (48 oz)
|
0.00
|
| Thursday |
12/13/2007
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202.0
|
44.0
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6 cups (48 oz)
|
2.50
|
| Friday |
12/14/2007
|
197.5
|
44.0
|
9 cups (72 oz)
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0.00
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Week 344 Update
It was 6:28 a.m. when I stepped up on Mr. Scale, and he said, "197.0 pounds!" That is a good way to end the sixth year of my weight maintenance journey.
When I put my weight on my chart for this week I noticed that it was the last spot I had left for this year's graph. Next week I have to start a new one. I also noticed that I now have weighed in within my target range for 11 straight weeks. While I don't like looking at the excursion I took back in March of 2007, at least I was able to turn things around and get back on track. It was a strong reminder that I will never be able to just run on autopilot entirely. Slowly (or not so slowly) I will drift upwards if I try it.
The Weight Commander graph is interesting as well. On the right it reminds me that 30 days ago I weighed 198.0, one pound more than today, and 60 days ago I weighed 196.5, a half pound lower than today. Ninety days ago I was up to 202.0 pounds. With all the fluctuations on the scale, I seem to be holding rather steady, at least on average.
On Friday, I felt shocked when I stepped on the scale. I was 202.0 on Thursday and was expecting something similar. But I was down 4.5 pounds unexpectedly. But, when I look at the Weigh Commander graph, I see that it was Thursday that was out of line with me trend, not Friday. If you drew a line from Sunday's hollow square through Friday's square, it forms a line that hits the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday data points. Thursday was a fluke, a water retention excursion of some sort, which passed quickly. This morning I am down 3 pounds from last Saturday's weigh-in, but I am down 5 pounds from Sunday (and for some reason Thursday as well). 
Also, the Weight Commander graph shows the running average (solid black squares) as holding fairly steady around 200 pounds over the past month. I can't complain about that, considering that we are running along through the Christmas holiday season. Calories are easy to come by, and will power isn't always so easy to find.
The Future graph from the Weight Commander is even more interesting. With all the changing that I did this week and last, look what the result was for the projected weight curve: a completely straight line, and at 197.0 pounds! (The little windows showing the predicted weights for 12/15, 1/13/, 2/12, and 3/13 all show the same number: 197.00, one half pound below my target weight! ) It is funny how the numbers work out sometimes when you put them into a formula. It can be quite surprising at times. I had no idea that is what the graph would look like when I hit the "Future" button on Weight Commander. I have to admit, I liked it! 
I have worked towards getting over my coughing head cold this week. Saturday was coughing badly, as I was trying to get the Dotti's Newsletter ready to send out, on the morning I would normally do my weekly update. Just after 2 p.m. I finished with the formatting, spell checking, grammar checking, link checking and the rest of the preliminary requirements so I could hit the send button to the 54,771 subscribers. Even though we work very hard to get the Newsletter together each issue, it always feels a little scary when it comes time to send it out. Will it be good enough to meet the expectations? We always hope so. At least, we know we have done our best, and that is all we can do.
This newsletter was tougher than most because illness hit me just as I was writing the article, and was still with me when the whole newsletter was ready to send. Hopefully the next one will be a little easier.
We were on the go all week. One of our Christmas shopping stops was at the Clackamas Town Center, the largest of the Portland malls. It was fun walking around and seeing the various stores and all the people picking out those Christmas gifts.
 
As always, I am on the lookout for stores that have the good sense to actually use the word Christmas in their storefront decorations. Bravo to Bath and Body Works for being one of those stores. We saw this approach in all of their stores around the area and it was great to see!
Wednesday, Mom and Dotti stopped and had their hair done; don't they look great?!
Later, we stopped by the Vancouver Mall, and even made it over to the Washington Square Mall. Here is Dotti sitting in the food court after getting us some sandwiches at Subway.
Mom and Dotti were looking over the menu at Jamba Juice. We love to get their smoothies at Jamba Juice because with the fiber boost we can get a very large drink for under 5 points, and it is loaded with real fruit juice. Very good!
 As we were leaving Washington Square Mall, I was intending to take a picture of Dotti through the window, but the light was too bright on the outside and too dim on the inside of the car, so what I got instead was a picture of my reflection in the window.
Mom was all set in the back of the car and ready to get on the road after our visit to the mall.
During the week, Dotti also had a doctor's appointment, and Mom had an appointment with a Portland mortgage agent who is handling her account.
On Thursday we found another fun thing to do with Mom: visit the Oregon Zoo, walk around and see some of the animals, while enjoying the Zoo Lights that were put up everywhere around the zoo grounds. We even road the zoo train to get an overview of all the lights, and to see some more of the animals.
Dotti is having a word with Mom as we pass by the wooden bear. Only a few feet away we spied a live bear sleeping soundly in his little cave. The path behind the ladies was clear of people and that was the way the whole zoo seemed during our first walk through. We arrived around 3:30 p.m. and the official Zoo Lights didn't begin until 5:00. We were in an in between time of day when the visitors to the zoo were mostly gone already and the ones coming for the Zoo Lights hadn't arrived yet. We were able to walk from exhibit to exhibit with no waiting at all.
 And this is something Dotti has been trying to do for a while: get the tractor to herself. The husband of one of the Zonies works for John Deere and so Dotti thought this would be a good picture. However, normally this tractor is swarming with kids when we come by. Not tonight. The place felt empty. So, this time we got the picture.
Mom thought we were being a bit overprotective getting her all bundled up like this, but when we got on the train she was thankful that we did! It was about 39°F at this time, and the train was open air; the wind would have been very uncomfortable without some protective clothing. Beside, doesn't Mom look really cute in her hat?
My glasses were sitting in the air, and matching its temperature pretty closely. When those 39-degree glasses hit the warm tropical atmosphere in the alligator room, the instantly fogged over, and visibility dropped to zero. I took the glasses off until we left the room and returned to the cold. As soon as we did, the glasses cleared right up. (I also struggled with the lens on my camera trying to defog it.)
It took this shot of my favorite model near the Zoo Lights train right after we had taken our ride. We really enjoyed the lights all around the zoo. It is a very special event, and as frequent visitors to the zoo, who love it even on a normal day, we really enjoy seeing them go all out for Christmas this way!
 Here is my beautiful Dotti smiling happily! The flash shows you how the green lights are mounted on the fence as their light is overwhelmed by the white light. Then, as the light from the flash dissipates over distance, you can see what the effect of the green lights are in the dark. They also ran sections of blue light in places and it made us feel like we were walking in a magical land. (Disneyland was the first place I encountered this type of thing many decades ago, and even as I grow older I still love the feeling it gives me!)
My two favorite ladies in front a giant light wreath. Beautiful! With subject like this a photograph has to come out good.
When we arrive or when we leave, we always have to stop for a picture at this goat statue. It is just too cute to pass up, and so are these ladies!
When we brought our dear friends Jim and Tammy to the Oregon Zoo we stopped for pictures at these bears with the lovely models: Tammy and Dotti. This time we couldn't help but to do it again!
The doors behind the bears lead into the gift shop and it was nice being able to walk around in the warm room for a bit before heading out to our car. During the evening we had hit several places along the way where things were warm for some of the animal displays, and a couple of times we were asking ourselves, do we really need to go back outside?
Friday I dropped Mom off at a friend's house. This lady was a coworker with Mom at the Forest Service before they both retired. They enjoy each other's company and attend the same church denomination. So, they have some events this weekend at church, and Mom is sleeping over a couple of nights so they can enjoy the events together. I think they will have a great time.
On the health and wellness front...
Sunday morning I woke up at 2 a.m. with a heavy cough. I was finally able to get back to bed around 5:15 a.m., to rise for good around 8:20 a.m. Monday and Tuesday mornings were replays of that scenario. Wednesday morning I woke up after a solid night's sleep for the first time in quite a while. It felt good!
I am not sure if it is the getting out and walking around that is doing it, or something else but I have averaged over 44 points-per-day and been dropping weight fairly consistently this week. Perhaps the cold beginning to leave has increased the efficiency of my digestion, or something else is doing it, but I am glad to see things going in the right direction.
December is almost half over, and more fun awaits us!
6 years, 218 days on my journey; a lifetime to follow.
-Al-
6 '3" 239.5/197.0/197.5±2.5/BMI:24.62/WK- 344
Starting weight: 239.5
Target Weight Range: 195 lbs to 200 lbs
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