Week 53 Update

It was 52 degrees, with the sky just starting to show a touch of light at 5:00 AM when I stepped up on Mr. Scale. He said, "184.0 pounds!" That is 4 weeks in a row at the same weight, one pound below my target weight, and well within my target range. I am happy with that to be sure.

This has been an interesting week. On Saturday, Dotti and I checked into the hotel that we are thinking strongly of having the next conference at. I climbed the stairs to our third floor room several times, and we did a lot of walking, but none of it was measured, so I didn't estimate any aerobic points. It was a great weekend!

It is interesting that I have received some criticism for enjoying myself while being OP. While I eat plenty of vegetables and fruits every day, mostly at lunch and on my drive home from work, and I have maintained my weight very close to my target for 21 weeks in a row, it seems wrong to some "Puritan WW's" that I am having a good time on program. Of course every person is entitled to his own opinion, right or wrong. But I am not going to feel guilty just because someone else doesn't like what I am doing. The reason that I point this out, is that I fear other people could be influenced into wrecking their own journeys by following the advice of someone who is bitter and unhappy in his own journey, and sure to fail in the long run as a result. To be successful, I believe you have to be happy in what you are doing. When Dotti says, "No Guilt and Move On," the reason is that guilt and unhappiness are devastating to your spirit when you on your journey. I have tried to always focus on the positive, and have fun on my journey. And that includes treats that fit into the program nicely.

On Saturday night, Dotti and I went to the restaurant in the Heathman Lodge. The menu was not what we had hoped for. We got up and left, in search of a meal that we both would enjoy. We ended up at Red Robin's, which happens to be our son LeRoy's favorite restaurant. Dotti and he used to go there for lunch a lot back before she lost her weight. I have only been there once before that I can remember, and it was long enough ago that I didn't remember what it was like. As it turned out, it was a nice atmosphere, even though Dotti seemed a bit overdressed in her beautiful dress. (She was beautiful! I am absolutely not complaining!!!)

Since it was our weekend getaway, and Mr. Scale said I had the points, I ordered a burger, and fries, and a "Monster Shake" (their name not mine) which comes out to about 20 points all by itself. I drank all of the malted milk shake; that in the glass, and that in the refill container. It was the first shake I had had in a while, and the first malted milkshake that I had had in years. I only could eat half of the burger, and half of the fries, because I just didn't have room for anymore. The part of that one meal, which I ate, was worth 30.5 points, and it would have been 41 points if I had eaten it all; but I didn't! I had no desire to eat more than what was enough to satisfy. I ended the day eating 48.5 points, which is 10 points less than my high day for the week, and 10 points less than my average points per day for one week in April. All the while I have been maintaining right on track with the scale.

I do not yet have a solid points range established, and so, I let my appetite control how much I eat, and I let Mr. Scale be the judge of how well trained my appetite is. I write everything down that I eat, and adjust as required by my weight. It seems to be working quite well so far. While common sense and certain basic physical laws must be accepted, it is my firm opinion that the journey has to be fun or it will fail.

On Sunday, when we checked out at noon, I noticed that it was a bit hot. So, we swung by our storage shed and picked up our air conditioners. I got some exercise carrying those up the stairs, and installing the one in my study. (Dotti put the one in the dining room into the window.) It was just in time too, as the house temperature was going up over 80 degrees. We cranked on the AC and the temp started back down soon. Of course ever since that day it has been too cool to need the air conditioners, but we are glad that we have them installed for the next time the temperature starts to climb.

I started out with no aerobic points counted for the weekend, due to our trip to the hotel, and that helped me to miss my target goal of getting 30 points in this week. I did get just over 21 aerobic points and that is certainly better than nothing. :)

On Monday, I started another experiment, by changing my standard lunch. To keep Mr. Scale up where I wanted him to be, I was beginning to eat a high point dessert nearly every day at lunch. Once in a while for a treat, that is just great, but I did not want develop the habit of making it a regular thing. So, added a few items to my standard lunch.

On Monday, the 13th (which I have always found far more terrifying than Friday the 13th! :) ) I had 3 turkey sandwiches, (1.5 pt. Each) as opposed the 2 that I had been having since I started my journey. I also added 2 rice cakes with a tablespoon of peanut butter on each. (5.5 pt. total). I had an additional yogurt also. I continued with my applesauce cup but gave up the meringues. I had a Kashi bar as an afternoon snack, which brought my points up for the afternoon to 18.0, which is 11 points (one DQ banana split's worth of points). On Tuesday, I didn't have the Kashi bar, and had a Jello dessert (1.0 pt) instead. That made for 14 points for lunch. I found my weight was sitting at 185.0 rather than 184.0. I had the feeling, judging from the reaction of our two scales at home, that I was slowing increasing my weight, even though I had dropped my points for the day, below 40. The sandwich has a peppercini pepper in it, which is fairly high in sodium. I took a guess that the sodium was the problem. And so I cut out the third sandwich, even though it was only worth 1.5 points, to see what would happen. Mr. Scale started to drop back down. So, now my standard lunch has 12.5 points in it, and I didn't have a single McFlurry or DQ banana split this week. My weight seems to be stabilized again, and I am eating a bit better. It looks like another positive change has been put in place. :)

I didn't do any exercise on Monday, but by Tuesday I was beginning to feel the crunch. Either I got on it and started walking, or I was going to miss my aerobic points goal. At lunch I walked 2 miles in the park, at a rate of just under 14 minutes per mile.

Since we are working our way into summer, I decided to shift my sleeping hours one hour earlier, and get up at 5:00 AM instead of 6:00 AM. The next few months the sun will be coming up early enough to where it will be light by 5:00 AM and I can go over to the local track and walk or run early. When the temperature goes up in the summertime, what is naturally the best time of day for me to exercise – right after work – becomes entirely too hot to even think about exercising in. The mornings are nice and cool, even in the hot part of the year. So, I have to move my exercise to the early morning.

Wednesday was my first early morning. I got up, got dressed and was over at the track by about 5:15 AM. It was not only cool, but it felt cold. I started out jogging slowly just to warm up, but it felt good, and by the time I was finished, I had jogged the entire 2.26 miles (6 laps). I was surprised that it went so well. All day I felt pretty good, and was glad that I had gotten my exercise in.

Unfortunately, on Thursday, I was tired and sore, and my knees ached. So, I did not exercise at all that day. On Friday, when I woke up, I knew I was not going out into the cold wet morning and walk, let alone run. My body was still a bit sore from Wednesday, and though I still got up at 5:00 AM, I stayed indoors in the morning. However, by lunch, I was feeling better. My knees did not feel great, but they only hurt a bit, and the weather was perfect for a walk. Rather than trying to tackle my normal speed-walk for 2 miles in the park, I decided to just walk at whatever pace felt comfortable for 30 minutes. I would use my pedometer to track how far I walked and see what happened.

I walked all over the park, taking new paths and totally different routes than I had taken in the past. They have done a great deal of work on the park over the last 7 years, since I first started walking there. There are new paths, waterways, and footbridges. It really is beautiful this time of year, with all of the greenery running wild... lush and alive. I discovered one new bridge that I had not crossed before, that had pond on one side, and a rapidly flowing outlet on the other, shaded by thickly leaved trees. Nice!

When I got back to the parking lot, and exactly 30 minutes had gone by, I found that, even though I was taking it easy at first, I had walked 2.2 miles, which gave me a respectable 13.6 minutes-per-mile (4.4 mph or 7.1 kph) pace. My knees loosened up, and felt pretty good by the end, and even this morning they don't feel bad.

So, I missed my goal for aerobic points this week, but I did get out and exercise, and that sets me up for more motivation this week!

Last night Dotti had her MRI done on her knee. We should see soon whether she needs to have some physical therapy, or if it will take surgery to cure her knee problem. I am hopeful that it is nothing but a strain that will heal up with some carefully guided exercise. She has been bowling every week, which probably has been aggravating her injury. I can relate to that very well. In the mid 1980s I sprained my ankle stepping wrongly on first base during a softball game. (I hit the base with the outside edge of my right foot, and when I stepped down all of my weight was placed right there, forcing the outside edge of my foot upwards unnaturally. Ouch!) It took a whole year for that ankle to heal up completely, because I would go and play racquetball several times a week. My ankle would start to feel a bit better, and I would play, leaving me limping the next day. It finally healed up, in spite of all the abuse I put it through. So, I don't blame Dotti for not wanting to give up her bowling unless she absolutely has to.

Once her knee is back to normal, I can have my racquetball partner back! Not only will I have the great fun of playing racquetball with my beautiful lady, but then my exercise routine will have some variety, and I should be able to get more aerobic points. :)

The journey continues, and it hasn't lost a bit of its interest yet. :)

This week in Books

As I came to the end of the second listening of the unabridged audio book of the Lord of the Rings trilogy on Thursday, I was left once again with a great feeling of respect, and even amazement at the tremendous talent that J.R.R. Tolkien displayed in writing that series of books. Not only did he tell a great tale, but he interwove language and customs, deeply into the narrative, in a very natural fashion. The tale was not only of old times, but it felt as if it were written in old times as well, even though it was written in the twentieth century, before and after WWII.

Not only was he exceptionally creative in inventing the characters and weaving the plots, he went to extreme lengths to create the historical setting for his tale. He created king lists, and histories of the various kingdoms prominent in the main story, and even those brushing up against the main story. He was meticulous, without being dusty and dry. There is a spirit in his writing, and a basic love for the good and the right. Frodo was great because he was honorable, merciful, and he pressed onward because it was his duty, even though he was sure to fail. Sam was great because he was dedicated to Frodo with a determination that made him a giant among the little people. There was a flavor of the great knights and their chivalry in this tale, and when the story was finished, I came away with the feeling that great things had been told of, and it was better for those in all of Middle Earth at the end of the story because of those great deeds, in spite of the terrible things they had gone through to perform them.

I have now started listening to the unabridged audio book of another great work: The Odyssey, by Homer. This story, thousands of years old, keeps on reaching out to new generations. I am about a sixth of the way through it so far. I may be able to finish it next week.

I have been plugging along on my Perry Mason novel, reading a bit each night. I was going to read it last night at the hospital, while waiting for Dotti's MRI, but she handed me her palmtop with an interesting game that kept my attention until she was done. So, I didn't get to the book.

1 year, 6 days OP, a lifetime to follow!

-Al-

6'3" 239.5/184.0/185 ± 2/BMI:23.0/WK-53
Weight Loss Graph/Maintenance Graph/Success Story