Week 77 Update

The moon was creeping up off the eastern horizon in the cold November skies, showing just a slice along its bottom lit by the sun’s rays, when I stepped on Mr. Scale, at 5:30 AM. He said, “185.5 pounds!”

I had to make an adjustment the day before weigh-in, which is not my preferred time to do it. I would much rather tune things up no later than Friday and then sort of coast into Saturday’s weigh-in without having to think too much about it. However, after running a string of days at 184.5 pounds, my weight dropped to 183.5 on Friday. If I did not react, I could easily have fallen below my target range, and I hadn’t done that since April 20th on a weekly weigh-in. I have been enjoying seeing that growing string of weeks in a row ( now up to 28 ) where I weighed-in within my target range. I have also seen my weight drop after having added a few points for one day. So, what to do? Well, I probably overreacted, because I adjusted at more than one point in my day. I had an extra 5 point treat right after breakfast, and then ate a couple of points higher than usual for my lunch, before I got down to the serious adjustment that I made at dinner (which turned out to be 38.0 points). So for the day, rather than the 55 – 57 points I had originally planned to eat, I climbed up to 68.5. I assumed that should be enough to keep me from losing, and should not push me up over the top of my target range.

With the adjustment, my weigh-in weight moved up 2 pounds from yesterday, but only a half-pound up from last week, and a half-pound over my target weight. I am content with that! Now, judging from past experience, I may have another increase tomorrow because of the high point day. So, that means I should be conservative with my points today, just in case.

Also, the high points yesterday, when averaged with what I had eaten the rest of the week, turned out to give me 44.6 points per day. That is only 1.6 points over my normal projected points per day, and not too bad. My weight for the week averaged 184.5 which was right where I like to see it too.

One of the nice things for me is that we have been eating at restaurants, for many of our evening meals, and with the exception of my adjustment yesterday, I have been having a nice meal, and still eating low in points. I have even been eating foods that produce what Dotti calls, “yummy sounds” from my mouth as I am eating them. In other words, I am enjoying my meals, and remaining OP, while eating in a restaurant! During my weight loss portion of my journey, I stayed clear of restaurants as much as possible, because I know that a 40-point meal (or higher) is very easy to stumble into, if you are not watching what you are doing. But I am no longer worried about eating in restaurants, at least the ones that we frequent, like Denny’s, Shari’s, or Sweet Tomatoes. Even for places like the Dinner Cruises that Dotti and I went on, with their more limited menus, I still felt in control, and it is a great feeling.

Another great feeling is the enjoyment of being married to my very best friend! We have now been in this hotel room for over 2 weeks, and we are still having a fun time of it. Sure the room is getting old, and it would be nice to have our things within easy reach, but the time spent with Dotti is golden!!! She is a really great person, and no matter how much time I spend with her, I always want more. Trips like this, really highlight how lucky I am to have a great marriage, and to have a wife who is so much fun to be with. After 26 years of marriage, it is still like we are newlyweds, and I just love that feeling!!!

The cold snap is still with us. This morning the temperature was only 20°, six degrees lower than last week, when I thought it was cold! For 4 days in a row our low temperature was below 27°, and tonight it is predicted that we will do it again. However, starting tomorrow, we should bottom out in the 30s and by Wednesday, our low should be back into the 40s where it belongs. Our highs have been nudging up against 60°, which hasn’t been too bad, but it gets cool pretty quickly once the sun sets about 5:00 PM.

Depending on how early we eat dinner, we have been seeing the sun’s last rays cutting through the restaurant windows, or the sunset proudly showing its colors. This time of year is just great! Our walks (and I have not been getting aerobics points for them, because they are not fully measured or timed) have been mostly under clear skies, with a gentle breeze. We have been bundled up pretty well on most days, since the temperatures have been down, but the 30 to 35 degree swing in the temperature can leave us overdressed for the walk in one direction, while being just right for the other direction.

It is fun being only half a mile from a mall, because we can walk over, have a Subway sandwich, a huge All American Ice Cream cone (only 2.0 points!), and then browse the shops, or take in a movie. (We have gone to Signs, and The Road to Perdition so far.) We also are in easy walking distance from Denny’s. Eugene and Springfield are much smaller than Portland, and so everything is closer, with a lot less traffic to deal with. We are at the southern extreme of the Willamette valley, which brings the mountains from the east and the west ranges together to the south, and sort of nestles the area into a protected, walled semicircle. The Willamette River flows through Eugene, like it does through Portland, and it is a very beautiful addition to the setting.

1 year, 174 days OP, a lifetime to follow!

-Al-

6 '3" 239.5/185.5/185±2/BMI:23.19/WK-77
Weight Loss Graph/Maintenance Graph/Success Story