Week 83 Update

I weighed in at 05:00 this morning and Mr. Scale said, "185.0 pounds!" Right on the money. :) The temperature this morning was 49°, which is pretty close to normal for this time of year. Nice mild Pacific Northwest weather.

When I was updating my Maintenance Graph this morning I was noticing that there is only room for two more data points on it, and then my first full year of maintaining in my target zone will be complete. I feel pretty good about the way the year has gone, and looking at the graph, there are only 3 data points that fell below my range. Not perfect, but I will take it. :) And it is nearly time to start up a new graph...

Last Saturday, Dotti and I took our "Zonie walk" together, and we did 1.25 miles at a leisurely pace of 22 minutes and 14 seconds. (That came out to 1.96 Aerobic Points.) We took a scenic route around the neighborhood, and noted the decorations that were up here and there, while using my pedometer to calculate the distances. Later I drove the same route to check the accuracy of the pedometer reading, and it turned out to be surprisingly close. I also drove a few different routes around the neighborhood, and found that a direct path from our driveway around the block and back to our driveway came out to exactly 0.5 miles. The digital odometer in the van just clicked over as my tires hit the driveway at the same point from where I started. That is a nice coincidence.

So, when Dotti went to run some errands, I set off walking again. The day was beautiful, and the temperature was nice for a walk. I did 3 laps for a mile and a half in 21 minutes and 44 seconds (another 3.71 Aerobic Points), and felt pretty good. (My left knee ached a bit on Sunday but not too bad.) As I was coming around on the end of my laps, heading back towards our house I was struck with the view of Mt. Hood I was getting. Right over the roof of our house, Hood was standing tall. I had to go and grab my camera.

Walking down the street towards the end of the cul-de-sac where we live, Mt. Hood is clearly visible over the roof of our house. (Click here for photo.) With the Zoom, it looks almost monstrous. (Click here for photo.) I just love the Pacific Northwest!

We put up some outdoor lights on our house that afternoon, and then when the sun went down we drove around the neighborhood to check out the lights on other people's houses, especially the ones that we had seen on our walk earlier. Some people really go all out on their decorations, and I just love looking at them! Dotti and I had a lot of fun enjoying the lights. We saw a couple of ways to improve our own lighting, and on Sunday we rerouted what we had already done, and added a few new items. We are pretty happy with the results, and I think we will be able to do even better next year.

Sunday we put the tree up and the inside decorations for Christmas, and now things are festive and bright all over the house. I just love this time of year!!!

My weigh-in weight went up a pound this week, but my average weight stayed exactly the same for the week at 184.79 pounds. That puts my average weight for the last two weeks within 0.21 pounds of 185.0. That is within 0.1% of being right dead on target. I'll take it. :)

I was 184.0 last Saturday, and as it turned out, I ate a little low in points. So, I dropped to 183.5 on Sunday. I moved my points up to 50.0 to compensate, and it certainly did. I was back up to 185.5 on Monday. I held my points down to 40.0 for the next two days and Mr. Scale responded by doing a bounce. I hit 184.5 on Tuesday, and came right back to 185.5 on Wednesday. I kept my points down to 41.5 and my weight dropped to 185.0. Dotti and I had a nice dinner out on Thursday, and my points went high at 50.0. However, on Friday the scale dropped to 184.5. So, I held my points on target at 43.5 yesterday, and the scale came in at 185.0 this morning.

My average points per day came in at 43.21 and my average weight was 184.79. So my points per pound value this week is 0.234, which means that I got to eat 4.277 points per pound. That puts my "metabolism rating" at 23.4% this week. :)

For water, I have not been as good getting things documented as I should. I drink most of my water at work during the workweek, and I write it down when I get home. But I have missed doing that a few times. I know that I drank at least 3 cups on those days, and probably more, but I just put in a 3 if I forgot to document. That happened once this week. (On Saturday, I just didn't drink enough water. I drank other things but I don't count most of them.)

I did some research and came up with some equations to use in a program that I wrote to calculate calories needed for various weights, and ages for men and women. The number of calories that it says I need at my age and height to maintain 185 pounds is 2370 for LIGHT activity. Since 43 points seems to be about right for me, that means that I am eating 55 calories per point on average, in order to get 2370 calories per day. A 5'4" woman of 46, who is at 140, would need 1723 calories to maintain her weight, and assuming that she ate the same types of food as I eat, she would then need 31.3 points to maintain. If she were 30, she would need 1821 calories, and therefore 33 points. (Of course the numbers created by the program are only generally applicable, for the average person. Also, as we all know, some metabolisms are faster than others, and that will cause the number of calories required for a certain weight to vary between individuals. Also, the number of calories per point will vary according to the type of food you eat, and its fiber and fat content.)

Dotti is feeling much better now. Her voice is back to normal, and she has been making it back to the gym again, where she is building her time back up. She is OP, and I think she is doing super!!!

For those who have read my weigh loss journal, you will recall that I lost some teeth during that time. This week I got some replacements and they are going to take some getting used to, but I think they will work out okay. It was great having molars to chew my steak with on Thursday night! :) (If you have ever tried to chew a well done steak using only your front teeth, you will know what I mean.)

I am really liking having a garage again. I can leave my car unlocked, get things put in it for work at my leisure, without regard to the weather outside, and I don't have to scrape the windows before I head out. When Dotti and went on our trip to Spokane, we were able to load the car the night before, so we didn't have to scramble to get it done before we left in the morning. Also, I do not miss having to carry all our stuff up the stairs at the end of a long trip. We just pull the car in the garage, and then unload at our convenience. Yep, we like the new house. :)

1 year, 216 days OP, a lifetime to follow!

-Al-

6 '3" 239.5/185.0/185±2/BMI:23.12/WK-83
Weight Loss Graph/Maintenance Graph/Success Story