Merry Christmas folks… and Happy Erev Chanukah!
Author: Mitch Garvis
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Day 1069
My wife had very good advice for me today. She told me that I am stressing so much because of the holidays, and it might not be a bad idea to take a break from my diet (which has not been working anyways) until after New Years. That is not to say that I should go nuts and eat everything, but trying to stick to the severe plan has not only been failing, but it has also been causing me stress and anxiety. Thanks Leslie!
Tonight is Christmas Eve, and it is not a holiday for me, but I miss being with my family. I bought a nice veal steak for dinner which I will prepare later on.
Have a great day folks!
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Day 1067
This morning’s weigh-in brought me back below the terrible mark once more… if only barely. I am hoping that my knee heals up soon so that I can get back onto the treadmill. I have not been anywhere close to hitting my steps-goal since breaking the streak on Monday, and my fitness watch has now adjusted my goal to 7,240 steps.
One thing is for sure… there is no way Princess Sophie and I are going to spend a lot of time outside today… the mercury read -15°C (5°F) when we went out for a very brief walk this morning, and despite the sunshine, the forecast high is still only -9°. We literally got to the end of the building when she signaled to me that the snow was painful on her little paws, so I picked her up and brought her back into the house. While she was not a fan the last time we tried them, I am buying a set of dog booties to try again. We won’t have too many days this cold, but still…
Have a great day folks!
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Day 1066
The last couple of days I have not been doing very well, but I am trying to pick myself up and get back on track. It is hard… especially around the holidays. I wish I was with my wife. She and I got amazing news this week, but that is for the future, and we are still apart this holiday season.
I am going to see a buddy early this afternoon for a cigar and a chat. Hopefully that will cheer me up some.
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Day 1064
I was not perfect in my eating yesterday, but I was not nearly as bad as I was the previous day. I was relieved, when I stepped onto the bathroom scale, to see that my weight dropped back below that terrible mark. After a horrible 5-pound increase yesterday, I was relieved to see a 3.4 lbs. drop back.
I was exhausted most of the day, so I was more focused on my class than on posting today’s entry. I look back on the day and do not think that I did well and will try to do better tomorrow.
Have a great evening, folks!
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Day 1063
This morning I saw the largest single-day weight increase that I can remember, It was a kick in the gut, and a definite reminder that I enjoyed last night’s Christmas dinner a little too much. I do better today… but just the fact that I will not be eating cookies for dessert means I will be doing better than yesterday. I fell off the wagon hard yesterday, but it was a single day fall and today I am getting right back onto the horse. I do not know if I will be exercising today, but aside from breakfast (which is behind me) I will be eating smart today.
Add to the food, my steps-goal streak came to an end yesterday (as I knew that it would). My new best is seventeen days, and sometime in the future I am sure I will try to top that. That attempt will not start today, but that does not mean that I will not try to exercise. I just hope that my knee holds up.
My next huge challenge is next week when I go to my friends’ house for Christmas dinner. Until then, I have to be good… and get back down below the terrible mark that I shot past this morning.
Have a great day, folks.
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Day 1062
After I wrote about it yesterday, I decided to hop onto the treadmill at lunch for a little bit. I knew that I only had a short time frame to do it in, but I hopped on and ran 3km at 4.5mph. My ankle was fine, and I know that I could have kept going, but I needed to shower up to get back to class in time. At least I got my steps up beyond 4,500… after Princess Sophie refused to walk in the morning. I also knew that I was 6,500 steps from extending my streak to seventeen days, but it was a good start… as well as a really good habit to try to get into! I sat back at my desk with a meal replacement shake to continue the class with thirty seconds to spare.
My day did not go too well with regard to the eating (I hate that I am weak), but I did get my steps in, which means that my new steps-goal streak record is… seventeen! Yes, I did it. That is the good news. The bad news is that it will not be extended to eighteen. I noticed as I walked Princess Sophie this morning that my knee is quite tender, and while I will take whatever pills may help over the next couple of days, I do not think that the rush I would need to do in order to get my 11,1160 steps today (because of my course, and because of my evening plans) are worth injuring myself. I can proudly say now that I have met the goal that I set… and someday in the future I will probably set out to beat this streak too.
Yesterday’s activities did not end with my lunchtime jog. After dinner I jogged another 3km (also at 4.5mph), and then walked Princess Sophie. I was able to extend my streak… but of course that will end today.
It has been a long day of studying. I am now going to take Her Floofness for her walk, and then I’ll get ready for this evening’s festivities.
Have a great day folks!
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Day 1061
I was relieved to see my weight drop back to almost the same level it was before my cheat day Saturday. It is not quite back, but almost. This morning’s 2.2 lbs. drop was welcome indeed… especially knowing that tomorrow evening is my Lodge’s holiday party, and while I will not be over-indulging… I do hope to be able to at least eat something. With that said, I still do not know what is on the menu, and in case it is something that I cannot eat then I will at least have a protein bar stashed away in my car. Of course, I am hoping for turkey and gravy and cranberry sauce… but I will find out tomorrow!
My sleep score was a 75 last night which is not bad. I am sure that had I gotten to bed an hour earlier then it would have been better. As it happens, when my eyes opened at 6:00am I did not want to go right back to sleep, knowing that my alarm was set for just ten minutes later. My body battery was a 72 this morning… also not bad, but I know that neither of these scores is great.
There is something that the reader should know about me, which is that I do not remember pain. If something is hurting now then I know it, but if it was hurting an hour ago but is fine now then it is completely out of mind. That is why for the last few days as I wrote my journal entries, I have had trouble remembering why I did not jog my entire workout the previous day. I realized that as I was on the treadmill yesterday and made a note on my phone (for this morning) to remind me that my ankle has been tender. It is because of that I have been mostly walking on the treadmill, and not some sort of ‘out of shape, out of breath’ issue. As I wrote yesterday, “I would rather reach that goal at a slower pace than miss it at a faster one.”
I did hit my steps-goal yesterday with a 5km workout on the treadmill, but only about half a kilometre was jogging and the rest was a brisk walk. With that I am happy to see this morning that my steps streak is sixteen days, tied for my longest streak which dates from April 10-25, 2023. It was just two days after that I got onto the plane to Dallas, and then to California with my wife for our religious wedding (we had already been married civilly for nearly a year by then). This time I have no travel that will impede it… although tomorrow will be a challenge because of the evening social obligations. I have a few ideas that I am thinking about trying and am not precluding the possibility of spending an hour on the treadmill during my class and watching the lecture instead of my regular TV. We will see… but for that to even be an issue I have to extend the streak today, which means that after class I will be going at it on the treadmill… and thanks to my lovely but occasionally obstinate dog who does not care for the wet weather, I will need to go longer this evening than I normally would.
It is time for me to get signed into my class so I will end here. Have a great day folks!
