Losing a part of me

Category: Walking

  • Day 184

    I cannot speak for anyone but myself. I was going to open today’s article with the words ‘Anyone who has ever set out to lose a lot of weight will tell you…’ As I look in the rearview mirror of my life, I remember too many times that I have gotten in trouble for speaking out of turn, for saying ‘All people this’ or ‘All kids that’ or whatever it is. I am trying (against the very nature of every fibre of my being) to be more humble.

    I can tell you that every time that I have set out to lose a lot of weight that milestones are huge. They are the goals we set for ourselves to continue to strive for. Long term goals are great: Hey, I plan to lose 150-pounds. It is the short-term goals – those milestones that are more easily reachable in the incremented short term – that encourage us to keep going.

    I have always looked at the following milestones as the bellwethers of my success. The first is the Decades. When I drop below a multiple of 10, it is an achievement for me. ‘Hey, I dropped from 350.2 lbs to 349.9 lbs!’ That might not seem significant, as it is only a drop of less than half a pound. However, it is the cumulative result of losing the ten pounds it took to get from 360-pounds to below 350-pounds.

    Of course, I also look at how my clothes fit as a bellwether of progress, but it is being able to fit into a shirt or a pair of pants or whatever that previously had not fit that I see as the significant milestones. As an example: a couple of days ago, I wore a tank top on my fitness walk that I had not been able to fit into for two years. Yes, it was tight, and yes, it did not completely cover my belly… but I was able to wear it comfortably. That is a milestone. Over the next few weeks, that shirt will start to grow; first it will cover my belly, then it will stop being so tight. That is definitely a non-scale victory… but it is not a milestone.

    I have several tubs of clothing, along with quite a bit hanging in my closet, that do not currently fit. Most of them are sorted into various sizes, and every so often I pull something out that had not previously fit to see if it does yet. While I have myriad polo shirts and things that I am looking forward to being able to wear again, the next huge clothes goal is to be able to wear the custom-tailored suits and shirts that I had made for me in 2017, when I was at my lowest weight. I was able to wear them for a few months in 2020 again – I wore them to the High Holidays services – but it has been nearly two years since. I am looking forward to wearing them again.

    It will come as no shock that I wrote about milestones this morning because I achieved one. I dropped into a new decade – one that I have not been in since falling from it in April, 2021 – the week my father passed away. It has been fifteen months since my weight registered below 330-pounds, and this morning it did. Of course, owing to the instability of my floors, I am still unsure if that measurement is accurate or not. All I know is that I have been following the plan, and am not suspicious of losing six pounds in five days… at least, not since my dramatic change to my single-meal plan.

    Yesterday was my third straight day of following the new meal plan perfectly. I had three meal replacement shakes (at or about 9am, 6pm, and 10pm), and one very healthy meal when I got back from my walk, probably around 2pm. When I say healthy meal, I mean in both respects: It was protein (chicken) and salad… but I am also aware that I am still eating larger portions than I probably should. Just as I adjusted my regimen this week (shifting from two meals and two shakes to one meal and three shakes), I know that my next step – when I plateau and am not losing weight anymore – will be to reduce the size of that meal. That will be an important step for my long-term success, because I will need to start simply eating less, especially if I want my stomach to shrink and eventually require (and desire) less food.

    So why, you might ask, don’t I just do it now? My simple answer is that you take one step at a time. While there is a school of thought that diving in is better (as most weight loss clinics start you on four meal replacements per day, often dropping you from 2500-3500 calories per day to 900 calories per day from Tuesday to Wednesday), I have done this three times… each time I was extremely successful in the short term, and a complete failure in the long term. So yes, I am doing my progression gradually, and will make the necessary changes as I see fit.

    While I woke up today feeling the aches in my feet, I am still planning on going for a fitness walk. I have a meeting at 11:00am, and after that I am going to look at a map of my neighbourhood and see what paths there are that might be more interesting than the roads I have been walking. It might also help if I plan out a shorter walk, rather than just setting out and realizing when I am two kilometres from home that my tanks are nearly empty.

    For those who are worried, no I will not overdo it, and no, I will not ‘kill myself.’ If I only exercise on the days when nothing hurts, then I will never exercise. If, on the other hand, I accept that aches and pains are part of my struggle, then I will be able to overcome them.

    In the Army we were taught that the difference between a pain and an injury was huge – it was the difference between going on and overcoming obstacles, and getting a bet or a gimel – essentially a day (or two or three) of bed rest, either in the infirmary or at home. Of course, in unit training it also meant dropping out of the unit. In my case, if I was injured, I would stop… but I am not, I am just feeling achy. That is what you get when you are morbidly obese, and are working toward slim and sleek.

    One thing I know, before I set out on my fitness walk, I will be choosing the right shoes. I have several pair of running shoes, and some of them (like the ones I selected yesterday) have hundreds of miles on them, and are no longer suitable for long walks. I am not taking any chances today, I am going to the top-tier shoes… my newest pair of Adidas (gifted to me by the lovely and generous Leslie).

    —

    Several times over the past couple months, Leslie has pointed out that she can see and feel a noticeable difference in the size of my belly and my dreaded man-boobs. I have felt it too… and while it does not yet feel great, it certainly feels like I have made great progress.

    On my computer desktop I have two pictures of me called MDG-Before-1 and -2 which were taken Thursday, January 20th… otherwise known as Day 1. While I still look in the mirror and see a fat man, there is no denying the tremendous progress that I have made in these six months. I am not half the man I was… but I am certainly much smaller than I was. Losing sixty pounds is no joke!

    I write this because this morning I noticed something… when I lift my belly, when I lift my man-boobs, they feel huge… yet significantly smaller than they were. I remember what it was like in December and January, and I know that I have come a long way since then. I want to keep going, but there is only one person who can make that happen. It is my intention to keep making it happen, day by day. As with overcoming any addiction, I have to do it one day at a time. I cannot simply say ‘I will never…’ I have to tell myself every morning: ‘Today I will stick to the program. I will not cheat. I will exercise. I will stick to it. I will go to bed with the knowledge that I got through today without falling off the wagon.’

    Like alcoholics and Valerie Bettinelli like to say, it’s one day at a time.

    Have a great day, folks!

  • And the Walking Continues

    In case you cannot tell from my posts, I like to challenge myself with my walking, and I love the statistical side of things. For example, my fastest kilometre was my second kilometre on July 18, at 10m00s. This of course excludes the kilometre I jogged on July 20, which I finished in 8m38s.

    With the retirement of Endomondo (an app that I used for many years during those spells when I was either walking or jogging), I discovered MapMyWalk, which is owned by the same company that had bought Endomondo. It works with the GPS on my phone, and then uploads the data to the cloud so that I can keep track of things. There is a paid version that includes analytics, but until I need it, I am good sticking with the free offering.

    Because I do not have the analytics, I have to rely on my memory for ‘best of…’ for a lot of things. I decided yesterday evening, after only thirteen recorded walks, to start my own spreadsheet. I did it now because doing it later would be a lot more data entry, and every day that I waited was another day that I was unlikely to do it.

    My spreadsheet is simple. It tracks overall stats per walk (Date, Temperature, Distance, Average Pace, Duration, Calories Burned) as well as per-kilometre (Split-Time) … but for that it just lists the time of the kilometre, nothing more detailed. I also have a Notes field, so for example a kilometre jogged will be so noted. I should mention that until now, I have only recorded the temperatures for the walks on days when I mentioned the temperature in my journal. I did not keep track otherwise, but I will do so going forward.

    The spreadsheet will make it easier for me to look back and say ‘Okay, this is the time I need to beat’ when I want to challenge myself. It will also help me see progress as I lose weight. Remember, while the numbers on the scale are great, it is the non-scale victories that really matter; the pace of my last few walks is nearly a minute better than my first few walks not only because I am used to it, but also because I am carrying less weight on those walks. Also, the clothes that I am able to wear on my walks is a huge victory… the tank top I wore yesterday was tight, but three months ago it was unwearable.

    Statistics will keep me challenging myself… hopefully I will be able to get my numbers down even further as I lose more weight.

    I broke no records on my walk today, except that my cumulative weekly distance is 25km, besting my previous one-week record of 19km. I made a mistake on my footwear, but I also think that three hard walks in four days is pushing my limits, and I cannot expect to be breaking records every day. The reason I was able to best all of my previous records Monday is because I had not walked in ten days, and I was well and truly rested. I am not planning on taking breaks like that… but a day or two might be in order.

    • Distance: 8.0 km (8.0 km)
    • Duration: 1:26:40 (1:23:48 minutes)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 10:50 (10:28)
    • Steps: 9.8k (10.1k)
    • Calories burned: 460 (464)
    • Elevation gain: 29.8m (29.3)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 114 (120)

    I should mention that I was truly done after 7km. In truth, I was probably pushing myself at 6km, and the split-pace times for my last two clicks reflects that – 11m04s and 11m39s respectively. I knew I was done at seven, and I stopped to take a bit of a break, ruing the fact that I was still one kilometre from home. Fortunately, I know the truth to the aphorism, ‘No pain, no gain.’ I want to succeed, and a little fatigue never hurt anyone

    Yes, my original plan had been to skip walking today and head to Taekwondo this evening. I was not thinking this morning, and I headed out. Taekwondo will have to wait until Tuesday.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Let’s Go!

    Everyone who has ever run or jogged knows that it is hard on the knees; everyone who has jogged while overweight knows that every pound extra adds more strain on the knees. That is why I do not plan to start jogging – or at least, going for long jogs – until I am under 300-pounds. It could cause long-term damage that would require surgery to repair.

    With that said, I decided today to just test my legs… and frankly, my lungs. So, for Kilometre Number Two of today’s 8km workout, on a stretch of road I knew to be straight and flat, I turned it out. My intention was to jog one and only one kilometre… and that is what I did. I did it in 8m38s, which is not terrible for a man of my size who has not jogged in two years.

    As I predicted yesterday, it is another scorcher out there, with the temperatures hovering around 31° Celsius (87° Fahrenheit). I took a bottle of water, but I also took a break at the end of my third kilometre. I do not like to do that, but I also know that the jog put more pressure on my system than just walking, and I do not want to be stupid about it. I also paused my tracker for a few seconds at around the 6.25km mark, but that was because I was at a red light, and could not safely go forward.

    As I predicted, I did not set any records on today’s walk. I said I was hoping to walk seven kilometres in under 1h15m. If we completely remove the kilometre I jogged, I missed that mark by six seconds. Of course, if we include it, then I beat the mark by 2m11s. Either way, I am extremely happy with the results… and getting hot and sweaty does not bother me!

    • Distance: 8.0 km (9.03 km)
    • Duration: 1:23:48 (1:33:28 minutes)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 10:28 (10:21)
    • Steps: 10.1k (10.8k)
    • Calories burned: 464 (524)
    • Elevation gain: 29.3m (34.1)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 120 (116)

    These numbers include the kilometre jogged, so technically, the Average Cadence would be a record… but I am not counting it because I should be competing against myself comparing apples to apples.

    My housekeeper is coming this afternoon, and it will be nice to have the place tidied up a bit. Other than that, the only plans I have for the rest of the day revolve around sitting my balcony, reading my book, and more than likely smoking a cigar. I am preparing a nice piece of fish and a salad for lunch… but before I do that, it is definitely time to hit the showers.

  • And What a Walk!

    Speaking with Leslie today (and over the last little while) I have started to fully understand that I need exercise for a few reasons. It crucial for my weight loss strategy, there is no question that exercise is a critical component to losing weight and getting back into shape. That is an obvious and direct benefit.

    There is a less obvious (if equally critical) benefit to exercising. I know that food is an addiction, and I have to break that unhealthy relationship with food. Leslie reminded me (several times) that if I have been turning to food (and mostly unhealthy foods) to deal with stress, anxiety, sadness, and depression then I need a different go-to that I can use to replace food in those moments of despair and desperation.

    I have known my friends Rick and Isolina (The Beard and The Munchkin) nearly twenty-five years. He has been for many years the most faithful and constant reader of my main blog (www.garvis.ca) and has watched trends in my life. He pointed out to me a couple of weeks ago (yet again) that he can tell when I am back at my Taekwondo training from my tone… not only when we talk, but in my writing on my blogs and on Facebook. I know that he is right… although I am going to put in one slight amendment to that statement. I am more upbeat when I am in training… whether that be walking, running, weight training, or of course my primary sport, Taekwondo.

    (Rick is going to read that and within a day I am going to get a phone call from him saying ‘You know, you are probably right… but it is even more clear when you are in Taekwondo; I know that you love it and it shows.’ I love you, Rick!)

    Okay… so if working out in general and Taekwondo in particular are activities that lift my spirits, then why shouldn’t I turn to them as a crutch? ‘Hey, I am having a really terrible day today… I’ll go for a long walk and maybe I’ll feel better.’ Or: ‘Wow, what a crappy day. Fortunately, I can go to a Taekwondo class or two this evening, and that will help me work out my aggressions.’

    It is a question of shifting my go-to from eating bad foods to making healthy choices.

    By the way, if I do that, there will be another added benefit to my general mood. I am always in a better mood when my weight is down. Yes, this morning was the exception to that rule, but sometimes things really do get that bad. Okay, so if I am in a better mood when my weight is trending down, then exercising instead of eating will prevent weight gain and usually cause weight loss. As I wrote in my article ‘One Pound Lost is Three Pounds of Progress’ (republished on my blog March 30, 2022), every pound that I lose not only means that pound, but it also represents the pound that I could have stayed the same, and the pound that I could have gained. Lower weight equals happier Mitch. It really is that simple.

    I started today, and as the title of this entry alludes to, I had one hell of a walk. I don’t know if it was because of the motivation, because I weigh less than I have in years, or if it that I spent ten hours in the car yesterday, or that I have not walked in eleven days. I do know that I am wearing a new pair of running shoes (thanks Leslie!) and that my feet were feeling fine from beginning to end, and that I have a lot of crap in my head that I am trying to sort out. I also know that today’s walk broke a few records. Here are the numbers:

    • Distance: 9.03 km (7. 5 km)
    • Duration: 1:33:28 (1:22:42 minutes)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 10:21 (11:01)
    • Steps: 10.8k (9.3k)
    • Calories burned: 524 (429)
    • Elevation gain: 34.1m (28m)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 116 (112)

    There is a lot of bold text there because yes, each one of those is a record. I beat my previous best distance by 1.5km, which of course means that it was 16m25s longer in duration. My previous best pace was 10m37s per kilometre. Today it was a full 16s per kilometre better. In fact, each of my first seven kilometres was well faster than that, and had I stopped after five kilometres, my pace was actually 10m05s per kilometre!

    Yes, I kicked butt out there on my walk, and I am proud of it.

    I do not know if I will walk tomorrow because it is a Taekwondo day (as are all Tuesdays and Thursdays). What I might do is go for a lighter 5km walk… I won’t push myself; I will just do it to get a little more exercise than just the classes. I have to decide how I am going to do that, but we will see.

    I suppose there is another ulterior motive for an extra workout tomorrow… the following day is my fortnightly weigh-in, and it would be good to show progress. As it is, this morning I weighed 2/10ths of a pound more than I did on my previous weigh-in.

    That is another attitude I have to be cognizant of. I cannot act ‘business as usual’ for ten days, and then in the days leading up to my doctor’s visit push myself to get back on track. While weight loss is indeed a marathon and not a sprint, I do not know a lot of marathon runners who slack off for any amount of time during a race. I cannot either. Yes, there will be moments of weakness; what is most important is recognizing them and recovering from them as quickly as possible. All important lessons.

    I would love to push for a huge weight loss between now and the end of the summer, and so I am going to stay close to home. By that I mean I am going to avoid social situations where I am tempted to take peanuts or hamburgers or whatever else. Happily, I have a month-long teaching contract starting next Monday, which will also keep me focused and disciplined. It would be wonderful if Leslie were to come for a visit or if I were to go to visit her during that month, but unlike so many of my friends, Leslie encourages me to stay on track and to eat healthy. After all, I hope she wants to have me around for many years to come.

    As I write this, I realize the following:

    1. I have not showered since coming in from my walk. Yuck.
    2. I have ingested precisely one meal replacement shake today, which means that with the 524 calories that I burned on my walk, I am in a deficit of 299 calories.
    3. I have to get my butt in gear and go pick up Princess Sophie.

    Have a great afternoon folks!

  • Day 170

    It is not fair that when you have a great diet day, you wake up the following morning and your weight is not down (or is even a little up). However, as Leslie keeps telling me, the chart of a diet’s progress is never a straight downward line, rather it is a squiggly snaking line trending downward; as long as it is trending down, I am on track. Also, after a few days of tremendous drops, it is normal for the progress to level out for a few days. I know that I am doing well on my program, and Leslie continues to point out the progress that she is seeing in me. Yay!

    I ate mostly well yesterday, although if I were to add up my cheats, they would include a Japanese biscuit, a quarter of Leslie’s tuna sandwich at lunch, and four boneless chicken nuggets at dinner (Leslie ordered ten, and knowing how much I love wings, she gave me what she did not finish). Even put together, those three things would not amount to an egregious weight gain. Yes, I am up a little bit this morning… but since a week ago today, I am down a lot. That is the trend, and that is what matters!

    My walk was a good one, and I have to remember that not every measure of success is numeric. Yes, my pace was slower than it was the previous day, but that does not take into account the fact that I went for the walk despite my legs still feeling the previous day’s walk. It also does not account for the higher temperatures. Additionally, my thighs are still chaffed because for my first walk of the week I did not wear the proper shorts. It was a longer walk than I have done, and I am very happy with it.

    • Distance: 7.5 km (7.25 km)
    • Duration: 1:22:42 (1:17:03 minutes)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 11:01 (10:37)
    • Steps: 9.3k (8.8k)
    • Calories burned: 429 (419)
    • Elevation gain: 28m (27m)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 112 (114)

    I made a scrumptious omelet for breakfast this morning. To change it up a bit, I decided to cook an all-beef hotdog into it, which of course meant no cheese. While the hotdog was good, Leslie and I agree that it is not nearly as good as the all-beef salami I used to buy. The difference is that I had the hotdog in the house, and I do not need to go buying a kilo of salami for one meal… because of course we know that it will turn into several meals over not nearly a long enough time.

    For lunch I plan to make a chicken salad. I have been marinating two chicken breasts in Mojo for the last day and a half. I plan to bake them in the air fryer, and then chop it up and then blend it with some onions and dill, and then mix it with mayonnaise. In a few minutes Leslie and I are going to the supermarket, and I will pick a couple of very nice and fresh buns to make sandwiches.

    We are driving to Strathroy for dinner; Leslie is going to meet my god children! Today is Douglas’ birthday, and we have some very exciting presents for him… and of course for Cynthia as well. I haven’t seen them (or their parents) since April, and it will be wonderful to spend time with them. Amanda is aware of my dietary requirements with regard to religion, but with regard to the weight loss plan, the best I can hope for is to be able to exercise moderation. Cam will try to ply me with scotch… I will try to be good though.

    Tomorrow is the ‘big’ birthday party that my friends are throwing for me. Leslie and I will start the day with a reasonable breakfast (or brunch), and then we will drive out to Cambridge for the festivities. I do not plan to be good, but I also do not intend to gorge myself.

    It feels good to be able to close the week knowing that I am tremendously down from a week ago… especially with the travel, the birthday celebrations, the stress and anxiety of so many things. I do not expect to lose seven pounds most weeks… but if I can lose two to three pounds per week, I will be a very happy man.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 169

    What a great day yesterday was! I got amazing news from my doctor (huge weight loss), I spent a lot of the day with my loving wife (who had to work, but she was still here); I went for an amazing power walk with these tremendous stats!

    • Distance: 7.25 km (5.00 km)
    • Duration: 1:17:03 (54:41 minutes)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 10:37 (10:54)
    • Steps: 8.8k (6.1k)
    • Calories burned: 419 (288)
    • Elevation gain: 27m (16m)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 114 (112)

    Being able to cut 17 seconds off my per-kilometre pace felt great. Yes, I was pushing myself… but I should always be pushing myself! The encouragement comes at one-kilometre intervals when my phone reads off my time for the last kilometre… and how far I have gone. My fourth kilometre yesterday was my best per-km yet… 10m12s. By the seventh kilometre I was back down to 10m42s, but that is still an amazing pace.

    I should mention that at the end of the fourth kilometre, I stopped for a few minutes. I forgot to bring a bottle of water with me, and so I stopped at the gas station on the corner and bought one. Unfortunately, their computers were down, and so everything was slow. I did not intend for it to be a seven- or eight-minute break, but I am not too upset by it.

    I came home and took a shower (obviously). Leslie and I then got dressed up and she took me out for a birthday dinner at The Keg, which was delicious! I did not go crazy; I started with a Caesar salad, and then had the 12-ounce New York Strip Steak with mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes. It was a very nice treat! For dessert, the waitress (who is not a collectible!) brought a complimentary piece of Billy Miner Pie, which was absolutely sinful. Leslie and I shared it, and I appreciated the help because… yeah, had I eaten it alone I could imagine the number on the scale this morning would not have been a good one.

    Yes, after all that, the number on the scale was down! Not by much, but down is better than up, right? I will take it happily!

    This evening Leslie and I are going to meet my ex-wife and sons for dinner. She has met my son the elder, but this will be the first time she meets my son the younger and Theresa. It feels awkward to say the least. We will get through it, but to make it more palatable for my son, we are going to a restaurant which he loves… and where there will be a lot of temptation to eat poorly. I remember taking my son to Buffalo Wild Wings a couple of times while on diet, and I have been able to resist the temptation to splurge. This evening the temptation will be greater because of the stress of the meeting.

    Because I know that I cannot go nuts, and I cannot let my guard down, I decided to plan ahead. I went to their website and decided that I will order the grilled chicken salad. It has 640 calories and is pretty high in fat, but it is still a smarter choice than… well, anything else on the menu. Planning ahead is often a key success factor with dieting, and I think this was a smart choice. Leslie told me that she woke up in the middle of the night and had the thought that our choice of venue would be dangerous to my diet. I told her that I was planning to eat well and surprised her when I told her I was going to order a salad. As I always say… Lead me not to temptation! I know exactly where to find it.

    It is nearly 2:00pm and we are not leaving until 5:15pm. Leslie still has to work, so I am going to go out for another walk. I really want to keep that habit going. One thing I learned last night is that of the several pair of athletic shoes that I own, the ones I wore yesterday are not conducive to power-walking. Indeed, shortly after the 5km mark my feet started to complain about them. I will switch them out for a different pair for today. As well, Leslie just ordered a new pair of shoes for me which look like they will be much more comfortable.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 162

    It felt great to get onto the scale this morning and be back down below the last threshold I was under, then popped back above briefly. Of course, the Chinese food I had for lunch today probably won’t do me any favours, but every once in a while, you gotta splurge.

    My fifth walk in Texas went very well, albeit different than I originally planned it. My intention, as I mentioned yesterday, was to walk eight kilometres today. That did not happen. However, I picked up the pace! With the exception of the first, each kilometre was at or below 11 minutes. The best one was my fourth kilometre, which I clocked at 10m41s! I knocked out five kilometres in under fifty-five minutes, and that is nothing to sneeze at. Yes, three of my Canadian walks had a slightly better cadence, but there was only one walk that I have done with a better average pace.

    • Distance: 5.00 km (7.00 km)
    • Duration: 54:41 (1:19:42 minutes)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 10:54 (11:23)
    • Steps: 6.1k (8.7k)
    • Calories burned: 288 (396)
    • Elevation gain: 16m (31m)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 112 (110)

    Leslie’s friend and I are going to the movies in the evening, but before that I am going to head down to my new cigar lounge for a couple of hours. I am looking forward to getting to know the people there, and that will take time… especially since I am not going to be in town very much until mid-September.

    By the way, there are some things that I do not really discuss in these entries, but suffice it to say that Leslie has noticed a difference in my body this last week. Yay!

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 161

    I did not lose any weight this morning. I did not gain any either, so I am happy… especially knowing that not only did I have fried chicken nuggets with lunch, but also had a couple of (small) cookies, and then at 10:15pm Leslie and I shared a bag of microwave popcorn. Every day that I do not gain anything back after cheating the day before is a success.

    On my walk today I expanded my radius, as I have done every walk so far. While the distance I walked today is exactly what it was Monday, I did a bigger square. The difference is that when I arrived back at the apartment complex, on Monday I still had another half-kilometre to walk, while today I got to the door of our apartment at exactly seven kilometres. I am going to try for an extra kilometre tomorrow, but I need to look at a map to see how I am going to do that. It would not be hard to say ‘Oh, I’ll walk one more block’ only to find out it adds an extra three kilometres to the walk. I am sure I could walk 10km… but no at a respectable pace. Here are today’s stats:

    • Distance: 7.00 km (7.00 km)
    • Duration: 1:19:42 (1:21:17 minutes)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 11:23 (11:36)
    • Steps: 8.7k (8.7k)
    • Calories burned: 396 (287)
    • Elevation gain: 31m (28m)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 110 (106)

    If you have not yet figured it out, the numbers in brackets are the statistics from my previous walk, and not an average or whatever. I am happy with the progress that I am making, but I am especially happy with the increased frequency of my walks. From my first walk (April 2) to my last walk in Canada (May 5) I walked four times, for a total of twenty-one kilometres. Since arriving in Dallas (and recovering from Covid) my first walk was on June 23; as of today (June 29) I have walked four times as well… for a total of twenty-three kilometres. My goal is to keep the cadence up, and gradually improving the distance. I am curious to see what effect the cooler Canadian weather will have on my pace and endurance when I arrive back next week. I am excited to keep going. As well, when I am back in Canada I will get back to my Taekwondo. I expect that between the walking and the martial arts, I will start to see significant victories… both on the scale and off.

    Today has been a good day for me with regard to food… so far. I had cereal for breakfast, which is not really a good start but is also not terrible. For lunch I had a piece of leftover fish with some cauliflower, and some macaroni and cheese (a very small amount). For dinner I made a delicious arctic char that I marinated in lemon juice all day, and Leslie prepared some rice. I suspect that between the food and the exercise, I should be happy with the number on the scale in the morning.

    Speaking of scales, I made an appointment for next Wednesday to see the doctor. He will weigh me, but I also have a couple of other things to discuss with him. Say what you want about the Canadian national health system, when I want to see my doctor it is never a long wait… and I have never gotten a bill from him!

    I joined a cigar lounge today. I spent the afternoon there chatting with some of the members and staff, and of course smoking cigars. I have always said that cigars are a great way to get to know people. When I first moved to California, my then-girlfriend was shocked by how quickly I was able to meet people. Three or four of the people I met my first month in California are still friends to this day. Today I met a couple of great people that I look forward to getting to know. Tomorrow I will head down there for a couple of hours again, but I am going to a movie with a friend of ours in the early evening, so it will only be a quick cigar.

    Have a great day folks, and stay positive!

  • Day 159

    My weight keeps creeping back up. This morning it was back to where it was the day that I left Canada. I guess there was a weight loss effect to Covid, and I have recovered. I am not worried… I know that I am snacking on some things that I should not, but I am also eating mostly pretty well, and I am walking a lot. Today’s walk was my longest since I got here and tied for my longest. Here’s the breakdown:

    • Distance: 7.00 km (5.00 km)
    • Duration: 1:21:17 (56:10 minutes)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 11:36 (11:09)
    • Steps: 8.7k (6.1k)
    • Calories burned: 394 (287)
    • Elevation gain: 28m (25m)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 106 (108)

    As we can see, I am not walking as fast as I could, but I think the distance is important. Tomorrow I will try to speed it up a little… my first 7km walk I had a pace nearly 40 seconds per kilometre better than I did today. I should also remember that it was probably 15 degrees (Celsius) cooler than it was today. Yes, there is room for improvement… but I also have accomplished something!

    Breakfast today was cereal. Tomorrow I will go back to preparing omelets, which I suspect is a lot healthier for me. Lunch was leftover salmon with salad… and two (very small) Japanese chocolate chip cookies for dessert. They were so good! I will make something reasonably healthy for dinner… although I am thinking of making air fried potatoes. We shall see

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 156

    It is hot out there! Today is an important day, but I started out with a bowl of cereal, and then I went for a walk. I wanted to push myself further than I went yesterday, and I did… to a point.

    • Distance: 5.00 km (4.00 km)
    • Duration: 56:10 minutes (46:17 minutes)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 11:09 (11:33)
    • Steps: 6.1k (5k)
    • Calories burned: 287 (226)
    • Elevation gain: 25m (22m)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 108 (108)

    I did take a bottle of water with me today and thank G-d I did because it was hot! I was hoping to go further, but I realized a couple of things. Firstly, I needed to pee after the second kilometre. Secondly, it was hot out there! My phone registered it at 35°, and it is going up to 38° today. Wow.

    The bathroom scale continues to be good to me. This morning I was down another pound and a half… despite the fact that I ate pizza for lunch, and chicken wings for dinner. I did not gorge myself, but those are foods that one does not associate with weight loss. I also had a dram of whisky with my cigar last night.

    Leslie have an important meeting to head out to now, so I will post more tomorrow. Have a great day folks!