Losing a part of me

Category: Weight Loss

  • Day 621

    After synchronizing my outing to the apps yesterday I had indeed completed the 1,023km challenge for the year. When writing my article yesterday I wrote that there were 18,951 others who had completed it so far. While that number (as of yesterday afternoon) had increased to 18,990, I was even further ahead, at 18,844th place. I was also vaulted to the top 9.16% of the roughly 206,000 people who are signed up for the challenge. I consider that a huge non-scale victory. I am also not planning on slowing down; Yes, this week is going to be very busy, and it is unlikely I will get out for exercise before the weekend.

    I did not have a very good day yesterday. Sometimes crap happens and you just have to do your best to take it and roll with it. I did not do a good job of that yesterday and I feel terrible about it. I have to remember to keep my cool at all times… even when – or maybe especially when – I feel I am being unfairly attacked and my blood is starting to boil. That is something I have worked on in the past and I think I am going to have to revisit those exercises.

    I woke up this morning expecting my weight to be up. I did not cheat yesterday. I had a very small portion of peanuts on my way home from the barber, and because of that I skipped my final meal replacement of the day; I did not think my weight would be up because of that, only as a corrective adjustment to the previous few days of massive drops. I returned home from California a week ago this evening and weighed myself the following morning; I am 5.4 lbs. down in less than a week, which is pretty massive. I followed my morning rituals as normal and when I stepped onto the bathroom scale, I was elated to see my weight was down once again. It was not the massive two-pound drop I have seen these last two days, but it was down nonetheless. I am happy that I continue to make progress.

    I will be teaching all day today, and it is another course that is new to me. I am not nearly as worried as I was a few weeks ago when I taught the new cybersecurity class, but I am still nervous. I am relieved though that I was able to get the labs to work this weekend. I am especially happy that I was able to find all of the pitfalls in the labs (there are many of them) and work my way through them so that I will be able to guide my students through them as they come up. Teaching cloud technologies that evolve at a much faster pace than do the training materials can be a challenge sometimes, but this time I am up to that challenge.

    I am not leaving the house today, save to take Her Floofness for a walk. Who knows though? My class ends around 4:30pm and I just might fit a good jog/walk in there in the early evening!

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 620

    It couldn’t be. Could it? I stepped off the bathroom scale last night before bed and saw a number that was lower than it had been when I weighed myself in the morning. Even taking into account numerous factors such as another great walk/jog, eating peanuts but using them to replace two meal replacements, and a very substantial bowel movement (my first in a few days) it was still unlikely that I would have two huge weight loss days in a row. It made me a little excited to wake up to see what I would weigh after a good night sleep!

    The good night sleep was not to happen. I tossed and turned for hours before finally getting a few fitful hours of shuteye. I had too much on my mind and all that came together to fend off Mr. Sandman most of the night. When my alarm sounded I pressed the snooze button hopefully… but getting back to sleep was unlikely.

    Before I took Her Floofness out for her walk I stepped onto that bathroom scale which is so often finicky and cruel, but these last few days has been generous and kind. I was thrilled to see another two-pound day-over-day drop… my second in as many days! Unlike yesterday I did not wait to return from walking The Princess to walk over to the fridge so that I could cross off another number (also my second time in as many days). Another day in Best Weight Everland feels just right for me!

    I have a recollection from when I lived on the kibbutz (before I was conscripted) that I stepped onto the scale and weighed precisely 100kg. I am sure I stepped onto scales for the Army and all that, but I have no recollection of any other weigh-in while living in Israel. It was just that number that stuck in my mind. A few months ago I remember writing that in 2005 my weight had dropped to 255 lbs. which converts to 115.6 lbs. This morning, for the first time in my adult life, my weight dropped below 110kg. I still have a long way to go before I drop to that pre-Army weight, but I am on the right track. I have not lost quite 70kg yet… but I am right there! 69.66kg does not have the same ring as 153 lbs., but it is a huge number and one that I am proud of. Now let’s see if I can beat that tomorrow or Wednesday, okay?

    There is more to celebrate today… or at least to recognize:

    • My BMI has dropped below 31. According to the calculators when I lose another 8 lbs. I will no longer be classified as obese.
    • I have crossed the 99% threshold in the MapMyFitness.com challenge for 2023… assuming I go for a walk/jog today, and assuming that outing surpasses 7.7km, I will officially earn a The Finish Line badge for hitting 1,023km in 2023. As of 10:55am this morning there are 18,951 participants who have accomplished that. I am currently sitting at 19,227th place. Assuming I am not going to be the only participant who is on the cusp of it who will surpass that threshold today I do not know how much higher I will climb… but I’m going to do it today!

    Speaking of things I need to do today: I am going for a haircut shortly, following same I will come home and do some prep-work for tomorrow’s class. I am teaching this evening, but it is not a class that I have to prepare for as I have taught it many times, and it is with the same group I have been teaching since July. After a couple of hours of prep I will go for my walk/jog, which may well be the only one I do until the weekend (I am teaching tomorrow through Friday).

    I should get going though because I have to stop at a bank to get cash to pay the barber, or else I will have to look sheepish and walk to the bank after the haircut. No thank you, it is easier to just be prepared.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 615

    Mission accomplished. In the lead-up to my weeklong trip to California I stated at different times that I was hoping to return to Canada having gained less than five pounds, and that I was hoping that my first weigh-in after returning to Canada I would still weigh under 250 pounds. This morning, after a long day of travel followed by a very bad night of tossing and turning in bed, I stepped onto the bathroom scale and weighed 246.4 lbs., a scant two pounds heavier than my last weigh-in the morning I left! (It is also worth noting that I had always said weigh-in did not really count, as it was done at 3:20am; in fact I am only one pound heavier than I was the previous day)

    I did not sleep well at all last night. If I did not have such a busy morning, I would likely have gone right back to bed following my morning rituals and then Her Royal Floofness’ walk. That is not possible as I have a 9:00am appointment with my doctor, followed by an 11:00am appointment with my tailor. Between those two I will return home to prepare my breakfast (the only meal I will have today as I return to my weight loss program). After the second appointment I will likely come home and try to sleep for a couple of hours. I will be teaching from 6-9pm this evening and I do not want to fall asleep in class.

    I will be back in a little under two hours (although for you the reader it will seem much quicker!) to report my official doctor’s weigh-in. I am 6.2 lbs. down on my bathroom scale from the morning of my last weigh-in; hopefully the scale at the doctor’s office will reflect a similar drop!

    —

    I am not in the least disappointed to have only dropped 3.1 kg since my last weigh-in at the doctor’s office. Had I not taken the break from my regimen during the last week it likely would have been closer to 5kg, but I have no regrets. I said in advance that I would not, and I am not going back on my word. Two of the nurses told me how fabulous I look!

    I came home for a quick breakfast before heading into Hamilton to meet my clothier. I picked out four shirts and one sports jacket, and when he asked me if I my measurements would be the same as they were in March, I was very happy to say that they were not. I am a full four inches smaller around the chest and around my waist… from March! That feels amazing. I would love to be able to see another similar drop over the next six months… if not even more.

    I decided to spend a couple of hours chatting with my buddy on his patio before coming home. My intention was to come home and take a two-hour nap. What I ended up doing was going out for a (nearly) two-hour walk… and seven of the 11.25kms were under 9 min/km! My average pace was an amazing 8m47s per kilometre, making this the second outing that I can claim that in the last few. It felt great… even though I probably should have been resting. Yes, I started my class a few minutes ago (we started with a lab activity) and I am tired… but I am not sleepy. I know I will get a good night sleep tonight, but today was essentially a ‘recover from travel, a week of vacation… and all the bad habits I tried to not fall fully back into’ day.

    Will my weight on the bathroom scale tomorrow morning be back in the best weight ever territory? I do not know. What I am pretty sure of is that the next time I go to see the doctor I want to weigh under 110kg. I have to remember to call to make an appointment though, which I forgot to do when I was leaving. I will call tomorrow before I head to my dentist appointment.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 606

    I wrote yesterday that it had taken nine days from crossing off 250 lbs. to crossing off the next number (248.0) on the sheet on my fridge. Even with the amazing exercise I did yesterday I did not expect that I would be taking another triumphant walk to that sheet again before I returned from California. Knowing that I did not stick to the program yesterday I was doubtful I would see any progress on the bathroom scale… although thanks to the exercise I did not expect to lose any ground either. How thrilled was I then to step onto that appliance with which I have a longstanding love/hate relationship and see a drop? It was no minor drop either… I weigh 2.2 lbs. less this morning than I did yesterday! While it will be impossible to know for sure, another half-decent (and not even extreme) drop from today to tomorrow will mean that I am actually going to fly to California below 245 lbs… and I will have officially lost one hundred and fifty pounds.

    Why impossible, you might ask? With my flight scheduled for 7:00am I will be leaving the house at 3:30am to drive to the airport. Even if I was not planning to pack the bathroom scale to take with me, a 3:00am weigh-in is meaningless. I will step onto the scale Wednesday morning in the hotel room when I know my weight will be up a pound or two because of the travel day, but I will still be in good stead compared to where I was a week ago. During the trip to California having the scale there will help me (as I have discussed), but I do not expect to return from the trip weighing less than I did this morning. My goal is to not weigh over 250 lbs.

    I went for my longest walk in months yesterday and I felt amazing for it. I will go for another outing this afternoon, although I will consciously not exert myself to the extent that I did yesterday. The 15km that I walked yesterday was amazing and it felt great, but I did not have to spend the following day on airplanes. I will plan for a 10-12 kilometre walk today, and no more.

    The timing of yesterday’s walk screwed with my meal replacements. I had intended to prepare a meal replacement before going out, but something distracted me. When I returned it was after 4:00pm. While this was not my plan at the time what I ended up doing was this: I had a meal replacement immediately after my shower, and then at 9:30pm (way too late, I know!) I made an omelette. The omelette was not only an aberration from the program, but it was also way too late, which is why I was fully expecting to not lose weight today. I should mention that while both of these facts are true, I was still allowed (according to my modified program) 450 calories on the day; the omelette I prepared accounts for about 350 calories, with 27g of protein and only 14g of carbohydrates. As far as cheating goes, this was not much of one!

    I have to pack my suitcase today! I am very excited about that. No, I do not enjoy packing. When packing means that I will be seeing my wife shortly then it is a happy chore indeed! Speaking of my wife, I am going to take a bit of time this morning to have a video cigar date with her. After today our next cigar date will be together. Yay!

    The next journal entry I write will be from the airport tomorrow morning. I know that I will be eating my breakfast in the airport, and I will be careful to not indulge. I must not allow myself those breakfast potatoes which I do not love but never seem able to resist. I will do so tomorrow. Wish me luck!

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 601

    I was relieved this morning to see that my weight dropped back below 250 lbs. on the bathroom scale. While it did not get back to where it had been two days ago, it was close; tomorrow I will be back to my best weight ever… as long as I can stay on track.

    I was not able to say this yesterday, but I think I got a pretty decent night’s sleep last night. I was in bed by 10:30pm and asleep by 11:15pm or so. Most nights I do not fall asleep before midnight, and knowing first that my alarm was set for 6:00am, and second that today would be another 14-hour workday (with twelve hours of lecturing), I really wanted to get some rest. Mission accomplished. I woke up mostly refreshed and was even able to move my bowels before my shower and then shave. I truly feel like a new man. I am ready to face the day!

    Realizing that I am heading to California in a few days, and that I have not done so in a while, I am going to collect the majority of my dress clothes tomorrow so that in the evening I can take them to the dry cleaner. I want my wardrobe to be as fresh and proper as I am when I see my wife next week. I would do it today but I know that it is far too busy a day to fit it in. I am also thinking about trying a new dry cleaner that I passed during my walk over the weekend. I just have to remember that decision when I get into the car tomorrow before my autopilot drives me to the same spot.

    It is a lovely day outside which I will get to look at it periodically through the balcony doors during my breaks. I will be at my desk until 9:15pm so it will only be brief glimpses… and hopefully I will get to take Her Floofness out for a walk at lunch.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 597

    I had a feeling last night that I was not going to break the 250 lbs. milestone today. In fact I told Leslie that I was pretty sure I was going to lose ground… that somehow, I was going to gain weight this morning. Whether that was because of the timing of my meal replacements or whatever else it might have been, I had a bad feeling. I was right. I stepped onto the bathroom scale and was up nearly half a pound. Sigh. Weight loss can be a frustrating endeavour sometimes.

    Look, I know that I have not been nearly so regimented throughout as I might have been. I know that had I not faltered, cheated, fallen off, taken breaks, and so on… well, it would not have taken me so long to lose what I have. I just see the day – Day Five Hundred and Ninety-Seven. I want to achieve that next major milestone – under Two Hundred and Fifty Pounds – before Day Six Hundred. That gives me three more days to do it, and I am going to do everything that I can to do it. What does that consist of? Frankly, there is nothing I can do that I have not already been doing. I will make sure I get good exercise outings in today and tomorrow because I know that this coming week that will not be possible. I will continue to not cheat on the program. I am going to try to sleep well and live healthy, and hopefully in the next two or three days I will reach it.

    For those of you who think that once I hit this milestone I might slack off, you should know one more thing. At 250 lbs. I have lost One Hundred and Forty-Five Pounds. That is absolutely a lot of weight. That leaves me exactly five pounds from my next major milestone… a 150 lbs loss. It will take a bit longer of course. My hope is to be able to reach that one before I get on the plane next Tuesday, which gives me ten days to lose 5.4 lbs…. which is not unreasonable, although it is also not a certain lock. It would be nice!

    I killed it on the trails yesterday. Okay, most of my jog/walk was not done on trails but on streets. Wherever it was I think I did very well. I jogged the first two kilometres (which I had not been able to do the last few times) which is already a good start… but then for the next five kilometres walking I would jog the first 100-150 metres of each kilometre. All in all I think I did really well. Additionally I stopped into Fortino’s again, and once again I did not veer from my path. I bought a large bottle of water and mixed it with Gatorade Zero powder. I also needed some provisions – I ventured into the store and bought shampoo, conditioner and dish soap – which forced me to walk through those ever so tempting sections and past those oh so delicious snacks. I bought nothing other than my hair products and the dish soap, and not one peanut more. This despite knowing that in the evening we would welcome in the Sabbath, and that it would be so easy to buy a challah to bless. I walked into the store, I bought what I needed, and then I went to the tables adjacent the prepared food section where I prepared and enjoyed my Gatorade. I consider that a huge win.

    If you read my article yesterday and are wondering why I substituted my planned visit with a friend with a 13.2km jog/walk, then let me tell you that it was a fortuitous call from my buddy that allowed the change. He told me right after I posted the article that he had to cancel our meeting because his minor medical procedure, which would have had him home by 11:00am, was postponed to the mid-afternoon because… it doesn’t matter why, it just was. That freed up several hours of my day to be able to not only have two relaxing video dates with my wife (one mid-morning, one in the evening) but also to go out for some exercise. Of course, I was hoping that the extra push would be just what I needed to get me through that 250 lbs. milestone, but apparently not. No, I will need to wait another day or two or three for that. Grrrr.

    I have a few hours of prep work to do today and tomorrow for the class that I am delivering this week, so my plan is to stay close to home today. Tomorrow I am taking my son (the younger) for lunch which will be yet another challenge to face and to overcome. I have not veered from my program in ten days, and I would like to keep that streak going until the day I leave for California. At the very least I want to keep it going until I not only pass that heretofore never passed milestone, but I want to pass it with enough leeway that I would not be in danger of losing ground and popping above 250 lbs. because of one errant day.

    Of course I will not work too hard today; I will make sure to take time to remember the Sabbath, and I will relax with a cigar or two. If the weather holds up I might even head out for a walk/jog this afternoon.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 592

    I wanted to pick the bathroom scale up, throw it through the window, and shoot at it with an assault rifle. I don’t have a rifle, and I do not feel like having to pay for a broken window… and I do not want to be thrown out of my apartment for disruptive and violent behaviour… not to mention that I never want to be disruptive or violent. With that said, where the hell does it get off telling me that after not cheating at all (despite several temptations and opportunities) I actually gained nearly a pound from yesterday?

    Leslie is right though. I am complaining about one negative blip on an otherwise excellent streak. I am sure I will see that turn around tomorrow, especially if I stay true to the program today (as I have the last five days). My last cheat was Tuesday, and I will not cheat again. Today that is an easy promise to make – it is Labour Day, and the stores are closed. That surprised Leslie because in the USA stores are not shuttered today. Of course, I do have provisions in the house, but I will not be eating.

    What will I be doing? I will be studying. I will try to get out for some exercise. I will be smoking a cigar or two, I am sure. I will not be cheating.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 591

    And then there were four.

    With my drop this morning there were only four days in May when I weighed less than I did this morning. With every .2 drop that number will decrease by one. I am less than one pound heavier than I was at my best weight ever on May 27.

    Yesterday I wrote about two challenges that I was to face regarding my adherence to my program. I managed to turn one challenge into an opportunity. I wrote that: ‘. In the car I am simply driving, in a conveyance, with no stake in my success or failure.’ Okay. When I went to go to the store, I got to my car… and decided that instead of driving to Fortinos I would walk to Freshco. While my plans for the day would not allow for me to go for my exercise walk, walking to the supermarket would give me a couple thousand extra steps, and it would remind me that I was working hard to lose the weight. I won’t deny that Freshco does not have the same temptations (prepared foods and bulk nuts) as Fortinos, but they still have breads and so many other tasty opportunities to cheat. We had none of that yesterday morning thank you!

    The second challenge was my trip to Lyle’s. I had my meal replacement right before I left, but I was still hungry. The chewing gum I keep in the car helped me both on my way there and on the return trip. I was proud to tell Leslie when I arrived home that I passed by Bulk Barn and did not slow down.

    As I lay in bed chatting with her last night, I told her I had a fear that despite being good that I would see an increase in my weight this morning when I stepped onto the bathroom scale. I am not sure why, but I felt I had done something wrong… or maybe I did nothing wrong, but there are still going to be days when there is no forward progress. Last night’s fear was unfounded, but there will be days like that. I have to remember to take it in stride and not get upset when it does happen. In the meantime: on August 21 my weight was up 2.4 lbs. from two days earlier. Since then, it has dropped every single morning. Some days that drop was only .2 lb., but it dropped, nonetheless. Thirteen days in a row. That is a pretty good streak! I do not know if it will continue through this week, but it would be nice to be able to cross off that major milestone, not to mention the next two-pound increment, over the next few days.

    While sitting with Lyle, I did ask him once to stop talking about food. He understood that it was hard for me to hear it and still stay true to my program. I appreciate my friends being understanding.

    The Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), often referred to as the Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR), is how many calories one would burn in a day with no outside factors. In other words, what we need to consume to stay as we are. I do not know the science behind it and how it might be affected by different macronutrients such as starches, nor am I going to spend any time researching it. I was introduced to the concept when I first went to a weight management and diabetes clinic over a decade ago. For the test they insisted I not ingest any caffeine for a period of time before the test. My smart scale just pops a number into my chart, so I assume it is not quite so accurate. I do know that 591 days ago my chart shows my BMR at 2,884. Six days ago (Day 586) it dropped below 2,000. It had been under 2,000 for a few days in May, but jumped back above on May 29, I am hoping that this time it will remain under 2,000… now and forever.

    While I thought it would be a daytime encounter, it turns out that my friends and I are meeting for cigars at 6:00pm, which means that after yesterday’s respite I will be able to go for a walk today. If I prepare my first meal replacement at 1:00pm then I will head out at 1:30pm; I will be home by 3:00pm and will shower and rest for a bit before taking my second meal replacement around 5:15pm. I will be home by 9:00pm and will finish off my day with my last one. That, dear reader, is the plan. Now let’s see if I can stay true to it.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 589

    Yesterday I lamented to my wife that I was a bit miffed that the previous day (after having cheated the day before) I lost .6 lb., but yesterday (having stayed on track the day before) I only dropped .2 lb.; she joked that maybe the Peanut Karma lies in wait and takes a couple of days to strike… or something to that effect. I was hoping that it did not stick around too long. I did not cheat at all yesterday; I exercised (1.5km jogging, 10.5km walking). I told Leslie last night that I really hoped – nay, that I was going to be able to cross another number off from the list on the side of my fridge.

    This morning I woke up, did my morning routine (including a minor but nonetheless successful bowel movement), and then walked over to the bathroom scale. With a drop of .8 lb. from yesterday I did indeed drop enough to cross another number off! With that, I am now 1.8 lbs. from tying my best weight ever… and 2 lbs. from surpassing it, dropping below the major milestone of 250 lbs. at the same time. It is not outside the realm of possibility that I will achieve that by early next week, but certainly before next week is out. That is exciting indeed!

    After stepping off the scale I proceeded to get dressed, and when I put my pants on, I pulled the waist up over my hips, just like I said the other day that I wanted to start doing. Two hours later (including a 1.6km walk with a floof) and they are still holding in place. I consider that a very good sign. If it keeps up, then I am going to reconsider my plans for the Hong Kong tailor… I just might add a couple of pair of pants to my order… although that will significantly increase the cost. We shall see… having pants that fit properly is probably an important facet to one’s wardrobe.

    I had my first negative experience with buying and selling of the meal replacements yesterday. When I bought the shakes the other day, I ended up with four boxes of vanilla shakes which are not really to my liking. I had been thinking of selling them, although I had not done anything about it. Out of the blue someone from one of the Facebook groups I am in messaged me and asked if I had any to sell. The short version of the story is that first she tried to haggle with me on the price… even though the price I quoted is quite reasonable. She then told me at 6:00 that she would come to pick them up within half an hour, so I waited at home (even though Her Floofness was asking to go out). At 7:30 I messaged her and told her I would be selling them to someone else. She made every excuse and I feel sorry for her but if she got a message that her child was crying, and she needed to turn around then she could have taken fifteen seconds to message me that she had an emergency and would try to come later. She would not take my NO for an answer. I told her that she disrespected me twice (first by haggling, second by ghosting me) and that I would rather help someone respectful. She persisted, so I told her I was taking my dog for a walk… I would happily deal with my dig’s shit, but not with hers.

    Let me clarify something: I respect that everyone has crap going on in their lives, and I understand hardships and stumbles. If her nine-month-old child was throwing up then that really is too bad, and I feel for her. It is a very good reason to change your plans and it might even be a good reason to get within five minutes of your destination and then turn around to go home. It is not a good reason to ghost someone you made a commitment to. Had she texted me then I might have accommodated her. She only reached out to apologize after she saw on Facebook that I had told people she ghosted her. With all due respect, if she had time to be on Facebook then she could have found the time to text me.

    I have more studying to do today, so after the landscapers are finished outside, I will pick a cigar and sit outside with my laptop. Today’s forecast calls for sunny with a very comfortable high of 23°. Despite the chill that has been in the air the last few mornings, we are not quite done with summer just yet. The forecast high temperatures for the next week range from 27° to 33° and sunny every day… with the overnight lows only dropping below 20° twice. Considering the heat that my wife is enduring in Texas I think it laughable to call it a late-summer heatwave, but for Canada that is just what it is… and I will take full advantage of it, especially since it is a long weekend!

    I have stayed true to the program these last two days… and eight of the last nine. With how hard it has been I consider every day that I stay true to the program a huge victory, and I will do my best to extend that streak today. There may be a thousand opportunities to cheat, but I only have this one opportunity to stay true to my word and to keep on track.

    Speaking of streaks (or at least statistics): With this morning’s weight drop there are now only eight days (including today) when I have weighed at or less than what I do now. From May 23rd through May 28th my weight would drop from 251.8 lbs. to 250 lbs. even… and then bounce back up above 253 on the 29th. I have to figure out how to not let that happen again; I want to see my weight continue to drop, and the only way that I can make sure that happens is to stay disciplined and focused. Even when I am at my ideal weight (whatever that may be) I will have to remember that if I plan to stay there.

    On Day 564 I wrote about the bet my wife and I made. Last night I told her that I was changing the bet, seeing as it is clear that I have an advantage because of my metabolism. If she drops 25 lbs. before I drop 40 lbs. then she is the winner. She told me that was not fair, but I reminded her that I have already dropped eleven pounds to the six that she has dropped in the same period… and I have cheated several times in there. Frequent readers might remember my wondering if she might have made the bet to encourage me to stay on track; maybe giving her a point spread is my way of incentivizing her to stay true to the program… especially on days when it is so hard that you just want to give up. I’ll let you in on a little secret… I would be extremely happy if we tied on this bet!

    According to the online calculators I have 19 lbs. to go before my Body Mass Index (BMI) drops below 30, which is the threshold between overweight and obese. It is almost laughable that I am working hard to be overweight, but that is how the medical community sees my next goal after dropping below 250 lbs. Although I doubt I knew anything about BMI back then I have no recollection of ever being anything other than obese after the Army… and looking at the calculator I know that even when I was an elite soldier in the best shape of my life I would still have been classified as obese. To fall under the Normal category for my height I would have to weigh 194 lbs. or less. Before Basic Training I weighed 220 lbs. As I have written previously, the BMI scale does not take muscle mass into account. I do not know if I will ever drop to 194 lbs., or even if I want to try. What I do want is for my body weight to be healthy. As I have said before, I lived too many years ‘playing with the house’s money.’ The fact that I stayed healthy all these years despite my obesity… well, how long can I expect that to go on? No… it is time for me to be slim and healthy.

    I have not heard the power mowers and trimmers for a few minutes, so it is likely the landscapers have moved on. As such, so will I. As I am fond of saying, it is now Cigar O’Clock, and time for me to sit on the balcony to study.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 585

    I was surprised that I was able to cross off another number on the fridge this morning. That makes three numbers in four days, and the seventh day straight that my weight has dropped. I once again feel bad for Leslie who was not happy with the number she saw on the scale yesterday morning, even though she is working so much harder at the program than I am. I also owe her a big thank you, and I told her about it yesterday when we were chatting as she waited for her much-delayed flight.

    We left the apartment at 11:00am to drive to Cambridge to see Ryan (and his sister) and smoke cigars. It was a lovely afternoon, except I made a mistake. I left the house without taking meal replacements with me. I had eaten my usual omelette in the morning but that was all. Leslie offered to share one of her remaining American meal replacements with me, which we shared at around 1:00pm. We left Cambridge around 4:30pm which would have me dropping her at the airport by around 5:30pm, so without any traffic I would be getting home by 6:15pm or so.

    I was not going to make it. I was hungry and I was not going to be able to make it until 6:15pm. As we sat in traffic on the Trans Canada Highway, I was thinking to myself that I could drop her off art the airport and then look for a convenience store to buy a bag of peanuts. Leslie would be at the airport, and she wouldn’t need to know. She was gone, and so was her scrutiny which had kept me honest during her visit. I started to salivate as I anticipated with gusto the snack I would be enjoying within a short half-hour!

    We were probably fifteen minutes out from the airport when she turned to me and said, ‘Okay… so what are you not going to do tonight?’ Without hesitation I replied ‘Cheat! I will not cheat!’ That was the answer she was looking for. Satisfied, we spent the rest of the car ride basking in our last few minutes of togetherness before she would walk into the terminal.

    Princess Sophie and I drove straight home making no stops along the way. As soon as we got into the apartment, I prepared my meal replacement. I then texted her to let her know that I owed it to her that I did not fall off the program… even if for a minute. I also told her that I do not know what will happen today or tomorrow… but my success on Sunday I owed entirely to her – first for sharing her meal replacements with me, and then for inspiring me to not cheat in the evening. For as many times as I have credited her support and encouragement for my success, this was one more time that it was a specific incident rather than a general helping.

    Over the last couple of days we also discussed my wardrobe, and I made an appointment with the Hong Kong tailor who will be in Hamilton for two days in September – the day I fly back from California, and the next day. Leslie suggested colours for shirts – navy blue, green, and purple. I am surprised she says I look good in green but that is likely because after the Army I spent so much effort avoiding that colour that I started thinking it was just because I did not look good in it. I trust my wife’s sense of fashion and style better than my own, so I will look for something green! I hope that I can be at my lowest weight ever by then (it is precisely thirty days from today), even though I will just be back from spending a week in California where I will try to eat well, but I will not be sticking to the program.

    With regard to my progress: I am now four pounds from my best weight ever, and as that number shrinks so too does the number of days when I weighed less. My spreadsheet shows thirteen days when my weight was lower than this morning’s; with the exception of a single day in April, all of those were between May 20 and May 31. It took me eight days to drop from 256.2 (what I weighed on May 19) down to 250 lbs…. and then just five days for my weight to jump back to 254.6 lbs… my weight on June 1. My plan is to not fall off this time, and to lose as much as I can between now and October.

    There is nothing particular about October 1… other than it is the beginning of a month. With that said, now that I might be back on track, it is not a bad time to try to set some new short-term goals.

    • This week: Stay on track! I am seeing my doctor on Thursday, and I would love to see my best ever medical weigh-in. I could, in theory, stay put where I am now and achieve that… as long as I stripped naked and stepped onto her scale the same way I do my own every morning. To be safe, I would love to continue with my current pace of .8 lb. per day, but assuming that unrealistic I would be thrilled if I could lose another 1-2 lbs. in these next few days.
    • Within the next ten days (that is, by September 7) I would like to drop below 250 lbs. for the first time in my post-Army life.
    • If I can maintain a weight-loss pace of 3.5 lbs. per week (or .5 lb. per day) between now and Rosh Hashana (the evening of September 15) then I would weigh just under 245 lbs. by then!
    • Maintaining that pace, the day I pick my wife up from Los Angeles International Airport I would weigh 242 lbs.!
    • Even if my pace were to abate somewhat, at a .3 lb. per day average drop (2.1 lbs. per week) then I would still weigh 246.8 lbs. when I pick Leslie up at the airport on the 20th. Even that would be a success!
    • Knowing that the week in California will be a difficult one to stay on track, I am nevertheless hoping that my weight the morning of September 27 – that is, the day of my appointment with the tailors – I should weigh between 245-250 lbs., which would be as much as a twenty-seven pound loss from my last visit at the beginning of March.

    How can I achieve these short-term weight loss goals? It is simple, but not easy. I just have to stay on track and not veer from the path.

    Sometimes it is fun to dream, imagining what I could achieve if I never veered from the program. I plugged some numbers into my spreadsheet to see when I would drop to 220 lbs. losing an average of .3, .4, and .5 lb. per day. At .3 lb. per day I would weigh 219.8 on December 20. At .4 lb. per day I would weigh 220.0 on November 21. At .5 lb. per day I would weigh 220 lbs. on November 4. All it would take is dedication without faltering, and no matter which way it goes by the end of this calendar year I would be a very reasonable 220 lbs. Not a bad dream, huh? How about we try to get through the next week or two without faltering… then we can look past that.

    I have a lot of studying to do this week so most of the days I will spend either watching videos of classes or else reading. If the weather forecast for the week holds up, then a lot of that studying will be done on the balcony. It would not bother me one bit if I could smoke a couple of cigars while advancing my mind… all the while preparing for a few exams I have to take and then a couple of classes I need to be ready to teach. It should all be good fun!

    My plan is to do just that… stay on track, studying on the balcony and smoking my cigars, preparing my meal replacements as needed (and properly timed). Tomorrow, I have to go out as I have a haircut scheduled, but there is no reason for me to leave the apartment today except for taking Her Floofness for a walk. I was able to stay on track yesterday, so there is no reason why I shouldn’t be able to do so again today. If I can stay on track today, then there is no reason why I cannot stay on track tomorrow. That is how I have to continue to think.

    Have a great day folks!