Losing a part of me

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  • Day 295

    My weight seems to be back on track today. While I am still 1lb above my best weight from a few days ago, I am a full 3 lbs. down from yesterday’s disgusting reading.

    The thing is, I stepped onto the analog scale at the gym yesterday, which is probably more accurate than the one I have at home. I did weigh myself after my workout, which can be deceptive, but the needle was straddling the 300 lbs. line. I would be extremely happy if that was the accurate reading; with that said, I have been trusting my bathroom scale at home for nearly 300 days of weight loss, and however inaccurate it might be, it is a mostly consistent inaccurate.

    I went to the gym yesterday, splitting my time between the treadmill and the elliptical trainer. While I know how long I was on the two machines (slightly under an hour), I do not have accurate measures of my distance or pace. Had I written down what registered on the machines I would have that information; unfortunately, based on my redundant fitness trackers (fitness watch, smartphone app) I have nothing other than the times. I have to remember going forward that when I am holding on to the handles of the machine (which it likes to prod you to do for heart rate monitoring) it is impossible for those devices to detect footfalls… or if not impossible, then at least highly inaccurate. With the elliptical trainer, you do not have a choice. On the treadmill, I do. I’ll remember that from now on.

    This afternoon I am working out with my personal trainer for the first time in five years. While I did work out with a personal trainer when I was living in Ottawa in 2018, I always preferred working with Kezi, who I worked with for a few years when I was previously living in Burlington. We had our first session together on Tuesday, but that was just for her to see where I was at, what my goals and expectations are, and to weigh me. Today is when the real workouts begin. She did give me a series of eight warm-up exercises that she wants me to do prior to our session. Stretching and warming up has always been my Achilles heel. I know that they are important and will go into the gym today 30 minutes early to get that done. I know that I am not a young man anymore, and the chance of injury is higher than it once was. I promise to do the stretches!

    Last night when I came in from the balcony, I decided to crack open the clothes-that-do-not-fit-yet bins. We did not go deep into the short sleeve shirts because it will not be t-shirt weather for a while now, but I did pull out three long-sleeved t-shirts that fit just fine… and which definitely did not fit when I packed them into the bins. To my slight disappointment, there were no Size 40 pants. This is because when I was losing weight last time, I ordered a few pair from Amazon, but slid down to the Size 38 so quick that I was able to return those and exchange them for the smaller size. I do have two bags marked Sizes 38/36, which I know will take me a while to open. In the meantime, in a few weeks I will likely be buying a couple of pair of Size 40 pants (my 30” inseam should not have changed).

    The number of clothes-that-do-not-fit-yet bins has shrunk from five to two or one, depending on how we classify the Taekwondo bin (much of which did not fit, but would fit now). I was able to amalgamate a couple last night and eliminate one more this morning. I had one that was suits; one suit is still going to be tight, and the sports jacket does not fit… yet; they are close enough that they can be taken to the dry cleaners and then hang in my closet. There are two suit jackets that are too big, and they are going into the ‘donate now’ bin today. Even if they did fit, I am not sure I still have the matching pants. Nevertheless, dropping from five do-not-fit bins to two is a huge sign of amazing progress, especially on days when I look at myself and still see a fat man.

    Today is going to be another gorgeous day in Burlington, Ontario… one of the last ones of the season, it would seem. While both tomorrow and Saturday have forecast highs of 14°/13° Celsius respectively, tomorrow has an 80% chance of rain, and Saturday will be cloudy all day. With a forecast high of 18° today with sun all day, it will be my last day to sit outside comfortably. I will do just that. I will see if Eduardo wants to come over again, knowing that he would have to come earlier and leave by 4:00pm, so that I can get to the gym for my torture session with Kezi!

    I am making one minor adjustment to my nutrition regimen today. Prior to my workouts, I am going to stop and pick up a handful of dried fruit – usually apricots, but that can change at a whim – to get some carbohydrates before I hit the gym. Walking is one thing, if I am going to be doing anaerobic muscle-building exercises, I should have some carbs in my system for fuel. Aside from that, I will try to not cheat today. I will have my usual lunch, and then I will have a cigar on the balcony… whether Eduardo comes over or not.

    My diet buddy is on her way home. She checked out of the hospital yesterday and crossed the border into the USA. Today she and her partner will be flying across the continent, arriving home sometime this evening I would imagine. We knew in advance that we would not be checking in today, although she has been sending me progress reports, so I know she is okay. I look forward to chatting with her again next week. How cool would it be if by then I drop below the 300-pound mark!?

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 294

    I am frustrated by my weight-slide this morning, but more so because my floor seems to have gone back to being hinky. I wonder if that just means that the batteries in the scale are dying. I know that there was a 2.5 lbs. weight swing from one spot to another, just inches away. I decided, despite how frustrating it may be, to stick with the highest weight… which means I somehow gained three pounds from yesterday to this morning. I know that I was not able to poop, but three pounds? That is just not right.

    Today is Day 294. How nice would it be if by Day 300 (next Tuesday) I could weigh 300 lbs.? With the way my weight has been going, I don’t know if it is extremely realistic, or a pipe dream. I am going to give it my best to not cheat at all for the next few days, and hopefully get down to that milestone.

    I have prepared a shopping list for today because I know that I am going to forget something if I do not. I need milk, tomatoes, onions, coffee, and lettuce. I am going to the gym in the afternoon, and the shopping can wait until after that. I have just enough lettuce, onion, and tomato left for one salad, so I should be fine. Also, I have enough milk left for one more cup of coffee… if I decide to have one. It is rare that these needs all align so perfectly! Imagine if I also only had enough chicken left for one day? Nah, I could go through to the weekend without buying more if I had to.

    I asked my son the elder if he wants to go to Costco today, but I have not heard back from him. I assume that is a big NO, so Costco is not in the cards… nor is seeing my son the elder today.

    I am really feeling blasé this week and know that I need to head to the gym in order to try to kick myself out of that. I am not down or depressed… but I do feel that before I can sit on my balcony this afternoon with a cigar, I should go to the gym and try to accomplish… something. Lord knows, I have not gotten anything done this week. Who knows? If I stick with my program and have a good workout today (it will mostly be cardio, maybe an hour on the treadmill) then maybe tomorrow morning I will feel better about myself when I step off the scale.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 293

    While I did have a (smaller than usual) handful of peanuts yesterday, I mostly stuck to the plan. I had a good day with regard to food intake. I wish my bathroom scale was not being wonky again. Yesterday and today I got two (or three) very different readings. Yesterday, they ranged from 305.6 to 303.2 lbs., while today they were 305.2 to 304 lbs. On both days I settled on the lower number, which means that in theory, today I gained nearly a pound. Knowing that yesterday was a doctor’s office day, I am less concerned by yesterday’s weight, and will gladly discard it, meaning that this morning’s 304.0 lbs. has be back in best-weight-yet territory.

    Yesterday was a good day for non-scale victories. First of all, I joined a gym. This will not be like my Los Angeles fitness club debacle, where I joined with my ex-girlfriend, and then for the nearly two years I was a member hardly ever went. No, I plan to go to the gym… a lot. I plan to go five times per week over the next few months. I am meeting today with my personal trainer (I bought a package of seven sessions and will work with her to develop a plan for going forward). Today’s meeting is just to discuss my goals, which I think are continued weight loss plus building muscles. I have never had (and do not really want) a body builder’s body, but it would be nice to have slightly larger muscles than I do.

    Today’s meeting with Kezi is only a consultation, and we will work out for the first time on Friday. For today, my plan is that after our meeting, I will hop on the treadmill for a good walk – maybe an hour or so – and then shower and sauna there. While I packed my workout bag last night, I realized this morning that I will need a sundries bag. I have one for travel, but I do not want to take that to the gym. Fortunately, it is the time of year when the pharmacy puts the kits on sale in preparation for Christmas, so I will pick one up before I go in. We are meeting at noon, which means that I will likely not be home before 3:00pm… and that my daily meal will have to wait until after that… and that I had better prepare for this by taking a protein bar or shake with me so that I do not spend three hours starving and with no energy.

    Last night I told Leslie of this plan, and she reminded me (in the strongest terms) that it has been a few weeks since I went for a fitness walk, and that I should take care to pace myself, and not hurt or injure myself as I go. On the one hand, she is a bit of a worrier. On the other hand, she has a point. I have come home from my fitness walk a few times with painful and blistered feet. While most often this was because I wore bad shoes, I still have to remember that I am a fifty-year-old man who is still fat, and I cannot push myself like I once could.

    I opened this entry with talk of non-scale victories. The first was joining the gym… although really, the victory will be when I am going to the gym on a regular basis, and not just handing them my credit card. The second was clothing related. Last week I mentioned that I accidentally put on a pair of Size 40 jeans, and that while they were tight, I thought that if my finger was not injured, I might be able to wear them. Last night while speaking with my wife I put them on, and indeed was able to button them up. This was huge for me, and while I will likely wait another week or two before wearing them, it is amazing to know that I can. What I should do is open up my storage bins and see what other Size 40 pants I have, and if they fit me yet. I might do that later today.

    I just finished chatting with my weight-loss buddy, who had her surgery yesterday. She is in good spirits and is quite impressed with the level of care there. I am very happy, because as I likely stated previously, I was worried about the tourism surgery issue. I am relieved that she is doing well.

    What else do I have to do today? I am running out of coffee, so there will be a trip to the supermarket on the calendar. As well, my bank card has been having issues, so I am going to go into the branch and see what is going on… and probably order a new card. I am also going to the pharmacy for a sundries kit. I should also put the empty propane tank into my car, and get it filled up – the petrol station where I can do that is just down the street from the gym, which is convenient. When I get home from the gym, I will have a mid-afternoon meal. I will take Princess Sophie for a walk in the evening. I do not think I have anything else planned for the day. I will relax in the evening. I do not know if the weather will be amenable to a cigar on the balcony, but I will think about that too.

    Have a great day everyone!

  • Day 292

    I am back from the doctor’s office, where I was pleased to be down 1kg. Oddly, the same scale that converts from kilos to pounds had me down much more in the imperial system… oh well.

    My doctor is extremely pleased with my weight loss progress over the last 10 months and told me as much. He is also impressed by my blood pressure (97/67). I am at no risk of hypertension. He said that the last time we did a blood screen I was okay, so there is no need to do that again ahead of schedule… sometime early next year I would think.

    Something else the doctor discussed with me is a new medication that is a once per week injection that suppresses the appetite and helps with weight loss. He asked if I have medical benefits and I told him I do not. Aside from it being quite pricey, he agrees that I do not currently need it, and that when my progress abated then we can discuss it again. Maybe when I move to the US I could get it… but I am hoping that by then, I will no longer be obese.

    I cheated yesterday. I am embarrassed to say that I gorged on crackers, but I did. I have to do better today!

    Eduardo is feeling better, and will come over later in the afternoon for a cigar and a chat. I was worried about him, and am glad that he is better.

    I really miss my wife. I am counting the days until she comes to see me, which is now eleven days away. Will I meet my goal of weighing under 300 lbs. by then? The potential is there… as long as I do not continue to cheat on a regular basis! I want to put on a suit and take her out on the town all dolled up. That is my current goal!

    After the doctor, I had my winter tyres put onto my car, as well as an oil change. While oil changes will never go away, this should be my last season of winter tyres… unless the US State Department drags their feet. I am crossing my fingers that does not happen, and that a year from now I am living with Leslie. I miss her too much for this to drag on!

    The weather has not quite turned, but under the sunny skies, it is a much cooler day today than it was Saturday. Even yesterday was warmer, but the wind negated that. I can definitely feel the winter coming. In Canada, that means warm weather clothes, turning the heat on (at home and in the car), and switching out trainers for winter boots. Ahh, the joys of Canadian winters are plentiful…

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 291

    While I did take small bits of snacks at Ryan’s place yesterday, it was not nearly on the same level as last weekend. I did, however, forget my meal replacement bars – or at least, I thought I did – which meant that I accepted the proffered dinner of a steak sandwich, which I shared with Princess Sophie. It turns out that the meal replacements were in the car, and I could have avoided all of it had I realized that. Sigh.

    My weight this morning is .2lbs up from yesterday, which is really within the margin of error. I am going to the doctor’s office tomorrow and am praying that I am at least 1kg down from two weeks ago, but if I cheat today, that is unlikely. We all know what that means of course… I cannot cheat today! I forgot that I finished the last of my chicken yesterday, which means that I have to go to the supermarket to pick some up today. While I am there, I also need onions and tomatoes. Lord knows, I have enough carrots and celery to sink a ship… owing to my miscalculation regarding the requirements for my chicken soup.

    Speaking of which, I did what I could to remove the schmaltz from the chicken soup, which is now in a jar in my fridge. All seven containers of chicken soup are now in the freezer, and I am somewhat reminded of my mother’s kitchen. Miriam z”l did not have a lot of fine qualities, but she did make fabulous chicken soup. Seldom could you open one of our freezers without finding frozen containers of chicken soup. I can assure you that her soup was much better than mine… and likely any other that I have ever tasted. Of course, those freezers (yes, there was always a second freezer in the house) were replete with everything you can imagine; the Tetris game that I play with my cigars in the humidors is amateur hour compared to how she would pack a freezer. Of course, anyone who disturbed her methods would feel her wrath, but then I did not ever have to work hard to feel that.

    I was speaking with Leslie about how much we miss one another last night. It really is hard to live separately. We are really looking forward to seeing each other in twelve days time, but we both truly long for the day when we can live together forever. Our generation was instilled with the mantra of ‘Good things come to those who wait.’ This is a concept chiefly foreign to the younger generation, who have been raised with the concept of immediate rewards. I know we both have to wait, and eventually the State Department will issue my visa… but the time predicted for that to happen seems so long to us both. At least we have the means and the ability to visit so that we can spend time together every month… but we both feel that each time we part it is harder and harder on us. I pray for a quick response and a positive outcome!

    My plan for the day: I have to go to the supermarket to pick up some chicken and veggies for lunch (for today and the next few days). After that, I am going to Georgetown to a herf with some of the boys up there. I have to be prepared to hear a lot of racist jokes and far-right opinions. I have not yet decided if I am going to keep my opinions to myself or not; this might be a good opportunity for me to practice my reasonable voice. We’ll see… sometimes it is just less stressful to hold my tongue. If there is food at the herf, I will abstain. That is one of the reasons my lunch is so important! I thought about defrosting a steak, but after having the steak sandwich yesterday, I think that would be ill-advised. My gout has not been bothering me since I started taking the preventative meds daily, but why tempt fate, right?

    Have a great day folks!

  • La Plus Ça Change…

    I do not remember what diet I was on six years ago, but according to my Facebook Memories, I must have been doing pretty well. This was, of course, six months before I started on my first medically supervised meal-replacement program at the bariatric clinic in Hamilton. I do know that I posted the following on Facebook six years ago today (November 5, 2016):

    To my friends and acquaintances who have commented on my weight loss:

    1. Thank you for noticing. I am not talking about it, but I am working very hard to lose weight.
    2. How much I have lost is none of your business. If I do not offer it, please don’t ask.
    3. How much I weigh is none of your business. If I do not offer it, please don’t ask.
    4. How much I weighed when I started is REALLY none of your business. I will not offer it, please don’t ask.
    5. If you have noticed that I am losing weight, please do not suggest ways for me to lose weight. What I am doing is apparently working for me, and I am going to continue to do it my way until such time as it stops working for me… at which point I will consult with the people (professionals) who have guided me thus far and will work out other stratagem. If I have not asked your advice, please accept that I do not want it… regardless of how pure and noble your intentions are.

    That is all.

    I see that several things have not changed since then… and a few things have. For one thing, I am talking about it… or at least, I am writing about it. To date, I have written some 240,000 words about it in this journal, which is transferred daily to my blog. I do not know whether that is to inspire others, or just as a cathartic exercise to put my thoughts into some sort of order, or just to keep me on track and accountable. I do know that my blog currently has about 125 subscribers, and it gets between three and thirty hits per day. I am glad that someone is reading it… but I also suspect that I would write it even if nobody ever did.

    My attitudes about other aspects of my progress have not changed much. I do not want anyone’s unsolicited advice. While I have started writing it recently, for the first seven or eight months I did not mention (on the blog) what I weigh. These numbers were, of course, kept in the journal to track progress. Until very recently they were never shared.

    It is amazing that so many people have so much advice to offer about how to lose weight. I wonder how many of those can say that they have lost ninety pounds. Thanks for your advice… I’ll file it with the rest of the unsolicited crap I get in the post.

    For a couple of years before I moved to Israel, I coached high school basketball. I had a lot of fun with that, even though in hindsight I was not very good at it. In my last year of coaching girls, I remember a game which we were winning. We were doing really well. I had the girls playing a zone defense, and we were shutting down the opposition. At halftime, someone told me that we were not supposed to be playing zone but had to switch to man-on-man. I do not remember the details, but I remember in the locker room telling the girls to shift from one to the other. We came out for the second half, and we lost the game by ten points. It was not because man-on-man is better or worse than zone, it was because we changed our strategy mid-game… and we blew it.

    Every winning coach has a different strategy to win, and while some of them are similar, some are quite different. I remember hearing somewhere that the hardest thing to do in sports is to go into the locker room at halftime of the Super Bowl and change the strategy that worked for you all year but is not working anymore. There will come a time I am sure when I am forced to re-evaluate my plan because it stopped working. In fact, that has already happened twice. I had been having two meals per day, and I switched to one meal per day. I was having my meal in the evening, but then shifted to eating it at lunchtime (when my schedule allowed for it).

    My point is this: while I am losing weight, why would I try to change what is working for me? It is not like the people who are spewing advice at me are saying ‘Oh, I am sorry to hear that your weight loss has stalled or plateaued… maybe this will help?’ They are usually saying ‘Hey, you are losing weight? Great… this is a better way to lose weight.’ Really? You don’t say? Thanks for your garbage advice. Have a nice day.

    While my program is working, I am going to keep on it. If you are offended that I am not telling you about it, that is just something you are going to have to learn to live with. I am sure your way of doing things might work… but my way of doing things works too. In fact, it is working, and I will keep at it until I decide to change. I am not going to change my strategy that is obviously working because you feel that your way is better. I am sure your way is better for you. My way is what is best for me for now.

    Just to be clear, the answer is NO. When the time comes when I decide to change my strategy, I will not go looking for the advice of everyone who thinks they know best. You may be surprised by this, but I did not come up with the current strategy off the top of my head. It was not delivered on tablets from Mount Sinai. I came up with it by taking the advice of many medical professionals, at least some of whom know more about weight loss than do my friends the accountants, marketing professionals, bankers, and brokers. Thank you, I will continue to let you all handle my finances, marketing, and banking. I will continue to seek their advice about my health.

    I know that the above paragraph is going to incense somebody who thinks the entire medical field is a giant scam to push pharmaceuticals on their patients. I can assure you that over the past 290 days that I have been on my weight loss journey, no drugs have been involved. Also, I trust my doctor. Also, I think most conspiracy theories are stupid.

    To those of you who might ask what I am doing to lose weight safely? I encourage you to read my blog from the beginning. For those of you who want to give me advice about how to lose weight? I encourage you to pick up a book, turn on the television, or go for a walk. Do anything but give me weight loss advice. Trust me, I’ve heard it all before, and I have picked a strategy that works for me.

  • Day 290

    I am in Facebook Jail. I have to stop telling idiots who instigate cops that they are idiots. Facebook, I’ll see you Friday!

    I finished up with the soup today… almost. I now have seven plastic containers in the fridge filled with Jewish Penicillin, and the kitchen has been completely cleaned. The only step left is to take the congealed fat (chicken schmaltz) off the top of each container before freezing them all. I will do that today. For the most part though, I stayed out of the kitchen.

    As has become my habit these last few weeks, I bought two challah rolls for the Shabbat blessing yesterday; following the blessings, I indulged in them with some peanut butter. I decided that would replace not one but at least two meal replacements. My food intake yesterday was a meal replacement shake in the morning, my regular lunch, a mid-afternoon meal replacement bar, and then around sundown I had the challah. Nothing after that, save for a nice cigar on the balcony. The result? This morning my weight was down .4lbs. I am not back into best-ever territory, but I am back below the ‘When Mitchell Met Leslie’ milestone.

    These last few days have been what we used to call Indian Summer, although I truly hope that term has fallen out of favour. It is not often that on November 4th I have been able to sit on the balcony in Canada wearing short sleeves and be comfortable. For my evening cigar (which accompanied another James Bond movie) I did put on a jacket, although I could have gotten away with a long-sleeved shirt. No matter, it was quite pleasant. Today’s forecast is more of the same, although there is a chance of rain later in the day. Tomorrow is forecast to be warm and sunny, and I have been invited to a herf in Georgetown. That should be fun, although I rather suspect someone will try to get me to eat. I will do my best to abstain, sticking to my program.

    I should be getting together with Eduardo later today for a cigar, and hopefully our friend Sam will join us. He has been rather difficult to pin down of late, but he has a lot of family obligations, and I do not blame him. It will be nice to see him though.

    So much for that. I just got off the phone with Eduardo, who is not feeling well today. He had a bad reaction from a vaccine yesterday (either flu or pneumonia) and is going to take it easy today. To see how easy I can shift, I am going to take Princess Sophie to Cambridge to hang out with Ryan and the gang. Knowing that, the goal is much more important: Do not snack! I have to be able to sit there and resist all of the temptations. To that end, I plan to:

    1. Go after I have had a satisfying lunch.
    2. Bring a couple of good cigars, that are tastier than the chazerei they always have sitting about.
    3. When Glen tries to tempt me, punch him in the face!
    4. Bring a couple of meal replacement bars, in case I do get hungry.

    Okay, Number 3 is exaggerated. I will simply thank him and decline. That might be easier. I have already ruined my relationship with Ryan’s sister (because of her boyfriend who thought it was funny to tell Hitler jokes about gassing Jews to me). I want to stay in the good graces of at least most of the family!

    I want to wake up tomorrow back under 305lbs. The only way I can do that is to stay on track, stay on course, and do not succumb to temptation. No problems, right? Sounds simple, right? Simple… but not easy.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 289

    I predicted correctly after I came home and had a second meal – having already eaten a salmon salad sandwich with Lyle and Dorothy – that I would be gaining weight today. It was not the chicken and salad that I ate at home that hurt me though, it was the ridiculously large bun that Lyle served that sandwich on. It was tasty, but it was neither low-calorie nor low carbohydrates. As is always going to be the case, the bread did fill me up, but by the time I arrived home (nearly six hours later) I was famished.

    As a result of that, my weight peaked slightly above my best-since-meeting-Leslie weight, and I am disappointed by that… even if it is only .2lbs. Still, I was hoping that my weight would be dropping slightly, not rising. I have to be good this weekend, or else I am going to pay the price. What exactly is that price, you might ask? I don’t know… but I wanted to be under 300lbs for my weigh-in at the doctor’s office on Monday, and that is unlikely to happen now. I would like to be under 295lbs by the time Leslie comes in two weeks, and that is still possible… as long as I can get off this slide that I’ve been on. Yes, I am only up 1.6lbs from my best weight, but I wrote an article a couple of years ago called One Pound Lost is Three Pounds of Progress. The corollary to that is one pound gained is three pounds of regression. I have to get back on track.

    I had my check-in with my weight loss buddy last night. It will be our last check-in before her surgery, as she is flying to Mexico today for it. Next week, she will be flying home (so no meeting). I am keeping her in my thoughts and prayers, and hope that when we speak in two weeks time, I will be back on track.

    I have no plans for today, but I will go to the supermarket to buy challah for the prayers this evening. My hope is that the challah will be my only cheat of the day. I also hope that tomorrow morning I get on the scale and get a wonderful surprise. We’ll see.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 288

    An entire pound gained? That is just preposterous. I must protest! Okay, there is no protest and no appeals process. My weight is back above 305lbs… but not quite back above the best-since-meeting-Leslie weight.

    I took on a very ambitious endeavour last night. I made chicken soup… from scratch. It probably does not sound so ambitious for people who spend a lot of time in the kitchen; for someone who cooks every day, but almost always the same simple items… yeah, that’s ambitious. I started in an Asian market, where I bought the chickens. I also picked up some vegetables from different sources. My buddy Lyle told me how much to buy – and considering he gave me the pot, boy did he over-estimate that – and I came home, put everything into pots (I had to pull out a couple of extra ones), and started the process.

    I do not know how good the soup will be. I have made chicken soup before, but never from scratch. Also, I followed much more Jewish recipes, which did not involve an Asian market. Anyhow, the three pots simmered overnight, and will cool all day. This evening, I will remove all of the solids from the pots, at which point I will likely be able to consolidate into one pot.

    My plans for today got complicated when Lyle asked if I was still willing to drive him and Dorothy to the airport today. I am happy to do so, but that eats my afternoon… literally. He wants me to come over for lunch at noon, then after lunch enjoy a cigar with him. Around 3:30pm we will drive to the airport (they live in Hamilton, but they are flying out of Toronto Pearson), hoping to avoid traffic on the way there… and on my way back. I am happy to do the favour for my friends and know that the lunch they are going to make will be very tasty.

    What else is going on today? Nothing that I can think of. It is a foggy morning, but the forecast says it will start to clear up around noon. Hopefully, this evening will be a good night to sit on the balcony with a cigar. We’ll see about today… but the next four days are going to be nice, so it should be a good weekend to relax.

    I am still frustrated that my weight went up yesterday. I am no longer less than five pounds from dropping below the 300-pound mark. I hope to be able to do that before my weigh-in at the doctor’s office on Monday, but even if I do not, it is a goal to do that by the time Leslie

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 287

    I gained weight this morning, but it was not a significant amount. .2lbs is what I would call a ‘margin of error’ gain. With that said, I did cheat yesterday. I had peanuts (which is not a daily thing but is not unusual). I also had dried apricots, and a couple of ounces of sharp cheddar cheese. It is a misconception that fruits are good for you. While they are healthy, they are also filled with sugar. Dried fruits are much worse, because the sugar is concentrated. While you might eat two or three fresh apricots, it is not difficult to eat a handful of dried ones (as I did… probably eight or ten of them). In other words, I ate the equivalent of ten apricots worth of sugar. Yes, that was a slip. It will not be a common one, but once in a while, I do like to treat myself to something sweet.

    The cheese was a craving that came out of nowhere. I don’t know why, but while I was sitting with Lyle yesterday, I decided I was really in the mood for a piece. I bought the smallest block of aged cheddar I could find and ate two small strips of it… probably 2-3 ounces… after paying the cheese tax to Princess Sophie… and her house guest, Mr. Charlie.

    I do not think that any one of those cheats would have prevented me losing some weight, but the three together resulted in a slight gain. My bad, and I will do better today! Yes, I still have the cheddar in the fridge, but I will not be devouring it on a regular basis.

    This morning, while I was getting dressed, I grabbed the wrong pair of jeans from my armoire. They were tight… I did not remember them being that tight! Because of my damaged and bandaged middle finger, I was not able to button the top button, so I took them off… only to discover that they are a Size 40. I have two identical pair (Levis 501) in a Size 42 (which I wear on a regular basis), and apparently a Size 40 (which was on the ‘hopefully next month’ shelf). While they were tight, I suspect that if my finger was not bandaged, I would have been able to squeeze into the Size 40 jeans. I am not ready to call that a non-scale victory just yet… but it is a good sign of progress!

    I mentioned over the last few days that I had a few days of constipation, and that yesterday it finally passed. I realized as I was speaking with Leslie last night that I could draw a direct line between not drinking enough water to having a stool too hard to pass. Drinking a lot of water is something that I should be doing every day, but I confess that I am often remiss on that. Saturday and Sunday I did not drink enough, so Sunday and Monday I was constipated. Monday, I drank a lot more, so Tuesday I was finally able to poop.

    I have no real plans for the day, except that I am going to try to pick up a Lego set that I spotted on Facebook Marketplace, which Leslie might like. That would take me to Hamilton, so I reached out to Lyle to see if he would be free. As of now he says he is likely busy, but he will let me know if that changes. Who knows? We might have a cigar three days straight leading up to their trip to Italy.

    I will try to be good today. I will have my regular lunch, and aside from that I will do my best to not veer from the path. Despite having cheese in the fridge, I will refrain. If I am out for a while and end up having a handful of peanuts, then let that be the worst transgression… and let me keep the size of the handful small!

    Have a great day folks!