Today's number is.....
200 Pounds!!
Over the past two weeks I've lost 1.5 pounds bringing my current weight to 285.5 and my total weight loss to 200.5 pounds!
The past two weeks have been a heck of a roller coaster ride! I knew I was getting close to the 200 pound mark so I was on the scale daily and I actually hit the 200 pound mark on Wednesday, July 18th. Since that wasn't weigh-in day I didn't make a huge deal out of it other than to mention it on one of the forums I frequent. Good thing I didn't make a big deal out of it at the time, because the scale then started going up, up, up, and up. By Sunday, July 22nd, I had shot up five pounds. The reason for this is obvious to me... No, I didn't have a huge celebration, I didn't pig out, I didn't party or eat ice cream and twinkies. What I have been doing, though, is a lot more exercise! I've been walking. I've been doing DDP-Yoga. And I've been learning to ride a unicycle. I know when I first started doing DDP-Yoga that my weight loss fluctuated and I thought I was going to end up posting my first weight gain come weigh-in day. I was adding muscle very quickly by doing the DDP-Yoga! Two weeks ago I started with the unicycle, and I knew from Day One that it was going to be adding muscle to my legs and stomach. Learning to ride a unicycle, especially at my weight, is a workout!
So what's a person to do? A week ago I was up 5 pounds from just a few days before! Give up my exercise? Oh goodness no!! One of my two New Years Resolution was to consistently show weight loss at every two-week weigh-in, and I REALLY REALLY wanted to maintain that streak. But I remember being this weight 20 some years ago, and I remember being a lot stronger than I am now. I really need to improve my physical conditioning, and I really need to put on some muscle mass. Further, I am thrilled to death that it's actually happening, and as rapidly and easily as it is! I thought my days of easily putting on muscle were long behind me. Turns out they're not! So I wasn't about to give up the exercise. As much as I want to maintain my weight-loss streak, I want more to get in better shape and put on more muscle. So I decided to double-down on the exercise and tighten up my diet and see if I couldn't increase my fat burning enough to compensate for the increased muscle mass. I increased my walking to 7 miles a day. I did DDP-Yoga every day. I rode my unicycle every day. I even got some bicycling in there too! To tighten up my diet I eliminated the higher calorie density foods I normally eat. I don't normally eat a lot of bread, but I eliminated it entirely. I eliminated the walnuts and flax seed I have with my morning oats. I cut the amount of dried fruit I put in my morning oats almost in half. I skipped my weekly pasta dinner in favor of a lower calorie dense potato soup. I still consistently ate to complete satisfaction, although with the above changes I had no real choice but to consume fewer calories overall. (See my blog post on Calorie Density if you don't understand this.)
How'd that work? Bingo! Here I am, a week later, down 5.5 pounds from last Sunday, showing a loss for the 2 week weigh-in period and coming in "officially" with 200.5 pounds lost!
But wait!! There's more! I have an old enemy called Chronic Fatigue/Chronic Inflammation that has plagued me for a decade. It has gotten much better as I've lost weight, but it occasionally rears it's head as I've come along this journey. I was curious to find out how well I'd tolerate the increased level of exercise. I did well for 4 days. Day 5 I noticed a lot of inflammation in my neck, which is where it always starts. By Friday It was full blown, and by Saturday I knew I had to take a rest. I walked a half a mile yesterday, but did no Yoga, no Unicycling, and no other physical work. By today I'm already noticing a slight improvement.
All in all I'm very pleased. The level of physical activity it took to trigger my chronic fatigue/inflammation was WAY up there. I hope to one day be free from it entirely. Also it appears my recovery time from it will be quicker than normal, which I'm also pleased about.
Where Do I Go From Here?
I still have another 100 pounds to lose! I will continue to exercise, though I need to reduce the pace to something more manageable. My hip and knee were only slightly irritated with the extra walking I did. This also is a good sign. But I will reduce my walking back to 4 miles a day. 4 miles a day seems to be a good amount. I do not get bored with it, even doing it every day, and it doesn't bother my hip or knee. I will continue with the DDP-Yoga, as I'm pleased with the results so far. I will continue with the Unicycling, though won't be as insistent upon doing it every single day. It will be something I want to improve at slowly, as I lose more weight, because honestly, I fear a major crash at my current weight so want to ease into it and not give up the ski poles till I've lost more weight. Maybe by the time I'm down to 250 I'll be ready to go to the next level.
That is all! Happy Eating!
-Norm aka John Smith
