Win! And you still have both hands. 306 lbs (PCT d - 13)

I was so starving hungry last night, dear reader, that if you had been in my apartment, I might have eaten your hand off or even your whole arm. Fortunately, my cupboards were essentially bare, and my refrigerator was pretty empty too. The result (of not stuffing my face, needlessly):

306.4 lbs (139 kg)

That's the lowest I've been in, I don't know, four or five years. After missing my target for April, it suddenly makes the psychological 300 pound barrier by May 11th seem attainable.

Never give up (PCT d - 16)

After ten months of losing about 10 pounds of weight, month on month, I've finally had a month when I only recorded a tiny loss - about 1 pound.

Blantently stolen from a friend's Facebook page

I attribute this to a change in diet during the preparation for my Oregon trip. Whereas I had been cutting back heavily on carbohydrates, a lot of hiking and trail food, which I've been consuming more of lately, is very calorie rich and high in carbs.

Alert readers of this blog will have noticed that I didn't post my end-of-April target and actual weight yet. I was worried that I might not even have lost anything at all compared to the end of March, when I tipped the scales at 315 lbs. Having gone up and down a lot during the past month, I was still at 316 lbs on April 29th. Thankfully, the last day of the month was a Saturday, so I was able to stay in bed an extra three hours. For some reason, an extra couple of hours in bed in the morning equals a pound less on the scales. If only it were that easy all the time! Anyway, when I got up (after the English Championship football - the last match of the season for my shitty team [Reading FC]  next Saturday, thank goodness!) I was under 313 lbs. Whew!

Just for the record, my target had been 303 lbs for the end of April, breaking through the 300 mark on May 11th, then a target of 294 lbs by the end of May. With almost twenty pounds to lose in four weeks, it seems unlikely but stranger things have happened!

Late sprint needed for victory (PCT d - 52)

After last week's epic 57,000 steps (well, it was epic for me!), this week will be another 50,000+ steps week.

** Sunday evening update: At 57,800, I managed even more than last week!! **

317.8 lbs, a new low

My week started with some terrible overeating on Monday (http://blog.ergoob.org/2016/03/even-superman-had-bad-day-sometimes-pct.html), which caused me to miss walking in the evening and to have to skip swimming too. I made up for it on Wednesday and Thursday with two 9,000+ steps days. Then, yesterday, I walked to Vans Thiftway and back, which is 3½ miles from my apartment. So 7 miles altogether, which made over 14,000 steps. If I go to Albertsons (1 mile away) later this morning, or to the movie theater (the Myrna Loy Center is 1.7 miles away), I'll easily exceed 50,000 steps for the week again.

Having so "easily" reached my February target of 321 lbs four weeks ago, it's been a struggle to shift any weight off since then. I haven't been quite as strict with the low carb diet, as I've been experimenting with backpacking food for my upcoming hiking trips. It's taken until today to hit a new low of 317.8 lbs (144 kg). If I'm to make my end-of-March target of 312 lbs, I'll have to be extra careful what I eat and extra focused on burning calories through exercise.

Even Superman had a bad day sometimes (PCT d - 57)

As I was lying in my bed yesterday at about 7.00 pm, feeling sick and sorry for myself, the image below came to mind:

Superman is weakened in the presence of Kryptonite

Twice in the last few weeks I've bought cheese at the weekend, and twice I've succumbed to its temptations and eaten the lot within a day or two. It made no difference that it was Brie, or Camembert (interesting article at http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-brie-and-camembert-word-of-mouth-215948), or a nice aged Cheddar, I love cheese. I also overate some leftover chicken curry. So it was a miserable evening of acid reflux and self-loathing.

It affected me so much, I didn't go out walking, and I didn't go swimming in the evening. If somebody tells me that they overate, I'd be the first to say to them, "You know what? Tomorrow is another day!", and advise them to forget about that one (well, okay, two) lapse(s), and focus on being better the next day.

Veggie cup with Ranch dressing

I did actually make a healthier choice this morning. Instead of being tempted by scones or doughnuts or muffins, I chose a cup of veggies instead.

As I prepare for some backpacking trips over the next couple of months, I'm experimenting with freeze dried and dehydrated foods, which inevitably are not as healthy as I might like (high sodium content in some of the prepared "just add water" meals, for example). Even though my weekly step count is going up slightly, it's not going up enough to justify eating high calorie (high carbohydrate) foods - not yet.

331.6 - back on the wagon (PCT d - 105)

331.6 lbs, a new low (recently)

After a month of bobbing up and down, the 'losing' trend is finally continuing. I'm down to 331.6 lbs now. I missed my end of month goal, but I'm okay with it, since I am still losing weight overall.

There are only 105 days to go until we leave on our Pacific Crest Trail adventure. As weather and road/trail conditions permit in my neighborhood, I'm trying to transition from working out at the gym to walking/hiking "in the real world". At the end of March I will drop my gym membership altogether (which will save some money). I'm trying to increase the amount of muscle and strength-building that I do, using the elastic resistance bands that I already have at home. I wake up earlier now to do that. 

We are also slowly acquiring more and more of the gear that we'll need for a successful adventure. Earlier this week we ordered new backpacks (rucksacks) and my daughter got her own head lamp. I also have a new lightweight rain jacket coming, since it was on sale for $40 less than the normal price. Holy cow! That stuff is still really expensive though! My "sleep system" (hammock, bug net, fly sheet to keep the rain off, tree straps and ground pegs) will be $245. A lightweight duck or goose down sleep bag or quilt will be c. $200. The train tickets to Klamath Falls are about $140 each, each way! But, it's going to be an epic adventure, and worth every penny! 

I'm still largely avoiding excess carbohydrates, but not cutting them out altogether. I had my first slices of pizza in seven months yesterday. Today's lunch was a baked potato with chili. The portion sizes are much more moderate then before. I've found it really difficult to keep an up-to-date food journal. Maybe I'll try an electronic one instead of a paper one soon. I'm getting plenty of protein and green vegetables. I'm avoiding peas and corn. I'm temporarily given up on giving up stevia as my sweetener of choice. Using raw honey as a natural alternative to artificial sweeteners wasn't working for me (I stopped losing weight when I did that). 

As soon as I can, I want to take a whole day to walk 10 or 15 miles, just to see where I'm at in my preparations, and see if I need to step up my training. Then, in a month or two, I'll do it again but with a 30 lb backpack on. I've got a couple of Fridays booked off work in April so that I can go further afield and test the rest of my gear before we set off on May 18th. More details about the 100-mile hike can be found here: http://www.ergoob.org/pct2016 

A couple of rough days, back on track now

A couple of rough days

Last week was very tough at work. A long-running problem turned even worse, and became very stressful. On Thursday and Friday evenings, when I came home, I was starving (like, a lot more than normal). Instead of sticking to my healthy eating plan, which I had followed in the morning for breakfast and at lunchtime, I just dived straight into the first thing that was readily available; and I kept eating, and kept eating, even when I knew (in my head) that I wasn't hungry any more. What I was eating wasn't intrinsically bad food, but I was just eating WAY too much of it, and I felt almost powerless to stop myself. As a result there was a steep upward tick in my weight.

It was really a little bit depressing. I don't really know if it was work-related, or what the problem was. Maybe my body is telling me I'm missing a key nutrient (I've heard, for example, that some anemic people have cravings for red meat)? I totally skipped writing anything in my new food journal for those two days. I'm not going to go back and try to recreate them. I'll just write a comment that says "bad days" and move on to today's entries.

Back on track now

I went to the health center this morning to get some blood tests done and to check in with them. I'll get the results of those tests in a couple of days. The main one for me, obviously, is my weight.

332.2 lbs this morning

After peaking at 428 lbs back in June 2014, I was down to 405 by mid-June of 2015. Since then I've been able to sustain about 10-12 lbs of weight loss a month, with just a small blips in October last year. After my two days of ... insecurity at the end of last week, I'm back on track. 332.2 lbs is the lowest I've been in about three years.

337 lbs - a disappointing week, but tomorrow is a new day!

Well, that was a disappointing week in the end. After walking 50,000 steps in the week (counting from last Sunday to yesterday) I actually GAINED three pounds! I know what did it. My usual problem lately - overeating. I'm sure I've got the composition of my diet mostly correct, I am still prone to simply eating too much. I did so well over the recent holidays, mostly avoiding the temptation to eat to excess. There were too many time in the last week when I know I didn't stop when I felt full, and carried on putting food in my mouth when my stomach was saying, "You can stop now!"

I know that this technique works. Health professionals recommend it all the time, and for a good reason. I shall start to keep a written food journal (not published and not online, but an actual handwritten diary). I will use it to record not only what I eat but also any comments about the time of day and how I feel about it, and any other relevant notes. The discipline of having to account (to myself) for everything I eat will force me to eat less. I will also be able to go back, after I've weighed myself, and see if I can actually spot patterns when I lose or gain weight. Are potatoes really evil? Is a low carb diet really the answer? Does increasing the amount of fiber have any effect? At the moment I have no way to tell but, in the future, I will be able to go back and find out.

349 - my lowest in three years

Once again, I'm on a downward trajectory, which is good.

349 lbs (158 kg), my lowest in three years!

There were a couple of evenings in the past seven days when I didn't want to get up and walk, but I knew I had to to keep up the momentum. I'm glad I did. When I weighed in this morning I tipped the scales at 349.0 lbs (158.3 kg). I don't think I will make my target by the end of the month but that won't stop me trying to get as close as possible.

Today saw our first major snow storm of the winter season in this part of Montana. My walk home took 35 minutes instead of the usual 25 minutes, and my stride length was shorter, but that's okay. I'd rather get home in one piece than with a broken hip from falling on the slippery snow. It was a much harder workout than usual. It was really funny, in a way, to receive at least five offers of rides from work back to my apartment, only to turn them all down with an "It's okay. I need the exercise."

Knowing that, for me, most of the battle of losing weight and getting fitter is a psychological game I have to play against myself, I have also turned down all invitations to Thanksgiving dinner. It's probably the single worst time of year for overeating, which I already know I'm prone to. So, instead, I've suggested to my friends that I can come the following day (Friday) or at the weekend, when there's usually the same food left over, but minus the pressure to have two or three spoonfuls of everything when one is an appropriate serving size.

A sluggish week is behind me now

Last week was a bad one in terms of progress towards my goals. A couple of friends and I were celebrating our birthdays (mine is November 28th, thanks for asking), so I ate out a couple of times, which I haven't been doing much of lately. Eating out always means struggling with extra large portion sizes, a terrible lack of vegetables, and an extra load of carbs that I usually try to avoid. But it was for a special occasion, so I happily made an exception. It also meant not going to the gym a couple of times, which I really missed.

I also had a pulled muscle in my back, which made walking uncomfortable anyway. So I was delighted to be able to do another 2 miles on the treadmill last night, followed by a good half hour of swimming (thanks, G!)

2.0 miles in 48 minutes 22 seconds

I managed to get my heart rate up to 140 bpm and keep it there for most of the time, so I knew that the sweat and my rate of breathing were consistent with a good aerobic workout. By the end of it, my feet were a bit sore, so the swimming was a blessed relief.

Overeating - It's a psychological battle

One of the things I am continuing to struggle with is overeating. I think I'm doing okay on the composition of the food I'm eating but sometimes I just can't stop myself from eating a lot more than I know I should. I haven't figured out the trick, yet, to moderating my intake so that I stop eating before I get uncomfortably full. Once I can do that, I'm sure the pounds will simply tumble off again.

A little bit like knowing (in my head) that sitting on the couch wasn't burning enough calories to help me lose anything - even though I was free to get up at ANY TIME and go out for a walk - this overeating thing is a mental game. I know that if I'm eating things that require more chewing I'll slow down and give my stomach's stretch receptors a chance to tell my brain to make me stop eating. Otherwise, I tend to eat too quickly and my body doesn't have a chance to shout STOP!

Maybe there are some rituals I can adopt that will help me slow down and eat less. Most of the time I'm eating on my own these days (sad about that, but that's a whole other story). During the week I usually take breakfast to work with me, since I leave the apartment at 06:15 and that's just too early to have breakfast. About half the time I'll take leftovers or something from home for lunch, which is from 11:00 to 12:00. The rest of the time I'm lucky to have a good cafeteria at work. Dinner is usually either a salad (which can be quite substantial) or something cooked - if I have/make the time to prepared it.

Divided dish

I have a couple of Corelle divided dishes which make it easier to get the proportions of proteins, carbs and vegetables right. That doesn't seem to help. I just fill it up twice!

There have got to be some 'tricks' that one can play on oneself that make it

Getting outside but still overeating

From the South Hills of Helena, looking north at dusk

With an ambitious plan to hike 100 miles in seven days at the end of next May, I have to really pull out all the stops to get myself into a physical condition to do it. That means NOT sitting on the couch all evening but actually going out for walks and hikes after work and at weekends, pushing myself physically. Right now, it's difficult for me to go uphill or up any stairs without getting short of breath quickly.

Having decided to make a 'game' out of climbing the stairs at work, today (for the first time in ages) I actually walked down and up two flights. It's not much but it's a beginning. From here on out all future progress can be measured and compared.

My Amazon Prime Pantry box

What's still disappointing is that I'm still overeating at dinner time. It all started two weeks ago when I took delivery of my first Amazon Prime Pantry box. It was $100 worth of groceries packed in a 4 cubic foot (max 45 lbs - 20 kg) cardboard box  for a flat fee of $5.99 (although my delivery fee was waived because of a special promotion). Then I went to Costco, which is great for large families and small businesses, but bad for single people who are trying to eat less. That cost me $100. I was still missing a few things, so I stopped at Safeway and picked up another $50 worth of groceries. Dang! $250 spent on groceries in one week when I normally spend only $100. Now, some of the extra food went into my freezer and some of it was cans and jars which will keep in the cupboard for a while, but my fridge was heaving with fresh food that couldn't be wasted and couldn't all be eaten. Ever since then I've hit a plateau. After 13 consecutive weeks of losing weight, down almost 40 lbs in three months, I've been stuck at the same level (more or less) for two weeks now.