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WEIGHT: 218.0 as of 1/1/2022

WOW!! Yesterday was GREAT, and today's measurement is EVEN BETTER! I wasn't going to weigh myself again this morning, but — and I don't mean to be icky here — I'd just "unloaded the groceries," and thought I'd step on the scale.

I've made some corrections to the fitness graph, and revised the data to show the 2021 effort.

WEIGHT: 219.2 as of 12/31/2021

THE BIG BREAKTHROUGH

This morning I weighed under 220 for the first time in perhaps TEN YEARS.

I'm completely overjoyed. For years I've been thinking about a screenshot I took of a weight measurement. As far as I know, it's the lowest I'd ever reached in post-military life. The reading was 216. As of this morning, I'm only three pounds north of that! Also, I *think* I made that weight using diet medication. This time around? No such medications involved.

I've honestly been dreaming of this day — the day when I'm finally under 220.

Now I just need to stay focused and stay motivated!

WEIGHT: 223 as of 12/20/2021

Appearance

This morning, my 34" waist jeans actually tore at the crotch. I'm super bummed about that. I've been wearing them constantly for the past few weeks. A couple of weeks ago I took a good look at my body in the mirror, and I was really surprised at what I saw. I. Look. Thin. I mean, thin for me, anyway. I can see it in my shoulders, my chest in particular. And I can certainly see it in my heavier weight clothing for this time of year — everything is big on me. For the first time in years, I shaved my facial hair. It's taking some adjustment. I'm due for a haircut today. My barber has never seen me clean-shaven. I wonder what she'll say?

Diet

My diet remains pretty much the same, although with the approach of the holiday season, I'm having a little trouble — I mean, I'm learning more about what I really need to avoid. Breakfast and lunch remain on lock, but I'm learning it doesn't take a lot of chex mix to get me into trouble. The holidays are typically celebrated with food, and I'm doing everything I can to stay away from things that will cause problems... but I also find I can, say, drink a couple ounces of egg nog without any trouble. It's the moderation part that gets me. Despite these "discoveries," I'm very happy to report I weighed 223 this morning, and I'm starting to set my sights "lower" than 215 as a goal.

Exercise

I miss the pool, and it's too cold to ride. I'm not exercising and am considering starting a small workout routine in the house — just basic stuff like push-ups and crunches.

Medical Data

I really need to get my ass back into the doctor's office. My blood sugar readings are generally good on my 1mg dose of GLIMIPIRIDE. I feel like the variations I'm having are a function of the food I'm eating.

Conclusion

Winter is the time when heavier foods are consumed and people tend to put on weight. I have to work extra hard to make sure that doesn't happen. I couldn't be happier about my current weight — 223 is quite an accomplishment — but weight isn't the primary goal here. My health is. But the two are very tightly coupled. As I've said before, nobody gets fat off of eating salads. Holiday festivities aside, if I can keep my focus, I can hopefully resist the seasonal weight gain that seems to come naturally with lower temperatures. The holiday temptations are another matter, also requiring my wits. Trust when I say that I love the shit out of some egg nog.

WEIGHT: 226 as of 10/25/2021

Appearance

I know I have more work to do, but DAMN does it feel good to slip into standard, straight-legged jeans with a 35" waist. Those 36" waist shorts I bought a few months ago now appear a little droopy. Actually, I was planning on ordering a pair of Levi's with a 34" waist to kind of test those waters. My family comments on how thin I look. And I certainly like what the mirror is showing me. I'd love to drop about another ten pounds, to put me at about 215. Perhaps they're vanity pounds. All I really know is I have one, maybe two pair of jeans I can actually wear and the weather is cooling.

Diet

Still sticking to it and trying to roll as steadily as possible. I pretty much eat exactly the same thing for breakfast and for lunch every day now, and it's serving me well. I actually calculated the calories for each of those meals. They total 285 and 260 calories, respectively. Dinner still varies.

Exercise

Pool season is over for the year. I just don't have the stamina (read: weight) I did this time last year. I used to view my slender wife's temparature boundaries disparagingly; I don't anymore. So, it's cycling season now. I need to do my best to keep getting on the bike, though the air temps are dropping, too. I might have to consider walking on our treadmill or MAYBE getting another indoor cycling setup.

Medical Data

I'm due for another round of blood work, and I don't mind it. But this week I noticed my blood glucose readings are suddently about 10-15 mg/dl lower than my usual morning readings, and about 20 mg/dl lower than my usual afternoon readings. The latter is a little frightening, because some readings have been down in the mid-70s to low 80s.

My doctor told me that if I remained as disciplined as I have been, my numbers would eventually drop. After a week of these readings, I feel like that's happened. After consultation, I've shed another mg of GLIMIPIRIDE. Sometime in the past several months I learned that GLIMIPIRIDE has a maximum dose of 4mg. So over six months, I've now worked my way down to a 1mg dose. I'm pretty proud of that. Mostly I want the hypoglycemia to stop. I've had two such episodes this week. It's a little difficult to think of them as a good thing, but we think it IS, in this case.

Conclusion

I'm still doing very well. A quote from my previous post on the subject: "I'm so thankful I wised up and started showing my body some respect. It's thanking me. But I mostly did this for my daughter. I need to continue to love and nurture her and to help her grow. There's so much more I can teach her. I gotta stick around!" — well, I'm making it work.

WEIGHT: 233 as of 8/11/2021

My weight loss has slowed, but health is top priority. I imagine an increase in exercise should boost progress, but I'm still concerned about blood glucose problems.

Diet

Still sticking to it; really not much to tell here. I find I'm surprised at how significant some minor changes can be. Yesterday, I ate an oatmeal raisin cookie. I thought for sure my morning glucose reading was going to be astronomically high; it wasn't — in fact, it was surprisingly good. Other mornings following evenings where I've had a salad and water my readings will be high, and I'm left confused. I'm trying to stay as steady as I possibly can.

Exercise

I'm still in a bit of a drought as far as exercise goes. I'm down to only 2mg GLIMIPIRIDE, and I haven't had a hypoglycemic episode in a little while... so I'm cautiously resuming. I am sticking to getting myself out of the water at 30 minutes max.

Medical Data

The plan from the start was to check in at the three month mark — OOA July 15th — and take various readings through analysis of blood and urine. The results were overwhelmingly positive.

My blood glucose dropped from over 15.5 (and when I write that, I mean the top of the scale was 15.5) to 7.8. Cholesterol dropped to well within normal limits, and my triglycerides dropped 130 to just barely above normal.

Another remarkable benefit: my lens prescription changed. In mid-April, I got new glasses; my eyesight had worsened since my last visit. But after about 2 1/2 months on the diet, I noticed that I could actually see better without my new glasses, even while driving — and in April I decided I wouldn't drive without them. I had my vision tested again, and learned that I was now overcorrected by an entire diopter. New lenses (again) made me a new man.

I measure my blood glucose readings at least twice daily — I think I'm a wet dream for the medical people who support me, because I make graphs and send them periodically. (Well, I don't just *think* I am — they tell me how great it is to work with a patient who takes his health seriously and is responsive to their recommendations.) My morning readings are still high and varied; I'm operating under the assumption now that the extended release medication I take wears off overnight, yielding the higher readings; and then whatever I consumed the previous evening may also affect it. But my afternoon readings have been pretty solidly in the low 110's, thanks to my dietary choices (I eat pretty much the same salad with grilled chicken every day).

Conclusion

I'm doing very well. I think so, but perhaps more importantly, I have data to back it up. I went from having a complete shit diet to a very healthy one. I haven't touched greasy foods in months, and my body appreciates it. I think I'm still a little heavy, but I also think I wear 233 pretty well. My tummy looks trim, I have greater energy, and I can see my penis without the aid of a mirror (you can laugh — "penis" is a "giggle word" (a term borrowed from my high school German teacher) but I hadn't been able to see it directly since maybe 2017). I'm so thankful I wised up and started showing my body some respect. It's thanking me. But I mostly did this for my daughter. I need to continue to love and nurture her and to help her grow. There's so much more I can teach her. I gotta stick around!

WEIGHT: 239 as of 6/21/2021

My original goal was to reach 240lbs. by July 1st. I was able to achieve that a week in advance. The size 38 shorts I bought a month ago fit me loosely now; I'm passively shopping for replacements.

Diet

Sticking to it; really not much to tell here.

Exercise

We've had a heat wave lately that has put a damper on exercise. I haven't been on the bike in a couple of weeks, because I suspected a connection between heat/humidity and hypoglycemia while in or shortly after getting out of the pool.

I made a change to one of my medications at the advice of my doctor, and my morning readings have been wacky ever since.

I'm currently operating under the idea that my blood sugar may be getting low in the night, and that adding carbohydrate in the evenings should help restore my lower A.M. readings. In the meantime, I'm watching the evening temperatures like a hawk. I hope to get back on the bike soon.

There's also been some impact on my swimming — I first noticed the problems when my pool temp was over 92°F. There is some research available on the Internet which suggests a connection between high heat/humidity and hypoglycemia for people on medications like mine, and I've relatives who told me their blood sugar readings went crazy (up and down) in high heat. Lately, evening air temps have been around 93°F, and water temps have been between 88° and 90°F, so I've resumed exercising.

Conclusion

I am a little concerned my elevated morning readings are going to mess up my next A1C measurement, but I still should see remarkable improvement over my April 15th reading. My main goal now is to continue to focus on those numbers, and to continue to let them drive diet; I'll ride this weight loss train as far as I can (sensibly). When I did the Atkins diet in 2012, my lowest weight was 216 lbs. Perhaps with this coming Monday's weight reading, I'll find I'm within 20 lbs of that number. I don't necessarily have any intention to reach 216, but I can say with confidence that, now that I'm in my 230s, the 220s would sure seem nice.

WEIGHT: 245 as of 5/31/2021

My last post about this was pretty big, so I'll just hit some highights of the last two weeks.

This morning I hit my mini-goal of reaching 245 pounds. Today marks six weeks into the effort; I've lost 10 pounds, but the progress is so much more than what 10 pounds would seem to represent.

Diet

I'm so thankful I changed my diet when I did. At this point, I'm fine-tuning based on blood sugar measurements. Example: beans and rice are not my friends. I love them dearly at dinner, but they put me at or slightly over my limit (130 mg/dL). I'm still not eating or drinking anything after dinner, though I am considering maybe resuming evening coffee: My blood sugar elevates only about 25 mg/dL 20 minutes into coffee with 2% milk and a packet of Sweet-and-Low.

Exercise

I'm keeping up both cycling and swimming. My confidence on the bike continues to increase. I'm riding the same route, but now I'm monitoring what gear I'm in — which means looking down at which rear cog the chain is on. I couldn't do that a couple of weeks ago. In the pool, I'm doing my exercises — yesterday I did it for 10 minutes — but kiddo and I are also playing badminton. It moves that exercise ring (on my Apple Watch), believe me.

Conclusion

Two weeks ago, I wrote:

My initial milestone, which is to reach the weight of 240 lbs. by July 1st, is part of the larger goal of getting down to wearing size XL shirts by the close of summer (Honestly, I don't know how close I am at this point because I got rid of probably all of my XL stuff sometime in 2019) and staying at XL through the colder months into next spring. It may be ambitious, but if I can remain on my current trajectory diet-wise, I shouldn't have any problem (after all, who gets fat off of chicken and lettuce?).

Well, I was off on that a bit. Six weeks in, I'm wearing those XL shirts, and I'm halfway to my original weight goal. My family and I can see improvements — Laurel points out that my "dunlop" is gone; I noticed in a recent photo that my head and neck are smaller. Most of the improvements I see are small things, like the guitar now hanging flat against my body. My 42" waist jeans are awaiting transfer to the garage or the attic; I bought a pair of 38" jeans a pair of 36"'s (I haven't tried either on yet). I'm ready to buy a leather punch to put a new hole in a belt I just bought maybe two months ago. Last night I noticed something was different while I was playing my guitar — I realized I couldn't see the fretboard anymore, because the instrument isn't resting on my belly while I play. All of these are fantastic, and excite me for the potential of the next six weeks.

WEIGHT: 248 as of 5/17/2021

It's been an action-packed few weeks. I guess I'll start by saying it really does come down to two things: diet and exercise. Over my adult life, I've attempted a balance between the two several times, but it never quite worked. I was generally able to get one right but not the other; I was like a kid learning to ride a bicycle, tipping to the left and to the right trying to find an equilibrium while moving forward.

To remain upright, all of those directions matter.

Today, I think the best I'm willing to say is I'm back on that bike, and I'm upright.

My goals are weight loss and significant improvement in my general health. And I think the weight loss will come with the health improvement.

Diet

I radically changed my diet nearly a month ago. And believe me, my diet was absolute shit: I was eating hamburgers from several times each week to at least once per day. Today, I can tell you I've maintained my normal breakfast, but lunch and dinner is typically some combination of chicken and lettuce. I've had red meat three times in the past month, and how it's prepared makes a tremendous difference. I've also stopped eating and drinking after dinner.

MetFormin

MetFormin is a time-tested drug used to control blood sugar and lower one's A1C, which is a measure of one's blood sugar levels over a three-month period. I was prescribed MetFormin about two and a half years ago, and I had trouble with it constantly — I would call such events my "MetFormin workout," because I'd throw up everything left in my stomach at about 1:30 AM until I could taste the medication I took hours earlier; then I'd be sore for a couple of days afterwards from the heaving. I tolerated it so poorly that I simply stopped taking it. I was throwing up in the middle of the night a few times each week, and I was waking up my family each time.

I've discovered the trick — and I wish I'd learned this years ago: MetFormin and grease are NOT friends. I believe now the reason I had such a difficult time with the medication is because I still had the diet of a teenager. I also believe now that this was wisdom I was not ready to receive.

In the past month, I've only had "a workout" once or twice: both times after a day when I ate one of those burgers.

The other time I enjoyed red meat was in a steak salad. The steak was prepared well, except it was cut in the wrong direction. No grease. No problem that night. So, I had my answer: grease was my enemy.

The change in diet is responsible for my current success with MetFormin.

Blood Sugar Testing

As far as diet, this is where the rubber meets the road. I started testing my blood sugar again after several years' hiatus. And the readings were shockingly bad.

And shockingly bad was good.

It was good because it prompted me to really examine my diet and to make changes to improve my readings.

It was this kind of analysis that led me to discover my number one enemy was something I've been drinking for YEARS: Nestle Coffee Mate Sugar Free French Vanilla coffee creamer.

My own testing led me to believe the problem was something about my coffee, but I didn't know exactly what. Confirmation (of a sort) came from a few product reviews on Amazon.com, made by people who have, or support people who have, diabetes. One reviewer mentioned that his readings would spike 120 mg or more from use of this creamer; my readings were consistent with his.

Happily, we still have some half-and-half in the fridge; I used it and a packet of Sweet-n-Low in this morning's cup (though guidance I'm reading on the Web suggests I should probably just go with our 2% milk). To be honest, it doesn't taste nearly as good. My cup this morning was like a black-and-white photo; the vibrant colors were comparatively reduced to shades of gray. Okay, that was pretty dramatic and sad. My point is simply that I really miss the flavor and creaminess the Coffee Mate provided, but I can't use it anymore. (By the way, I also found news of a class-action lawsuit filed against Nestle in the State of California accusing Nestle of still using partially hydrogenated oil in Coffee-mate; PHO was banned by the FDA years ago.)

Lifestyle changes like this and the overall change in diet are bringing my numbers down to where they should be; this week I had a few readings in the 100's and 110's. And I only started measuring my blood sugar again 10 days ago.

Exercise

All these diet changes and blood sugar readings are only half of the equation. I'm very motivated to exercise now that warmer temps are here — I think I've mentioned before the weird workout I devised in my pool late last year (my great regret being that it hadn't occurred to me early in the season). But, as recent posts have shown, I've brought back an old flame: cycling.

Swimming

There are so many benefits to swimming. Last year during the lockdown, our pool was an absolute lifesaver: we spent time outdoors, we soaked in Vitamin D from the sun, and stayed cool despite the hot summer weather.

Late last year I devised a weird workout that I stuck with until the pool became too cold to swim in (I think I stretched it until early November). The exercises work the shoulders, triceps, and lats, and probably provide some cardio-related benefits. Family and friends have tried it and told me it's difficult for them to do — I interpret their remarks as anecdotal evidence that I might be onto something. Friends last year also noticed the changes in my body after doing it for a little while. All great encouragement.

So this is why I'm super excited to have resumed these exercises a few weeks ago. When combined with the changes in diet, I think I'll have a body to really be proud of by late summer.

Happily, I'm not the only one benefiting from these exercises: my daughter joins me for these workouts. She reports feeling much the same things I do — she feels some soreness in her shoulders and arms just after working out, and was feeling it later on, too. I want to help her with her weight loss and exercise goals as much as I can. Plus, it's time together in the pool. How great is that?

Cycling

Cycling is sort of the "leg day" counterpart to my upper body workouts in the pool, but it's actually more than that — there's core strength being built just by being on the bike (one doesn't really think much about this, but one has to support their upper body by gripping the handlebars) and obvious cardio work, too.

I'm just getting used to riding again. I have a short "track" that goes around a few blocks of my sub that boasts both elevation increases and decreases — great for getting used to shifting and working to keep a consistent pace with minimal traffic.

Eventually I'll begin to widen my "track" to include more local scenery, and later start some destination riding. Baby steps for now as I get used to things again.

Aging adds its own challenges. The biggest one I can think of is my eyesight. After much thought, I decided to order prescription sunglasses. I bought them primarily for riding, but I drive with them, too. I'm just not comfortable with not being able to clearly read license plates or street signs. If I got into some kind of accident, I'd be screwed trying to identify essential information without prescription lenses.

Conclusion

I'm really proud of myself for all the things I'm doing now. I mean, look at everything I wrote — I've been doing all of that for only a few weeks. I'll weigh myself again on Monday morning, and expect to be somewhere around 246.

At this point, I think the hardest thing for me is fasting after dinner. Somewhere around 8:30 I start feeling hungry again for about an hour; I have to just ignore it.

Perhaps I'm finally acting like a grown-ass adult.

My initial milestone, which is to reach the weight of 240 lbs. by July 1st, is part of the larger goal of getting down to wearing size XL shirts by the close of summer (Honestly, I don't know how close I am at this point because I got rid of probably all of my XL stuff sometime in 2019) and staying at XL through the colder months into next spring. It may be ambitious, but if I can remain on my current trajectory diet-wise, I shouldn't have any problem (after all, who gets fat off of chicken and lettuce?).

WEIGHT: 252 as of 4/26/2021

For the first time in years, I weighed myself this morning on our bathroom scale.

I did it because I feel the need to measure my progress, although I also wish to avoid the mania of letting daily weigh-ins drive my behavior.

As mentioned in a previous post, my goal is to reach 240 lbs. by July 1st, driven solely by diet and exercise — though I'll have to wait a little bit on the exercise part (the pool was 72°F yesterday). No managed program, and NO FENTERMINE. It's about cutting down, not cutting out.

Observations from the previous week (my first full week with the dietary change: I generally feel better; I feel like I have more energy. I'm not getting up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom; the glasses I've had for a year and a half now slide off of my face when I lean forward. The old shorts I tried on last week seem to be getting easier to button (though that might be explained through use; I've warn them intermittently (it's been a cool week).

Here's the bad part: When I pause and look at that reading of 252.0, there's part of me that wonders if I could make 250 by next week...

...which invites that manic behavior I'm trying to avoid.

WEIGHT: 255 as of 4/15/2021

I posted the image above two four years ago.

I feel a bit like I'm in confession. "Father, It's been two years since my last fitness post." In that last post, I caught you up on the events of the previous two years — the layoff, selling the house and moving in with relatives; the depression that ensued; spending everything we had to move south for a new job, where I and hundreds of other employees were laid off, and being marooned in a new environment.

I also wrote the following:

This Time Around

My weight loss approach this time is different than it had been. First, I'm not weighing myself at home. My wife asked me about this just this morning. I'm letting the doctor's office handle the weigh ins, because I don't want to make my weight the center of an infoporn obsession. Last time, I was weighing myself every day, and recording those weights on my site so I could graph and chart the sh!t out of them (and use it as an excuse to do even more crazy stuff with my charting class). I'm not creating an obsession this time. I know weight is coming off because I'm fitting in my clothes better, and because my daughter especially has noticed — we have a standing date in our pool in the afternoons; she told me she can see a difference. Those things are good enough for me, I think. Well, and I want to notice a difference, too, obviously; I'll carry myself better if I have a little pride in my progress. I think it's going to be a little difficult to feel that pride while I'm obsessing over numbers. Forest for the trees kinda thing.

Well, here we are two years further down the road. First off, COVID torpedoed everything. I mean EVERYTHING. I've basically spent 13 months in quarantine. We spent last summer in our pool as we always do, only more than usual because everybody was in quarantine. I'm so amazingly thankful we bought a house with a pool: it made the time SO much easier. We were all getting lots of Vitamin D from the sun, spending time in the open air within the confines of our yard. I can't imagine how we would have passed the time last year without it.

The summer in the water was relaxing. And that was essential, because the summer indoors was stressful: my client basically ghosted me and my company for six months. I was forced to find another job — I found one last September, but delays kept me from making a single dime until this past February. If there's any comfort in not having paid our mortgage for six months, it's that a great many were in the same boat I was. My point is simply to say that the quarantine was stressful in numerous ways.

We're still working to get out of the hole the pandemic put us in, both financially and emotionally. In fact, I asked my doctor for a prescription for something to help take the edge off. I just started it this week.

And speaking of doctor visits, let me come to the point of the post: I was in for a checkup last week, and was thrilled to learn that I've lost 20 pounds since my last visit — I tipped the scales at 255, with jeans and bulky sandals. And my blood pressure was normal. I also saw my optometrist; new glasses are on the way.

I got brave and tried on a pair of shorts I haven't worn in probably four years. And I'm wearing them now, as I type. They fit a little tight, but they're buttoned. The last time I attempted to wear these I had at least a two-inch gap between the button and it's hole. I'm so glad I kept them.

Also, I noticed last night that my glasses are slipping off of my head. It's a really subtle change — my hair has grown out (many call it "the COVID cut": men are either cutting it all off (themselves) or just letting it grow) so I doubt anyone would be able to notice... but three times in the past day my glasses nearly slid down my nose and off of my head. Good problem to have.

There's been another change to report — I've basically stopped drinking. I made that change sometime last year. Basically, kiddo had a seizure one evening. To help kiddo, I essentially had to also manage Laurel, who insisted on helping but was too drunk to understand what she was actually doing. Laurel doesn't get drunk too often, but it the event was enough to make me sort out priorities. And also now, in April 2021, I've started a medication that warns against alcohol use -- so now when I turn down a drink, I have a solid medical reason I can rely on, apart from personal choice.

So among the weight, the glasses, and the shorts, I'm super motivated right now to make some changes to diet, and I have to say I already feel a difference in my energy. My goal is to cut back, not to cut out. I work at this daily.

I am waiting with great anticipation for the pool to warm to temperature. Last August I devised a workout that produced some really nice results by October, as evidenced by comments I received from friends and family. From the calorie burn perspective, I was solidly making 200% of my burn goal DAILY while I was exercising. The only thing about it I didn't like was that I didn't think of it until very late in the season. So this year I can't wait to get back in and start again!

Lastly, because my weight is where it is, I am really thinking about getting back on a bicycle for the first time in years. That reminds me... I need to look for a local bike shop.

As far as what I wrote two years ago, I still agree with avoiding daily weight measurements to not let myself get caught up in the infoporn and potentially make some bad moves. But I have to weigh that wisdom against my current motivation — I've been making healthier choices for a week now, and would like some sense of how I'm doing... so perhaps I could let myself weigh in on a weekly basis or something. Oh — also, no Fentermine. At least, not right now. I'd rather make the changes to diet to set me up for success when I start exercising. Plus, I like pooping... I like pooping better than not pooping.

If I'm at 255 now (without trying), I think I can reasonably set an initial goal of 240. Let's try to reach that goal by July 1st, WITHOUT the manic weigh-ins.

I posted the image above two years ago.

Life was really good then: I was active, I was slender, I was healthier. I lived in a lovely home in the Midwest, in a lovely neighborhood, with lovely people. And I had a position that I also loved. I had plans to buy a larger home and to move my mother-in-law in with us, because my father-in-law's health was in significant decline, and I didn't want mom alone in her home over the winter.

A few months on, I lost that position that I loved due to layoffs. I lost that house that I loved. Instead of moving the mother-in-law in with us, we moved in with her. I was angry, and I became depressed. Something about my health changed. All of the advances I'd made in improving my health over the previous couple of years had vanished by the following spring.

...and I May Ask Myself, "Well, How Did I Get Here?"

Last spring, I was hired by a company in Dallas and was asked to move down. That summer was spent on househunting trips, buying our Dallas home, and getting settled. The change in everything was disruptive.

Today, two years on, I'm happier generally. It took a while for us to find a family physician — hampered in part by a massive influenza outbreak — but my doctor renewed my Fentermine prescription, and I'm happy to say that the other night, I wore clothes to a semiformal event that I hadn't worn in quite some time.

This Time Around

My weight loss approach this time is different than it had been. First, I'm not weighing myself at home. My wife asked me about this just this morning. I'm letting the doctor's office handle the weigh ins, because I don't want to make my weight the center of an infoporn obsession. Last time, I was weighing myself every day, and recording those weights on my site so I could graph and chart the sh!t out of them (and use it as an excuse to do even more crazy stuff with my charting class). I'm not creating an obsession this time. I know weight is coming off because I'm fitting in my clothes better, and because my daughter especially has noticed — we have a standing date in our pool in the afternoons; she told me she can see a difference. Those things are good enough for me, I think. Well, and I want to notice a difference, too, obviously; I'll carry myself better if I have a little pride in my progress. I think it's going to be a little difficult to feel that pride while I'm obsessing over numbers. Forest for the trees kinda thing.

Fentermine, My Old Friend

Getting reacquainted with Fentermine has been a little challenging. In my first follow-up with my doctor, I was able to recount for her all of the things about taking it that I'd forgotten over the past couple of years — like the constantly dry mouth and occasional constipation (I stopped making fun of Dulcolax and Benefiber ads after my first really bad experience).

Fentermine is no joke. It speeds the metabolism, meaning that even little things that excite you take longer to recover from; like the time it takes for your heart rate to slow and your body to relax going from jumping jacks to being seated. Tonight I sweated for probably two hours while I cleaned the house — a task which included the discovery of a special feline surprise in the laundry room (a laundry basket "took one for the team" today). When all was done, I got into my pool to cool off. I feel like I sweat at the drop of a hat and I become more irritable on full-dose days.

Anyway, enough crabbing. I'm simply trying to say that it has its drawbacks — along with most things in life — and so one must make choices.

My choice at this point is to continue.

It looks like Starbucks just handed a double shot of "eff you" to customers with health concerns like diabetes

Starbucks has discontinued their Mocha Light Frappucino base. I have a huge problem with that.

No. I have a grande problem with that: According to the nutrition information Starbucks had published on their website at starbucks.com, a grande-sized Mocha Frappucino, made without whipped cream and using nonfat milk, contains 59 grams of sugar (and is 270 calories); ¹ contrast with the same sized Mocha Light Frappucino, at 26g (140 cal),² which is not served with whipped cream and doesn't offer a milk option. The Mocha Light Frappucino has less than half the sugar of the regular recipe, and about half of the calories.

And, Starbucks has just introduced their Triple Mocha Frappucino — which, when made nonfat milk, contains 51g sugar (380 cal). ^{3, 4} Here's what Seth Meyers had to say about it last night:

On its face, the discontinuation of the Mocha Light Frappucino, coupled with the introduction of the Triple Mocha Frappucino, looks like Starbucks just handed a double shot of "eff you" to customers with health concerns like diabetes.

Yet Starbucks still has the gall to boast about their "commitment to health and wellness", and to state, "Starbucks has also committed to reducing average added sugar in indulgent beverages by 25 percent by the end of 2020." ⁵

I have called Starbucks support. The help desk person I spoke with was awesome, and promised me she would both escalate and "red-flag" the issue. At partially her behest, I have submitted the following on Starbucks' "ideas" website:

Please restore the Mocha Light Frappuccino.

The standard Mocha Frappuccino and the new Triple Mocha Frappuccino have unacceptable levels of sugar and calories for people with health issues like diabetes.

Removing the Light option significantly impacts the coffee drink options for people like me. But in the bigger picture, it also calls into question the commitment Starbucks made to health and wellness, and its commitment to reducing average added sugar in its beverages.

I'll be happy to update this post should Starbucks respond.

UPDATE:

Starbucks finally engaged me on this... somewhat. I've been receiving a barrage of personalized ads from them pushing their pumpkin spice lattes over social media, so I've been responding with comments like, "not until you bring back the Mocha Light Frappucino base." Today someone at Starbucks finally replied. Here's the play by play (with my image removed and name replaced with "Me". By the way, Starbucks did greet me by name):

I didn't throw at them the infoporn on their latest Frapbomination, OR how it, combined with the lack of a Splenda-enhanced option, completely flies in the face of their bullshit nutrition committment. At least give me that much.

By the way, just because I'm fighting for the Mocha Light Frappucino base doesn't mean it was all that amazingly good for me. For comparison: A 12-oz. (small) bottle of Coca-Cola has the same number of calories (140), but half-again as much sugar (39g compared with 26g).

It looks like Starbucks just handed a double shot of "eff you" to customers with health concerns like diabetes

Starbucks has discontinued their Mocha Light Frappucino base. I have a huge problem with that.

No. I have a grande problem with that: According to the nutrition information Starbucks had published on their website at starbucks.com, a grande-sized Mocha Frappucino, made without whipped cream and using nonfat milk, contains 59 grams of sugar (and is 270 calories); ¹ contrast with the same sized Mocha Light Frappucino, at 26g (140 cal),² which is not served with whipped cream and doesn't offer a milk option. The Mocha Light Frappucino has less than half the sugar of the regular recipe, and about half of the calories.

And, Starbucks has just introduced their Triple Mocha Frappucino — which, when made nonfat milk, contains 51g sugar (380 cal). ^{3, 4} Here's what Seth Meyers had to say about it last night:

On its face, the discontinuation of the Mocha Light Frappucino, coupled with the introduction of the Triple Mocha Frappucino, looks like Starbucks just handed a double shot of "eff you" to customers with health concerns like diabetes.

Yet Starbucks still has the gall to boast about their "commitment to health and wellness", and to state, "Starbucks has also committed to reducing average added sugar in indulgent beverages by 25 percent by the end of 2020." ⁵

I have called Starbucks support. The help desk person I spoke with was awesome, and promised me she would both escalate and "red-flag" the issue. At partially her behest, I have submitted the following on Starbucks' "ideas" website:

Please restore the Mocha Light Frappuccino.

The standard Mocha Frappuccino and the new Triple Mocha Frappuccino have unacceptable levels of sugar and calories for people with health issues like diabetes.

Removing the Light option significantly impacts the coffee drink options for people like me. But in the bigger picture, it also calls into question the commitment Starbucks made to health and wellness, and its commitment to reducing average added sugar in its beverages.

I'll be happy to update this post should Starbucks respond.

Laurel bought me a Series 3 unit to replace my broken Series 1.

I feel like the watch is a symbol for a return to normalcy; the life I led before everything just went off the rails late last summer.

I'm sure that sounds weird, but look at it this way: I used my watch to do three things, mainly:

• Check the current time
• Track my day
• Track my progress on my fitness goals.

I can track time on any watch. The real heart of the matter is in the last pair of bullets.

Track My Day

I feel like I just sorta float through my day at my new job. I find I miss the tighter integration I had in my previous position. My Apple Watch was absolutely fantastic because it would filter my schedule down to simply what I had coming next. Whatever and whenever that was, was displayed at the bottom of my watch face. I would receive haptic indications on things like the start of my next meeting, and it would make me get up and walk around if I'd been at my desk for too long. Not having those has probably made me feel more "afloat" than perhaps I really am.

Track My Fitness Goals

Over the past few months — especially since living here — my fitness has fallen flat on its face. I've been depressed; I haven't been motivated to... stay awake, much less exercise. Besides, it's been as cold as can be outside. I've gained back all of the weight I'd lost, and I'm probably nearly back to square one.

What does this Apple Watch mean?

It means hope.

I'm proud to say that, in the past two days since receiving it, I've been paying close attention to my calorie burn (red) ring. I'm pleased to say I'm burning more than I guess I thought I would — and I'm also pleased to say that I'm watching my number closely and trying for more.

It's all the proof I need that hope has returned.

I've been working on this project for a long time — two years — and as you can imagine, the team is always happy to see each other on the rare occasions we can travel and get together.

Some months ago, one of our number started experiencing a problem in his hand. He started having frequent doctor visits, which seemed unusual to me and probably to the rest of us.

Over time, he seemed to become less and less available. When I'd hear him on conference calls, there were mornings he sounded exhausted. Something in his voice was different. It wasn't the same guy we all loved to see.

Only in recent weeks did I learn that he is suffering from ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gherig's Disease; it is considered a group of rare neurological diseases affecting voluntary muscle movement.

ALS and its component diseases are part of a broader class of motor neuron disorders. These disorders all share traits of degeneration and/or death of the nerve cells responsible for message transmission from the brain to the spinal cord and out to extremities. The neutralization of these motor neurons eventually translates into spasms or even atrophy of the muscles no longer receiving the messages they should.

My friend has this.

And I'm not okay with that.

He has started a foundation to raise funds for ALS research. Presently, a number of us are supporting his foundation through a Stridekick campaign, but we can all make donations through the Foundation's Facebook page.

Please consider making a donation. Particuarly if you or someone you know has been touched by this awful disease.

UPDATE: I received word this morning that Mario's fight with ALS ended yesterday morning.

Over 17 months, the disease brutalized and ultimately extinguished a loving, caring soul.

The organization's Facebook page asks that expressions of love and sympathy be made in donations in lieu of flowers.

My daughter reminded me on Halloween that the following day I'll have gone without soda for an entire YEAR.

Looking back, I find it's pretty amazing — the passage of time that is. The effort was minimal.

I stick with previous observations about how staying away from it only really seemed difficult at the movie theater. But in the year that's passed, we've become used to buying water and adding flavoring to it to enhance our moviegoing experience.

My substitution of choice is iced tea, and tiny spaces in my car are packed with pink packets.

(Also see: A MONTH Without Cola.)

It's hard to believe it's only been a few months since Laurel and I started walking first thing in the morning after kiddo caught the school bus.

Today we're walking her to school, then continuing in a sort of a loop back home. Our course is far more challenging than our old route was, primarily due to altitude changes. The walk offers some fairly steep hills. This walk is also a bit longer than our old route.

If my Apple Watch is fitted correctly, I can get about 22 of 30 daily activity minutes just from this morning route. That really makes the early effort worth it!

Final stats are in — I finished 11th of 21.

I found some nice motivation in working to take over the position of the person ahead of me. I did this a few times over the month (I think I started 14th). It motivated me to work harder. The person in 10th finished some 70,000 steps ahead of me — talk about a stretch goal!

I'm not certain at this point what my relationship with Stridekick will be moving forward. I joined Stridekick as part of a group from work. Since the company has dismissed many of us, I'm unsure if I'll continue to use it (besides, my account is associated with my work e-mail address, which I'll obviously no longer have).

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After my evening walk, I've taken 11th place from my target — provisionally: the numbers show I'm ahead of her by nearly 3,000 steps, but her data is 12 hours old.

I may have more work to do tomorrow to "seal the deal."

We're smart people. And because we're smart people, we have some smart technologies in our home. A great example is a computer surge protector that kills power to everything on the strip once the computer is shut off. It's super nice because peripherals power up and down with the computer (which is plugged into a specific outlet on the strip).

What's not so smart is having other things plugged into the same surge protector -- "other things" being our treadmill.

The computer on the strip is Laurel's work computer — a system to which neither have nor need access. On Saturday night I learned that her computer will shut itself down after 5 minutes of being powered up without further user interaction.

If you're working out at that point, the treadmill will stop abruptly. At 3+ MPH, it will occur shortly after the 1/4 mile mark. It's jarring. But you can keep your heart rate up by hurrying over to the PC to hit the power button again (were this captured on video, you likely won't be proud of your gait) and back onto the machine to start all over again.

A fifteen-minute workout will come with two of these breaks, plus the benefit of "auto shut-off" at the end.

I'm closing in on my next victim: the person in 11th place is now only 10,000 steps ahead of me.

Make that 8,000.

I'm super proud to report that I've kept my Move Streak alive for 100 days as of today!

My company has started its own Stridekick Challenge for the month of August. The challenge is team oriented — two teams of participants are competing for bragging rights (for as much as people brag about walking). The teams are led by the two people who completely killed it in the previous challenge.

As of today, I'm in 15th place of 21.

Tonic, a website and digital video channel that covers wellness, science, and health, reported that "men who consume high levels of sugar are more likely to develop depression or anxiety compared to those with low-sugar diets," according to a study published in Nature by researchers at University College London.

Of 7,000 surveyed over 30 years beginning in 1983, men who consumed 67 to 100 grams of added sugar in their diets (268 to 400 tsp (!!)) were 23% more likely to experience anxiety or depression over the next 5 years than men who consumed fewer than 40 grams (160 tsp) of added sugar, suggesting that a high-sugar diet may have long-term effects on mental health.

The same could not be said of the 2,000 female respondents. Researchers were unsure as to why their results differed from the men.

The Tonic article also cited research that asserted the sugar sources of choice for 3 out of 4 Britons are sweet foods and beverages.

Read the full Tonic article here. (Image credit: Peter Dazeley/Getty Images.) The study was published online in the journal Nature.

YourNewsWire.com reported that food producers have renamed high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in order to deceive the public into thinking their products no longer contain the harmful compound.

The article makes an example of Vanilla Chex cereal by General Mills:

According to the Corn Refiners Association (CRA), there's been a sneaky name change. The term 'fructose' is now being used to denote a product that was previously known as HFCS-90, meaning it is 90 percent pure fructose. Compare this to what is termed 'regular' HFCS, which contains either 42 or 55 percent fructose, and you will know why General Mills is so eager to keep you in the dark.

CRA explains:

"... HFCS-90 is sometimes used in natural and 'light' foods, where very little is needed to provide sweetness. Syrups with 90% fructose will not state high fructose corn syrup on the label [anymore], they will state 'fructose' or 'fructose syrup'."

Read the full article here. (Image credit: yournewswire.com)

What's the Big Deal?

Reading the article, it sounds like renaming HFCS-90 to "fructose" shouldn't deserve the shade yournewswire.com gives it. I mean, if it's 90% fructose, why not just call it "fructose?"

Here's why: natural sugar and "fructose" aren't the same thing. Actual fructose is a component of sugar; sucrose molecules are broken down by digestion to be useful to the body. The fructose contained in HFCS is not digested, as Dr. Mark Hyman explains in his article, "5 Reasons Why High Fructose Corn Syrup Will Kill You" (emphasis mine):

High fructose corn syrup is an industrial food product and far from "natural" or a naturally occurring substance. It is extracted from corn stalks ... resulting in a chemically and biologically novel compound called HFCS. Some basic biochemistry will help you understand this.

Regular cane sugar (sucrose) is made of two-sugar molecules bound tightly together– glucose and fructose in equal amounts. The enzymes in your digestive tract must break down the sucrose into glucose and fructose, which are then absorbed into the body. HFCS also consists of glucose and fructose, not in a 50-50 ratio, but a 55-45 fructose to glucose ratio in an unbound form.... Since there is there is no chemical bond between them, no digestion is required so they are more rapidly absorbed into your blood stream. Fructose goes right to the liver and triggers lipogenesis (the production of fats like triglycerides and cholesterol) [. This] is why it is the major cause of liver damage in this country and causes a condition called "fatty liver" which affects 70 million people. The rapidly absorbed glucose triggers big spikes in insulin – our body’s major fat storage hormone. Both these features of HFCS lead to increased metabolic disturbances that drive increases in appetite, weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, dementia, and more.

So the big deal is, products are being packaged stating they're free of HFCS, when in fact they still contain the engineered, unbound form of fructose. Even worse, HFCS-90 is 90% unbound fructose, not the 42% or 55% fructose in standard HFCS — basically, twice the concentration of unbound fructose of the other two varieties (albeit used in lesser quantity, according to the CRA source of the yournewswire.com article).

For my second month in a row, I earned the achievement for reaching my daily move goal every day of the previous month.

And by the way, an important clarification: these achievements are not "you've hit your move goal for 30 days in a row." These are aligned with the calendar month — so if you start making your move goals on the second of the month like I did in May, you get... regret.

Received a nice compliment this morning.

I'd mentioned that for the past few weeks I've been using a set of 5-lb. weights with my workouts, and only recently have I been able to keep the "Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots" mode engaged throughout the entire workout.

Apparently, it's already starting to pay off — I was told some added definition is already visible.

That's a great thing, because R-S-R always kicks my A-S-S.

Here's how to wreck my day: Get my wife to suggest I go weigh myself.

I'm back up to two hundred fifty fucking pounds.

Yes, I know that muscle weighs more than fat, and all that crap. When I was taking Phentermine, I was looking at 225 (I don't think I ever quite got there, though), but I wasn't doing any exercise at all. Now I'm a slave to my Apple Watch and I'm up 20 pounds.

I'm not emotionally ready to say I'm up by only 20 lbs. I'm going to be pissed off at the world for a little while until I get the motivation I need. This is pretty crushing.

Even better: I'm in my nasty workout clothes, because I go exercise after my morning meeting. Right now, I'm a hair away from giving up, it shook me that much.

I haven't weighed myself in 2 ½ months. Since then I've been making tons of posts about all the walking I've been doing; my Move Streak is at like 85 days. And I've been free of weight loss medication for at least that long.

I posted a couple of days ago about how I've introdued wrist weights into my exercise routine. Today, thanks to inclement weather, I learned that using them while walking on a treadmill brings my awkwardness game to the next level.

My surmise is the culprit is the complication a moving, level platform presents: humans don't naturally walk at a steady pace. There's a lot of subtle mechanics at work in keeping one's body upright, balanced, and stationary relative to a platform moving at 3 MPH. Add to that 5 lbs. of additional weight on the forearms and concentrate on keeping them level with the platform, and voila! One hot mess with a high heart rate.

A couple of weeks ago, we bought some wrist weights for use in our outdoor walks.

We bought two sets — one 2-lb. weight set (each weight is 1 lb.), and one 5-lb. set (2.5 lbs. each).

We started off trading the weights back and forth — Laurel would use the 2-lb. set and I'd use the 5-lb. set one day, then we'd switch. I think it's still a good plan. But we had some weirdness last week where Laurel was stuck to her desk a few times while I went walking, and I ended up using the 5-lb. set each day.

Using those weights was weird for the first few days. I tried a few different "walking styles" to get comfortable with them, and I think I've settled on a sort of "Rock 'em Sock 'em Robot" method: bending my arms 90°, with my forearms level with the ground, and rocking them back and forth at my sides with each step, keeping them straight like I'm holding ski poles or throwing punches at the waist. Because the weights have flaps with thumb-holes, I find my ball my hands into fists without thinking about it.

When I started with these weights, I couldn't keep the "Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots" form for the entire walk. My shoulders would hurt, so I'd drop my arms for a while. But by last Thursday, I was able to maintain "fighting form" for the entire walk, and have done so each walk since.

I'm now over 80 days into my Move Streak. I like the addition of the weights, because I feel like I'm working my shoulders and my abs more while walking, and I suspect it's translating into a bigger calorie burn by some low percentage.

I am immensely grateful to Apple for their Activity app, the three rings and the whole nine.

Now 65 days into my Move Streak and having earned multiple instances of the 7-Workout Week and Perfect Week (All Activity) achievements, I'm kinda left wanting.

I'm a little surprised that there isn't an achievement for Perfect Month, for example. I got all of those Perfect Week achievements across an entire MONTH — shouldn't that count for something?

Today is the first day in at least a month — maybe more like two months — that our morning walk had to happen on our treadmill.

Months ago when I started on the treadmill, I was walking at a pace of about 1.7MPH. In contrast, I wasn't happy this morning until I reached a pace of 2.9MPH — nearly twice the former speed.

I've become used to doing a circuit of 1.22 miles. This takes us up and down inclines, from shade to sun, and from breeze to still to breeze again. We walk this route in the mornings and walk at an aggressive pace to get the majority of our activity out of the way before the heat of the day.

The analog on a treadmill is... challenging. No inclines, no declines — just flat. I didn't have the experience of pain in varying areas of my lower legs (I didn't necessarily miss it, but I can confirm that pain IS likely the product of variations in the walking surface). No sun, no shade, no breeze. No companion, and no conversation — treadmill walking is a solo effort.

Then there's all this right in my face for five laps:

Useful: Seeing the relationship between calories burned and distance. (100 calories per mile, according to this display.)

The biggest disappointment though is my stats. My Apple Watch measured my effort at 1.23 miles (nearly spot on with my normal outdoor route). Here's the infoporn, comparing today's indoor walk with yesterday's outdoor walk and an outdoor walk this afternoon:

Particularly telling here is the average heart rate data. These rates translate into green ring data. This morning's indoor walk only credited me for 8 minutes of exercise, as compared with my normal outdoor walk, from which I routinely get credit for about 22 minutes of exercise, though the calorie burn, time and distance is generally comparable. (I can't explain why the Elevation Gain varied so much — it's the same route.)

I'm coming up very short so far today, and I think the big difference is in the lack of inclines and declines, because I think they're the key factor in having that good, higher heart rate that meets the activity standard. Notice that the pace in the outdoor walks is much lower than this morning's indoor walk, and still the heart rate and activity minutes were far higher in the outdoor walks.

Apart from daily progress, though, I'm pretty amazed at how different use of the treadmill is now that I've been doing all of these outdoors workouts. Treadmill use is WAY more boring now that it used to be — and I'm sure going a LOT faster!!

As of today (June 29), I've one day remaining in the challenge. I said I'd make Marathon:

As of today (June 27), I've made it over 108 miles, which puts me just south of Conch Key. I am still in ninth place and still on track for Marathon.

Everyone below me has basically given up. The gap between me and the person in tenth is some 100,000 steps.

I have a lot to thank Mario for. On Sunday I acquired my third "Perfect Week (All Activity)" achievement in the Activity app. That means I've been closing all three rings in the Activity app for three weeks now — a feat I didn't think I'd accomplish. This Stridekick challenge has helped me to be much better to myself from an exercise standpoint. I'm sad I'm not going to meet others at Virtual Sloppy Joe's, but look how far I've come!

By the way, my Move Streak is now at 55 days. That's 55 days of meeting or exceeding my daily calorie burning goal.

We found ourselves once again in need of a fast lunch. I opted for a nearby Wendy's, chiefly because I can get cut strawberries instead of fries as part of a meal.

I'm in the drive-through placing the order. First Laurel's, then mine. Just when I complete my statement, I hear this reply: "Garbage."

My mind whirled. Responses I considered:

• "What?? Lettuce and tomato isn't good enough on that burger?"
• "HEY! That's my LUNCH!"
• "I know, I know, I should have ordered the salad."

The person taking my order was a manager, who immediately explained that her remark was in response to a query from a coworker. The response wasn't intended for me (and I knew it right away).

It was a good laugh.

For me, exercise has always been something that I did but never really wanted to do--with the sole exception of cycling. I love cycling. I rediscovered it once, and I think I'm becoming well-positioned to rediscover it again. Outside of cycling, exercise was mostly military PT. I just never loved it. I probably never even liked it, although there was a time I did it so often I became used to it.

So, thanks to Apple, I have these little achievements (pictured at top) to help motivate me to succeed. At left is the achievement for hitting the exercise goal each day for the week; to its right, the achievement for hitting the stand goal each day for a week (that is, standing and walking about in an hour for 12 hours in the day); to its right, the achievement for hitting the calories burned/move goal each day of the week (this one moves up each week; my streak is currently at 46 days); and finally, at far right, is the achievement for hitting all three of the aforementioned goals each day for a week.

These achievements correlate to rings that appear in the Activity app — a set of three circles that appear concentrically. At the start of the day, they just appear as three aligned dots; as progress is made, the dots "stretch" in a clockwise fashion. Each segment of a circle represents your progress through each day. Expanding each segment to form a circle is the goal (called "closing the ring"); the rings are essentially circular progress indicators.

You can see from the image above that I've closed the exercise ring for today (the green one) already; I'm over halfway to my move goal (the red one), and I'm just shy of halfway to my stand goal (the blue one).

I'm using these rings and achievements to motivate me to continue to better myself. As you've seen in previous posts, I started with the move goal, and I've done well with it — so I became a little brave.

Over the past two weeks I've paid particular attention to closing all three rings each day. I find that the activity (green) ring is the hardest to close, because it requires elevated heart rates; and so my strategy has been to take multiple, fast-paced walks throughout the day to satisfy the requirement. The strategy has had some unusually beneficial side effects:

1. There's nothing like sweat and exhaustion to keep me away from a second cup of coffee: I tend to try to "hit for distance" earlier in the day, leaving me less to have to do later on. So I'll take a longer walk at a faster pace at this time of day — after which, a hot cuppa does not appeal. In fact, I'm actually allowing coffee avoidance to get me out for the morning walks. I've been making myself go walk instead of going for that 2nd cup. My love of my coffee hates it, but the rest of my body appreciates it.
2. The distance I walk while mowing my front yard is ½ mile. My BPM gets high enough to count as exercise. But the map looks like a complete scribble.



3. I have a much greater appreciation for the subtle inclines and declines around my neighborhood. Mostly I can detect them based on which lower leg muscles are hurting at the time. Also: I should stretch.

I've settled into a sort of a routine: a 1¼-mile route in the morning, then a shorter, ½-mile route in the afternoon and evening. Every day. Laurel walks with me when she can, which, thankfully, is most of the time. I really love that this is something we do together.

I don't yet know if all of this has made me healthier, but I believe it has made me better: I feel that I'm really doing something good and positive for myself. And I know but I have to be patient, I have to stick with this to see more obvious results.

I feel like I have a program. Something to follow that requires effort and dedication. For that alone, I am grateful.

When I was working on solely diet-based weight loss, I just was not ready to commit to exercise. Perhaps I blamed it a little too much on my hectic work schedule... I just felt I didn't have room to commit to ANYTHING, because I was working ALL the time. Late nights; days without proper lunch breaks. There was no way in Hell I was going to commit to exercising 30 minutes per day when I couldn't even depend on having time for lunch.

Looking back, knowing what the commitment is like, I still say I wasn't positioned to execute. But life is better now; things have slowed enough that I made the commitment, and I'm glad I have.

Today I'll have earned that collection of badges pictured at top a second time. The change to allow me to do it was instrumental, and over the past couple of weeks I've had to fight a little to keep on track. Now that I'm doing, and achieving, I'll fight like Hell to keep building.

As of today (June 18), I've made it over 70 miles, which puts me in the Keys, at Key Largo. I am in ninth place and still on track for Marathon.

One guy, whom I'm convinced has no actual job, is already at Sloppy Joe's — he does something like 25,000 steps per day.

It's not too late to join the challenge!

Stridekick is a platform by which people's exercise (like walking) puts them in a virtual race over a given distance; sponsors pledge donations based on certain criteria, like miles per day or miles overall. Ours is a 30-day campaign to support the Mario A. Finnell ALS Foundation, which was kicked off on June 1st. The scenario is a walk from South Beach (Miami) to Key West — 170.25 miles.

As of today (June 7), I've made it over 25 miles, which puts me about where the Turnpike crosses with Highway 1. I am eighth in a field of 23. I do not expect to make the entire distance. My math suggests I'd need to average over 5 1/2 miles per day; may daily average is just shy of 4, giving me an effective range of 118 miles, which virtually leaves me up at Marathon while the finishers are crawling Duval Street.

I'm okay with that. I'm exercising way more than I was before -- I seem to struggle with balancing diet AND exercise; I'm usually great with one and awful with the other — and am focused now on closing all of the rings daily (I'm trying it out this week). I'm making the effort. The man in the lead is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out front — he did like 25,000 steps today. I'm not there.

But I am here — meaning I'm in the race and I'm doing my best.

And right now, I think my best is pretty good.

It's not too late to join the challenge!

I've been working on this project for a long time — two years — and as you can imagine, the team is always happy to see each other on the rare occasions we can travel and get together.

Some months ago, one of our number started experiencing a problem in his hand. He started having frequent doctor visits, which seemed unusual to me and probably to the rest of us.

Over time, he seemed to become less and less available. When I'd hear him on conference calls, there were mornings he sounded exhausted. Something in his voice was different. It wasn't the same guy we all loved to see.

Only in recent weeks did I learn that he is suffering from ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gherig's Disease; it is considered a group of rare neurological diseases affecting voluntary muscle movement.

ALS and its component diseases are part of a broader class of motor neuron disorders. These disorders all share traits of degeneration and/or death of the nerve cells responsible for message transmission from the brain to the spinal cord and out to extremities. The neutralization of these motor neurons eventually translates into spasms or even atrophy of the muscles no longer receiving the messages they should.

My friend has this.

And I'm not okay with that.

He has started a foundation to raise funds for ALS research. Presently, a number of us are supporting his foundation through a Stridekick campaign, but we can all make donations through the Foundation's Facebook page.

Please consider making a donation. Particuarly if you or someone you know has been touched by this awful disease.

I've been working really hard this week on closing all three rings in my exercise app every day this week. It's not easy for me to do.

The three rings represent different facets of exercise. The red ring is measured in calories burned throughout the day. The green ring is a measure of time your heart rate is elevated. The blue ring is hours in which you stood for at least a few minutes, to keep you from just staying seated at your desk all day long. The rings work like pie charts; if you're halfway to your goal on a particular facet, the graphic representation looks like a half circle. You've reached your goal for that facet when the ring looks like a complete circle.

The new achievement I received yesterday refers to the green ring, representing activity. For me, that's the hardest to achieve -- I have been satisfying that requirement by walking at a pace brisk enough to keep my heart rate sufficiently elevated. I'm finding that "sufficiently elevated" seems to be 100 BPM, but my evidence is anecdotal. I need 30 minutes total per day to close the ring; yesterday I got nearly 50 — hence the achievement.

I have a personal goal to close all three rings every day this week. I started on Sunday. With luck, I'll make it the new norm.

I sustained my move goal record for a 32nd consecutive day yesterday. But even more exciting was the additional achievement: 100 Move Goals. Yesterday I earned a new achievement for having reached my daily move goal 100 times (likely, overall).

I have heard, and mildly experienced in the past, that once one gets in the habit of exercise, one feels sad when one can't or doesn't get one's exercise in.

I've been doing this walking thing now for 30 days — specifically, I've been making sure I meet my "move goal," which is measured in calories burned. That goal gets incremented every week, even though I'm free to adjust it (and I generally do, but it's still an increase). I'm to 480 calories per day at this point, and about a week ago I began to see the number as a representation for some percentage of a meal.

But yesterday for the first time, the thought crossed my mind that I was looking forward to going on my evening walk. This is a sea-change from "I have to go on my evening walk."

By the way, Apple uses an award system to encourage and motivate (as evidenced by the symbol I keep posting for these exercise posts — it is Apple's symbol for their Longest Move Streak achievement). I did not achieve the Perfect Month goal for May because I started walking on May 2nd — so even though I met the "move goal" for 30 days, I won't get that achievement for May.

So far so good for June...

A friend and mentor of mine once described leadership as being inconvenient. I believe it's true; making decisions that can affect others and yourself can be... inconvient... but as long as you're confident in your decision, you should hold your head high despite the opportunity costs.

This evening I was scheduled to play poker on our monthly game. I have a hard and fast rule about this game: I am committed to going. I made a commitment to the league, and so I am duty bound to not let anything else get in the way, generally. I've reluctantly bowed out of last-minute family engagements because of this.

Well, when I looked at my watch this afternoon I recognized that there was no way I would be able to make the game AND retain my exercise streak. I'm closing on 30 days here — I can't just throw that away. So I got out on my walk, hoping it'd be enough and I'd be able to squeeze in both — but at about the halfway point of my route, there was just no way I was going to be able to burn what I needed to burn, plus get ready and make the drive to the game in time. The responsible call to make was to tell the group to count me out.

Of course I'm not happy about missing game night. It's my one night every month I get to spend with friends. But the exercise is more important to me — I knew I'd be spending the next five hours in a chair, and there was just no way I'd be able to make my daily goal with five hours cut out of my evening.

Of course, I'm going to have to explain myself to Laurel. That part I mentioned above about bowing out of family commitments? She's celebrating her sister's birthday without me this evening, again because I'd made the commitment.

I feel bad enough that I've missed a birthday celebration for my sister in law, even though it wasn't planned at the time we scheduled the game. So now, got going to the game... oof. I'll come clean when Laurel gets home, but I wouldn't be right with myself had I gone.

Just a quick note to catch you up. The move streak is still alive at day 21 (yesterday) — I haven't been doing workouts per se, because we've either been busy in the evenings (doing lots of walking) or the weather has been bad; but I'm still making the move goals.

This week's move goal is 450 calories. I know it's not a lot, but for a guy who was at one point stuck on a single conference call for 11 and a half hours, I'm grateful for any time away from my desk that I can get. Still, it helps to think that 450 calories is approaching a significant percentage of a meal — and that's motivating.

It's been a while since I've posted in health and fitness.

I've been off of diet medication for a couple of months now, having received no substantial assistance from it since I reached about 230 lbs. Laurel reached her weight goal of 175 and generally maintains her weight in the low 170's. But before she hit that goal, she was afraid she was going to fly past it — so she started taking on extra carbohydrate to try to "slow her roll." And I took on extra carbohydrate right along with her. By the end of April I was back around 240lbs, and not fitting into those lovely size 34's any longer.

Enter vacation — our biennial Disney death march. Went from walking about 1,500 steps per day to around 12,000 steps per day. For as much as I hate all of the walking we do, I always come home with some extra pep.

One particularly nice evening not too long after we returned, we took a nice evening walk. After a few evenings of this, My Apple Watch started to tell me I was doing good things. We started setting these evening walks as workouts, and now I'm been able to sustain my longest Move streak now for 16 days.

We've walked outside every evening save tonight — storms going through the area nixed tonight's installment — but I was able to grind it out on the treadmill to keep the streak alive.

Over the course of this Move streak, I've noticed my rings are fitting more loosely again, and tonight I'm back into one of those pairs of 34" waist shorts.

Over the past few days, I've been trying to take a lap around the block at some point in the afternoon, then walk about a mile and a half in the evening. Last night we took a little detour and ended up logging over 2 miles. I don't think I'm quite ready for that as a new standard, but it might happen in a few weeks.

I thought it was really cool that Apple created a special achievement just for getting out and exercising on Mothers Day!

I'm wearing a new pair of Levi's straight leg jeans... in a 34" waist.

I'm having a little trouble parsing how it's possible even though my weight has been stuck at around 229 for the past week or so, but I have been very good about getting my exercise in. I'm thrilled!

It's been a tough month. The medication I was on was a nice break for my bottom, but didn't seem to do a whole lot for suppressing my appetite. Though my waist measurement certainly shows progress, the scale seems far less conclusive.

Happily, I'm told that's to be expected — I've reached that 30% body fat percentage that is apparently signals the need for a shift in strategy. Unhappily, I'm told my muscle loss continued, despite the steady diet of protein shakes.

So exercise is now an imperative, in my view. For the past couple of days, I've made the time to walk on the treadmill for 15 minutes. At the rate of 1.6MPH, I'm burning between 50 and 60 calories, though the calorie burn isn't the object of the exercise... I think. (She's also increased my caloric intake.) Baby steps for now. I'm hoping I'll really take to it and increase the workouts.

Also, I've requested to go back on Phentermine, though I'm trying it at a lower dose than before. I want to stimulate fat loss after a flat month, but I also want to stave off the awful side effects came along with the higher dose. So we'll give this a shot for a couple of weeks and see what happens.

Super fishy that we've had warmer weather/higher humidity for about the past week, and my weight has mysteriously been up... then this morning, which is 30 degrees colder than yesterday, my weight is suddenly down by two pounds. TWO POUNDS. In a single day. My weight loss is generally a game of tenths of pounds. Given my level of exercise, losing two pounds in a day seems extremely unlikely.

I think I want to do some sort of analysis on how my weight has been compared to the temps/humidity. Curious if I can see some relationship.

I've been having a really tough time achieving weight loss lately. I don't know if the supressant I'm on is less effective, or I'm being more active, or a combination of the two.

EDIT:
p.s: Just received word my wife ordered lunch. From Schlotzky's.
p.p.s: Today's lunch: a protein bar, plus turkey and tomato slices and mayo-soaked lettuce peeled from a Schlotzky's sandwich.

I was just looking over our fitness charts when I realized that I passed the two month mark on being cola free. I actually wrote this on the 8th, but back-dated the post to the 5th to make it easier for me to track.

Overall, I think I've only found one other fast-food place the didn't offer iced tea. The movie theater thing still bugs me; we snuck bottled tea into the theater at one show, and another we added some sugar-free liquid to water we bought from the concessions stand. That will probably be our strategy going forward; this way we're only bringing in a tiny bottle and the movie house is still making concessions money (ripoff though it is).

Still no apparent link between quitting diet soda and progress. I suspect whatever impact it may have had has been spent by now.

Before my last weight loss endeavor ended at the close of 2012, I was making plans to get back into cycling — a love I'd lost for years; a flame I was hoping to rekindle. I'd loved cycling in my youth. I'd even brought my bike with me on vacations so I could ride during my visit.

One of the best and hardest places I rode was on an Army post jointly operated by the US and host country Panama. Talk about hill work — there were plenty of hills to ride just on post. I'd even spent some time without a car while I was there — I would ride down this big long curvy hill to the commissary with my seabag on my back, then ride back up that hill laden with groceries. Living there gave me plenty of opportunity to exercise.

I was downstairs the other day doing some maintenance on our water softener when I spied my bikes. I was surprised when I tapped myself on the shoulder and whispered, "You know, you're under 230 now. You could ride those over the winter."

I've been keeping the notion in the back of my head since then.

Four years ago I was getting all of the pieces together to do exactly this — start riding on a trainer in the basement in the evenings. My final post to the cycling page shows exactly where I left off.

Maybe I can actually do this.

In early November of 2012 I bought myself a pair of 35" waist jeans from Eddie Bauer. I'd tried them on the previous September, and I was likely blinded to how bad I looked in them by the pride I felt of being able to get them on. (I weighed just under 220 at the time, from what I can tell.) I didn't buy them that day, but I tried them on again at the store in early November, and sealed the deal.

Today, after weighing in under 230 lbs. for the first time since probably April, 2012, I found the courage to put them on.

A little over two months ago ago I made a post about putting on my 38" waist jeans. I titled the post, "Well, They're On, But They're Not Happy".

My experience with the 35s wasn't quite as... tight. That's a super good thing. They felt a little snug when I sat in my office chair. A little more progress should be made before I include them in the rotation, but I DID IT!

While writing the previous post, I became curious about when, during this journey, I started wearing the previous sizes. Here's the list I currently have. I'll say it's accurate to within a few days:

WAIST:	38"	36"	35"
	7/30/2016 -- --	10/17/2016 2 mo., 17 days -4.9lbs	12/24/2016 2 mo., 6 days -18.6lbs

Something with that data has to be off. There's no way that five pounds was the difference between a 38" waist and a 36" waist.

W00t! I'm down to 230 lbs as of this morning!

That's only FIVE POUNDS away from my initial goal of 225!

Yesterday I got my driver license renewed. I had been talking with the official about weight loss; she noted that my weight on my previous DL was listed at 225. I told her it'd be okay to keep it listed that way.

If it seems like I've made this post before, it's because I actually have.

It's been a while since I've sent an update on how I'm doing.

Well, I didn't make my goal of 225 in time for the company holiday party, but I did get to wear my suit again — and I felt pretty damn good in it, too.

Speaking of clothing, I think I've decided that my weight goal isn't a measurement of pounds (weight) so much as it is a measurement of clothing size: My goal is to wear size 34" waist jeans. For reference, I wore 32/32 jeans all through high school. So 34/32 would be pretty damn respectable 30 years on. I'm currently wearing a 36" waist. I think I'm close!

The weight loss fight has been difficult over the past couple of weeks. My clinician pulled me off of Phentermine and onto Diethylproprion. She told me it basically has the effectiveness of the former without the side effects. So far, I have my doubts about the effectiveness part: I've been getting mad hungry in the afternoons. But at least the side effects seem to be lessened: my mouth isn't nearly as dry, and haven't had any problems "backing the bus out of the garage" — likely due at least in part to the two doses of softener I've been taking every morning.

Numbers. Today is my second day at 230.6. I'd spent about a week around 232, hence the change in medication.

I didn't have any goals for this — just that some Monday about a month ago, I realized that I hadn't had any diet cola over the preceding weekend — so I thought I'd make a go of it.

I passed the one-month mark on Monday. In retrospect, I guess drinking it has been more a function of habit than anything else. Like, habit was what motivated the choice. Habit and ready availability are the biggest factors.

It takes a little doing to ask for iced tea instead. In all cases except one, it's readily available.*

Generally speaking, I'm doing fine. Looking at my chart , though, quitting soda appears to not have influenced my weight loss progress at all: In the 24 days prior to the day I quit, I had lost 7.4 lbs. In the 23 days that followed — these being the days which exclude soda -- I dropped 7.8 lbs. So, in my estimation, there's really no data to suggest that I enjoyed any advantage that was reflected on the bathroom scale.

*The one place I can't find iced tea as an option is at the local movie theater. Here too can one's choices be influenced by habit and availability: I was very used to buying a box of M&M's and sharing a giant diet cola at the movies — so sitting in the theater with only a bottle of water just... doesn't get it. It's pretty lame.

Well, it's happened before.

Actually, it went much further than that pile — I went for the suits I bought back in the fall of 2012 — I was in the home stretch of Atkins at the time, and my weight had plateued at about 225, I imagine. I'm super motivated to check out the fit of these suits, because I intend to wear one of them for my company Christmas party.

I tried on two suits — the first is a tan silk one I wore five years ago, and it fit VERY well. The second is one of those dress suits — a delicious dark brown pin stripe. The trousers fit very well, but I think the jacket was a teeny bit small. I've still got some work to do.

Next, I reached for a dress shirt I'd been longing to wear again. I think I bought it some six years ago as a "single guy goin' out" shirt. Survey says: It fits!

A pair of jeans I couldn't squeeze into last time: They fit! (Now I'm DEFINITELY taking those new jeans back.)

All-in-all, I'm quite happy with the results. The jacket gives me motivation to keep working, but the pants all fit right now!

Onward and downward!

I've long considered avoiding overeating on Thanksgiving a feat. So I was already pretty happy yesterday afternoon when I felt comfortable after dinner. But seeing that I'd dropped to 233.4 lbs this morning was VERY exciting!

I'm really looking forward to 225!!!

By the way, I bought a second pair of 36" waist jeans, but I haven't worn them yet. Perhaps if I make the progress I hope I'll make, I'll be able to wear those 35's and take the 36's back to the store!

Laurel's progress has really been spectacular. I've dropped a few since my last update, too — I weighed in at 236.2 today. We had a few days of unseasonably high temps and humidity that really screwed things up (retaining water - I could feel it in my fingers). Yeah, 3 1/2 pounds' progress is not so impressive... but it's progress.

I'm keeping my chin up, though — I'm just about at 235. And 235 puts me only 10 pounds away from 225 — and that's a big deal to me: the best I did when I was on the Atkins diet in 2012 was 216. Being at 225 puts me in that ballpark.

Speaking of dieting, I completely spaced on one dimension of my weight loss journey — that's the diet I started when after my appendectomy in May. The hospital informed me that I was diabetic. Starting at that point, sugar was a no-go for me. Two and a half months later, at the close of September, I started replacing my usual morning egg casserole with 11 ounces of protein shake. Finally, just before my previous post, I stopped drinking soda. The whole story is spelled out using the Diet filter on my chart.

Meanwhile, I can say happily that I've been wearing these 36" waist jeans for the past couple of weeks, that I'm wearing my lovely leather jacket again, and that last night for a family dinner, I wore a shirt I haven't been able to wear for four years.

I feel ecstatic!

I'm at 240.0 today!

I can really see the changes in my face and body now. A couple of days ago I put on a jacket that I couldn't fit into a few momths ago — I was using it to keep warm in my basement office, even though I couldn't button it. I put it on and Laurel could grab a fistful of material at my shoulder on either side.

That's a great feeling.

Who's got two thumbs and wasn't seduced by ANY of the candy from last night's festivities? THIS GUY!

I've lost 20 pounds since I started with the bariatric clinic.

I'm at 243.8 today!

Setting my sights on 240 now!

Phentermine is my friend. Protein shakes are friends AND food (a little "Finding Nemo" reference for you there).

Qsymia was good too - I wasn't on protein shakes back then. But Qsymia had its side effects. The first was that it hurts one's wallet. I was paying $160 for 30 days' worth — and that was WITH the manufacturer's discount! The medical side effects were... numerous -- tingling in my feet, diminished sense of smell and taste, to name a couple. (I later found out that the taste thing was on purpose: Qsymia was made for people who are addicted to soft drinks, and changes the way soft drinks taste to make them not as desirable.)

That isn't to say that Phentermine isn't without it's side effects. There are two, and they're big ones: dry mouth and constipation.

For anyone considering adding Phentermine to your diet plan — I want you to know that I'm experiencing these two side effects in a very big way. The dry mouth is a little bothersome, but that is also encouraging me to continue drinking water. The constipation, though — wow. I used to see those ads for Benefiber and Miralax and just disregard them as OPP — "old people problems." Not any longer. So, about that water... seriously consider buying some Benefiber that you can mix into your water. It doesn't seem to me to affect the taste or color of the water, and you're doing yourself a favor by adding it. Talk about OPP — now I have a container of Benefiber and a spoon as fixtures on my nightstand. I'm also taking Aloe Vera pills as part of my morning medication regimen (It's easy to tell what they're for: the gelcaps are brown in color), because my dietician recommended taking aloe shots, and I figured this was pretty close.

I don't want to get too graphic here, but the reason I'm writing this is because a few days ago I spent what felt like a half hour on the toilet trying to have a movement. And when I say "trying," I mean pushing and experiencing pain. Like arms-out-against-the-walls, this-must-be-what-a-bear-does-when-it-emerges-from-hibernation kinda pain. And I don't want to experience it again. And I don't want you to experience it ever.

So be kind to your behind — if you're considering Phentermine, please also consider some additives like Benefiber to make your weight loss journey a more gentle experience.

I seem to be stalled at 246.0. I've been there for a couple of days now.

In those couple of days, I've been wearing the size 36 jeans I put away in September. Before then, this is the last time I wore them.

I believe I was just the target of a cat call!

My daughter and I were dining al fresco last night at Old Chicago — we were the only ones outside. A trio of women walked past on their way out and I'd SWEAR I heard a cat call.

Wow, thanks!

Looking for clean jeans to wear tonight... thought I'd open that bag I'd marked as "too small" sometime last month... and I'm in a pair of Nautica jeans, size 36.

Also for grins, I dug out the belt I'd been wearing so often back in July... I'm now playing the FIFTH hole!

I'm happy to have weighed in at 246.4 this morning.

I'm also happy that my weigh-in with the doc went so well: I tipped their scale at 252.5, which put me at about 248.5 — right in line with the measurement I took the day before.

The doc was particularly happy that she'd gotten me onto the protein shakes. She also did a "body comp" measurement and found that of the 12 pounds I was down, over half of that was fat, but I'd also lost about two pounds of muscle. The protein shakes, along with exercise, ought to fix that.

My company's annual holiday party is slated for mid-December. I wonder if I can get back into those awesome suits I bought when I weighed in the 220's?

For now though, really, it's just about consistent progress. If I stay good, I should be at 245 by the middle of next week. Reaching 240 would be amazing.

Weighed in this morning. I'm still at 248.4.

Just for funsies, after taking my reading, I dressed again in my normal sleepwear -- a light tee shirt and underpants — and took another reading. 250.2. I was surprised that just those garments added 1.8 pounds.

So I'll take another measurement right now, wearing my standard warm-temparature street clothes — tee shirt, shorts, undergarments. I'll empty my pockets like I usually do when weighing in at the doctor's office. Result: 252.2. Another two pounds, for a total of 3.8 pounds. This is good to know for my doctor's office visits (at which I'm always clothed when the measurements are taken.)

Kids. They ruin your life and they ruin your clothes. (I'm kidding about some of this.)

Got home from dinner last night and my shorts (Shorts! In mid-October!) looked like one leg had contracted leprosy. P.S. - be very careful when letting your growing and clumsy year-old eat crab. A plastic ramekin filled with butter and bits of crab and do a number on cotton.

My clothes weren't the only casualty here — sharing the damage was kiddo's brand new RED pants, which had never been washed.

My shorts are buttery toast for sure. If the butter stains don't kill them, the red dye from kiddo's pants will.

So in my search for replacement pants, I got brave enough to open the trash bag I'd marked "TOO SMALL" in early September. I withdrew my only other pair of olive green shorts — waist size 36.

With trepidation, I slid the shorts up my legs.

I was happy to feel them slide over my hips.

And I was shocked to actually fasten them at my waist.

They're on.

— They're not happy, but they're on.

THEY'RE ON. The last time I successfully buttoned these was probably back when I was on Atkins for a year, and was KILLING IT in the 220's. That was late 2012. The lowest I got on that diet was 216 lbs — and that was just before LD suggested I "take a couple of weeks off for the holidays."

They're off. I took them off because I want to be comfortable while working today.

But the grin is still on.

I'm SO excited!! I weighed 248.4 when I stepped on the scale this morning!! I'M FINALLY BELOW 250!!!

I've been working toward this goal for so long, it seems strange to set my sights on something lower.

I called in a refill for my prescription from the bariatric clinic yesterday afternoon. This morning I was contacted by the clinic.

The nurse explained that she can only approve enough additional medicine to take me up to the date of our next appointment. She added that I’d have to pay full price for the medication, even though I’m receiving only a fraction of the 30-day prescription.

After some discussion, I learned that the reason I’m now in this position is because the clinic scheduled my upcoming appointment more than 30 days after my last one. In other words, the clinic just jacked the price of my medication up 300% because they pushed my appointment out.

It’s important to note that the clinic had just prescribed me a scheduled substance which cannot be prescribed for more than 30 days at a time, and knew that my insurance plan refuses to pay for the medication. The medicine was described by the clinician as the medicine they prescribe most. I feel like there’s no way they couldn’t have known that scheduling my follow-up appointment so far out wouldn’t have these ramifications.

The clinic should have anticipated the impact of scheduling my follow-up greater than 30 days out and made some arrangement to account for the gap without impact to me. Instead, they have forced me to decide between paying an exorbitant amount for the medication to cover the gap, or going without the medication.

I’ve contacted the patient advocate and explained my view. The advocate was going to discuss things with the clinic. What I really want is some arrangement by which I will not be financially accountable for the additional medicine required to get me to the next appointment. There’s probably not much chance of that happening. But at least I’ve made the advocate aware that I’m also likely not the only one this will happen to.

A few hours later, I heard back from the patient advocate. In short, I was told there was nothing they could do for me. I suggested the advocate consider talking with the clinic and ascertaining how many people were scheduled for follow-ups in excess of 30 days to determine how big of a problem this really is. Meanwhile, the advocate weakly suggested the my pharmacist may not charge me the full sum, given the quantity of medication I'm due to receive. We'll see.

I'm not talking about numbers today.

I'm talking about seeing myself in the mirror this morning and noticing a difference in how I look.

I liked what I saw: I'm looking thinner. My diet has changed a bit this week — sadly, as a function of being too busy to even make my usual breakfast. No matter, though — I'm learning some things:

• Protein shakes aren't too bad.
• Protein bars are awful... but they pack 30g of protein, which is twice what the shakes contain.

Face seems a little thinner, belly seems a little flatter... I'm good.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this earlier or not, but I’m not the only one in my house who is serious about losing weight. Laurel is scheduled for bariatric surgery at the end of the month.

She is the one who turned me onto the bariatric clinic at the local hospital. And I’m very happy to say that with their help (read: prescription medicine), I’m having some success.

But Laurel started treatment sometime before I did, and she has had pretty good success. Her upcoming surgery and the results she expects will be the culmination of a lot of hard work, A lot of research, and a few dreams.

In about two weeks from now, Laurel will begin a liquid diet to prepare her body for the procedure. We expect that immediately following the procedure she will spend a couple of weeks retraining her stomach –– the small percentage of her stomach that remains –– how to digest food. In some ways, this will be similar to training a baby to eat: liquids at first, followed by purées, followed later by small quantities of solid foods.

Yesterday, Laurel decided to spend the next two weeks (or, the time before the start of the liquid diet) basically eating whatever the Hell she wants. She knows that it’s going to be quite some time before she could enjoy many of these foods (read: junk food) again.

So it’s going to be a test of my willpower in a couple of ways.

The first test is my will to keep away from whatever Laurel brings home. I just posted yesterday about how I’m on the brink of breaking into the 240’s for the first time in years… so of course she’d choose NOW to go all “Augustus Gloop.”

The second test is in dealing with my daughter. At ten, she has zero self-control; eats all kinds of sugary shit at her other parents’ home, unhindered by restraint or parental oversight; and is in a growth spurt. I find wrappers in her room all the time, despite having warned her about it. She will find whatever Laurel bought and will focus on it. That’s part of my challenge. The other part will be in dealing with whatever she’ll do when she’s all sugared up.

I talked with Laurel about it this evening and she agreed to hide it from kiddo. I’m relieved; I don’t want to see it either. But there will be evenings like tonight, when Laurel feels like making dessert. Double-chocolate brownies.

I escaped, having had a single bite.

September was a tough month in the weight loss battle.

I'd been hovering around 253 for a while, sometimes a little south of there, and sometimes a little north. Today, I'm super proud to say that I'm at 250.2!!

I can't tell you how excited I am to be at the precipice of the 240's. I'm more determined than ever now to break through.

Snapshot of progress through Oct 1, 2016

This past week I entered a new dimension of the diet effort: I was introduced to the protein shake.

I'd started having them in addition to my usual breakfast as a means to stave off hunger through lunchtime; but, for a couple of mornings later in the week, they were my breakfast — simply as a function of life and work getting in the way of preparing anything else. And I was pleased to find that I didn't really need anything else.

So I'm happy to consider them another tool I can use.

And speaking of tools, we have another: Laurel finally sealed the deal on a treadmill. She bought a NordicTrack unit that was a floor model at Sears — a $1500 unit she bought for less than half of that price (though the extended warranty bumped our cost up a bit).

We had to take it apart to get it into our house. The deck would fit through the front door, but the stand was too wide to fit in a normal orientation, and too tall to fit regardless of rotation.

Part of the reason it was sold for such a low price was because the incline motor is borked. The deck is stuck at a 1 or 2 percent incline and doesn't respond to the control panel. Nothing a little warranty work won't correct.

That treadmill is going to come in very handy when the weather turns colder.

I do! I weighed in at 252.6 this morning!!

I'm hanging on TIGHT to that notion of getting into the 240s!!

We want our bathroom scales to be precise. Like how you want your bank balance reported to you. Tell me the exact number, once. If I ask you multiple times within minutes, you should arrive at the same number based on your calculations. Repeatable and solid.

My scale has days where it's more like a person standing before open refrigerator doors, trying to decide what to eat. (Ironic, no?)

This morning, I *think* my weight is 252.8. But I also saw multiple reports of 253.0, and one report as high as 253.5. I saw 252.8 more often than the others, and 252.8 is continues the trajectory I'm on.

I have an appointment with the nutritionist tomorrow afternoon. I'm quite pleased with my progress.

Doin' it. Right now.

I dared to pick up a pair of shorts off of that lonely stack in my closet. Every now and again I get brave enough to try.

Today success looks like a pair of chinos with side pockets in bone, sized for a 38" waist.

It's a very nice complement to a good decision I made last night — walking nearly two miles and passing on the sweet treat at the halfway point — sustaining good effort from the previous week ("Progress Continues", 7/28/2016).

My weight was down to 253.3 pounds this morning — down a little over two pounds from last week.

I think the increased progress can be at least partly attributed to an increase in exercise last week. The weather was finally conducive to some longer evening walks, and the Pokémon app kept me engaged.

Congratulations to Apple, Google, Niantic and Nintendo, on adding a tidy gazillion dollars to your bottom line in the week and a half Pokémon GO has been on the mobile market.

Even more amazing to me is the miracle happening in our public park. Teens are flooding the parks in the evenings, walking through the flower gardens — albeit with phones in hand.

Laurel and I are going out for longer evening walks. Our phones are in hand much like the kids’ were, but the extra steps are only being noticed when I check my health app.

I don’t know much about the game. I don’t know much about Pokémon. From the app, I have figured out that notional creatures can appear in front of me and I need to flick this ball at them and hit them with it so the ball opens up and captures them. The trivia nerd in me recalls that “Pokémon” is a portmanteau created from the words “pocket” and “monster.” And now you know everything about it that I do. Go forth and collect them all!

We seem to have no shortage of Pokéstops around our area. For some reason, the planners had a thing for churches. The other day the power was out at our home. Laurel and I drove around and stopped at a number of them (she handled the driving, while I handled the “app-ing”).

The game is getting us out and keeping us out longer than we would otherwise be. It’s a great boost to my health effort right now. If staying this course means flicking notional balls at imaginary purple rats, I’ll flick notional balls at imaginary purple rats.

This morning when I awoke, my phone told me that I set a record yesterday for burning the most calories (for me) in a day. It wasn’t a ton — a little over 450.

All I did was walk.

Weighed myself this morning. I couldn’t take the suspense any longer. And here’s why.

I was walking down the stairs yesterday afternoon and my shorts felt a little loose, so I tightened my belt — and found I was able to take the buckle into new territory — the heretofore unexplored fourth hole.

You should see this belt. The first hole is nearly pristine, thankfully. The second hole is ripped to shreds. It looks like I wired firecrackers to it on the fourth of July. I wore the belt at that length forever, it seems — probably for as long as I’ve owned the belt, until recently. The third hole is where I’ve been wearing it since I’ve been losing weight (it’s a little loose now). So I wore it at the fourth hole starting yesterday afternoon and through the day today. I set it there and forgot all about it.

This morning’s weight: the scale finally settled on 256.6.

I think I'm getting the hang of the food tracking thing.

The biggest struggle has been in getting my norms established. What I mean by that is, quantifying the things I eat regularly was a bit of a pain.

In a way, I can be thankful for a couple of things. Relative to this effort, the diabetes diagnosis really narrowed the scope of foods I eat. Secondly, I'm a creature of habit... like, I could never be a true "foodie." Both are helpful here, because I have zero problem eating the same thing every morning for breakfast. This casserole is high in protein and high in fat and very low in carbs (something I picked up on when I did the Atkins diet a few years ago, that also plays very well in Diabetesland, it turns out). So if I trust the app, I can offer the infoporn that says each of its 14 servings has 13.6g of protein and 1.7g carbohydrate for a total of 204 calories.

I'm on a 2,000 calories-per-day diet. And for the past few days, I've been coming in enough under my daily limit that the app is now telling me things like "if you maintain your current rate, you'll weigh 245 lbs in 5 weeks!"

Well, I don't know about all that, but I've been doing well finishing the past few days under my limit — either as a function of diet or combination of diet and exercise.

It's feeding into my general goal orientation. I almost stepped on the scale this morning just out of curiosity.

I was thrilled to find on Saturday morning that I’ve dropped from 259.9 down to 258.7.

But I was even more thrilled this evening to finally get to understand what Q actually does — I mean, experience it.

It was the weirdest thing. Dinner was ribeye steaks and corn on the cob. I tore into it and was done after 6 ounces of meat and two passes (rows) on the corn cob.

I was blown away. I guess it was because I didn’t understand what was going on. I had been ready to gnaw my arm off. Then the next thing I knew, my stomach was telling me I was full.

NOT, by the way, NOT my BRAIN telling me “I should probably cool it.” This sensation was my stomach saying “I can’t fit anything else.”

It freaked me out.

After describing everything with the two apps I’m using in yesterday’s post, I was thrilled to notice a particular "behavior" this morning.

It’s almost the best scenario I could have hoped for, considering: One Drop is pulling from Apple Health the data I’m entering into My Fitness Pal.

Looking at things more closely, the magic still needs a little help.

Unfortunately, My Fitness Pal isn’t reporting the data by time… sort of. Here’s what I mean. At 8:42 this morning I logged my morning coffee. At 9:35 I logged my usual breakfast. My Fitness Pal simply revised its initial 8:42 AM report to Apple Health, instead of making a new entry at 9:35.

This also means that the data at 9:35 contains the data from 8:42.

Go take some Excedrin. I’ll wait.

I can see those posts in One Drop and I modified the second entry to correct for time and to subtract 20g carbs from the 9:35 AM entry to make it read correctly in One Drop. Sadly, correcting the data in One Drop doesn’t appear to be modifying the data in Apple Health.

Again, I’m really talking about two apps built for different purposes. Thankfully, they both interface with Apple Health, which has become my health data warehouse — exactly what it was designed for, I expect.

I don’t want to hate on My Fitness Pal too much here, but with additional use I can now say that NOT EVERYTHING HAS TO BE FACEBOOK, My Fitness Pal, which, in addition to its home screen being an awful social media feed, even went so far as to adopt about the same shade of blue.

My Fitness Pal keeps a running total of the number of calories you’ve consumed for the day, but it also keeps a count of calories you’ve burned. My big "duh" moment for the day was, the more calories you burn, the more food you can eat.

p.s. – a leisurely walk around the block to the west of my house is worth 65 calories.

The More You Know!

At the behest of the clinician at the bariatric clinic I have begun to track all of the food and fluids I take in.

After doing this for two days, I have some observations to share. First and foremost, it’s not an easy task, despite the presence of technology and people who anticipated a need. Ideally, it should be as easy as searching for and selecting an item from a list. The trouble is, it isn’t really all that simple.

I’m using two apps for this at the moment.

The first, One Drop, is the app I use to monitor my blood glucose. Being able to use this app for both my blood glucose monitoring and my food intake is my ideal situation. Unfortunately, One Drop does not appear to have been designed to address all of the metrics the clinician has requested. From a food perspective, One Drop’s focus is on carbohydrates, because of the strong relationship between carbohydrate intake and blood glucose. But the good news here is One Drop sends data to Apple Health, including data One Drop doesn’t appear to consume. There’s no way to add data to One Drop’s food database, but you can store foods and food combinations (think coffee + creamer) locally and access them quickly.

The second is My Fitness Pal, the app recommended by the bariatric clinic. My Fitness Pal seems more built for the purpose of tracking food consumption and reporting on multiple dimensions (calories, sodium, et cetera). Using this app would probably give me a more accurate picture of my intake. Like One Drop, My Fitness Pal reports its data to Apple Health. It just reports much more nutrition-oriented data than does One Drop.

In addition to reporting their data to Apple Health, these apps are also alike in that you’re confined to making specific choices in order to record your intake, and those limited choices jeopardize the accuracy of your record.

Let’s say your love has made tacos for dinner using small, extra thin shells, and homemade guacamole and homemade salsa. If you went with a standard taco — say, a hard shell taco from Taco Bell, the numbers are going to be off because those shells are larger and thicker. But you can’t figure out what you actually consumed with any accuracy at all, so you end up going with the Taco Bell estimate.

Suppose you went to a place where you build your own meal, like a Chipotle or Qdoba. I can be a good boy and order my burrito bowl with very little rice, but there’s nowhere in either app where I can account for it accurately.

I even got yelled at by the My Fitness Pal app for having exceeded the amount of fat I was supposed to have in my diet today. I know damn well I didn’t exceed anything.

By the way, the nutrition database that One Drop uses seems very tightly controlled. If there’s an entry for a particular item, there will be only one entry for it. Not so with My Fitness Pal. MFP’s database seems to allow — or have allowed — for user contributions. I found several entries for some items I looked for.

Also, although the UIs seem similar for both apps, the units can differ. The other day I worked hard to figure out that I generally eat about 1/4 cup of dry roasted peanuts at a time, and was happily charting this in One Drop. My Fitness Pal has to be difficult about it, insisting measurement in… ounces, I think. This is a major source of frustration, by the way.

P.S. – I can now say with confidence that I use about 10 tbsp of creamer in my morning coffee. That’s 20g of the most delicious carbohydrate I get to see in a day. My Fitness Pal, you can have it when you can pry my cup from my cold, dead fingers.

So I’m two days into the food tracking exercise, and I’ve already seriously hit “eff it.” I am forced to accept that the whole point of tracking my intake is to make me aware of how much of certain elements are in the food I consume, and that the software will provide a general picture of those quantities at best.

Where I have the most trouble with accepting these generalizations because I have to compare and balance them against the precision that is blood glucose monitoring. Thankfully, I’m not on insulin; my medications simply help my body accept the insulin it already produces. The real key for me is in the change in diet. The idea behind the whole food monitoring thing IS a change in diet. So I should be acing this.

Instead, I’m ready to throw my phone because the software is unable to track to the precision required for a truthful result.

And OMG is it a pain in my neck.

Commensurate with my visit to the bariatric clinic yesterday, today I started on appetite suppressant medication.

As with most medicines, you can really scare the Hell out of yourself by reading through all of the side effects. The APRN in charge of the program would describe some terrible side effect and follow with, "sound good?"

For example, she told me, "There’s also a chance you could experience tingling sensations in your hands and in your feet. After your two weeks trial runs out, we’ll double the dose. Sound good?"

Lovely lady. I felt a little bad for laughing at her.

At mid-day today I felt a little dizzy and sick while eating lunch. It passed, but left me feeling exhausted. I didn’t feel that way tonight at dinner. So far, no toenails coming out of my back or excessive hair bursting from my eyeballs, so we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

A little over a month ago I decided to go to the hospital instead of catching a flight.

That little detour may have saved my life. It turned out I was suffering from acute appendicitis, and more than one have postulated that it might have ruptured while I was on the flight. Scary stuff!

Recovery wasn't difficult, but I think that heeding the doctor's orders was very, very important. I have a friend who just got his appendix out within the past couple of weeks. I saw on Facebook that he checked into an urgent care about a week ago — probably because he wasn't following those orders, which should have included a requirement not to lift anything weighing over 5 lbs.

That particular requirement has kept me grounded for the past month. And when I say "grounded," I mean unable to fly. Business travel for me means hauling a pair of laptops and all of their accessories — my carry on bag is not light.

Today's my one-month "surgurversary!"

The office must be able to anticipate my appointments with my physician... because I'd swear they've doing their best to drive my blood pressure into the atmosphere just before each visit.

Good workout on Friday night — including the dreaded "shoulder shredder" mentioned in my 4/1 post.

One thing, though — the 60-lb. triceps weight is not a fluke — I had it again on Friday evening. It's weird to look over the workout and see weights ranging from 20 to 44 lbs., then see this 60 lbs. for the triceps exercises.

I'm basically maxing out everything else I'm asked to do — but the best I can muster for the triceps exercises is 16 (reps of 20).

Additionally, I've been doing a better job from the diet angle as well — more salads, less garbage. It's making a difference!

Big workout last night. I’m being put on different machines now, and with higher weights.

Last night I was introduced to a machine I’ll call “The shoulder shredder.” Basically it works like a standard bench press (on which you push weight out from your chest), except you push the weight upwards above your head instead of out from your chest.

Between those exercises and the many triceps push-downs I did (60 lbs? 70 lbs? What the Hell? Just Friday I was told to do like 30 lbs!), I feel all buff today. I’m sure I’m not, but I’m sore just enough to remind me that I did something good for my body yesterday.

I just looked in the mirror and actually liked what I saw: my face does seem to be thinning, and my arms are assuming a pleasing shape. According to the system, last Friday’s was my tenth workout, which means I’m five weeks in.

Tonight’s workout will be “whole body.” Included in that are my dreaded standing calf raise exercises. I don’t want to spend another three mornings ripping Salonpas pads and hair off of my legs in the shower then walking like an old man all day — so I’m going to take it very easy on those tonight.

Because HOLY COW am I sore today…. that’s why.

It was the calf exercises that did it. I can tell because it’s my calves that are screaming.

It’s partly my fault – as opposed to the pain being a function of the program. My fault because I misread the weight and actually made it 10 lbs higher than it should have been. I completed the set and checked the weight and… well duh.

I was happy to rediscover that, even though the emphasis was on lower body yesterday, there were still plenty of upper-body exercises to be done — just at lower weights.

As you might have guessed, I’m still really enjoying going to the gym. I really am. I love that we’re going on Monday evenings, too — it’s a nice way to cast off whatever funk the Monday workday may have brought and end the day feeling as if I’ve done something good for myself.

Laurel told me this morning that my body appears to be “reshaping.”

I’ve heard her use that term before — it’s meant to indicate that my body is responding to the exercising we’ve been doing.

It’s a good, good thing.

She’s noticed some changes in her body, too — she can tell her body is becoming smaller.

I really hope her perceptions are accurate and real.

I'm certain like countless thousands of other Americans just after the new year, we bought a gym membership (EDIT: Yes, this is the same as the "health club" membership I posted about earlier. It's not two different things.) Laurel is determined to lose weight this year, and I'm all for helping her and getting more fit myself.

Full disclosure: I effing hate going to a gym. So if we're going to do this, we'd better do it. For me, it needs to become a habit that doesn't get pushed off or overtaken by events. If I can't commit, I'm not going. And getting the family to commit to anything is nearly impossible. It's classic: we make plans to go x and one of those two change it to y. It's so bad that whenever Laurel says "let's plan to....", I almost don't bother to listen to what comes afterwards.

So this week we did our first two workouts using the ActivTrax system. ActivTrax is pretty sweet - there's a console right in the weight room, and you can access your data from their website. ActivTrax lets you set a baseline (your first visit), then plans workouts for you according to the baseline you set and in line with general goals you've set ("strength training", "general fitness," et cetera). ActivTrax started me out at reasonable weights and repetitions.

Another thing about the gym we joined is the equipment. It's all really, really nice — you flip little breaker-style switches instead of moving pegs or keys (which get lost).

So, I daresay I am enjoying going to work out.

This, of course, can create problems because now comes the part where I need to make it a fixture in my schedule. I'm on board with the exercise — now I've got to ensure it's a habit. Monday nights are pretty much a lock — kiddo is at LD's ex's place, plus I like the idea of having a workout to look forward to after Monday in the office. Now we just need to identify the second night.

It’s only fair that I admit to this: Yesterday afternoon I was walking to someplace in my office when it occurred to me that I could actually go to the gym that evening and shoot some “hoops.”

And I liked it.

A lot.

So there I am with my little girl, in the middle of a ton of people all taking shots at baskets everywhere in this gym, just taking shots. It made me feel really happy.

Sure, I was happy that I was getting a little exercise; but I was way happier spending time with my daughter, being active.

Yeah, this could be a really, really good thing!

It seems pretty amazing to me that, with six weeks left in the campaign, we've already exceeded our goal of two million steps!

A couple of weeks ago I signed up for a program through work called "Makin' Moves".

The program set a goal of two million steps for the company, and each participant received a pedometer. Participants record their steps and text them in to "Makin' Moves". The idea is to increase one's awareness of their fitness level and to get people to walk more for their health.

It's a nice idea, and a program that fits neatly in the current weight loss challenge (also happening at work). So I'm hoping I can use this as another tool to help drop the weight I put back on.

I've found, though, that the pedometer they gave us may not be accurate. Laurel had me wear her electronic pedometer for a couple of days to compare (yes, I wore them both — how nerdy is that?) and the readings were very different... so she got me into fitbit.

Fitbit uses a small sensor (called a Zip) that is roughly the size of a quarter coin. The Zip also comes with a tiny USB-based Bluetooth transceiver that can be plugged into a PC or Mac for pushing your fitbit data up to your account on the fitbit website. Fitbit also has available, free iPhone and Android apps that do the same thing (without the transceiver).

The website and app let you get as crazy with your fitbit data as you please — you can log your food, log your activity, track your weight, and set goals.

Calories burned appear in blue against my steps (yellow) over the day.

For me, the key right now is convenience. So far I'm impressed by how easy it is to use the fitbit system. And, I'm encouraged by my activity and motivated to do more — I find myself taking occasional breaks to get up and go walk around the building, and I'm curious to see my numbers at the close of the day (I still have to text them in during the challenge). I hope this will be a lasting motivator!

Last week, I found I'd actually gained weight — I went up to 229. Happily, this week I dropped back down to 227.5.

As sore as I am from class this past weekend, I rather think I've laid on some muscle. Plus I didn't have the opportunity to just graze through each day. I'm hoping that, in combination with some extra walking and playing outside after work (thank you, DST!), I can shave a few more pounds this week.

"You have lost so much weight that Picasa didn't tag you in a bunch of pictures."

• I got the other two J-bolts installed; now the bike's fork is clamped to the fork stand, which is now properly attached to the rollers.
• The main sensor for the cyclocomputer software is now attached to the frame. Now I just need to attach a coupla magnets and that should be all set.
• Mounted the phone mount to the stem. And I have to say, the mount seems to hold the phone quite securely.
• Single bottle cage mounted on the down tube and pedals installed (night before last).

• Install cleats on shoes
• Complete magnet/sensor install
• RIDE!

• It's more bike than I planned on buying — but I couldn't pass up the deal on last year's model!

• Aluminum drums. Baked fresh and served up by Amazon

• Are you kidding? It's been so long since I'd ridden rollers I figured it'd be a good idea to not kill myself right away — or WORSE, damage my bike!

• Pretty sure this wouldn't go over well upstairs.

• Got outbid on the ebay auction. Rats! But since I ordered new shoes I guess I can fairly safely buy some modern pedals.

• Yeah. There's zero chance of me wearing a "5" and not looking like a red and blue sausage.

• A size "6", however...

• Should be here Thursday. The bike's being held still for goodness' sakes!

• It's important.