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.
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