Shopping in My Own Closet

I continue to shrink.

What’s happening party people? There is a new scale in the bathroom that I hope is much more accurate than the last one. This one also calculates body fat, water and body mass index (BMI). As of this morning, I weigh 199.3 pounds. Finally, I weigh less than 200 pounds. Many people have said not to worry about the number on the scale but worry about losing fat and inches. I will respectfully disagree. The number on the scale is a major indicator of success…for me.

Another indicator of success is trimming my 5K time. I have also been trying to actually, you know, run 5K. I managed my 2^nd and 3^rd fastest times this weekend and I actually ran a full 3.12 miles today. It sucked. It hurt. But, I did it. Ever since participating in the Oakland Running Festival’s 5K back in March, I have been determined to actually, you know, run 5K. I’ve run two miles, two and a quarter, two…I always end up alternating walking and running the last mile to mile and a quarter.

You’d think I would have logged my best time running the full 3.12 miles. I didn’t run very fast. I set out with the goal of jogging the whole thing so I took my time. I also ran yesterday so I was sore and not so fast. I thought I was going to do it yesterday after logging my fastest mile but quit running after two miles. I walked about a half of mile and jogged the rest – 37:06. I managed 35:57 today. My fastest remains 35:18 logged July 6. A quick dip in the pool for the sweaty mess I turned myself into was quite refreshing.

I look at it this way. Finishing 5K at a jog instead of walking part of it is just another indicator of better fitness. It’s similar to adding more weight to the barbell because I’m getting stronger and want to keep getting stronger.

I have been paying attention to inches lost by way of my wardrobe. I have gone from 40-inch waist pants to 36. I have shrunk from a 2XL shirt size to L. I fit in dress shirts with 16 ½-inch necks now. Last fall I was wearing 18.

So, I went shopping in my own closet today. I have plenty of casual shirts and sweaters, t-shirts and workout shorts. Plenty is an understatement, more like an overabundance. I was overrun with white athletic socks as well. I have a disturbing lack of dress clothes. I’m not quite ready to go spend gobs of money on new clothes since I am not at my goal weight yet. Nine more pounds and I’ll think about some new clothes.

I soldier on fighting the good fight. I admit there are some evenings I do want to work out. There are weekends when I want to become one with the couch. There are days I want to say, “screw it” and inhale an In and Out Burger double-double. Then I think about how far I’ve come and then I go lift something heavy.

I’m tired. I’m sore. I’m NOT FINISHED.

Nor will I ever be I would imagine except when I’m bald, smell funny, use a Hoveround for mobility and subsist on a liquid diet. Funny how we men leave the world pretty much the way we enter it.

I am so very close to my first major official goal of 190 pounds. Stay with me Party People, I should be there soon.

The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same

July 7, 2013. Looking a little different than I did six months ago when I started this blog.

I touched it. I was right there. My body continues to confuse and confound me.  I had hoped to be at or under 200 pounds by my birthday and I missed it by about five days. I was 202.4 pounds on my 44^th birthday.

My birthday was June 29 and I admit I indulged during my birthday weekend. I wasn’t terrible but I enjoyed restaurant food and a few beers. I was bound and determined to work off the 2.2 pounds I gained that weekend. By Thursday I weighed 200.4 pounds. And, just like the last time I weighed 200 pounds, it lasted about a day. I have been as heavy as 205 and as low as 201.6 since July 4. Lord only knows what the scale will say tomorrow.

Now, I am sure there are several explanations for this fluctuation. Water weight is the most logical. I really don’t think I have a calorie deficit this drastic that would cause me to add as many as four pounds in such a short period of time. My birthday weekend weight gain really didn’t make much sense either except for the fact that I didn’t exercise.

What is the deficit for one pound of body weight, 3,500 calories in a week?

This past week I switched up the weight lifting routine. I went back to the 007 Daniel Craig weightlifting circuit after three weeks of a different regimen. I went for a three-mile walk in 111-degree heat, I’ve spent time in the pool, and I went for a three-mile run yesterday and achieved my best time yet.

I made it a point this past week to treat each day as if it was a workday considering I had Thursday and Friday off for the Independence Day holiday. I made sure I didn’t over-eat, I exercised at my normal time and I watched my snacking.

In 2010, I touched 200 pounds briefly and then spent several months at 205 pounds before I fell off the exercise wagon and began the climb up to 236.

I am proud of the 35 pounds or so that I’ve lost. I’m not shy about telling people. Folks are seeking me out asking for advice. I can only speak to what has worked for me. Just when I think I’ve figured it out, my body throws me a curve ball.

I do know this: every time I switch up my menu (including meal times) the results on the scale aggravate me. And, when I add in some extra cardio like an unscheduled three-mile walk, the scale goes the wrong way. When I stick to it the food and exercise regimen, the scale is usually in my favor. This gives me pause. I wrote recently that reaching my goal weight frightens me a bit. Over-indulgence on a daily basis caused this in the first place but if eating “normal meals” once or twice a week causes upticks in weight, what the hell am I am going to do when I reach 190 pounds?

How do I go from weight-loss mode to maintenance mode? How do I go from burning fat to shredding muscle? I know the exercise part of it. The food/nutrition part scares me. I’m finally tired of soup for lunch. Don’t get me wrong, soup for lunch has been a critical part of my success – low calorie and very filling.

As much as I’ve learned and figured out, there is plenty I still don’t know or understand. I look better, I feel better, I’m healthier, and I have more energy.

I now have been as close as 10 pounds away from my goal weight. Whatever the number actually is, I’ll be there soon. That much I do know.