12/11/2019 Weigh In

212.0, down one pound from 12/9/2019's 213.0.

I'm back on the straight and narrow, and the loss of the pound I gained in Meddy Oulde England shows that. Now to keep it up and get more off!

I ordered a TRX exercise system (they were having a half-price sale), and it shipped last night;. That will help with keeping the strength up and it will also help a LOT with my sore hips (which so effectively prevent me from moving much). This is the system they have at the gym; straps support me as I bend and squat and move my joints in ways that would surely have me falling on my head if I didn't have the straps to support me.

And there's always the NordicTrack. I've been remiss with that lately, and I notice the difference in breathing and in ability to walk any distance at all. With the travel plans I have for next summer, I'd better get my butt in gear and get on that.

I'm also needing to increase my water intake. I'm thirsty!! No, I'm not showing a high blood sugar; my A1C was "perfect" last year, and it will be again this year since I'm not eating piles of processed sugar (and will avoid most sugar over the Christmas holidays). I simply am dehydrated. Traveling has done that, I think. Airplanes are desiccators.

Today's Plan:

Pre-breakfast: Lemon juice, vitamins
Breakfast: Bran pancake, strawberries, water
10:30 am: 5 minutes on NordicTrack, water
Lunch: Chicken/Fish, salad, water
2 pm: Wasa, water
4 pm: Wasa, water
5 pm: 5 minutes on NordicTrack, water
Dinner: Bran pancake, strawberries, water
7 pm: 5 minutes on NordicTrack, water
7:30 pm: Apple, water
9:30 pm: Yogurt

12/9/2019 Weigh In

213.0, up one pound from 11/22/2019's 212.0.

I'm actually quite pleased with that. Thanksgiving ... Hog-Out Holiday ... happened in the interim, as did a week-long trip to London, which is the Land of Scones and Clotted Cream. I gained only a pound over the two weeks, despite all that. I could have lost weight (I certainly did enough walking in London), but I didn't. No excuses. And yes, I enjoyed myself.

I shall be back on the straight and narrow today. I have some grocery shopping to do for salad stuff (mine wilted) and eggs, but that will be an easy thing to do.

Today's Plan:

Pre-breakfast: Lemon juice, vitamins
Breakfast: Chicken thigh (air fried), water
11 am: 5 minutes on NordicTrack
Lunch: Chicken/Fish, salad, water
2 pm: Wasa, water
4 pm: Wasa, water
5 pm: 5 minutes on NordicTrack
Dinner: Bran pancake, strawberries, water
7 pm: 5 minutes on NordicTrack
7:30 pm: Apple, water
9:30 pm: Yogurt

11/5/2019 Weigh In

215.25, down 0.25 from yesterday! Little bit by little bit...

I cannot sing the praises of the old Diet Center weight-loss diet highly enough. It works. I feel good while I'm on it. And the weight comes off at a healthy rate.

Diet Center has revamped its weight-loss diet, I believe; it's now online and not quite so regimented. Me, I like the old regimen. I don't need the online thing, I have done this and am doing it on my own, and I have no doubt that I will reach my goal weight.

However, I have a trip coming up; I'm off to London right after Thanksgiving. The eating regimen will be different for a week. I will take food with me on the plane for the trip so I don't eat airline food on the way over. I will get a lot of exercise while I'm there; I'm going to be walking around museums and around the streets of London doing the tourist stuff I've never done. I will, though, maintain control of my eating whilst there, but I will not kick myself for stalling or even gaining a bit over that week; I will simply return to the regimen when I get back.

Last year at the holidays, I said those very words and didn't follow through. I ate whatever I damn well pleased from November until October; the result was that I gained back 29 of the 50-something pounds I lost last year. I shall remember that, and not repeat the mistake.

Today's Plan:

Pre-breakfast: Lemon juice, vitamins
Breakfast: Bran pancake, strawberries, water
11 am: 5 minutes on NordicTrack, water
Lunch: Fish, salad, water
2 pm: Wasa, water
4 pm: Wasa, water
5 pm: 5 minutes on NordicTrack
Dinner: Chicken, salad, water
7 pm: 5 minutes on NordicTrack
7:30 pm: Apple, water
9:30 pm: Yogurt

10/8/2019 Weigh In

225.75, down 1.25 lb. from yesterday's 227.0.

YES!! 1.25 lb lost yesterday ... I'll take it.

And I woke up this morning not hungry. Yes, I can easily eat, but I'm certainly not ravenously hungry. I rather like the two cheats I had yesterday (an extra piece of fruit and 1/2 C plain nonfat Greek yogurt with almond extract, Stevia and cocoa powder); they seem to satisfy the hunger. I shall keep them for the moment.

I am working on exorcising the demon that has kept me fat for all these years. I've always been heavy, and that has sat badly with a demon whose voice has been with me forever. The driving force behind that demon ... a fat-shaming close family member ... has been dead and gone for nearly five years now, and it's time to get that voice out of my head. I deserve to be fit and healthy ... even though, yes, I'm now in my 60s and have arthritis in one hip and extraordinarily tight hip flexors in both hips, so I now walk with a gimp and can't run at all. I walk, actually, like my grandmother walked ... grabbing onto solid objects as I pass them for support. That pisses me off. I never liked that grandmother much.

This is the shape I need to get out of before I go on my Grand Tour of (some of) the western National Parks next summer. Weight loss, NordicTrack, and personal trainer to the rescue!

Goals. Time to set goals. I will weigh 210 lb by Thanksgiving. That's a goal. It's achievable; not easy, but achievable. I have 1.5 months to lose 15.75 lb. It's an important goal; I'm off to England for a week right after Thanksgiving! First time in decades I will have visited London!

Long-term, 145 remains the pie-in-the-sky dream, but that is totally invisible to me at this moment. I'll do this in shorter chunks.

So. Today's Plan:

Pre-Breakfast: glass of lemon juice, vitamins
Breakfast: bran pancake made with cinnamon and stevia, water
10 a.m.: orange, water
Lunch: salad, chicken, water
2 p.m.: Wasa, water
4 p.m.: 1/2 C Greek yogurt with cocoa powder & almond extract, water
Dinner: salad, chicken, Wasa, water
7:30 p.m.: apple, water
9:30 p.m.: 1 C strawberries, water

The yogurt and the strawberries are cheats on the strict diet. I figure that if I plan the cheats, I won't cheat the Plan.

UPDATE at 10:26 pm:

I stuck to the Plan ... except for some of the times. I exchanged the timing of the Greek yogurt and the strawberries (1 cup of strawberries is less than I wanted it to be...), and I had the Greek yogurt at 8:15, not at 9:30. I am now going to bed comfortably full.

Tomorrow will be challenging since I'll be in my office all day with clients. I'll likely do the same Plan tomorrow, except I'll substitute salmon for chicken for lunch.

10/6/2019 Weigh In

229.0. Grumble.

When last I weighed myself, 11 months ago, I was 200.75. Clearly, I've slipped. My excuse (and that is EXACTLY what this is): Christmas happened. With eggnog cheesecake. Then I didn't go back onto the Plan. While Christmas will happen again, eggnog cheesecake won't.

It's time to get it back in gear and get this show on the road.

I started the Diet Center conditioning diet yesterday, and have one more day to go with that. Then it's chicken-and-fish, chicken-and-fish, chicken-and-fish forevermore.

I have a goal. I have Big Plans for next summer: I'm going to camp my way through the western National Parks. I'll start at probably the southern end with Grand Canyon, then drive up through the Rockies, hitting national parks along the way. I've gotten lots of recommendations for which parks to see; the Big Four on my list are Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain and Glacier. To do this effectively, I need to be at least 50 lb ... preferably 70 lb ... lighter than I am right now by the time my birthday rolls around in late June.

I Can Do This.

MEASUREMENTS

Neck 16.5"
Chest 46.5"/43.25"
Waist 47"
Hips 46.5"
Upper L arm 13.25"
Upper R arm 14"
L thigh 22.5"
R thigh 23"
L calf 15"
R calf 15.5"

Weighing In 11/14/2018

200.75, down from last week's 201.5.

I haven't lost all that much this month: five pounds. But hey: five pounds is five pounds.

I'm going to give it a break from Thanksgiving until New Year's. If I eat a Christmas cookie, I will not beat myself up. If I eat pizza, I will not beat myself up.

Then, on 1 January 2019, I will restart the weight loss phase. With any luck, I'll lose another 10 lb in January-early February, and weigh well less than 200 lb by the time I go to Egypt in February!!

Weighing In 8/9/2017

After a week on lake time (but eating well ... very well, thanks to my gentleman caller), I come back at 214.0, having lost 1.5 lb since last I weighed in on 8/2!

I should go away more often!

Weighing In 6/27/2017

223.25, down 1.25 from yesterday's 224.5.

At least the travel weight is coming off quickly. I was at 222.75 when I started my travels, and I'm almost back to that level, and in far less than a week. That timing says the gain was mostly bloat from restaurant salt. That makes me feel better ... not good, but better. I've ordered a carrying case for my NutriBullet and it shall accompany me on all future travels!

Weighing In 6/23/2017

228.5, up 5.75 from 6/14's 222.75.

It comes off so hard and goes on so easy. Sigh. This is what a week of eating badly does to me. Last night was the worst ... I ate a Two Cheeseburger Meal at McDonald's, topping off yesterday's breakfast of a Waffle House waffle and sausage. No wonder I gained almost six pounds.

But I had a terrific week traveling to North Carolina. My daughter and I stayed at Holiday Inns and ate sushi all week. And we went to the American Shakespeare Company's really excellent production of "Much Ado About Nothing" in Staunton, VA on the way home. We discovered that the best midway point for stopping is, in fact, Staunton (pronounced "Stanton"), so I think I'll probably see more of the American Shakespeare Company in years to come!

Well, it's my birthday today. I'm going to eat a two-scoop dish of Stewart's Mint Cookie Crumble Ice Cream at some point today. That will be my birthday sin. Then it's back on the straight and narrow tomorrow!! An egg-grapefruit day on Sunday will knock this back into alignment.