A little positive news. My weight has been going up over the winter. I have been going through a reality check around diet and exercise over the last several weeks. I have made some changes, and I am starting to notice the results.
I was not been losing weight last summer. In spite of serious exercise, my weight hovered in the 149-152 pound range. I was generally avoiding burgers and fries and making a lot of healthy choices, but that wasn’t good enough. I was eating as if as if I was an athlete or a teenager. I often had large subs at lunch, donuts with my coffee, a beer after work, another drink or a glass of wine when I set down to read in the evening. I thought that if I was exercising hard, I would get the situation under control. There was a flaw in my logic. I was exercising a lot and I wasn’t losing weight.
My exercise became less frequent after the end of September. In October and November I rode occasionally and walked to work. By December, no more rides – a few hours of skating. In January and February I was able to add a few hours skiing. My clothes still fit – I was still comfortable in pants with a 32 inch waist. But while those clothes had been a little loose last summer, they have started to fit better, and I have let my belts out a notch. I suspected my weight was creeping up but I didn’t check.
About 5 weeks ago I eliminated most of the donuts, and switched to zero-alcohol beer and diet soft drinks. I allow myself a martini on the weekend, regular beer when I go out, but only an occasional real beer at home. I called it Lenten abstinence at first. About 3 weeks ago I weighed in at 162.5. I believed I had stopped the slow gain, but I wasn’t sure I was starting to lose weight. I began to pay attention to portion size and content. I have not exercised any more in the last 3 weeks than in the preceding months. I walk to work, I ski once or twice a week, weather permitting. Today I weighed in at 157.
I haven’t given up anything that I like. I am eating less and making sure to take less calories in fluids. I have started to assess how much I can eat without putting on weight and how to get things I enjoy within limits. I have faced the fact that when I eat out, I am generally getting portions that are too much for a larger person, and way too much for me.
When I was a teenager I weighed less than 130 pounds. I really should be under 140 pounds, perhaps under 135 pounds. I like food but I also like being able to ride and ski and I can’t do that if I have a stroke or a heart attack. I’m starting to think about getting some sessions on the stationary bike, a couple times a week. I can burn some calories, work out the kinks and prepare for spring riding.
If I lose a pound a week I can get to 140 before my next birthday. I’ve been here before, but this time I have a different plan. I am running out of chances to make changes.
How tall are you? 5′ 9″? I thought you were joshing, but I checked the notorious “Ideal Weight Charts” and for a guy of your frame size and height, the ideal weight is somewhere between 135 and 150. That’s scary. The same chart lists my ideal weight as 165 to 180. In other words, my damned doctor is right, and I’ve still got a long way to go. When I was a skinny, 17 year old kid, I weighed 170. I dropped to 165 in University when I did a lot of running. I just can’t really envision myself getting that skinny again.
We all ‘fill out’ when we get older. I know I have more muscle on me than when I was a teenager. I weighed 165 at 16. I was soft and out of shape. In my serious soccer days I played at 175. More muscle, less fat. After soccer I slowly went up to 185. Then I quit smoking and jumped to 215 between June and October of whatever year that was. And that was my weight, more or less, when I started cycling a lot, two years ago. I got down to 195 and dropped to a 34 pant size by last fall. Lots less fat and more muscle. Felt great, didn’t change my eating habits at all. By coincidence, I weighed myself this morning, at 202. Hmmmmm. While I don’t think I’ll ever reach my ideal weight, I think 185 would be a nice goal for this summer. And I seriously need to adjust my consumption. Yesterday Susan suggested I was drinking too much. Tony’s reports of reducing alcohol are striking a nerve. Time to modify the lifestyle again. Hmm, this sounds like a blog entry.
My height is almost exactly 5’8″. That’s what I remembered. I had not checked for decades – I did tonight. I think I should be under 140. At 150 last summer I was carrying a little gut. My weight started to go up when I was in my mid-20’s. I had started to ski and cycle but that dropped off – I am not sure what happened there. I think I got up to nearly 150, then I started running and got down to about 135. I gave that up because it was hell on my knees. Then marriage, home improvements, child care while Jan was out saving the libraries, crafting, selling vitamins, and seeking enlightenment all added up to less free time, more low grade anxiety and depression and a gradual gain into the 150-160 range and up. But we know this story. I cut out cookies, sugar in coffee, all sorts of extra calories years ago but I have always assumed I can eat pretty much what I wanted and enjoy a few drinks. I’ve had the willpower and the right intentions – I’ve just never kept track of how much I was eating.
Does this mean we can skip the beer after the bike rides?
What do you mean ‘we’????? You can skip the beers. Tony and I will enjoy a lite beer, which I know you will be able to resist. I’ve seen your will power in action.
I don’t ride to burn calories as such. I ride because I like riding, and I like socializing. If I wasn’t trying to lose weight, I’d say beer at the end of the ride is a reward. I think Steve did the math and said a 25 k ride (the Grace Hospital or Kildonan Park) burns the calories of 2 regular beer. If we can find a tasty light beer, we can have lite and come out ahead per ride and per week. Or we can mix it up – an ultralite as a thirst quencher and something else to savour. I think beer probably has minimal nutritional value, so, after donuts, chips and nuts it’s the best thing to give up. Can’t give up eating. I want to say I’m a grown man and I can have a beer if I want, but I can’t have a lot if I want to lose weight. Once I lose weight, I can have a bit more but I can’t go back to eating and drinking as much as I want.
Beer never falls into the catagory of “best thing to give up”!!!! Get your priorities straight!