Week 9 Progress Report: I’m Back

Start Weight:		272.4
Original Target*:		286.4
Adjusted Target:		270.6
Actual Weight:		269.4
Loss/Gain:		– 3.0
Total Loss:		– 33.2
% of Goal:		24.0%
Avg. Loss/Wk.:		– 3.7
	*Original target calculated from a starting weight of 302.6 lbs. and an average loss/wk. of 1.8 lbs.

Sorry I didn’t post a progress report last week. Other than my usual household duties, I was also writing for other people and fulfilling my editorial obligations.

Back on March 11, I decided to chart out my daily progress against my original targets. As expected, the “actual” line dropped well below the “target” line. Today, I did the same for the period 3/11/19 to 4/11/19, but this time, I recalculated the targets to reflect my 3/11 weigh-in rather than the original targets for the month.

The difference was striking … and somewhat embarrassing. Most of the month, the “actual” line was above the “target” line. The overall trend was still down, but the peaks and valleys were more exaggerated.

It’s a good thing I focus on weekly results rather than daily numbers.

Part of the exaggeration, of course, is that the plot area spreads over 12 pounds, while the first month’s plot area spreads over 30 pounds. Given the same spread, it doesn’t look so bad. But the other part is that it shows a tendency to overshoot the calorie budget max early in the week and “mini-fast” over the weekend. The chart doesn’t show this last weekend when I was a lot more mindful of my intake and bowled last night. (I rolled a 149 average, better than my usual 137; thanks for asking.)

The chart also includes St. Patrick’s Day, when I not only declared a “diet holiday” but made a Dark Chocolate Guinness Cake with an Irish whiskey ganache and an Irish cream-laced frosting. (Decadent!) Since that three-day binge was very near the beginning of the month, the chart shows I was almost two weeks overcoming it. It’s something to keep in mind as we approach Easter — not only do my brother and I have a ham and potatoes dauphinoise planned, but also croques-monsieur sometime next week. Then, down the road, there’s Memorial Day ….

(What’s “croque-monsieur”? It’s proof that the French can make even a simple ham and cheese sandwich taste divine.)

Of course, this Friday is Good Friday, the Passion of the Christ, a day of fasting and abstinence in the Catholic Church, so I’ll only have 2/3rds of my daily budget to work with. The medical people don’t recommend less than 1,500 kcal/day for men as a diet goal; however, for one day, 1,200 kcal or less is doable.

Looking ahead:

My budget for today is exactly 1,800 kcal. When I first did the research for what I called the “Lazy Man’s Diet”, I thought the minimum for men was 1,800. It turns out now that the actual minimum is 1,500.  Lose It! subtracts about 6.56 kcal per pound for my age and height; plus, I subtract another 400 kcal/day to achieve the 1.8 lbs./week goal I set. Projecting forward, I estimate that I’ll hit the 1,500 kcal/day “floor” when I reach 223.7 lbs., which is between 3 and 6 months away depending on whether I calculate it using my current or planned loss rate.

What I plan to do at that point, I don’t know.

Certainly, I can (and will) increase my activity. However, the lighter you are, the more you have to do of any particular activity to get the same calorie burn. For example, a 234-pound man who walks for 20 minutes at 3.5 mph (about a marching pace; that is, 120 steps/minute at 30"/step) will burn 160 kcal, while a 261-pound man will burn 178 kcal. The difference may not be profound, but it’s there.

Another possibility is introducing intermittent fasting, either “16:8” (fast 16 hours, eat over the other 8) or “5:2” (eat regularly 5 days a week, eat only 500 – 600 kcal on 2 non-consecutive days). However, since I have been living as a (borderline) Type 2 diabetic for some years now, this may not be a good option for me; much will depend on whether I’m still borderline and what my primary care physician counsels me at that time. I may decide to fast and abstain from meat on Fridays as a religious discipline.

In any event, all that is at least three months away. Right now, I’m pleased with the progress I’ve made and am setting a “stretch goal” of 262 by May 1. At 262, I’ll no longer be morbidly obese … I’ll just be obese. I’ll also have lost 42.6 lbs. in less than 3 months. That will be one heck of an accomplishment!