Starting
Weight:
|
244.8
|
Original Target*:
|
261.2
|
Adjusted Target:
|
243.0
|
Actual Weight:
|
242.6
|
Loss/Gain:
|
–
2.2
|
Total Loss:
|
60.0
|
% of Goal:
|
43.3%
|
Avg. Loss/Wk.:
|
–
2.6
|
*Original target calculated from a
starting weight of 302.6 lbs. and an average loss/wk. of 1.8 lbs.
|
|
That’s right—60 pounds in 23 weeks, or 18.6 pounds
ahead of where I’d planned to be. There’s an oddity, though: My scale gives
different weights at different places on the bathroom floor. There’s always a
bit of temptation to play with the scale any way you can to eke out another
couple fifths of a pound or to zero out a gain. There have been days I’ve weighed
myself about a dozen times, looking for the “sweet spot” on the floor where the
scale registers the lowest. And the variation is pretty wild, as much as 5.2
pounds. (No fooling—while choosing a permanent spot for the scale this morning,
I registered a high of 245 and a low of 239.8.)
It’s ridiculous to game the system for a pound or two. Cui
bono? If all I’ve lost is 55 pounds, that’s still far better than I’d
planned to have done by now. In any event, I’ve chosen a spot where two lines
intersect as a reference point; there the scale stays. It added a pound to my weigh-in,
despite my activity and economies yesterday, but fluctuations are part of the
game. I’m still on track for the month.
To tell the truth, if I had my druthers (and the money), I’d
have a professional scale. The best one on the market offers full body
composition reports. It’s also 100 times more expensive than an el-cheapo
digital scale you can get at Walmart. Not having an extra $4,000 to spare, I
guess I’ll stick to my spastic old model.
Next Thursday begins the August challenge: 200
crunches/workout by August 31. The challenge begins on August 1 with 4 reps of
5 different crunches (V crunch, runner’s crunch, reverse crunch, diamond
sit-up, bicycle crunch). The number of reps per crunch increases every day, with
days off every 4 days. By Aug. 27, if you progress according to the plan, you
should be able to do 40 reps of each crunch. (The
first two weeks is given here.)
Why this challenge? Well, because one of my Lose It! friends
invited me. And I have to start exercising some time, though my longtime motto
has been “No pain.” In one workout I learned at MCRD San Diego, you knocked out
as many sit-ups as you could in decreasing time intervals (2 minutes, 1 minute,
30 seconds, 3 sets of 15 seconds), with 10-second breaks between bursts. This
variation works out different muscle groups, yet goes to the same
end—tightening the abs and the flanks. Later on down the line, I’ll start on
the upper body. I’ve also added another secondary goal: At 180, I will be below
the maximum weight the Marines permit for a man my height.
My eventual fitness goal is to be in good enough shape to
pass the Marine
PFT at 3rd class level by the time I reach my goal weight. I regret that I
never made it through boot camp. I was a teenage Walter Mitty; my head wasn’t
screwed on straight when I enlisted and it wouldn’t even begin to straighten
out for several more years. Though most Marines with whom I’ve spoken have been
generous enough to grant that I tried, I still don’t feel I earned the title. I’m
too old to re-enlist, but passing the PFT would be a symbolic recovery from
that self-defeat.
That’s where my mind is at right now. I want to give a
shout-out to my sister Peggy, who was working on her own fitness several months
before I began my program. Although we’re half a continent apart, it’s great
that we’re inspiring each other to better health and fitness. I love ya, Sis!
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