 So I finally can cross that off my list. It seems the last four weeks my body has just fought every effort to reach 10% weight loss goal…minus 41.4 lbs. Wow, what a struggle the last four weeks have been. I have lost 1.4 lbs in the last four weeks to get here. But it happened and that is what is important.
So how important is 10 % loss? Here are some healthy benefits of losing 10 percent of your body weight: 1. Lower Cholesterol and Reduce your Blood Pressure. High cholesterol and elevated blood pressure are two major risk factors for heart disease. 2. Lower Risk of Type 2 Diabetes. By losing just 10 percent of your body weight, you'll improve your body's ability to use the insulin it makes, possibly preventing the onset of the disease. 3. More Energy. I know I have more energy and stamina. 4. A Mental Edge. Not too sure about this one…where was I? 5. Reality Check. After losing 10 percent, you gain a sense of what it takes to lose the rest and reach your final goal weight. The last one seems to be the fuel for moving forward. It is important to take every challenge in small reasonable goals. “A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step”…”How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” “One Day at a Time.” I have proven to myself that what I am doing works. I just lost 10% of my total weight. Now if I just stay focused one day at a time, I can keep losing weight, be more active and get healthier.
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We held our second orientation meeting Saturday the 17th at 10:30 am. After a very few words, Paul Carrozza leads us all on a walk. Depending how far you chose to walk anywhere from ¾ of a mile to over 2 miles. Oh yes, there was a hill involved. Those who had been part of the first meeting picked up their new shoes. Mine are still at the Navy shipyard being constructed…the price you pay for wearing size 16. Those who were attending their first meeting were measured for shoes and took part in the day.
I am overwhelmed by the response we have received. It is very inspiring to see so many people willing to take that step to a healthier life. I don’t want to be presumptuous and impose my life experiences on others. Nor make too broad a generalization regarding the challenges others face. Let me explain. I have been over weight all my life. If you go back 30 years ago, my weight has at times seemed reasonable…245 lbs- 265 lbs. But there have been times in the last 11 years when it has been as high as 418 lbs. That is the most I have ever weighed in my entire life and that was 2 years ago. The following year and a half I made some half hearted efforts to lose weight. But it wasn’t until I went back to Weight Watchers several months ago at 410 lbs that I got serious. It wasn’t until I added in the elements I felt I needed to be successful…Exercise, Public Accountability, Eating Healthier and One Day at a Time. The willingness to go public through my blog has been a big help. It seems if I write it down it is real. Tracking what I eat, making weekly notes about my weigh-ins and sharing it all publicly help me to be responsible for my own health. I have friends and family who have been supportive with their comments and actions. But it is the dozens of emails I have received from people I don’t know, that has made me realize that we are not alone. We have common goals and challenges. Then getting out in public and beginning to exercise. I felt uncomfortable at times walking down the street. What would people think? What were they saying? I decided they were saying, “There goes a man who wants to get healthier.” It took courage to get out on the road and begin to walk. Courage is what I see when I look at all the people who have joined ATX 100. I have been in this environment before and I wasn’t walking into a room full of strangers not knowing what to expect. But most of the people, who made the choice to join ATX 100 and make a difference in their life, were walking into a room full of strangers. They didn’t know what to expect but they had made the decision to make a difference in their life and take personal responsibility for their health. COURAGE…what you all are doing, takes courage. And that is powerful, yes even a bit overwhelming.  “Step by Step…inch by inch…” No I am not going berserk! And I am not in Niagara Falls! (Obscure reference to a Three Stooges’ routine.) But in the last three weeks my weight loss has slowed dramatically. Minus 0.6 pounds this last week. So I guess this is the way it is going to be right now until my body decides to give it up. Plateaus seem to be common in weight loss. I have been staying with my plan and moving right along. But all of sudden there is a stall. These last three weeks have been the following: +0.4, - 0.4 AND NOW -0.6. This is definitely an improvement from the dramatic up one week… down the next. So this is a summary of what the experts say you should do to break the plateau: 1. Don't starve yourself. Cutting calories to an extreme will not help you. Try cutting excess fat and calories to a reasonable level and divide these up into frequent small meals (of about 200 to 300 calories each) every few hours. Increase the amount of protein with each meal to help you feel satisfied longer. In Weight Watcher’s terms…eat all your daily points. 2. Try to increase or vary your activity level. Increase the duration or intensity of your exercise schedules. If you have been only walking or cycling, try doing some weight lifts and vice versa. 3. Increase your water consumption to stimulate lipolysis and clean your system of excess ketones. 4. Avoid eating within 3 hours of bedtime. Especially avoid any foods that are higher in carbs as this can trigger insulin production which in turn will inhibit fat-burning while you are asleep. I have to tell myself daily that this is a journey and not a diet. This is a process for living a healthier and more active life. Along the way there will be milestones or benchmarks. According to the health experts, losing 10% of your body weight is one of those major milestones. I am 0.4 pounds away from losing 41 pounds or 10%. Step by step…inch by inch… This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.
 If you don’t already know wildfires are doing massive amounts of damage to the Central Texas area. Everyone I know it seems knows someone whose life and property have been threatened. Several people I know have lost their homes. Those who have suffered directly when asked all respond the same way, “My family is safe. We can rebuild.” So it seems a little trivial to take this time to talk about this week’s weigh in. Minus 0.6 pounds. Not trying to be melodramatic, just saying the same things…”My family is safe and my Wife loves me”. I am getting healthier because they are all important to me. I want to live a healthier life in hopes that I will live longer and be able to experience more of their lives. As I write this it begins to sound selfish to me…I want to get healthier so I can enjoy more of them. If you have a chance to help, please do so. If you are a person of faith, pray. I am going to ask my Mother to pray…She has much better connections. This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.
 I weighed in last Tuesday only four days after my last weigh in. +0.4 lbs. After back to back losses four tenths of a pound didn’t seem like too big a deal.
I would have rather had a loss but whatever. More important is that it is Sunday evening and I am just getting around to writing and posting. This whole week has been filled with confusion and stress. There are too many things to list. I guess the most disturbing is that I went four days without exercising. Not sure why. That is what bothers me the most. I just didn’t want to get out and walk or ride the stationary bike. Excuses? Yes sure…I had to be at work earlier or a doctor’s appointment or half a dozen other things. I got home late everyday and it was too hot to go outside and I was too lazy to go to the gym. I guess the good news…I got over it today and rode the bike 62 minutes. And tomorrow it is supposed to cool down to 92 degrees. I am looking forward to walking tomorrow morning. So the week went by and I lost focus. Next Tuesday I weigh in and we will see what the scale holds then. But for now I am happy, rested and ready for the next day. |
Joe Bacon
Happily Married to Michele and living in central Texas. Archives
May 2020
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