Still stuck on 176 lbs folks. But no surprises there considering the week just gone.
Never mind this past week though; let's have a look at the year - its successes and failures, for there have been some of each.
Weight
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I started the year at 216 lbs and this was officially in the 'obese' range of Body Mass Index (BMI) - though only just so at BMI of 30.2.
I end the year at 176 lbs with my weight medically in the 'normal category', with BMI of 24.6. So Chris is actually not too fat any more allegedly but I am not changing the title now. No idea how to anyway.
So I have lost 40 lbs in weight - approximately 20% of body weight - and this alone is very pleasing.
My target remains an elusive 161 lbs which would give me a BMI of 22.5, which is bang in the middle of 'normal' and takes me back to my weight at marriage some 37 years ago !
That is the good news. The bad is that, while I lost weight quite steadily and quickly to begin with, this last few months has been a real struggle - almost as though I am subconsciously satisfied with what I have already achieved. Put another way and to quantify, the first 6 months of my project lost me 32 lbs but this last 6 months only 8 lbs. This has been a major disappointment but I can only point the finger at myself really.
Diet
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For most of the year I have set myself a target of 1700 calories per day to help with the slimming process. Really difficult at times to hold myself to this with fridge, freezer and cupboards still full of forbidden titbits ! This, plus the occasional trips abroad with work which were particularly disruptive - I can never work on a rumbling stomach - made 1700 on average untenable in the long term and I estimate that it was nearer 1950 calories overall had I kept notes on all days. This, of course, meant that the early days were more austere food-wise than these later weeks because at my current weight I simply require less food to operate anyway.
Fitness
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This has been a revelation. In simple terms I feel great ! I still regard myself as a bit podgy - still plenty of flesh on my tummy, for example - but I can run upstairs without gasping by the top step and, in general, I am physically less challenged in most things I do. My early exercise sorties were mostly on my bike. I felt that was the easier entree to a regular exercise regime. For the record, this first year on my bike has totalled almost exactly 1,600 miles. Far from a record, but noteworthy I thought.
More recently I have increased my running - I do not get punctures when running - and I just feel that it is more effective exercise overall. Put another way, 30 mins running makes me far hungrier than even 60 mins on the bike ! So this has been a success. I do covet my target weight and what it might bring in terms of well-being but I have to be patient yet it seems.
The Future
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My target remains the same. I believe my exercise/diet regime works overall though with frequent lapses of concentration - one step forward, two steps back sometimes. But I am not discouraged unduly; irritated at the lack of progress more recently, yes, but I press on in optimism.
My Audience
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Most valuable folks. Thanks for your varied comments, both public and private. Much appreciated - but don't stop now ! I still need your stern collective gaze of disapproval - with occasional praise - if I am to stumble over the finish line before I collect my State Pension.
So here's to Year 2. I start it with resolve but human weakness abounds. However, I am glad I saw the light a year ago and made this effort.
The biggest regret I have is that I did not see the light in my late twenties and avoid getting into this rotund podgy mess in the first place, for it surely creeps up on you while you are engaged in other matters with the passage of the years. (Are you listening at the back there ?).
ChrisITF
