What a year it's been. Little did I know that when I started this blog 366 days ago that I would actually still be carrying through with it, that I would have purchased not one, but two, new bicycles, or that I would consider the year to be pretty successful. Yet here I am, and all of the above are for real. I still owe you a post about my sweet new MTB, but that might have to wait until spring.
Let's start with the stats...
- Weight as of Jan 1, 2013 - 226 lbs
- Weight as of Dec 30, 2013 - 203 lbs
- Net loss - 23 lbs
- Pants size still the same, but they feel a whole lot better...
- 1,965 miles on at least four different bicycles in many "media," including snow, mud, dry, rocky, and sandy as well as the usual blacktop
- 156 workouts (riding, walking, weights, whatever I entered in MapMyRide)
- 173 hours of activity in those workouts
- 166,000 calories burned (which I consider to be grossly inaccurate - MapMyRide calculates them, and this is what it says for my yearly chart, so...)
Here's what I thought this morning after 30 miles on the "nowhere bike" in the basement: "if I still look like this after losing 23 pounds, how bad was it a year ago?"
I'm still not happy with my body shape or size. I love hearing how I look better, etc., but reality is I'm 5'8" and over 200 lbs. Not exactly skinny. As a matter of fact, I look like I need to lose 30 pounds... Which I do. So I will keep going. It would be nice to drop those 30 by my birthday in July, at which I will turn the magical age of 50. I don't know what 50 is supposed to feel like, but I do know that it sounds weird... And I'm the youngest in my family - five kids who range in age from almost 50 to just about 61. How on Earth did that happen? Pam will be 61 in February. Weird. But she looks great and is very healthy, so is she "old"? Will I be "old"?
Anyway, this wasn't going to be about age... How about some frustrations? OK, here's one:
Sunday morning I was getting dressed for church. In my shirtless condition I wasn't feeling all that fabulous about my waistline, but hey, my pants fit better lately. So anyway, I grab some Smartwool socks because not only are they awesome, but it's also 15 degrees outside. Since they're wool, they're obviously considerably thicker than my regular socks, but sooo comfy and warm... And I grab my penny loafers because they're old and I don't care if they get snowy/salty/winter-damaged. And they're LOOSE. My FEET are thinner. WTF??? Are you kidding me with this right now? I have enough paunch left around my middle to be considered "heavy" by someone just meeting me, and some of the 23 pounds have come off of my FEET??? Shit... But it's true. I noticed it last week as well, when I went to a wedding, able to button the coat on my good suit AND feeling pretty slim in my black dress shoes. I figured I hadn't worn them in a while, so maybe I didn't really remember how they felt. But no - looser shoes. Rings, watch, all of the auxiliary areas are indeed slimming down with the rest of my body, which is cool, but since it goes ON the belly first, can't it come OFF of there first?? It's not fair.
But back to my 10% loss... Studies show that even a 10% reduction in weight can have big benefits for your body. Lower cholesterol (my almost-annual physical is coming up in February, and I'll share the results here), lower blood pressure (I was 117/72 the other day - still medicated), lower risk of Type 2 Diabetes (runs in my family), lower risk of heart disease (runs in my family), and better overall feeling (doesn't run in my family). My resting heart rate the other day was 64. At my age and weight class, that's pretty impressive. So I am beginning to reap the benefits of this work.
And the work, as I said, must continue. Dana and I have been working on a largely plant-based diet the last couple of months, and both of us think it's pretty great. We've seen evidence via documentaries and read many articles on the benefits of this diet, and we really don't miss the animal products. Strangely enough, I've remarked that it's not exactly low fat, but we are still managing to lose weight. Our bodies are responding to what many scientists consider to be the ideal diet for humans. She has reduced the intensity and frequency of her migraine headaches, and both of us have managed to actually LOSE a couple of pounds during the holiday season!! I still miss burgers and my father-in-law's smoked animals, but I figure that if I partake of them only occasionally and in moderation that I am still better off than I was. (Honestly, last night and again today I have a serious jones for a burger... Don't know why, but there it is. And I won't beat myself up if I have one, but I also know that I'll pay for it the next day with feeling not so good physically. I can really tell the difference in that department!)
And so, faithful reader, comes to a close year one of this grand experiment. Like I said, I'm going to call it a success. Thanks for reading along!
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