Getting Back On Track Before Summer

Wow, it's been longer than I thought.

The last time I posted an update, I'd just went over 160 kg and then lost a whopping 8.1 kg in a week to get back under. Looking at my weigh-in data, after that I was back up to 160.2 by Sept 4, then dropped down to 154.7 about 10 days later. Then by Sept 17, I was back up to 161.0 kg and to 162.0 by Oct 8.

So there's been a lot of bouncing around, generally between 155 to 160 kg. I go on huge junk food binges that last a week or two, pack on the kilos, then stop for a week or so and drop back down. The thing is, each time I do it, I top out a little higher -- 160, then 161, then 162, and when I lose, I lose less -- 152.6, then 154.7, and now 158.0.

I need to stop the binges, and get back onto my program long-term. Not just for a week or two, until my jeans don't feel like they're cutting me in half any more. But for six weeks. Then twelve weeks. Then twenty-four weeks.

We're going up north this summer, and I need to be smaller and fitter when we get there. What would realistic goals look like? If I go with my 1.6 - 1.7 kg loss per week, here's what's possible:

Oct 22 - 156.3 kg
Oct 29 - 154.7 kg
Nov 5  - 153.0 kg
Nov 12 - 151.4 kg
Nov 19 - 149.7 kg
Nov 26 - 148.1 kg
Dec 3    - 146.4 kg
Dec 10  - 144.8 kg
Dec 17 -  143.1 kg

That would get me back to where I was in February, 2011. On one hand, that's damned depressing. On the other, it's what has to happen if I want to keep moving forward. I've taken the three steps back (again), and even though it feels like walking the same old ground, it has to be done before I can move into new territory.

Assuming that a vacation, plus Christmas, plus New Year's Eve partying means I'm back up to 150 kg on Jan 1, 2013, getting back on track after that looks something like:

Jan 7   - 148.3 kg
Jan 14 - 146.7 kg
Jan 21 - 145.0 kg
Jan 28 - 143.4 kg
Feb 4  - 141.7 kg
Feb 11 - 140.1 kg
Feb 18 -  138.5 kg

That puts me at a new lowest weight by the time I go back to work. And while it might not be a smooth steady drop between now and then, or from then through the next year, what I'm hoping for is that I set new maximums. Three months from now, six months from now, a year from now when I go off the rails again, I don't want that to mean that I go from 150 kg to 160 kg before I say "Enough!" and start losing again. I want   150 kg to be the new 160 kg. And then 140 kg. And then 130 kg. And then lower and lower and lower.

Now that the long winter is finally over, I'm hoping to get some exercise going again. A guy is coming to look at the cross-trainer this morning, to see if he can fix it. After I broke the other one, Karen bought one from a local online auction site, but the belt was broken. I ordered a new belt from the US, but I don't have the tools to put it on. So it's been sitting around doing nothing for...I don't know, a long damned time. If he fixes it today, I'm going to start using it. It's a huge thing, from a gym, so it's unlikely to fall apart under me. That'll help.

Plus I'm looking to get myself a couple of new fitness-related toys. A heart-rate monitor to help me track my exercise intensity, calories, burned, etc. plus a FitBit One to track my steps, sleep patterns, etc. I think they'll help, too.