Day 200

It’s day two hundred and I weighed in at 86.6 kilos. Essentially, I have been stuck on a plateau around this weight for about three months. But I am not bothered. It’s hard to lose weight during winter months – or so I tell myself – and it’s a plateau…I am not gaining weight. So, all-in-all, I am comfortable. I am looking forward now to Spring and Summer and seeing if I can shift a few more kilos. I would be happy if, all else fails, I remain at this weight.

My caloric intake has deliberately crept up. It’s unsustainable to eat very little over a long period. But the worst thing I could have done was to give up my careful approach to calories. If I started eating too much again my weight would have bounced back – with interest.

I have allowed myself to eat more and indulge in the odd treat. I now eat pretty normally. I have the odd pizza, biscuits and fruit drink. I monitor my calories closely so this relaxation does not become a flood of unnecessary fat-producing calories. So far, it hasn’t.

The proof that I am doing this relaxation responsibly is that I have not really gained weight at all. But it’s probably a major contributor to the plateau I find myself sitting on.

In short: Day 200 – all is well. Roll on a year.

Long time no update – but it’s all good

It’s been a while since I reported my progress. To be honest there wasn’t much to say. I slipped into one of those weight doldrums where your weight stubbornly plateaus. But I’ve managed to get slowly through that period.

For the past couple of months my weight has oscillated between 88 and 89 kilos. There’s been the occasional weird fluctuation upward but the general trend has been depressingly consistent.

In the last week though, I have managed to slip out of the 88/90 zone and moved downward to an oscillation of between 86 and 88. The other cool thing about this movement downward is that my BMI prime (the index that sort of indicates how overweight you are) indicates that I am now overweight by only a single digit. I’ve moved from being 10+% overweight to being 8% overweight.

It’s all good news.

Another dreaded plateau

It seems I have hit another plateau around 89 kilos. Over the past few weeks, I have been oscillating between 88 to 90 kilos. It’s definitely a plateau. The only question is whether it’s a passing problem or something more fundamental. I recall from previous weight loss experiences that some weights are particularly “sticky”. I call them my natural set-points. At these sticky weights, I find it hard to gain or lose weight. It’s almost as if my body wants to stay at these weights. Roughly they’re 85, 90, and 100 kilos. I think I’ve hit the 90 kilo set point and it’s going to take something special to knock myself passed this weight. I don’t know what to do, though.

Of course there’s the dreaded concept: Exercise. I’ve been putting off getting fitter, but of course it’s something I need to do. I may be trim but I am desperately unfit. So, if this weight loss is more than just an exercise in determination and is actually about health benefits, then I really need to address the fitness aspect of the health equation.