Richard Ha writes:

At 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 4:
Starting weight 214.6 lbs.
This week’s target weight 212.6 lbs.
Today’s actual weight 210.5 lbs.
I am 2.1 lbs ahead of schedule
This week I lost 1.1 lbs.

Goal 175 lbs.
Weight loss since 5/23: 4.1 lbs.
Starting resting heart rate 65
Today’s resting heart rate 61 beats per minute.*

* This goes down as one gets into better shape. Lance Armstrong is said to be at 32 beats per minute. My lowest was 52 beats per minute many years ago.

I lost 1.1 lbs. this week, when my goal was to lose 1 lb. Overall, I’m 2.1 lbs. ahead of schedule now.

I’m starting to realize that all the things you read about losing weight are pretty much true: Lose a little bit of weight at a time; eat breakfast; check the scale frequently, and you start to feel better—it’s all true. I’m not feeling deprived; just a little more disciplined.

They say that one of the characteristics of successful weight losers is that they check the scale frequently, and it is interesting to weigh frequently. I’m doing that and I’m starting to spot patterns and I’m actually modifying my eating behavior on the fly. For instance, last week I gained almost 2 lbs. for no apparent reason. I deduced that it was due to eating too much sodium, like in the beef jerky that we bought from Costco. I eat way too much of this when I get my hands in it. So, I just found out what “retaining water” means.

It is true, too, about weighing in at the same time each day. In the morning after everything is stable works for me. The rest of the time, I’m trying to figure out what causes the temporary ups and downs. Kind of interesting.

In terms of exercise, I use a heart rate monitor to determine how hard to work. Effective training involves just the right amount of stress combined with adequate rest. This involves monitoring one’s heart rate. The heart is a muscle and needs to be trained accordingly.

There are training programs that are based on one’s theoretical maximum heart rate. There are on-line calculators that will calculate your maximum heart rate and there are training programs that tell you how long to train at what heart rate. So this involves watching your heart rate monitor and working harder or less depending on what your schedule calls for.

I am on what is called an interval training program. I train hard three times per week and cruise for the other four days. For the first three weeks, the training days are progressively more intense but for shorter durations. The fourth week is an active rest week where I cruise for at least an hour three times during the week.

On the days I am not scheduled for intense training, I cruise until I get 500 calories expended. On my elliptical trainer at 70% of maximum heart rate, which is considered active rest, it takes me about 40 minutes to accumulate 500 calories.

Because I like to lift weights I throw weightlifting into the mix as long as my heart rate is where I need it to be. One word of caution: one should refrain from over-training.

Here’s a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon to keep it all in perspective.

I cannot wait to break 200!