Richard Ha writes:
Today’s weight: 199.3 lbs. This week’s target weight was 193.6 lbs. I am 5.7 lbs. behind schedule.
Starting weight on 5/23/06: 214.6 lbs. End goal, on 2/18/07: 175 lbs. Since 5/23, I have lost 15.3 lbs.
On 5/23, my resting heart rate was 65 beats per minute. Today’s resting heart rate: 65 beats per minute. Recently it was mid-to-low 50’s. This higher heart rate is likely a result of the interval session I did yesterday. I pushed it more than I normally do.
* Heart rate goes down as one gets into better shape. Lance Armstrong’s is said to be 32. George W’s was reported to be 47 beats per minute. Out of shape, mine is in the 70s. My best was 52 many years ago.
My goals: To lose one pound per week for 39 weeks and to lower my resting heart rate below 50 beats per minute.
* * *
June and I flew to Las Vegas three weeks ago because Grandma became ill and was in the ICU there. Grandma is much better now, and Grandpa and I flew back home yesterday. But Grandma and June are on a cruise ship heading to Hilo right now because Grandma is not able to fly.
We’ve been on the mainland for four of the last six weeks, and losing weight at the one lb. per week rate has been very challenging. Considering that we ate out every meal and did not have easy access to a gym, just keeping the weight off was a major accomplishment.
I accomplished this by being conscious of how much I ate. I never ate all the starch on my plate, whether it was french fries, baked potatoes or rice. A lot of time I chose salads. Most of the time “kiddie meals” were the right size and regular meals were way too much food.
The way I avoided gaining weight, therefore, was by portion control. I didn’t have the opportunity to do a lot of training.
But while I didn’t gain weight, I didn’t lose my pound a week either.
As a result, I have decided to restructure my weight loss program. My new plan is to lose 15 pounds in the next 15 weeks. I will start at 200 pounds and finish this phase weighing 185. After that I will lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks, ending at 175 lbs.
By resuming my exercise program and maintaining a reasonable diet, I’m sure that I will resume losing weight.
I’m confident I could have caught up and accomplished my initial goal of losing 39 pounds in 39 weeks. But why stress? Catching up by losing the 5.7 pounds I am “behind schedule” would add stress to my life. It’s important to me that I make this an enjoyable journey.