Goal: lose one pound per week for 39 weeks Starting weight on 5/23/06: 214.6 lbs. End goal, on 2/18/07: 175 lbs.
This week’s target weight: 206.6 lbs.
Today’s actual weight: 203.5. lbs. 7/16/06
I am 3.1 lbs. ahead of schedule
I lost 1.1 lbs since last week
Weight loss since 5/23: 11.1 lbs.
Resting heart rate 5/23: 65 beats per minute Today’s resting heart rate 55 beats per minute.* * This goes down as one gets into better shape. Lance Armstrong 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.
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I realize I’ve become overconfident in my ability to lose weight, as if it is automatic. I’ve started to wait until Thursday to focus on my weight loss goal for the week. This week, because of the strenuous bike ride last week, I took two days off the elliptical. That’s 1000 calories that I did not burn off.
At about the same time, Etsuko, our son Brian’s mom-in-law, made banana bread. She makes really, really delicious, moist and heavy banana bread. If one serving of steak is supposed to be the size of a deck of cards, I think I’d eaten six decks of banana bread by Thursday.
I decided to do the 1,000 extra calories on the elliptical by Saturday evening. This was pushing it a bit. But I could just feel that if I didn’t do it, I wouldn’t meet my goal.
All’s well, though. I lost 1.1 lbs.
It is important to remember that burning fat and training for athletic improvement (lowering the resting heart rate) are two different things. Working extra hard for a short time does not change the rule that 3,500 calories equal 1 lb. (I’m talking to myself.)
In retrospect, I should have done at least a few calories of work on the elliptical, instead of taking those days off completely. If I had done 250 on each of the two days, I would only have had 500 calories to catch up, instead of the full 1,000. I need to keep this in mind next time.
My resting heart rate is going down. I have been sneaking in interval training sessions. These are short bursts of high heart rate work. Two or three bursts in a 30 minute total workout session.
I don’t like to suffer for a long time. I’d much rather do a few bursts that reach a higher peak than suffering long, mind-numbing grinds.
When I am totally out of shape, my resting heart rate is in the 70s. When doing sporadic training, it’s in the 60s. When I’m on a scheduled program, it’s mostly in the high 50s.
Ten years or so ago, when I was on the mountain bike a lot, it was 52. It’s now 55 and I’m pretty sure I can drive it lower. I’m much wiser now. And besides, George W’s resting heart rate is 47. When I get my weight and heart rate down, and with a little practice, I may be able to ride with him and the boys on the Kulani trails.
I bought myself an Ipod and loaded it up with tunes to reward myself for last week’s accomplishment of breaking 205 lbs. My granddaughter checked out the playlist and said, “Papa, you have good music!!!” as if I broke the law or something.
For a second, I thought, “You have a cool Grandpa.” But more likely it was because I downloaded the celebrity list of American Idol judge Randy Jackson’s Top 20 songs. Oh well.