WEEK THIRTY-TWO: Charting

I have been charting my progress through all of this in four week increments. I'm not really sure why I chose that.  It is easier to track than a monthly update, since the 18th of each month falls on different days.  Since I weigh on Mondays and Fridays, keeping it consistent on Mondays helped me.  I have a white board in our "dining room."  On it, I have been updating my weights in four week intervals.  That helps me to keep track of the progress - and to see if I am actually moving forward or plateauing.

Anyway, today was the 32 week mark.  First, the basics for both of you loyal readers out there.  I am now 269 pounds (net loss of 86 pounds), can wear a 36" waist (down 14 inches), and find 2XLT shirts on the big side.  But I have also noticed that there is not a uniform difference between sizes in shirts - nor is there a uniform system of clothing measurements.  The difference between XLT and 2XLT is much bigger than between 2XLT and 3XLT or 3XLT and 4XLT.  It is kind of frustrating.  Also, the waist listing of pants is completely random.  I have Old Navy and Izod shorts and Lee jeans now.  When I tried on Old Navy 36 shorts, they fit just fine.  But, the other day I went to Kohls and tried on a 36 Chaps shorts and a 2XL Hawk shirt.  Neither of them even fit over my body.  So, there is not a set standard.  Again, frustrating.

It also hit me the other day that I'm about to be in some trouble.  The last few days, I have noticed that it is getting a little more mild in the mornings and evenings.  I was stunned last year by how cool it got in Tallahassee during the winter.  We even spent a good amount of time in the winter with lows below 20.  As I analyzed my closet yesterday, I noticed that I don't have cold weather clothes.  I have a few things here and there, but my stock took a severe hit as I lost weight.  It will be interesting to say the least.

I thought that today I would show you my chart as far as weight loss goes.  I find it interesting to track this. I know that some people have been frustrated that they haven't replicated my exact rate of weight loss.  But, I think by seeing this, you will see that it really hasn't been that dramatic after all.

• WEEK 0   -   January 18     -   355 pounds
• WEEK 4   -   February 15   -   327 pounds   -   28 lbs loss
• WEEK 8   -   March 15       -   314 pounds   -   13 lbs loss
• WEEK 12 -   April 12         -   300 pounds   -   14 lbs loss
• WEEK 16 -   May 10          -   291 pounds   -   9 lbs loss
• WEEK 20 -   June 7            -   286 pounds   -   5 lbs loss
• WEEK 24 -   July 5             -   278 pounds   -   8 lbs loss
• WEEK 28 -   August 2        -   274 pounds   -   4 lbs loss
• WEEK 32 -   August 30      -   269 pounds   -   5 lbs loss

Initially, I had these huge weight drops.  The first month was awesome, but that included a 16 pound drop in the first week, when I was on a juice fast.  Lately, things have trickled off to where it averages about a pound a week.  I would love to keep on the faster pace, but my body has adjusted.  I've lost a lot, so there isn't as big of a reservoir to pull from.  Plus, my body's calorie burning total is getting closer to my intake total.  

When I first started, if you remember, I was much more strict with my food choices.  Now, I am not so much worrying about the rate of weight loss, the strictness to break food addictions, or anything like that.  I have moved into the "I need to be able to maintain this forever, so what do I need to do?" phase.  As a result, I have added in brown rice (and other rice once in a while).  I also eat sweet potatoes on occasion and rarely I will have roasted potatoes.  And I eat frozen yogurt at night.  From the very beginning, I had two food lists.  There was the addiction list, which meant I would never eat those foods.  I still have never had those foods.  There was another list - the avoidance list.  Those are foods that I try not to eat due to the high carb content.  Rarely I may have something off of that list.  I still don't eat them regularly.

I know that I could probably accelerate my weight loss if I was to eliminate some of those things - like the frozen yogurt, the cashews, the rice.  But I realize that it is not feasible to live that way forever.  I am still losing weight.  And the fact that it is happening even with the less strict diet makes me happy.  I know at some point - probably not too far from now - where I am going to have to do something different to keep losing weight.  I will hit an equilibrium with caloric intake and burning.  My guess is that it will be when I hit 250 pounds.  For me to drop below that, I will HAVE to be more strict with amount of food I eat or start exercising or be satisfied to stay at that weight.  I'll probably start with exercise and go from there.

My goal is to be at 250-255 by Christmas.  That would put me at 100 pounds lost in a year.  Not too shabby, I think.  It is kind of amazing to me that I am only 14 pounds away from that total.  And I have three and a half months to get there.  Looking at the chart, I haven't lost less than four pounds in a month.  So I think I will make it.  That will be my Christmas present to myself - that and some warm clothes.