December 2009 – The Fat Guy

Lifestyle Change – Redux

After re-reading my previous post about the year in review, I realize the problem.

I started a true lifestyle change back in 2007. The changes were drastic, but effective. I lost weight, and got much more fit. The changes centered around eating sensibly and getting exercise.

I realize that although I’m still much healthier and fit than I was when I started, my eating habits have slipped gradually back to horrible. Overall, I’m still doing well due to the exercise I get but I need another lifestyle change.

I’m considering a six-day diet. A strict low-carb diet six days per week, then eat what I want on the seventh. This will allow me to lose weight, yet still go out with Kristy for dinner, or have a beer or three.

The low-carb, high-fat, high-protein diet is a bit controversial, but will be easier to fit-in with Kristy’s cooking habits. It’s also similar to what I was eating during my best period of weight loss.

I still need to track everything I eat, and weigh regularly. Both of those things mostly disappeared for the month of December.

2009 In Review

What a wonderful/busy/crazy/happy/stressful year it’s been.

Weight

chart-montly-weight-2009

I (mostly) lost weight through the first half of the year, but mostly gained it all back in the last half. I’m still happier with my weight than I was in 2007 or 2008 though. I need to have the self-control that I did in 2008 again.

Bike Mileage

Month	Miles
01-2009	277.8
02-2009	263.3
03-2009	192.4
04-2009	290.9
05-2009	452.0
06-2009	542.2
07-2009	371.3
08-2009	199.6
09-2009	298.9
10-2009	436.1
11-2009	443.9
12-2009	91.6

Month	Nermal	Oria	Nermal	Oria	Total
All 2008	712.8	1,525.8	712.8	1,525.8	2,238.6
01-2009	927.6	1,588.8	214.8	63.0	277.8
02-2009	1,004.9	1,774.8	77.3	186.0	263.3
03-2009	1,068.5	1,903.6	63.6	128.8	192.4
04-2009	1,359.4	1,903.6	290.9	0.0	290.9
05-2009	1,501.0	2,214.0	141.6	310.4	452.0
06-2009	1,769.0	2,488.2	268.0	274.2	542.2
07-2009	1,953.6	2,674.9	184.6	186.7	371.3
08-2009	2,024.9	2,803.2	71.3	128.3	199.6
09-2009	2,104.0	3,023.0	79.1	219.8	298.9
10-2009	2,417.5	3,145.6	313.5	122.6	436.1
11-2009	2,765.5	3,241.5	348.0	95.9	443.9
12-2009	2,857.1	3,241.5	91.6	0.0	91.6

I didn’t make my goal of 5000 miles. I knew I wouldn’t fairly early. I did ride 3,860 miles for the year, which beats the previous year of 2,238.

Month by Month Review

January 2009
- Biking irregularly due to weather and ice storm
- First RCCS ride
- Rode 277.8 miles
- Average weight of 216.5 lbs
February 2009
- Gave up the idea of living car-free in the near-term
- I assumed (wrongly) that I’d hit my goal weight by August
- Rode 263.3 miles
- Average weight of 208.2 lbs
March 2009
- I met Kristy
- Rode 192.4 miles
- Average weight of 204.6 lbs
April 2009
- My car died – spent two weeks without one before buying my truck
- Kristy and I were engaged
- Kristy left the state for a few months
- Rode 290.9 miles
- Average weight of 206.6 lbs
May 2009
- Rode the 60-mile Tour de Cure
- Set a new weekly mileage record of 186.1
- Rode 452.0 miles
- Average weight of 203.3 lbs
June 2009
- Weight was under 200 lbs for a while
- Set a new weekly mileage record of 201.9
- Rode 542.2 miles
- Average weight of 202.0 lbs
July 2009
- Kristy came home
- Went to West Virginia with Kristy to meet some of her family
- Rode 371.3 miles
- Average weight of 201.8 lbs
August 2009
- Managed a 20-mile ride in Michigan while traveling
- Almost sold my recumbent
- Business trip to San Antonio – Too much good food
- My daughter came to live with me
- Rode 199.6 miles
- Average weight of 208.4 lbs
September 2009
- I married Kristy in Florida – managed to bring bikes and get in some riding too
- Finished The Ride to Conquer Cancer – I enjoyed the achievement, but I’m not really sure I want to spend the (fund-raising) time to do another charity ride
- Rode 298.9 miles
- Average weight of 212.4 lbs
October 2009
- Kristy left again for work
- Rode 436.1 miles
- Average weight of 209.7 lbs
November 2009
- Went mountain biking for the first time
- Rode 443.9 miles
- Average weight of 209.8 lbs
December 2009
- Kristy came home
- Spent Christmas in West Virginia
- Kristy left again
- I’m gaining weight again, it’s going to take work to get back down
- Rode 91.6 miles – holy crap! what happened here?
- Average weight of 215.2 lbs – wow back to January weight

Overall

I’m happy with what I’ve done for the year. I met a wonderful woman, fell in love, and got married. Looking back at my posts from the past year, many of them seem rather negative. I guess it’s easy to focus on the times when things aren’t going as planned. Things usually don’t go as planned, but work out alright anyway.

That doesn’t mean I give myself a pass on not losing the weight and keeping it off. I very much intend to achieve my goal weight of 175 lbs, and stay there. I’m hoping I can do it before December of next year.

Happy New Year everyone!

Things Change

I re-read a previous post “Shifted Priorities“, and realize I was in the middle of a mistake at the time.

I had talked about the fact that I ride for fun rather than weight loss. I was dreaming of buying a new bike, though I have two perfectly usable ones.

Since then, my mileage is way down, and my weight is up. I can make excuses about being busy, but the truth is that I haven’t been trying hard enough recently.

I do spend a lot of time thinking about bikes. I spend more time thinking about bikes than riding them. I have spent very little time thinking about my eating habits recently. I haven’t been tracking my calorie consumption or my weight very regularly.

This has led to a 20 lb weight gain over the last five months. So, I lost 100 lbs, but gained 20 of it back. That is frustrating. I feel like the “Fat Guy” that I used to be.

Not Totally Negative

I did ride to work yesterday. Then I ran some errands around Clarksville Indiana by bike. I traveled Eastern, Lewis & Clark, Greentree, and Veteran’s Parkway. I have never considered riding those non-bike-friendly-roads until yesterday, but it wasn’t as bad as I imagined (even with holiday shopping traffic), and I had a good time.

My ride terminated at Feeder’s Supply where I bought 50 lbs of pet supplies, and waited for my wife to pick me up in the truck. I had 32 miles for the day, not bad for simple utility cycling.

Now What?

Ride more, eat less! I need to start carrying around paper and pen to write down everything I eat. I normally track it on my computer, but if I’m not near a computer, it may not get recorded. I need to track it even I don’t have time to calculate the calories. I need to hold myself accountable.

I briefly considered posting everything I eat here, but that would truly make this a (more) boring place. 🙂

I need to post here more often. Writing about my weight loss attempt keeps me focused. It keeps my goals at the front of my consciousness.

Merry Christmas everyone! I’ll try to keep my snacking on sweets to a minimum.

Snowy Morning Commute

I’m not a big fan of snow, but the little bit in the grass this morning doesn’t bother me. The roads were mostly clear.

The snow did help put me in a more festive spirit, which matched the Christmas lights I put on my bike yesterday. My daughter snapped a couple of pictures before I left. One is with the flash, my reflective bits are very visible, but the Christmas lights aren’t. The other is without the flash, but the lights are very visible. Either way, motorists should be able to see me.

Still Struggling

I’m still not losing much weight, mostly because I’m still eating too much. We had a birthday party for my daughter on Saturday, and I consumed way too much food. I need to stop doing that.