by Ethan Johnson
August 11, 2007

Hey hey! I made it through another block of 30 days. Just in time for the absolute worst time of year (weather-wise) down here in Dallas. Let's do the numbers:

Concluded cycle: July 13 to August 11, 2007

• # of treadmill sessions: Zero!
• YTD miles walked on treadmill: 41.6 (Feb 3 - Apr 3 2007)
• (Outdoor) Miles walked during last reported cycle: 60.2
• (Outdoor) Miles walked during freshly concluded cycle: 29.6
• Average miles walked/time spent walking per day (MM:SS): 1.97/30:25
• Miles traveled by bicycle during freshly concluded cycle: 83.2
• Average miles biked/time spent biking per day (MM:SS): 5.55/30:24
• Weight loss/gain since Feb 3, 2007: -45 lbs (295 down to 250)
• Number of floor exercise sessions held during freshly concluded cycle: 13 (approx. 15 minutes per session)
• Starting/current hip width in inches (sometimes called the "Texas waistline"): 45.5/41.5 (Loss of 4 inches)
• Starting/current belly width in inches: 47/42.5 (loss of 4.5 inches)

Holy crap!

This block contained special instructions: I had to for sure either bike or walk for 30 minutes a day, every day, and I had to alternate. One day walking, the next biking. That's why the walking distance is way down compared to normal, because that was 15 days (officially) at 2.1 miles per session. However, I had a couple days where I either missed my outdoor exercise window It slams shut at 9:15am - seriously) or my body demanded a day off. I did some make-up days towards the end, especially after clinching my 30-minute average for biking with a few days to spare.

This strategy seems to have paid off. Because of the heat, I am favoring biking, because if nothing else I can pour on the speed and get home sooner, or I can coast downhill unlike walking. The somewhat scary thing is, I lost 10 pounds in 30 days. Remember, I am not remotely crash dieting (or dieting, period), and no, I am not using wierd pills. Marlena is concerned that weight is shearing off, and that I'm not seeing it for what it is. Sooner or later, I am going to have to pick a target weight and maintain it, but I'm not feeling like I'm there yet. I'm thinking right around 230 is when I'll have to switch to maintenance mode.

Just the same, I have indeed not really been attuned to how much weight I have lost really. I can see the numbers change on the scale, I can read my spreadsheet, but physically I can't see radical changes. Which is good - we're not talking liposuction or gastric bypass here. But when I lie on my back, then things really flatten out and I can see the difference. Also, for the first time I did part of my floor exercise in front of a mirror and was shocked to see how thin I am relative to when I started this program. I'm visibly thinner and more fit. People who know me can tell I'm not starving myself in the pursuit of some arbitrary weight goal. Remember, this is a fitness program, not a contest to see how emaciated I can become.

One side effect, and this may be more of a summer heat thing, but I am massively craving spicy foods. To the point that not only do I order "hot" foods (on a scale of mild/medium/hot/Thai) from the local Thai restaurant, but this morning I had migas with jalepeno peppers, and added salsa and tabasco sauce. And THAT wasn't hot (spicy) enough for me. For some reason my shaker of cayenne pepper just isn't blowing my socks off like it used to, either. Not sure why, and I don't know what is driving these changes. All I know is, my body craves spiciness, and hot spices at that, and it's really hit and miss in terms of satisfying those cravings. At least I'm not craving lard and bacon grease.

Since I am experiencing a form of weight shearing (yay me!), for this next 30 days, I am employing yet another strategy: None whatsoever. Yep, I'm not measuring anything. No mandatory walking, biking, floor exercise, nothing. That doesn't mean I won't do any of those things, but they'll all be "off the record". On the final day, I will take all of my usual measurements, and determine how things are going. If I have "flipped a switch" like Mar thinks, and my body has become an amazingly efficient calorie and fat burning machine, we'll know it. If I was working out excessively, we'll know that too. My suspicion is that despite the heat, I have become more physically active than in the past and now my body has adjusted to this increased activity. I don't think that gives me a free pass to lounge around and eat bon-bons either. However if there was ever a time to officially ease back on the outdoor exercise, that time is now. The heat here can be fatal, no joke.

Speaking of weight shearing, Marlena keeps telling me that random women (such as when I am out shopping somewhere) shoot me dirty looks and so forth because I am "tall and thin." She also cautioned that my weight loss related scrapbook layout would be roundly panned or ignored outright because "those women don't want to hear about your weight loss." Good thing I didn't make the layout seeking their approval. Apparently I have graduated to "skinny bitch" status. I still think it has more to do with Man Cooties™, but what do I know.

I can't begin to express how freaked out I was this morning when I slid the bottom weight marker over to 250, and before I could touch the top one, the scale leveled off. (We have a medical scale.) After what seemed like a small eternity never actually reaching the lowest end of the top line of the scale, I couldn't believe my eyes. I have a picture somewhere from when I weighed around 240 lbs, back in the early 1990s. I probably look thin in that photo, but then again I was much younger. I remember feeling like I could barely move. Then in the 2000s I hit 300 lbs and didn't realize it. Proving once again that our bodies will adapt to whatever we throw at them. Or else our minds will. You decide.

Meetcha back here in 30 days. <EM>