Six weeks. It’s been six weeks since I did a “Weekly Weigh-in” post. Typically, this is a major warning sign, as it usually means that I went off the rails and then went into avoidance mode so I didn’t have to face the growing amount of damage I was doing to my overall health.

But, not this time.

While my weekly loss since my last post averages barely less than ½ pound, it still means my weight continued to drop, even in the face of a three-day birthday weekend eating bender followed by a remarkably similar one on Easter weekend. In fact, even without taking those into consideration, I’m satisfied with that weekly average. For this particular spin on the weight-loss merry-go-round, the hope is that a prolonged, slower loss results in an improved ability to go into maintenance mode once goal weight is reached. Clearly, that point is still months away, but for now, things are going to plan — even without posting every Wednesday as planned.

Change since last weigh-in (six weeks ago): -2.8 lb
2018 Cumulative loss: 9.6 lb
Pounds from goal:  21.0

News of Kevin Smith’s heart attack earlier this week was a reminder, an unneeded one at that, that the weight yo-yoing needs to cease. Admittedly, he smokes and at his peak weighed 100 pounds more than I did, which put him at greater risk. However, he’s only two years older, and — as painful as it is to say — someone once mistook me for him on a summer evening back in 2010. (I was near my peak weight at the time and the length of my hair was similar to his.) So, yeah… news of his heart attack was unsettling.

The good news is that full workup a couple years ago on my heart arterial health showed no moderate or significant signs of blockages and my overall cardiovascular health was good. While the yo-yoing is putting stress on everything, it hasn’t caused significant damage — yet. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, once the weight gain from last year finally disappears, this time it needs to stay off. I’m hoping that the fact that a less stringent exercise routine prevents the type of proper eating and exercise burnout I’ve experienced each of the last four years. However, it’s meant that the weight loss for the first two months of this year has been slower than in similar previous efforts. It’ll be a number of months before knowing whether this change makes a difference.

In the meantime, as for the weigh-in itself… I actually did weigh myself, as per routine, the last two weeks, but I just didn’t post about it. Purely for reference sake, I lost weight on the 02-14 weigh-in, and gained enough weight on the 02-21 weigh-in to put me slightly back over where I was on 02-07. So, really, I lost a little over three pounds this past week, though I’m not going to claim it given what happened on the week ending 02-21. For what it’s worth, I’m now back to roughly 35 pounds below my 2011 peak.

Change since last weigh-in (three weeks ago): -2.4 lb
2018 Cumulative loss: 6.8 lb
Pounds from goal:  23.8

Change since last weigh-in: -1.4 lb
2018 Cumulative loss: 4.4 lb
Pounds from goal:  26.2

I feel like I’m on the cusp of making real progress. It has become easier to make the trek out to the gym or downstairs to the treadmill. Maintaining a proper diet also takes less effort, though that might be due to the fact that junk foods are no longer kept in the pantry. Also taken as a sign of improvement: the dietary carnage for Super Bowl Sunday was entirely contained within the hour leading up to the big game and during its first three quarters.

Although I never make weekly goals, it cannot be denied that reaching the five-pound mark this week would feel really nice.

Change since last weigh-in: -2.6 lb
2018 Cumulative loss: 3.0 lb
Pounds from goal:  27.6

Well, it’s basically back to where I was three weeks ago. Although this is clearly a step in the right direction, any real excitement about my progress won’t begin until there’s been consistent progress for a number of weeks in a row. The Super Bowl presents an obvious challenge this weekend, but containing the dietary carnage within the confines of the Super Bowl party I’m attending means that next week’s weigh-in should be fine (provided I do everything right during the rest of the week, of course.)

Gain since last weigh-in (two weeks): 2.4 lb
2018 Cumulative loss: 0.4 lb
Pounds from goal: 30.2 lb

(numbers are from yesterday, I just didn’t get off my lazy ass to write the post until today)

Yeah, I failed miserably over the past couple weeks. However, in an odd way the looming threat of this week’s weigh-in post worked. See, on Monday of last week I already planned to avoid a weekly weigh-in because of a desire to remain fully in denial. Thus, in an act similar to self-fulfilling prophecy, it became easier to avoid both exercising and eating properly until the end of the weekend. Then, this past Monday morning, I grudgingly forced myself back on track in an effort to minimize the damage as much as possible in anticipation of this week’s post. So, the fact a cumulative loss for the year remains (albeit by a measly 0.4 lb) direct resulted from a desire to minimize the damage as much as possible before yesterday’s scale reading.

Thankfully, until Super Bowl Sunday arrives, there’s nothing in the social calendar that provides a weak excuse for eating poorly or not somehow taking the time to work out. Admittedly, there wasn’t much of an excuse for either for most of the past two weeks, but going to New Jersey this past weekend to visit Dad and Ellen and then watching the Eagles’ NFC Championship win over the Vikings made eating properly a lot harder during those two days. But, only those two days.

With a little luck, next week’s numbers will be the best of the year — if for no other reason than that’s a rather low bar to clear thus far.

Loss since last weigh-in: 2.8 lb
2018 Cumulative loss: 2.8 lb
Pounds from goal: 27.8 lb

Under normal circumstances, this week’s weigh-in would be disappointing. The first week of effort after an extended layoff typically results in a loss somewhere in the neighborhood of five pounds. However, this past week was not typical. In response to a record-breaking cold snap, I didn’t leave the house for three full days. Until this morning, the made to the gym only once, and that was to shower there because the water meter froze, which stopped water from going into our house. Thankfully, we still have TeenLitGirl’s old treadmill in the house. So, I did manage to exercise — just not at the levels I would’ve preferred.

Outside of that, I stuck to plan. Hopefully, this week will see a return to proper gym visits and will compensate for last week’s lower than typical number.