Weighty matters

I went to the track this morning to do some intervals (3 fast laps around followed by one recovery lap), as I try to do about every two weeks.   There were a few other people there walking, including a few who appeared to be exercising to lose weight, a goal I am very familiar with.  Seeing them walking made me think about my own transformation, and my obsession

I .....   was never a small man.  There are a few dates and weights that stick out in my mind very clearly.  Junior year in highschool, when I found out that I weighed more than 200 pounds.  October 1994, when I lost a bunch of weight to get to 225 pounds for my wedding.  January 3, 1996, I weighed in at 264 pounds, at the start of a 'biggest loser' contest long before they were popular.  April 1996, when I lost nearly 30 pounds in that contest (but still lost).  September 1998, I was back to 249 pounds, and started Weight watchers.  A year later, I was back down to 225 for the first time since that wedding 5 years earlier - this was the start of my running career.

Skip forward to 2006, and I remember weighing in at 200 pounds after years of struggling in the 200-210 range.  In 2009, I dropped to my lowest weight ever, at 182 pounds.  At my height, I would hit my non-overweight BMI of 25 at 177 pounds; I never made it there.  But I was in size 33 jeans (after wearing 42-44 in high school and college, and never thinking I would be out of the 40s) and still felt great, even after putting on a few pounds. 

Then I returned to the US from my 5 years overseas.  And that's when the weight came back on.  It wasn't long after I returned that I was back in the 190's, and then the high 190's.  I actually have records going back to about 2003 with all of my weekly weigh-ins, but only in the last two years have I kept a detailed spreadsheet (with graphs!).  200 pounds was my Rubicon - I abjectly refused to get above that weight, and came close more than once over the past two years. 

Why did this happen?  My guess is that suddenly, I was able to get to my comfort foods, many of which were processed, sugary, claimed to be low-fat or low-sugar or high-fiber, all of which I wanted, but I forgot that to minimize fat or sugar, you have to add more of the other to make food palatable, and my calorie intake still increased.  Overseas, we had less access to that, so we ate more 'real' food, and kept caloric intake down as well.  It also helped that we walked and biked a lot more when in Shanghai than we do here - it's just not feasible where we live.

So why all of this data?  It's my obsession (admit it, you have one too, right?  I'm not crazy or weird?)  My weight maintenance is a big deal to me, and it's just as much about feeling good and being healthy as it is about looking better.  I'm really much happier when I'm active, and on a good diet, and have the energy and flexibility and strength to do active things with my family.  It's why I run, lift weights, walk, and try to get some degree of exercise every day.  It's why I started Project 31, because that daily reminder of exercise helps me to keep my eating in check - it's too much work to lose weight, and I'm reminded of the required work all of the time.

And yet, project 31 isn't kicking in the way I wanted.  It's probably just because this week was the wrong week to start - my schedule is chaotic, the demands on my time are high, and my days start very early, so morning actions are a bit harder. 

After nearly touching 200 pounds again as recently as April (at the END of a biggest loser contest, believe it or not - I GAINED weight), I decided to get really serious.  I've been strict on my diet for a month (which has certainly helped me) and my running has kicked in hard, so I'm down eight pounds and header further down.  Yes, I weigh in every day, and maybe that's not healthy, but I also use that to track my water loss on my runs, so there's another reason. 

It's my problem, it's my obsession, but ultimately, it's my own life I'm helping.