Squeezing off a few pounds: 1 month weigh-in: 205 to 194

Now that’s cool 🙂

Based on my weigh-in this morning, I was able to achieve my 10 pound weight loss goal in 4 weeks, instead of my initial goal of 4 months…very nice…my 4 week chart on the right

…down below, where I added in a green trendline to ‘normalize’ the fluctuations, and the red line my 7 day rolling average weight (currently 196)

…click on the chart for the larger image

…a couple of disclaimers:

1. as I’ve noted in posts earlier this month, it looks to me like my initial 205 weigh-in was on a ‘fat’ day, so probably closer to 203’ish as a starting point

2. by looking at the chart you can see, the 194 this morning (and 195 yesterday) was the lowest point so far, so I’m probably at a ‘normalized’ 195’ish today…where my green line ends up

…so I’ll call it officially a drop from 203 to 195…8 pounds in 4 weeks, 2 pounds a week…bit more than I wanted/planned to, but I’ll take it

I’ll add a post tomorrow about what I think were the key things that helped me shed a few pounds…the Iron Dad Diet Plan 🙂

…so now what?…since my original goal was to be at 196 or less by September 30…and I’m there now, 8 weeks ahead of schedule..I guess I’ll just keep on going

…as I’ve watched the scale the last couple of weeks, and realizing that the weight was indeed coming off, I started tinkering with the idea of getting to 185

…over the past 10 years, I’ve been in the low 200’s, in and out of the mid-high 190’s…it’s been forever since I’ve been consistently in the low 190’s, leaning into the 180’s…I’m thinking maybe high school…it could be time to reclaim my youthful figure

…and even with this initial weight drop, I can still see a few fat pockets that I’d rather not carry around for 13 hours in Ironman…and can only surmise, therefore, that since it’s not gone with this first weight loss volley, that I have more to lose…without needing any deep analysis

So there it is…a new goal of 185 by October 28, which resets my original goals to a new level.

So this effectively wipes out my old chart, and begins today at 195, with my next official weigh-in 4 weeks from now, on September 2…where hopefully I’ve been able to make continued progress and be 191’ish or under.

On the ‘exceeds’ side, if the weight comes off at the same rate as it has, according to my trendline extrapolated forward, I can actually be at 185 by September 7…okay I can dream…based on what I’ve seen this past month, I’m optimistic though that I can keep the focus on and get to 185 by the end of October

In all likelihood, I’ve had my initial water weight loss, and things are now starting to settle in, so the next 4 weeks will be a telling tale, on what I would expect to be a more normalized/slower rate

…and as I get lighter, I’ll need few calories, and burn fewer calories exercising, which adds to the challenge.

…the new goal also increases my weight loss goal target to 1 pound a week, from .75 pounds a week…which makes me a bit uncomfortable…in the back of my head is the question of how much is too much?…and the nagging concern about losing muscle mass along with the fat, and therefore having a negative impact on my power on the bike in particular, and running secondarily…although the lower weight will just naturally help with running speed

…it would have been a better move to get this weight off earlier in the year, and then run a more stable weight through the Ironman training…and with the heat this time of the year, it’s going to be difficult for me to compare bike and run performance against results earlier in the year in much cooler conditions…

…so I could have my body fat tested…I’d use a DEXA scan…and have even more numbers to ponder…but for now, the tale of the ‘mirror’ tells me that I still have a way to go…and if some muscle comes off with it, I’d rather be at 185 rebuilding muscle on a leaner frame, than carrying fat around that’s not really doing me any good at all

…I guess I’ve had it with the story in my head that I’m big-boned, and muscular, and have broad shoulders, and have a great body compared to most guys that I see of any age

…which although it may all be true, has lead me to convince myself that carrying a few extra pounds is ok…in fact healthy…perhaps the power of positive thinking gone awry

…so losing that weight, just hasn’t been a priority…until now

…it could be that I’m just fat and didn’t know it 🙂