Posts
Click to enlarge.
Two steps forward, one step back. Well, sort of. It's not as bad as it looks. I was extremely active in the month of September. I definitely had an appetite to match (this is NOT a diet plan). That said, at least some of this might actually be muscle gain. I can really feel it in my legs.
I knew it was going to be an active month so I actually tracked it. Here's the summary.
* 11,475 vertical feet of physical stairs (1,275 flights at 9' each)
* 9,000 vertical feet on the stair stepper (900 flights at 10' each)
* 13 hours of high intensity yard work (mostly manual thatching)
* 2 1/2 hours walking around the neighborhood
* 2,850 vertical feet of hiking (Little Si and Poo Poo Point)
* 480 vertical feet walking down to the river near my house (2 trips)
That's 4.5 miles of vertical climbing. This is far more activity than I did last September. It completely blew out my minimum 20 flights of stairs per day minimum goal. I did just the minimum on 5 of the days though. It was nice not to feel pressured to do more. Some days I'm just not that into it.
8,000 vertical feet on the stair stepper was actually done in two 4,000 feet marathon sessions. I watched Serenity (again) during one of them and Rise of the Planet of the Apes during the other. That marks the 3rd time in my life that I have done 400 flights on the stair stepper in one day. The last was a record time (just 108 minutes). It's definitely getting easier.
I did two marathon sessions (at a much, much slower pace) last September while watching two movies. How weird is that? September must be marathon movie month. Go figure.
The past two nights I did a bit of a marathon. On Wednesday, I watched the movie Devil while climbing. On Thursday, I watched The Green Hornet. It was a leisurely pace but that did add up to an extra 200 flights each day. Once again, I would not have had the desire (or ability) to do that had I not been climbing the 20 flights each day. As a side note, neither movie was particularly good.
Click to enlarge.
I'm right on the trend lines. All things considered, I'm actually feeling pretty good about it. I lost a lot of weight last October. It will be interesting to see what happens this year. Is it seasonal? Or not? If it is seasonal, then I may have a secret weapon this winter. I now feel that I am in good enough shape to enjoy ice skating again, I own hockey skates (not that I've ever played hockey on ice), there is an ice rink just 2 miles from my house, and I have a 20-session skate card with 15 left on it. I can't say for sure if I'll find the motivation, but the stars seem aligned.
And lastly, my diet changed a few days ago. It has nothing to do with losing weight. I have had gluten sensitivity symptoms for years and am curious if that's the cause. This will be the 4th consecutive day that I haven't eaten any gluten. The results so far are encouraging. I'm going to avoid gluten for the next few weeks to see if the trend continues.
See Also:
The "Free Lunch" Weight Loss Plan v.000
9 comments:
Pretty cool, all that hiking. Good that you're enjoying your retired days in health.
Health is wealth!
A month ago I was hovering over 180, and I've drifted under that over the month. That will be the last 10lb level I pass through, while I'm in good health at least. . .
Pretty scary that I've lost 60lbs from my 2010 peak -- that's just over 7 gallon jugs of water, or two 30lb tubs of lard.
That's 4.5 miles of vertical climbing.
Wow! An incredible amount of climbing. I did three mountains in September and lots of stepper, but did not come near that gain.
Little Si looks like a nice hike. How tough is the rock climbing? I plan to do some class 3 climbing on
Strawberry Peak when it re-opens. Been closed for years due to fire.
Keep climbin', yo.
If you've given up wheat you can expect a pretty quick drop in weight.
Troy,
Pretty scary that I've lost 60lbs from my 2010 peak -- that's just over 7 gallon jugs of water, or two 30lb tubs of lard.
Honey is 50 pounds. I'm trying to picture carrying her to Poo Poo Point. I don't think I could have.
It must feel great to have that weight gone. Congrats!
Mr Slippery,
I'm hoping Strawberry Peak was named after the sheer number of strawberries to be found at the top. Now THAT would be a motivational hike!
Or is it a Candy Mountain version where all you can hope to gain is a missing kidney?
Stay hydrated! ;)
shtove,
That would certainly be a welcome added bonus.
For the record, the month wasn't over when I posted this.
I managed to sneak in more activity.
A friend came over to play Borderlands 2. We went on a walk before we played and after we ate dinner. That totaled about 4 miles (60+ minutes).
If you've given up wheat you can expect a pretty quick drop in weight.
That's what I was going to say. If you really give it up, and sodas too if you do those, I'd expect you to drop 8-10 pounds this month without trying. That is if you count giving up wheat and soda not trying. ;-)
AllanF,
Giving up soda isn't going to help me all that much. I only drink about one can per week (~600 calories per month). ;)
We'll see what wheat does though. I tend to eat a lot of that. I'll miss pasta. Spaghetti is a favorite.
That said, there are a lot of foods I enjoy. I'm not all that picky of an eater. I think I could cut wheat out without too much discomfort.
We ate out at Taco Time last night. I would normally get a Casita Burrito but settled for the gluten friendly Mexi Bowl instead. I did not feel deprived. I drank water with it (just like I almost always do). No big deal.
Post a Comment