Health

April 2026 weight loss report: Down 0.7 pounds

All stats are trending in the right direction, woo.

April is the first full month I did not track my calories at all. I just tried to eat sensibly.

I focused on the following:

  • Eating more fruit and vegetables
  • Getting more protein via:
    • Non-fat yogurt
    • Nuts (mostly walnuts, some pistachios and cashews)
    • Chocolate milk protein drink (after runs, 18 grams of protein per cup)
    • High protein cereal mixed in with other low sugar cereals
  • Restricting snacks to things like the occasional Pocky (when on sale)
  • Otherwise eating my usual breakfast, lunch and dinner

There were some cookies, pizza and the like, but I ran regularly throughout the month, which probably helped, since each run is an 18 km round trip (5 to 10K of that is running).

In all, going the right way. Onward through May.

Stats:

January 1, 2026: 169.4 pounds

Current: 169.2 pounds
Year to date: Down 0.2 pounds

April 1: 169.8 pounds
April 30: 169.2 pounds (down 0.7 pounds)

Body fat: 
April 1: 26.3%
April 30: 25.6% (down 0.7%)

Skeletal muscle mass:
April 1: 29.9 kg
April 30: 29.8 kg (down 0.1 kg)

BMI:
April 1: 24.3
April 30: 24.2 (down 0.1)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

Weight loss report, March 2026: Up 0.2 pounds

Whoops, I’m a day late because of strata shenanigans and a very late night last night.

Good news: I was up a mere 0.2 pounds. If I’d gone to the loo before weighing, I would have been down (apologies if that’s TMI). That means the month was basically neutral. And I am down today (April 1) as I type this.

The flip side is I didn’t lose weight. All of my stats basically didn’t budge.

But the other flip side (so many sides) is that March was the first time in years when I did not count my calories, I just ate what I wanted, focusing on having more fruit and vegetables and trying to boost both my fibre and protein intake.

I think I was at least partly successful.

I’ll probably start tracking again this month, I just need to find an app, and the main reason will be to verify I’m getting enough protein. Once I get things locked in, I probably won’t keep tracking. But we’ll see.

Stats:

January 1, 2026: 169.4 pounds

Current: 169.8 pounds
Year to date: Up 0.4 pounds

March 1: 170.2 pounds
March 31: 170.4 pounds (up 0.2 pounds)

Body fat: 
March 1: 26.3%
March 31: 26.2% (down 0.1%)

Skeletal muscle mass:
March 1: 30.0 kg
March 31: 30.0 kg (unchanged)

BMI:
March 1: 24.4
March 31: 24.4 (unchanged)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

March 2026 weight loss report: Up 0.2 pounds

I am posting this a month late because I completely forgot to post this on March 31 (though the publication date will show as March 31, because I’m sneaky like that).

Since this is from a month ago, I can’t recall specific details, but it looks like not much changed. The weight gain is now a rounding error, so that’s good!

Stats:

January 1, 2026: 169.4 pounds

Current: 170.4 pounds
Year to date: Up one pound

March 1: 170.2 pounds
March 31: 170.4 pounds (up 0.2 pounds)

Body fat: 
March 1: 26.3%
March 31: 26.2% (down 0.1%)

Skeletal muscle mass:
March 1: 30.0 kg
March 31: 30.0 kg (unchanged)

BMI:
March 1: 24.4
March 31: 24.4 (unchanged)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

I got on a bike. And rode it!

Today, for the first time in several years, I got on a bike and rode it. And I did not forget how to ride, just like they say. I did feel a tad wobbly at first. Biking muscles are very different from running muscles.

And it wasn’t actually my own bike, it was an e-bike that Jeff got for cheap. It’s pretty tall, which was my biggest issue, but I quickly adapted to using the motor in conjunction with using my legs. It definitely made the last stretch coming home, up a fairly steep hill (hello, New Westminster) quite a bit easier when I switched to Turbo mode. And yes, it is literally called that.

I was a bit conservative on roads, because, you know, drivers in big vehicles made out of metal, but it wasn’t bad. We rode mostly down industrial streets, bike paths and trails before reaching our destination of Home Depot (Jeff needed paint).

On the way we stopped at a little place along the river called Don Roberts Park. I have no idea who Don Roberts is, but this is the view of the Fraser from the main lookout point:

It was fun to get out on a bike again and nice that my first e-bike ride didn’t end with me popping a wheelie and flipping over or something. I look forward to more.

But tomorrow, back to moving with my own two legs.

Weight loss report, February 2026: Up 0.4 pounds

Yesterday, I was down one pound for the month, then overnight I miraculously gained 1.4 pounds, putting me 0.4 pounds over. Such are the vagaries of the body.

But despite a not-great month, my weight and related stats were basically unchanged.

Toward the end of the month I stopped logging my food in MyFitnessPal, ending a 4,767-day streak. I switched to Cronometer but only kept with it for four days.

I am currently not tracking my food at all, except in my head. I may go back to formally tracking it, in particular to see if I’m hitting some key goals–not weight loss specifically. One of the things Cronometer does is it clearly lists the nutrients from your food against your daily goal for each right by what you’ve had to eat for the day and this revealed a significant protein deficit. I was only getting about half of the protein I needed.

Since seeing this, I’ve begun to place priority on getting more protein, because right now there’s a good chance that when I’m losing weight, it’s probably pretty evenly split between fat and muscle.

After a few weeks I’ll probably track my food again part-time and see how things look.

And I promise, no donuts!

Stats:

January 1, 2026: 169.4 pounds

Current: 170.4 pounds
Year to date: Up one pound

February 1: 170.4 pounds
February 28: 170.8 pounds (up 0.4 pounds)

Body fat: 
February 1: 26%
February 28: 26% (up 0.3%)

Skeletal muscle mass:
February 1: 31.0 kg
February 28: 30.0 kg (down 0.1 kg)

BMI:
February 1: 24.4
February 28: 24.5 (up 0.1)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

Do I need to track what I eat?

UPDATE, February 22, 2026: I have now broken my short Cronometer login streak by not logging in. Insert itshappening.gif here.

Obviously the answer is no, I don’t. If I just eat food and don’t do anything outrageous, like switch to a diet of live grenades, I’ll probably be fine, more or less.

But it’s a question that I’ve asked myself after dropping my daily logging habit on MyFitnessPal after more than 13 years and switching to the information-dense layout of Cronometer.

It would be much simpler to just make what I feel are good choices and not actually try to meticulously track every calorie. It’s tempting.

The one thing keeping me using Cronometer for now is how prominently it displays the nutrients of the food you’re eating. This has shown me that I’m almost certainly not getting enough protein. For someone who runs multiple times a week, this is important!

What I might do, then, is make tweaks to my diet to up certain nutrients, verify the results in Cronometer, then decide if I want to keep tracking. Of course, at that point, tracking would probably be a lot simpler and faster, too.

Now excuse me while I go drink 10 litres of protein shakes1I don’t even want to imagine how my body and/or bladder would react to this.

The Culling: MyFitnessPal

Here is my current login streak on MyFitnessPal:

This translates to about 13 years, or back to 2013. I remember going to the top of a mountain when on vacation in 2017 in Manning Park to get close enough to a massive cellular tower there so I could get a signal on my phone and log that day (we were going up the mountain, anyway). The app later changed so that you could log entries offline and it would sync and keep any streaks intact when you got online again.

But today I’m not logging in, which will end my streak.

MFP is not a bad app (or site) but I’ve fallen into some bad habits with it, shortcutting entries and fudging things for expediency, like a chore to get out of the way as quickly as possible.

The interface is perfectly serviceable, but last year they offered a preview of a new UI that suddenly went away with a “Thanks for your feedback, see you in 2026!” note that suggested the feedback was not kind.

In any event, I am going to try Cronometer again. Its UI is more modern, but perhaps a tad cluttered. I’ll adapt. It integrates nicely with my Garmin watch and scale and gives me a fuller picture than the free version of MFP ever did (most of the useful stuff there is gated behind a subscription). I may even subscribe to Cronometer to see how it goes, despite my general hesitance to subscribe to anything new these days.

By way of comparison, I was tracking my typical breakfast at 380 calories on MFP. Being more precise with my entries on Cronometer, it shows 440 calories and that’s before adding my usual slice of toast and jam, which will bring it to around 560 or so. That’s a notable difference on a daily basis.

If Cronometer doesn’t work out, Garmin offers its own meal-tracking now through Connect+, which is also (surprise) a subscription. We’ll see.

But for now, MFP and my 13-year logging streak, are going away.

A haiku to my waistline

I see you down there
Inflating like a balloon
I'll eat celery

I’m not eating celery.

But I will refrain from eating:

  • Cookies
  • Candy
  • Pop Tarts
  • Donuts
  • Chocolate
  • Heavily salted snacks

Because I’m not writing haikus about all of the above.

Weight loss report, January 2026: Unchanged

I was one pound under for the month yesterday, then I found a Pop Tart. Or two. Today, those Pop Tarts sit heavy in my belly.

Still, after what was a pretty bad month, I managed to actually tread the proverbial water, starting at 169.4 pounds and ending the same. Most of the other stats either remained the same or saw slight increases. This is not terrible, but also not good. I shall call it non-good.

I am expecting better for February, as temperatures continue to warm, and I get access to my treadmill for any possible snow days. Maybe I’ll even start using the dusty dumbbells again.

And no more Pop Tarts, I swear.

Stats:

January 1, 2026: 169.4 pounds

Current: 169.4 pounds
Year to date: Unchanged

January 1: 169.4 pounds
January 31: 169.4 pounds (unchanged)

Body fat: 
January 1: 25.5%
January 31: 25.8% (up 0.3%)

Skeletal muscle mass:
January 1: 30.0 kg
January 31: 30.0 kg (unchanged)

BMI:
January 1: 24.2
January 31: 24.3 (up 0.1)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

CT Scan 2: Contrast Dye Boogaloo

It was time for more fun involving the little mass in my chest that shouldn’t be there. Today, it was CT scan time! To recap, I’ve had the following done:

  • CT scan #1 (this is what led to the discovery of the mass, as the scan was actually for a kidney infection)
  • MRI
  • PET scan
  • Pulmonary Function Test (PFT)

I was not told I’d be getting a CT scan, though they feel almost old hat at this point. I just got a call to book one and two days later, I was on a table getting scanned yet again, this time at UBC Hospital.

Attending to me this time was a cute young technician with a very Australian accent. It was kind of adorable.

What was less adorable were his attempts to insert the IV. I needed the IV because they would be using contrast dye to enhance the imagery and also, briefly, enhance the sensation that my bladder was emptying itself when it’s just a big psyche as the dye works through your system.

Here’s how the IV hunt went:

  1. Crook of right elbow: failed.
  2. Left hand: failed.
  3. Right wrist: failed.
  4. Crook of right elbow, but slightly to the right of the first attempt: success!

A couple of the failed attempts stung a bit and the tech asked if it was painful and I confirmed it was, a little, but I remained calm, and promised I would give my veins a good talking to afterward. They tell you to drink water before to be hydrated, which helps. Next time I’m going to drink a 4 litre jug of water on the way in.

The fourth and successful try did not hurt, which seemed a good clue that it would work, and it did.

I had to hold my arms over my head, which was as awkward as always, and at one point–I think just after the dye went in–the IV started to hurt a bit again, but it only lasted a few moments.

The actual scan was quick and simple, as CT scans are.

I celebrated by having a Sausage and Egg McMuffin. Which I ate before going in, actually.

Also, good news: Despite the repeated jabbings, no bruising! Here is my gallery of cotton wads, done Polaroid style, because I’m all about chintzy nostalgia! Also, I don’t recommend clicking on the thumbnails, they are sufficient as is.

Now I wait for whatever is next, hooray.

About that 2025 summary

I’ve decided to skip writing up a post about 2025. It was not a complete disaster, but it was not a good year–for me, or for the world. My bookends on the year both involved getting IVs and CT scans. You don’t do these things for fun. Or if you do, your conception of fun is very different from mine.

But I also kept running throughout the year (that is, jogging, not running away from things). And other good things happened.

I’ll skip the bad, skip the summary, and focus on the year ahead instead.

And of course, cats.

December 2025 weight loss report: Up 1.8 pounds

The good news is I gained some muscle!

The bad news is everything else.

I started the year at 166.8 pounds. It should have been trivially easy to lose weight by year’s end, even just a little. Instead, I gained 2.1 pounds over the past 12 months and 1.8 of them in the past seven days.

BMI is up, body fat is up. These are not good things.

It all came crashing down in the final week of this month, when I began experiencing abdominal aches that made me think my kidney infection had returned (all clear there, fortunately). I sought comfort in food of all sorts, and suddenly my weight began taking great leaps upward and onward.

It’s disappointing. I resolve to do better, but temper my expectations with what I have failed to achieve.

On the plus side, gaining 2.1 pounds over the course of a year is not exactly a ton and if I behave I could shed it and get going on real, actual weight loss soon™. I gotta believe!

Stats:

January 1, 2025: 166.8 pounds

Current: 168.7 pounds
Year to date: Up 2.1 pounds

December 1: 166.9 pounds
December 31: 168.7 pounds (up 1.8 pounds)

Body fat: 
December 1: 24.5%
December 31: 25.7 (up 1.2%)

Skeletal muscle mass:
December 1: 29.7 kg
December 31: 29.9 kg (up 0.2 kg)

BMI:
December 1: 23.9
December 31: 24.2 (up 0.3)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds