fat

Let me explain.

It’s all muscle!

No?

OK, maybe it was something more like this:

April, particularly the first two-thirds of the month, was very stressful. I started out with modest weight loss that would have continued through the month if my eating habits had remained unchanged. They obviously did not, as I ate food to cope with stress. I ate all the food.

By the end of the month, things had settled down, but my weight didn’t, it was still tracking a couple of pounds up. In the final week, I decided I had to change my eating habits and do so in a drastic way.

That starts tomorrow, on May 1st.

But rather than ease my way into this new snack-free regime by cutting back, I did the opposite. I ate snacks. I ate a lot of snacks. I wanted to make myself sick of snacks.

Example: Yesterday I ate three candy bars (and more). The calorie total was more than double my entire breakfast.

I gained another half-pound overnight, to finish the month up a whopping 4.6 pounds. I broke the 173 pound mark for the first time this year. (Almost) all the stats are going in the wrong direction (see below for more, including the exception). I’ll likely be up again tomorrow.

But tomorrow, May 1st, is when the new plan begins. No snacks, unless it’s fruit or veggies. Calorie-rich dinners like pizza will be exceptions. Salads? More.

But we’ll see. In the meantime: FatVille, Population: Me. But hopefully the road leads to SlimVille or at least NormalWeightVille.

One plus side: Probably thanks to the running, I added 0.5 kg of muscle (about 1.1 pounds) this month, so woo on that. My total body fat only increased 0.2% as well. Maybe I’m just big-boned¹lolz.

Stats:

January 1, 2025: 166.8 pounds

Current: 173.2 pounds
Year to date: Up 6.4 pounds

April 1: 168.6 pounds
April 30: 173.2 pounds (up 4.6 pounds)

Body fat: 
April 1: 26.5%
April 30: 26.7% (up 0.2%)

Skeletal muscle mass:
April 1: 29.9 kg
April 30: 30.4 kg (up 0.5 kg)

BMI:
April 1: 24.1
April 30: 24.8 (up 0.7)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

It’s totally a diet.

But what I am planing on doing is what I did way back in June 2008 when I stepped on my scale and, over its piercing screams of horror, saw that I weighed 187.5 pounds (it could only show half pound increments, which seems like an odd limitation for something that only does one thing).

Today I weighed in at 171.9 pounds (thanks, modern-day precision!), which even a non-math expert like me can see is only about 16ish pounds short of my roly-poly former self.

(At this point I was going to share a screenshot taken on my iPhone 5 in 2012 showing my weight in MyFitnessPal as being something like 143 pounds, except I cannot find the shot now. So just imagine it here.)

The point here is my approach to getting to my desired goal of 150 pounds is not working.

It didn’t work in the early 2000s, either. In order to actually lose weight back in 2008, I had to redo my entire food plan and stick to it. I did and lost over 40 pounds. I don’t need to lose 40 pounds this time, so I already have a head start!

Here is my plan, which I will start on May 1, 2025:

• No snacks, except for fruit or veggies. And no cheating by counting something like “strawberry shortcake” as fruit.
• I will wean myself off non-sugar soda over the space of a month or so. This is to avoid nasty caffeine headaches from withdrawal, which has happened before.
• Switch to drinking water.
• Keep breakfast and lunch as is.
• Be more mindful of calorie-rich dinners.
• Continue to exercise regularly.

We’ll see how it goes.

This one was weird.

Yesterday, I had a 1.8 pound jump in weight to a monthly high of 171.6, which would have put me up for the month.

But this morning, I was down a massive 2.7 pounds, which is my lowest for the month.

It also means for the month I’m down 1.8 pounds, undoing some of the February bloating.

I am running more and trying to eat better. I will continue to do both.

The bad news is I’m still up for the year, the good news is, I’m trending in the right direction again.

Stats:

January 1, 2025: 166.8 pounds

Current: 168.9 pounds
Year to date: Up 2.1 pounds

March 1: 170.7 pounds
March 31: 168.9 pounds (down 1.8 pounds)

Body fat: 
March 1: 25.9%
March 28: 26.1% (up 0.2%)

Skeletal muscle mass:
March 1: 30.2 kg
March 28: 29.9 kg (down 0.3 kg)

BMI:
March 1: 24.5
March 28: 24.2 (down 0.3)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

Also known as The Pop Tart Month.

February was the month I spent recovering from battling a kidney infection for much of December and January and I clearly sought solace in food, specifically:

• Frosted Strawberry Pop Tarts
• Cookies, cookies, cookies
• Potato chips
• Crackers
• Cheese
• Crackers with cheese
• Anything with cheese
• Basically, if it was edible and tasty, I ate it

This resulted in a rapid gaining of weight, which I could not shed. I course-corrected near the end of the month, steering my metaphorical ship about from the fatberg, but it was too late to make a difference. It didn’t help that I also jumped up another 0.5 pounds on the final day of the month (today). I started the month at 167.3 pounds, which should have been an easy target to beat, and instead ended at 170.7 pounds. Sigh.

Despite this setback, I do think I will begin losing weight again. I am back to running and my health seems at least OK for the moment. Also, my muscle mass increased by 0.4 kg (0.88 pounds), so it wasn’t ALL fat. Just mostly fat.

Stats:

January 1, 2025: 166.8 pounds

Current: 170.7 pounds
Year to date: Up 3.9 pounds

February 1: 167.3 pounds
February 28: 170.7 pounds (up 3.4 pounds)

Body fat: 
February 1: 25.8%
February 28: 26.3% (up 0.5%)

Skeletal muscle mass:
February 1: 29.8 kg
February 28: 30.2 kg (up 0.4 kg)

BMI:
February 1: 23.9
February 28: 24.4 (up 0.5)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

It was close, but in the end, I was up a bit this month–0.4 pounds, thanks to a whole lot of comfort food indulgence as January was a very bad month (see previous post) and I sought refuge in yummy food when I had an actual appetite.

The one concerning stat is body fat, which climbed a full 0.7% over the course of the month–not a good trend.

I make no predictions for February, but barring calamity (and this year, calamity always seems like a possibility), I expect these stats to all start improving as I resume some exercise and eating better, healthier food.

Stats:

January 1, 2025: 166.8 pounds

Current: 167.2 pounds
Year to date: Up 0.4 pounds

January 1: 166.8 pounds
January 31: 167.2 pounds (up 0.4 pounds)

Body fat: 
January 1: 25.3%
January 31: 26.0% (up 0.7%)

Skeletal muscle mass:
January 1: 29.8.0% 
January 31: 29.8% (unchanged)

BMI:
January 1: 23.9
January 31: 23.9 (unchanged)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

The best news is I’m down for the month and also down for the year. Hooray!

The not-as-good news is I was close to being down a decent bit more, as three times during the month I hit 165.2 or 165.3 pounds, including just a few days ago. In these past few days, despite no drastic changes in eating, my body weight suddenly started swinging wildly up and down. But even though I gained 0.6 pounds this morning, it couldn’t erase the rest of the month’s weight loss, meaning I am still down 2.2 pounds for the month and 5.7 pounds for the year.

These are pretty small numbers and I remain, as of today, some 16+ pounds short of my goal, but at least I am moving in the right direction.

December complications:

• In the first week, I developed a bacteria infection, which kept me from running for four weeks. This is probably why I suffered the slight shrinkage of muscle mass. It did lead to a massive 3.1 pound overnight weight loss in that first week, and by the end of the month, I’d kept about two-thirds of it off, which is pretty good!
• That second run–yesterday–resulted in me tripping and hitting the sidewalk hard, so I’m unsure how soon I’ll be running again. We’ll see.
• The general lack of activity, associated stress, and discomfort did subdue my appetite for large periods, but once it improved, I came close to using food as comfort again. Bad!

In terms of stats, for the month, they have mostly improved. For the entire year of 2024:

• Body fat went from 25.2% to 25.3% (neutral)
• Muscle mass went from 30.5% to 29.7% (bad)
• BMI went from 24.7 to 23.8 (good)

A mixed bag.

2024 was a mixed bag, indeed. Here’s to 2025 being a nice lean bag.

Stats:

January 1, 2024: 172.3 pounds

Current: 166.6 pounds
Year to date: Down 5.7 pounds

December 1: 168.8 pounds
December 31: 166.6 pounds (down 2.2 pounds)

Body fat: 
December 1: 25.9%
December 31: 25.3% (down 0.6%)

Skeletal muscle mass:
December 1: 30.0% 
December 31: 29.7% (down 0.3%)

BMI:
December 1: 24.2
December 31: 23.8 (down 0.4%)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

Yep! One word: Bacon.

November was a stressful month, and I dealt with the stress mostly by shoving food into my mouth:

• Cookies
• Crackers
• Bagels
• Ice cream bars
• Bacon
• More bacon
• But no donuts!

December is not exactly known as a slimming month, but I’ll give it a shot.

Three bright spots:

• I am still down for the year overall (by a very modest amount, but still)
• My running and exercise has resulted in a slight increase in muscle mass
• Body fat actually didn’t increase

Stats:

January 1, 2024: 172.3 pounds

Current: 168.7 pounds
Year to date: Down 3.6 pounds (previously down 6.3 pounds)

November 1: 166.9 pounds
November 30: 168.7 pounds (up 1.8 pounds)

Body fat: 
November 1: 25.1%
November 30: 25.1% (unchanged)

Skeletal muscle mass:
November 1: 29.8% 
November 30: 30.0% (up 0.2%)

BMI:
November 1: 23.9
November 30: 24.1 (up 0.2%)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

The asterisk is important. More below.

When you lose only 0.2 pounds, it’s kind of technical weight loss. This month, it’s technical weight loss in two ways:

• It happened on the last day of the month–today! In fact, I started at exactly where I was on the 1st, at 166.8 pounds, then weighed myself after a trip to the loo, and dropped to the devilish weight of 166.6 pounds.
• I started the month up from the previous month. I ended September at 166.0 pounds, then jumped to 166.8 on October 1st, so since September 1st, I’ve actually gained 0.6 pounds.

Fun Facts this month:

• Food was a source of comfort in two ways this month, helping to explain the minimal loss. I sought refuge in food for stress relief, and also while sick (feed a fever or whatever you might have, who cares if you even have a fever?). This meant my weight loss strategy was largely abandoned for long stretches of October.
• I got sick early in the month. This was both a curse (I didn’t run and could not count on the extra calories being burned) and a blessing (the night after I got sick, I dropped a whopping 2.5 pounds. I gained back 2.3 pounds of it).

Given the circumstances, it could have been worse.

I make no guesses for November, but barring a second bout of being sick, or unexpected stress or just more stress, I should…drop a little more? We’ll see!

As of today, I am down 5.7 pounds for the year, which averages out to 1.7543859649 pounds per month. I deliberately avoided rounding the number to make it look bigger.

Stats:

January 1, 2024: 172.3 pounds  
Current: 166.6 pounds
Year to date: Down 5.7 pounds (previously down 6.3 pounds)

October 1: 166.8 pounds
October 31: 166.6 pounds (down 0.2 pounds)

Body fat: 
October 1: 25.0%
October 31: 25.0% (unchanged)

Skeletal muscle mass:
October 1: 29.8% 
October 31: 29.7% (down 0.1%)

BMI:
October 1: 23.9
October 31: 23.8 (down 0.1%)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

Yes, technically I lost weight this month, but considering the amount–0.3 pounds–it pretty much means the last two months have seen little movement. Some, but not a lot.

I am now down 6.3 pounds for the year, a rate of less than one pound per month, which is not weight loss so much as weight slippage.

Still, better than going up.

I did a lot of running in September and completed my 10,000+ steps every day, proving exercise is indeed not a great way to lose weight. Not snacking is!

I currently have no stores of snacks, apart from a few Tostitos multigrain chips. Once they are depleted, I will try, again, to go 100% snack-free in October and see what happens. If I still go up or don’t lose weight, I will curl my fist and shake it at the sky, possibly several times.

Stats:

January 1, 2024: 172.3 pounds  
Current: 166.0 pounds
Year to date: Down 6.3 pounds

September 1: 166.3 pounds
September 30: 166.0 pounds (down 0.3 pounds)

Body fat: 
September 1: 24.9%
September 30: 24.9% (unchanged)

Skeletal muscle mass:
September 1: 29.7% 
September 30: 29.7% (unchanged)

BMI:
September 1: 23.8
September 30: 23.8 (unchanged)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

Technically, I am down from a month ago (July 31), when I was 166.9 pounds, but I am not down from the start of this month (August 1) when I was 166.6 pounds. Instead, my devilish weight came and went over the last 31 days before returning this morning.

For August, I dipped below 166.6 five times, the lowest being 166.1 pounds. But alas, I was mostly stalled out for the month.

Was it the crackers? It was probably the crackers.

But my body fat still decreased a little, which is good, and the overall trend is still down, even if it literally slowed to a standstill for August.

I keep saying it, but this time I really will have to cut down on the snacking, I am apparently doing more than I realize. No more tubs of lard! If I snack, it will be a few pods of sugar peas or a couple of strawberries or something. No chips, no crackers, no cookies.

We’ll see how that goes.

Stats:

January 1, 2024: 172.3 pounds  
Current: 166.6 pounds
Year to date: Down 5.7 pounds

August 1: 166.6 pounds
August 31: 166.6 pounds (unchanged)

Body fat: 
August 1: 25.1%
August 31: 24.7 (down 0.4%)

Skeletal muscle mass:
August 1: 29.7% 
August 31: 29.8% (up 0.1%)

BMI:
August 1: 23.8
August 31: 23.9

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

Woo, I’m down this month. Last week I hit a low of 166.3 pounds, then it started creeping back up and just two days before the last day of the month it took another 0.5 pound jump. Yikes, as they say. But today, the last day of the month, a minor miracle occurred, and I dropped enough to bring me down 2.1 pounds for the month, and down 5.4 pounds for the year. That’s pretty minor weight loss for seven months, really, but as long as it keeps dropping, I’m reasonably happy.

Also good news: My body fat percentage has dropped more than by just a rounding error amount, from 25.9% to 25.2%. I mean, it’s still just a big rounding error, really, but it’s trending the right way.

Overall, then, a good month in the Battle Vs. Fat.

Stats:

Weight:
January 1, 2024: 172.3 pounds  
Current: 166.9 pounds
Year to date: Down 5.4 pounds

July 1: 169.0 pounds
July 31: 166.9 pounds (down 2.1 pounds)

Body fat: 
July 1: 25.9%
July 31: 25.2% (down 0.7%)

Skeletal muscle mass:
July 1: 30.0% 
July 31: 29.8% (down 0.2%)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds