weight loss

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

Actual weight loss! But wait, there’s more.

I had early success in June, dropping to 168.4 pounds after starting the month at 169, but then started to seesaw through most of the rest of the month. On June 23 I somehow managed to gain 1.7 pounds overnight, ballooning to 171.5 pounds.

However, the next seven days I lost weight every day, save for one, where I maintained. I ended up dropping 3.4 pounds during this week, which is kind of crazy. I didn’t skip meals or anything, I just didn’t snack much and walked about a billion steps.

I also spent several weeks enduring a summer cold (or what I assume was a summer cold), however this did not affect my appetite, though I did refrain from running.

I will maintain the low-impact snacks and walking (and soon, running) and hopefully the downward trend will continue in July as I approach my proper slim ‘n sexy weight.

Weight:
January 1, 2024: 172.3 pounds  
Current: 168.1 pounds
Year to date: Down 4.2 pounds

June 1: 169.0 pounds
June 30: 168.1 pounds (down 0.9 pounds)

Body fat: 
June 1: 26.0%
June 30: 25.8% (down 0.2%)

Skeletal muscle mass:
June 1: 30.0% 
June 30: 29.9% (down 0.1%)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

So close! Three days ago I was still under, but the pattern this month was clear: Every time I lost or gained weight, the near-exact opposite would happen, though the first half of the month the trend was going up slightly, and the latter half the trend was moving back down (I was under three times this month, all three times coming at least three weeks in).

The swings were also generally larger than normal, too. One day, I dropped 0.9 pounds, then gained back the exact amount 24 hours later. I have no good explanation for this.

So while the news is technically not good, the trend is moving in the right direction, and I am boldly predicting actual weight loss for June.

Slightly wacky fact: I’m ending this month exactly as I ended April, at 168.9 pounds, so in a sense my weight didn’t change at all! (It also made it easier to put together this month’s stats.)

Stats (note: I am dropping Body water, it’s not particularly relevant, as it fluctuates within a fairly small range):

Weight:
January 1, 2024: 172.3 pounds  
Current: 168.9 pounds
Year to date: Down 3.4 pounds

May 1: 168.6 pounds
May 31: 168.9 pounds (up 0.3 pounds)

Body fat: 
May 1: 25.9%
May 31: 25.6% (down 0.3%)

Skeletal muscle mass:
May 1: 30.0% 
May 31: 30.0% (unchanged)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

Yes, I know. After multiple months of my weight going down and everything being lovely and on-track, how did I go up in April?

I’m not entirely sure! I had one anomalous weight gain. On April 7th my weight jumped 1.9 pounds for no obvious reason and for the rest of the month, I struggled to shake off this sudden bulk. By the end of the month, I managed to do so, but not enough to keep the weight loss trend down. So it is up, temporarily.

The good news is, I think the last week of the month I was able to get back into a steadier cadence of weight loss, so I shouldn’t go back up again in May. We’ll see.

I am still down 3.4 pounds for the year, so that’s a good thing.

I remain donut-free.

Weight:
January 1, 2024: 172.3 pounds  
Current: 168.9 pounds
Year to date: Down 3.4 pounds

April 1: 168.4 pounds
April 30: 168.9 pounds (up 1.5 pounds)

Body fat: 
April 1: 25.6%
April 30: 25.9% (up 0.3%)

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

Body water:
April 1: 54.3% 
April 30: 54.1% (down 0.2%)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

Good news: I am down in weight again!

Weird news: If you go by stats alone, it appears I’ve lost muscle and gained a little fat.

Better news: That’s not really what happened. Or at least it’s not as bad as it looks.

Basically, I did not run as much in March for various reasons, and that’s pretty much the slight loss of muscle mass. My calves are a little less sexy. The mass will come back in a few weeks. The important thing to remember is muscle is denser than fat, so losing some muscle will show up more. It also affects the overall make-up of my body, which is why my body fat is pretty much unchanged, despite losing weight. I did lose fat, but not enough to offset the muscle contraction, so as an overall part of my weight, it remains consistent. As I run more and keep away from the snacks, this should change, and the body fat percentage will finally yield and fall below 25%.

I had one Kit Kat bar this month. It was on sale.

Here’s to getting closer to 160 pounds by the end of April (I hold no illusions that I could magically lose 7.8 pounds in one month).

Stats:

Weight:
January 1, 2024: 172.3 pounds  
Current: 167.8 pounds
Year to date: Down 4.5 pounds

March 1: 170.2 pounds
March 31: 167.8 pounds (down 2.4 pounds)

Body fat: 
March 1: 25.8%
March 31: 25.9% (up 0.1%)

Skeletal muscle mass:
March 1: 30.2% 
March 31: 29.9% (down 0.3%)

Body water:
March 1: 54.2% 
March 31: 54.1% (down 0.1%)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

Not a typo! I am down, for real, this month. And not just by a rounding error amount, a full 3.5 pounds. How did such sorcery happen?

As it turns out, it was simple: no snacking. That was it. I stuck to my three daily meals and had no snacks on most days. I would occasionally allow myself something small on a run day, like a banana, or a chunk of cheese. But no cookies, crackers, candy or any of that.

And here we are, 3.5 pounds later.

But it’s not enough. I need to lose a lot more. I’m still 20 pounds from my target goal of 150 and losing 3.5 pounds means it would take another 5.7 months to get there (basically, September, or the tail end of summer) and I don’t want it to take almost six months.

I have not been running as frequently, so I am going to try to be more active, which will help (and just make me healthier in general, always a good thing).

For now, I can at least savour that I am down for the month and the (short) year. And to that, I offer a hearty woot.

Fake edit: Looking at the stats over the month, there’s been very little change. My body fat is slightly higher, which makes sense in that if my total weight is down, the percentage of my body that is roly-poly fat may increase a bit overall (at least in the short term). My muscle mass has gone down, which also makes sense due to the decrease in exercise.

Weight:
January 1, 2024: 172.3 pounds  
Current: 170.5 pounds
Year to date: Down 1.8 pounds

February 1: 174 pounds
February 29: 170.5 pounds (down 3.5 pounds)

Body fat: 
February 1: 26.1%
February 29: 26.0% (down 0.1%)

Skeletal muscle mass:
February 1: 30.7% 
February 29: 30.3% (down 0.4%)

Body water:
February 1: 54.0% 
February 29: 54.0% (unchanged)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds

It all happened so fast. And so fat.

The first half of the month, I was trending down–down! The right direction! Then on January 14 my weight jumped 1.7 pounds overnight, followed by another 0.4 pound gain the next night. This left me 1.6 pounds up for the month, and I never truly recovered. I came close, but on the 29th I had another 1.6 pound overnight increase that sunk me for good.

I can’t explain these sudden increases, they just happen because the body is weird. But what I can say, based on experience, is that these huge, sudden increases are never offset by huge, sudden decreases. When you mega-gain™ overnight, your body is basically putting you into Hard Mode, forcing you to put in that much more extra effort to get back on track.

And I did not. My weight loss train hit a bad switch and is now rumbling along a line through the Fatlands.

This time I am not going to make predictions, or come up with a clever plan. I’m just going to exercise regularly and eat sensibly. We’ll see what happens!

Bonus stats analysis, because I love stats:

• Body fat was up, but only by a modest 0.2%
• Muscle mass was also up slightly, which is actually impressive, considering how little I ran in January due to The Great Deep Freeze with Snow
• Body water is basically unchanged, which is normal

Conclusion: Despite the extra weight, my stats actually seem to suggest things are not as bad as they seem? Maybe?

Weight:
January 1, 2024: 172.3 pounds  
Current: 174.9 pounds
Year to date: Up 2.6 pounds

January 1: 172.3 pounds
January 31: 174.9 pounds (up 2.6 pounds)

Body fat: 
January 1: 25.2% 
January 31: 25.4% (up 0.2%)

Skeletal muscle mass:
January 1: 30.5% 
January 31: 30.8% (up 0.3%)

Body water:
January 1: 54.6% 
January 31: 54.5% (down 0.1%)

Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds