I look at other apps, but just stick with what I know. For 4400 days and counting, so far:

I look at other apps, but just stick with what I know. For 4400 days and counting, so far:
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 terms of stats, for the month, they have mostly improved. For the entire year of 2024:
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:
December is not exactly known as a slimming month, but I’ll give it a shot.
Three bright spots:
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:
Fun Facts this month:
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
Last night, the Garmin scale flashed a battery symbol in its display, a sure sign that the batteries were needing to be replaced soon. Very soon, as it turns out, as the scale promptly died right after. I did not have the four required AAA batteries needed to revive it. But popping out the old batteries and popping them back in revived the scale one last time. I stepped on, and it insisted I had gained over five pounds overnight.
I did not gain five pounds overnight.
I will get new batteries today and convince my OCD that it’s OK to have a one-day gap in my weight this one week.
And yes, in the olden days this wouldn’t be an issue, because back then scales didn’t need batteries. Such is modern life.
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