Tuesday, September 16, 2014

A closet full of useless clothes.

I've been on a diet for the last two weeks.  My clothes weren't fitting.

I can lose weight.  I'm pretty disciplined when I set my mind to it.  What I usually do is set a goal, figure out how long it will take to get there, set a date in the future and prepare myself mentally.  Then force myself to do it for the length of time ordained.  I hate backsliding because it just wastes all the effort.

I do strict calorie counting.  I try to do less than 1500 calories per day.

This time around I've been averaging around 1200 calories.  I start off strong the first couple days, only 1000 calories, then it becomes hard for a few days, maybe up to 1500 calories, then crack down again, and so on. 

I started taking walks.  3 miles.  Takes me a little less than an hour, 2000 paces when I don't know the distance.  The Juniper Recreation Wilderness Area is exactly 10 miles from my house, and I have yet to run into anyone else when I'm walking, which I prefer.  On weekends I do a circuit of the nearby Williamson Ct. doctor's office district, which is deserted and very pleasant landscaping and smells.

3 miles may not seem like much, but it was tough at first.  I got a few blisters.  It's been getting easier.  I'd walk longer but I feel like taking an hour (plus the half hour it takes to drive to and from my path) is enough time.

Then, as long as I'm sweaty, I do some gardening for an hour.

Then I spend a couple hours sorting books at the Bookmark.

I've lost 10 pounds in 15 days.  Figure that 2 pounds is water, and I've lost 8 pounds.  So about half a pound per day.  I'm going to continue on til the end of the month, hoping to lose about 15 pounds, which will put me at my optimum weight.  If I lose a little more than that, then OK.

All my clothes will fit again.

I can do anything for a month.  But it is like having a half time job or something.  I have to stay pretty focused on the project.

I haven't been doing any writing.  I've been working on Star Axe, which was scanned, but which has so many transcription errors that I have to go through every line.  It is a little less difficult than actually typing the manuscript from scratch. A little less...

What usually happens when I do this, is that it takes a couple years for my weight to creep back up, then I do it again.  My body shape is such that except for the last five pounds of gain, no one really notices one way or the other.  I've been 20 pounds lighter and no one noticed.  My face never changes, which is what people see.  So I decided a few years ago that I didn't care about the vanity side of this.

But I don't want to have to buy a whole new wardrobe...


2 comments:

Helen said...

May I just say ... a diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes will put the fear of God into you and forever will you be vigilant. My 52 year old son (lives with me) was diagnosed last month, he has lost 25 pounds (gradually losing over the past 4-5 months in part due to the disease), works out, takes his meds, checks glucose twice a day. We have transformed the way we eat, the way we think about food. If you shop at the West-side Safeway, give a shout out to "Carl" at the front of the store.

Duncan McGeary said...

I'm not sure about diabetes, but my blood pressure does go up when I'm at my higher weight. So I'll be glad to see if that goes down.

I mean, I have to admit I feel better. One other thing that is happening is that I'm sleeping an extra hour every night, I think because of the walking.