Week 13 End - Perseverance is the Key

It has been a very tough week. At the end of last week I caught a miserable cold that just left me with no energy, sinus pain and chest congestion etc.. You all know the drill. I had a 4 day stretch where I wasn't able to go to the gym and get my workout in which of course led to a much lower calorie burn for the week.  I did get to the gym several days this week, but missed again on Thursday with chest congestion that just didn't allow for me to breathe well enough to work out. The odd thing is, on the days I did get to the gym, I had some of the best workouts to date. I logged the most miles and highest calorie burns ever. Had this been a normal week with workouts every day, I would surely have broken the 50 lb. mark. As it stands right now, I have lost 49.6 lbs. or just 4/10 of a pound short of the halfway mark for this year. While I really was hoping to break that milestone mark, after the week I had, with one day even being over my calorie allowance, a weekly loss of 2.6 lbs is acceptable.

None of us likes to be sick, and especially when we are on a "mission" and it interferes with that mission. One of the keys to continued forward movement is to push through these tough times and find ways to adapt so that you are always making some effort toward the goal.

When I was unable to workout at the gym, I had to adjust my meal plans to account for the loss in calorie burn. While I don't necessarily eat my workout calories, I count on them for an extra boost in weekly loss. Normally I try to eat around 2000 calories a day. It may be 100 or 200 + or -, but in general, about 2000. This past week, I found that with several days of inactivity (going from 13000-15000 steps a day as recorded by fitbit to 3000-5000 steps a day) and dropping my calorie burn from averaging 4000+ a day to under 3000, I had to make adjustments. You need a 1000 calorie a day deficit to lose 2 lbs. a week. If you only burn 2800 and eat 2000, you will not gain, but you certainly can't expect a big payoff at the end of the week. I adjusted my eating, and was still able to achieve 2.6 lbs. for the week. For the most part, my adjustment came in my snack allowance. I usually plan 3-500 calories of snacks when I am working. This past week, I cut that back on days where I didn't have the burn at the gym. Of course, choice of meals plays into it too. I chose lower calorie meals or smaller portions of those meals as well.

Some may look at my food/calorie intake and wonder how I manage to lose weight on that (I know my wife is frustrated by it). The fact is, I am just bigger all around than the average person (especially woman) and naturally burn more calories even when I am sedentary. That is probably the ONLY advantage to being fat. I am 6'3" tall and even after a nearly 50 lb. weight loss, still weigh just under 326 lbs.. If you weigh 160 lbs, try picking up another 166 lbs. and carrying it around all day and see what your calorie burn is. As I continue to lose weight and near my ultimate goal of 225 lbs., My burn will also decrease and my calorie intake will have to reduce as well. Of course the converse of that would be that as the sedentary burn decreases, I can also increase my activity to offset it and continue to eat what I eat now. I anticipate a combination of both.

The key to seeing this thing through is going to be pushing through the bumps in the road like illness or external interruptions that break my routines. If one thing doesn't work or can't be done, I must find an alternative. I'm happy with the fact that I was able to do it this past week (Lucky week 13). In the week coming up I hope to get back to my normal routine and crush the 50 lb. mark so I can then set my sights on a real milestone, dropping below the 300 lb. mark (something that I haven't seen for more than 10 years).

Thank you again to all those who have shown encouragement and support. It is a difficult personal journey, but the support and encouragement of friends is so very helpful. You can't do this for me, but you can help hold me accountable to my stated goals, and that is a lot.