60s

I think I can safely say I'm in the 260s now.

It's a little hard to believe, but I haven't seen a weight about 270 for the last week. My home scale has read from as much as 268, to as little as 262. I general, I only trust that scale so far and rely on the one at the Y as a standard. Yesterday it read 268, today 267.

Before you start thinking, "This isn't healthy! You can't lose a pound in one day!" consider this: A lot of weight variability comes down to "water weight". Daily meals, bodily processes, and by far the amount of water you consume affects your over all weight by as much as 10 lbs. Many diets claim you can lose 10lbs easily because when the body is undernourished, it begins to tap a reserve of glycogen. Unlike normal food, tapping the energy here requires a lot of water to process.

And I have been eating. Actually, yesterday I ate more than I typically do. As Pazi had mentioned, I had guests and a Rifftrax party. I went out to eat more than once that day. Today I seem a bit more reserved, not having the craving for food I had yesterday. Either way, things seem have improved lately.

I can only assume this success is due to recent cuts in my intake. For the last month I've tried to cut down to 1500 calories a day. It's rather tricky (especially when traveling!), but I seem to manage. My typical breakfast is about 400, lunch 600, dinner 400. I have cut chocolate, iced coffee, soda, olives, and anything carbonated from my diet. Sometimes it seems that there are more things now I can't eat than what I can.

For a while, a lack of caffeine had made all of this very, very difficult. Last week, however, I found a brilliantly simple solution. I have been investigating teas, but there weren't many options outside of the hot variety. I loathe hot drinks even on the coldest of days. Green tea did not pan out as I had hoped, requiring ether additional sweetening and complex brewing, or prepackaged jugs. Chai also has similar problems. Then, I found the solution in ubiquitous, diet iced tea mix.

I loved iced tea as a child. My Mother and I would make glass after glass in the summer. We'd watch Dr. Quinn or Northern Exposure on television in rapt silence. Sometime in high school I stopped drinking the stuff in favor of Cherry Coke. When I became interested in programming soda became my strongest vice. Today, however, I can barely drink it. The first quarter bottle tastes fine, but it quickly upsets my stomach and leaves me uncomfortably twitchy. The carbonation results in "sugar crashes" and increased hunger. Copious amounts of Iced Tea have a similar effect, although no where near as severe. Moderation, in either case is the key.

My Y membership has proven more than useful. The strength training, while painful the day afterward, has tightened my body without significantly increasing my muscle mass (thanks estrogen!). I have already used my membership successfully out-state. My cardio routine has also shown improvement. My resting heart rate is lower than it ever has been (109), and it rarely peaks above 142bpm. Just 5 months ago it averaged 150 with a limit of 173bpm. No one can say that my heartrate hasn't improved. I've recently increased my cardio routine from 45 minutes to 50. I doubt I can say any of this was possible even if I biked for an hour each day on my own.

Yesterday I had the rare opportunity to meet my would-be surgeon. I watched a presentation of hers comparing her work to others in the same field. Needless to say, I was quite impressed. I had gone with the perspective of someone looking to buy. I wanted to examine her services much like I would examine a new car or computer. Half-way through her presentation I was sold, but there was one more question on my mind.

After the show, I approached her and inquired about the weight situation. She was astonished that I weighed as much as I did. Even so, she asked if I could make it two 250. I believed then as I do today that it appears to be an attainable goal, nevertheless the needless psychological strain to achieve it was preventing me from scheduling a surgery date. She explained that the results were always better when thinner -- an argument I have heard before and easily accept as fact. Even so, I wanted some sort of an answer:

"Well," she said, somewhat uncomfortably, "I wouldn't turn you away."

"That's all I need to know," I replied. I gave her my thanks and left. 30 minutes later I was in track clothes driving to the gym. Maybe, I thought, this might work out after all.