We haven't had a dedicated fitness post in a while, so I thought I'd kick one off.

I'd mentioned a while back that I've made some progress in the weight loss category. On January 4th I weighed in at (a holiday-inflated, late-in-the-day inflated) 236. That was the highest I've ever been. This morning I weighed in at 206. The weight loss has been pretty consistent - about a pound a week, sometimes less, sometimes a little more (30 lbs over 24 weeks - that math works out).

The thing is, it has really only been small changes that have paid off. A quick list of some of those changes/factors that contributed:

1. I have essentially given up pop.
2. I had Covid (lost a few extra pounds that week, post-covid parsomia contributes to not wanting to eat so much).
3. Far less snacking at night. I'm not quite doing intermittent fasting, but I suppose it is structurally similar. A little bit of leeway with myself keeps it from feeling oppressive.
4. Lunches from home. I've often gone through spells where I don't plan ahead and/or go home for lunch, and that often leads to eating something from the gas station kitchen, or one of the few restaurants in town, or stopping at the grocery store and grabbing something microwavable. Philosofette has been at home over the past 6 months, and that's enabled a lot more attention to my lunchtime diet.
5. Finding small activity. More walks. I took Aquinas kayaking a few weeks ago. I started a small amount of lifting 2 times a week. I'm making sure I'm playing ball or tossing around the frisbee with my kids more often. Etc. Just finding little things, instead of feeling like I need to go for a run.

Ultimately, turning 40 was a really good motivator for me. I knew that was coming up, so I had a good goal in mind and I was able to stick with it. Then, I quickly set another goal and I'm working towards that. Keeping the goals at the forefront has been what has enabled the other changes.

I genuinely don't remember the last time my weight was this low. Probably at least 10 years - I think I came out of law school over 200 (law school was very unkind to me weight-wise). But even though I weighed about the same 10 years ago, I know that weight sat a lot better - it was more muscle, less fat - so I'm aware of how much further I have to go. Essentially, I'm happy, but not satisfied. Because, when it really comes down to it, I think the goal-setting has been as important as anything else.

I posted a January challenge with family/friends to do something (your thing, your target) in January.  I'm doing hiking everyday with a loaded backpack (currently 20 lbs, but will increase).

So, Nation, what are you doing to escape from the malaise of indoor COVIDity?

Back in Feb, I came down with a lung infection while in Minny.  A heavy dose of antibiotics cleared up the pneumonia, but it took a while to shake the nasal/coughing/sweats.  I thot I was in the clear, then two weeks ago it all started again.  The house doc at my company attacked it with an aggressive Prednisone regimen, which seems to have worked.

The violent coughing seemed to have caused a fractured rib, but that cleared up - must've been a muscle strain - and now there is much less pain.

Today I swam for the first time since 3/24, with no pain.

What are you Citizens doing besides shoveling snow?

So I went to the club on Thursday to swim, and from the window I could see that some people were swimming, yet there was a sign on the Men's locker room door saying that the pool was temporarily closed. I donned my kit, showered, and went in to the pool, thinking at worst case I'd shvitz in the hot tub.

The pool was open (just minutes earlier), but the lifeguard said that it was only 70F (usually 81F), as they had just added a bunch of water and it hadn't heated up yet.

On with the cap and goggles, I descended into the cold pool. It was bracing.  I thought, Suck it up, Boyo, clicked 'Schwimmbad' on my Garmin, and proceeded to do my standard set.  I never did warm up.

Afterwards, in the hot tub, I was talking with another guy about the pool being cold.

He:  "Well, you know, I'm from Maine.  We swam in the ocean all the time.  It nevah got more than 56F but we didn't care." (i.e. we are real men)

So Nation, how's your New Year's Fitness McFithouse  going?

I had a thought as out I was out huffing through the forest: do you burn more calories when you out of shape because you're heavier so your body has to work harder OR do you burn more when you're in better shape because your body can go faster, do more, etc? I mean, like, in the same amount of time, say 30 minutes of jogging.

Also, weather's getting warmer, the forest paths are drying out, and the side trails are more navigable. Happy not to lug around a pound of mud on my shoes when I go running now. What outdoor activities are everyone looking forward to now that things are starting to thaw out?

I made it a New Year's Resolution to lose 10% of my body weight, since I'd hit an all-time high. I haven't done nearly enough physical activity (so this is less of a "fitness" post and more "weight" post), but I've managed to hit a benchmark already: for the first time in far too long, I'm on the right side of 220. It first happened on Monday, and today is day 3 of the same, so I feel comfortable putting it down on paper (or whatever we call this).

That's about 10 pounds lower than I started the year. It's all been very little changes, but they are really adding up, much quicker than I anticipated.

First, I bought a scale, and I just write my weight down every day (or nearly. I keep it at work, so if I don't go in to work, I don't weigh myself). Just having an idea of where I'm at has been helpful. It keeps it in my mind a little bit throughout the day.

Second, I have cut dramatically back on the pop that I'm drinking. I haven't given it up entirely, but instead of almost 2 cans a day, I'm now somewhere in the the 4 cans a week range. Along with this, I've tried to cut back on the cream and sugar I'm adding to my coffee. That's been made easier since I've been buying better coffee. Pricier, but I think it's a good balance.

Third, I've been trying to have smaller lunches. This is one area where I can still make a lot of progress. There are far too many days where I don't plan ahead, or I let myself have an extra sandwich or something along those lines. I started off very well in this area, just limiting myself to a can of soup and a few crackers, but that has gotten a bit tiring. I plan to work on this more.

Fourth, my after-supper snacks have been pared back. Instead of 4 or 5 nights a week having something to eat around 9 or 10, I'm going with maybe 3, and the things are often smaller than they were before.

Fifth, I bought some small exercise bands for my office - just a little thing to do to mindlessly move around and work some muscles a small amount when I'm doing other tasks.

Anyway, these are all really small things, and I am amazed at how much they've added up in less than 3 months. I know at some point these changes won't be enough, and I'll have to add more efforts. I hope that I will, even before I get to that point. But I'm glad for where I've gotten, and I'm excited for where I'm hopefully going. The small changes are really important.