Well, here we are, again … for those of you that pay attention to my Withings tweets you already know this — I’m once again losing my battle with my weight … …. What’s happening?  I’m eating too much, and most of the extra eating is unhealthy.  Specifically, I’m snacking like crazy.  Snacks at work (candies from co-workers desks), snacks at home (chips, pretzels, chicken wings, etc)… It adds up fast, really really fast … like 1500+ calories a day of snacks fast.  I have enough going on that it’s pretty easy for me to place the blame elsewhere, the new job alone is a great excuse, but the real reason is, I like to eat, a lot .. and though I also like to exercise, it’s easier to find time to eat than it is to exercise.

So, what has this looked like the last 5 months?

I was at a good weight in December, 215 is about what I want to be right now (and no, the specific number isn’t important, but with my current level of fitness, 215 is a good weight) … and, thanks to things like Withings and Fitbit the weight gain hasn’t been as out of control as it was in the past (5 years ago this trend probably would have taken me to 240 and in 1/2 the time) … … .. but it’s been steady, and it’s been in the wrong direction.

What does this mean?

Well, once again I am writing a tumblr post about gaining more weight than I want to.  This isn’t a new thing, and I will probably find myself heading in the wrong direction in the future as well.  But, thanks to the tools I have in place, I can observe the changes, and I’m being held accountable for them.  I am not planning a huge diet in the near future, nor am I going to make any huge lifestyle changes.  I am going to try to snack less, and I may force myself to stop snacking for a couple months if the “less” thing isn’t working.  I am going to exercise more, because it’s summer, so it’s easy to get outside.  Overall, I’m just going to try to keep making the small changes, that hopefully lead to habits, that will eventually lead to my having better control over my weight long term.

As always, thanks for reading, and to the few of you who have pointed it out, thanks for paying attention to the auto-tweets, and encouraging me to not let things get totally out of control again.

Cheers,

Well, I should have posted this a couple weeks ago …. but I wasn’t urged on until today.  Today for the 4th time in 3 weeks I weighed in just over 220 lbs (217-221 for 3 weeks now), as it turns out 1 year ago today I was also at this weight, and had some things to say (thanks for that reminder, timehop)… You probably didn’t read it all (then or now), that’s ok.  Basically, I had lost some weight (30lbs from my heaviest, 20 from what had somehow become my norm), and wanted to lose more … AND I DID!  From that post on I dropped another 20+ lbs, and was actually lighter than I ever expected to get …. but, I have now rebounded all the way back to a year ago….

So, first, thanks Withings (and those of you that noticed my auto tweets and called me on it) — I got back to the weight I said I didn’t want to get back to, and I asked you to help me … you have done your part, time for me to do mine.  I’m not going to try anything crazy, I don’t want to lose all the weight in a week.  I am going to move back towards fewer snacks, possibly sign up for Healthmonth again (maybe even before the end of the day), and just try to drop a bit of weight over the next couple weeks.

I want to get to 205lbs, and just stay there for a while .. I did this last year, and things were good … then I got into “winter” mode, and I guess my body decided it needed insulation - though, that isn’t really fair; it was my mind that made the decisions, I gained the weight because I ate too much (too much for how little I exercise) … … my battle with weight over the last few months has been interesting, the feedback loop provided by my Fitbit and Withings really tells a clear story.  When I choose to eat too much, and not exercise, I gain weight.  No, really — that’s it.  It isn’t something complex, there isn’t a secrete — Eat too much, get fat.

In summary: I am going to eat a bit less. I am going to try to exercise a bit more. I am going to try to lose 15lbs. I am going to enjoy my summer.

Thanks for checking in, and honestly, thanks to everyone who was positive and encouraging, but also reminded me that the numbers my scale was tweeting were climbing again.

Cheers.

I’ll get back to it … But for those keeping track (thanks!!), I stopped dieting (and tracking my food on the fitbit website) in Nov …

End of Nov / start Dec was a 2 week vacation: +10.5 lbs
Christmas Holidays, 4 days in Fraser Lake with family: + 5lbs (mostly bacon, and worth it).

So, I have some work to do, stay tuned.

* Also, before the gain I had lost 50 lbs, and was under 200 … So, my overall goal of not weighing over 220 again is still intact, and I have room for another bacon sandwich!

So, if you read my first tumblr post about my weight (Goodbye #FatTy), you may have been wondering why my withings weights weren’t showing up … I wondering that as well.  It seems withings have fixed it, and my tweets are now showing something I am rather proud of - I’ve surpassed my goals. In fact if you saw either of the twitter posts about my weight (here or here) you may have noticed the “to go” was still showing a lot of weight, well, that was actually how far past my original goal I ended up.

I didn’t really know how much weight I would be able to lose, or exactly where I wanted to end up … so I set a goal of 215…. then I dropped all the way to 200!  So, my current goal is to maintain around 205, hopefully get in better shape (lower my body fat % a little bit more than I already have), and I will continue to tweet my weight, and hopefully it doesn’t climb back up towards 220 (and certainly, I hope it’s never 250 again) … but, if you see it going up, please, tell me to smarten up!

For now I am happy to say goodbye, #FatTy - I hope to never see you again!

First, this is going to be a bit of a ramble, I’ll try to sum it up at the end, feel free to skip to the bottom, or just skip this all together…..

Here it is, I’m overweight.  I’m not morbidly obese, I’m not so badly out of shape that I am no longer able to do the things I love - I’m just heavy, and not in as good of shape as I would like.  I’ve started the process of getting to where I want, but this also isn’t the first time I have been here …… 12 years ago I was this same weight, and I had around 8% body fat.  I was playing basketball for the college, and I was feeling great.  Basketball ended, and I haven’t been in very good shape since.  I blamed it on school, and sitting in front of a computer all day, and eating junk to stay awake, etc etc.  What happened was I ate whatever I wanted, I didn’t exercise, and what is to be expected happened, and I didn’t react to it then, and now I have just fallen into, well, this.  So, like I said, I’m back to that weight now (though, with significantly more body fat), recently however I have been MUCH heavier.  I don’t want to go back.  I’ve gone up and down 3 or 4 times in the last few years, but I’ve never really managed to get below where I am now, and I haven’t done what’s required to convert some of this body fat back into muscle……

So, here I am.  For Christmas this year I got a FitBit - I LOVE IT!  What a great little gadget, something that motivates me be more active, and also gives me a structure of tracking my food, so I can see just what I’m doing to my body. I also love that it tweets my steps, making me somewhat accountable for how active (or, more accurately, inactive) I have been over the week. Back in November I started using HealthMonth and realized pretty quickly it had some power as well, by setting small goals, building on them, and doing it publicly, with the support of a community, I was able to make some big changes.  I was honestly surprised how much of a motivational boost it was when a complete stranger gave me a life point, and wish me luck in achieving my goals. So with this use of technology, I’ve been moving in the right direction, and having fun doing it.

Like I said, I’m back down to my current weight.  I’m 220 lbs, that’s about 30 less than I have been, and 20 less than I have been very recently.  This is good, I am happy about it. FitBit and HealthMonth have helped me better keep track of goals, and have given me some unexpected, and very much appreciated motivation.

Yet, here I sit, at 220 lbs, not sure which way my weight loss goals will go, will I continue to lose, or will I fall back into typical patterns and head back up towards 250 ….. I’m not sure, but I’ve decided to share the results with you.

I just got a Withings Scale, it will tweet my weight every week, and hopefully you see the number steadily decrease, at least until I start to shift my percentage of Body Fat (something else the Withings tracks, but a number I’m not as likely to tweet right now).

<summing it up>

I want to continue to lose weight, and I want to get more fit.  I love technology, and I think I have a lot of tools in place to help me on my way.  I would love an extra push from ALL OF YOU.  So, if you see my FitBit step count a little low, or you see my Withings weight getting high, a little shout in my direction would be appreciated …. I would love to spend the rest of my life below 220 lbs, and also get into shape once again …. I think being accountable now will give me the opportunity to establish some habits that will allow this to happen. Hopefully once and for all I can say “Goodbye #FatTy”

</summing it up>