Week 15: The End Of The Beginning

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." -- Winston Churchill, November 10, 1942

Last week's number: 306.4 pounds
This week's number: 300.7 pounds
Week-to-week loss: 5.7 pounds
Net loss: 49.3 pounds

In other words, I'm not done yet...

This was my last formal weigh-in under the medically-supervised very low calorie diet. I will now be transitioning slowly back to normal food. By normal food I mean the food people are supposed to eat, as opposed to what I've been eating most of my adult life.

This has not been easy by any stretch of the imagination. I struggled. I didn't stick with the plan. I could have exercised a lot more than I did. Even so, of the 30 people who started this diet back in January, only nine made it to the end, and of those nine I lost the most weight in the group.

The quote by Churchill above is appropriate here in more ways than one: I, too, have been engaged in a mortal struggle for my very survival against an inexorable and seemingly unstoppable foe. It has cost me dearly: my way of life has had to change, and certainly this program has not been cheap. It is, however, cheaper than a coffin (both literally and metaphorically).

Still, I am a long way from where I want to be. 50 pounds (more or less) down, another 75 (at least) to go.

That said, I am proud to have incorporated more exercise into my life. Today I walked the farthest in one day that I have in 15 years. This morning I walked my son to school, and then took the long way back, for a total of 2.1 miles. In the afternoon I walked to the school (the long way) and at my son's request took the long way back (during which we had a very involved conversation about surveyor's marks on the pavement, how to dig up a sidewalk, how much sidewalk slabs weigh, etc.) for a total of 3.04 miles. Total distance: 5.14 miles! Now I just need to get to where I can run that far...November is getting closer every day! And that's just the first race I want to run!

I want to start incorporating some strength training into my routine as well. I don't necessarily need to get ripped, but I do need more muscle tone and upper body strength. Next week, the weight bench will be deployed and put to use! I've been frustrated with not having enough room in the garage to set it up properly; the simple expedient of pulling it out into the driveway will solve that problem with minimal effort (particularly with summer close at hand--bad weather will not be an excuse for the next several months!) I should have started doing this weeks ago. Oh, well. The future begins now!