Weigh-In Wednesday

I have struggled with my weight for about 38 years, pretty much since not long after I quit smoking in February 1982.  Back then, I was probably around 210 pounds or so. Up until just a few months before that, my work in a power plant included climbing a stairway that was about the equivalent of 9 stories multiple times a day.  A little over a year later I was in another position that required no regular physical activity.

With my cigarette addiction finally stopped—I had been trying to stop on and off for about 10 years—and in a sedentary job, my weight started going up. By the end of the 80s, I had probably gained 50 pounds or more.  I reached a high point in the early 90s of about 290 pounds and was finally successful in shedding over 80 pounds, over a year’s time, eventually reaching 204 pounds.  I was able to keep the weight off for a couple of years.

Unfortunately, in April 1996, I had a herniated lumbar disc.  While the pain receded to where the neurosurgeon recommended against surgery—never did get the surgery—, it was painful to exercise and I got out of the habit.  My weight went back up again.  I was never able to get back down to the low 200s again, despite trying multiple times.

During late 2019 and the first part of 2020, I was again able to establish a regular routine at the gym, mainly walking on the indoor track 1.5 to 2 hours a day 5 to 6 days a week.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t really losing any weight.  I was more fit and able to do more than I was before, but the weight just didn’t want to come off.

Then the gym closed because of the pandemic.

Our gym is owned by the local hospital and we don’t think it will reopen until after conditions are normal, or at least very close to it.  We don’t think that will happen until sometime in 2021. We also don’t feel comfortable venturing in to work out at any of the gyms that have reopened. The COVID infection numbers are too high.

So we decided to buy a treadmill.

We bought a NordicTrack T Series 6.5S treadmill from Amazon and had it delivered on June 26th.  I had it unpackaged and fully assembled by the 28th. We’ve used it every day since.  I usually do about the same as I was at the gym, 1.5 to 2 hours, but break it up into periods of about 40 minutes each.  I also do a lot of it in the evenings when, before, I would have been more likely to be snacking.

From about 12th of March through the 27th of June, I gained about 14 or so pounds ending up at 293.5, very close to the most I’ve ever weighed.  In the nearly 40 days since then, I have lost 13.5 pounds and am now at 280 pounds.

From November 2008 through August 2009, I often published a post on Wednesdays titled Wednesday Weigh-In.  It was sort of a cooperative effort in conjunction with a blog called Blog to Fit, which, as is common for blogs from that long ago, no longer exists.  The three authors of the blog updated their progress every Wednesday and invited others to share as well.  I didn’t publish about my weight every week but updated my status often on Blog to Fit.

There are different opinions about when to weigh.  I weigh every morning before breakfast.

Some recommend only weight once a week and there is one school of thought that holds that the best day to weigh is Wednesday.  A 2014 Finnish study found that Wednesday is when the weight is less likely to fluctuate, giving a truer reading and making it easier to compare one week to the next.

Weekends were particularly bad for weighing because there could be huge swings week to week.  Typically people weigh most on weekends, gradually burning weight off during the week, according to the study.  Variations weekend to weekend depend on whether people eat, snack, party, or have a quiet weekend.

Our weekend and weekdays don’t vary much as we no longer have to work, so that sttudy’s findings make little difference for us.  However, if we were to weigh on just one day, Wednesday is a good as any.

Besides Wednesday and weigh-in sounds good together for a post title or category.

2020kickstart#2

WednesdayWeighIn#1