Over the Fourth of July weekend, when I decided to start this diet, I weighed about 240 lbs. At 5′8″, that means I was fat. I had already lost about 25 lbs, which means I was even fatter before, and it’s kinda embarrassing to admit how bad it had gotten. I was buying 40-30 pants. Some people don’t even realize they make pants like that for short, fat people, but they do.
I set a goal of 190 lbs by January 1, 50 lbs in six months, which seemed reasonable, considering I’d lost 25 in six months without really doing anything seriously. To lose 50 lbs in 26 weeks, I had to be about 1000 calories short per day (to lose ~2 lbs per week), and I started by aiming to eat 1200-1500 calories per day, thinking I probably burned less than 2500 calories per day, on average.
Here we are, November 1, and the scale shows 190. I know a single day weigh-in doesn’t mean much, but it’s pretty cool to see that number on my scale. It’s the weight listed on my driver’s license, and it hasn’t ever been correct until today. I had to buy new pants because my 38’s were too baggy to wear. I put on a pair of 34’s today. I can’t remember the last time I did that, it must have been when I was 13 or 14.
I still think I could stand to lose another 15-20 lbs, but I’ll have to react to what my body tells me. I may set a new goal for 175 and see what happens. I think I should keep going, rather than level off here and maybe start again later, since starting it back up will be a pain and I’m kinda in the zone right now.
I think one of the biggest things I need to keep in mind is that my experience is mine alone, and it hardly makes me an expert. It seems simple, and the numbers don’t lie, but that doesn’t mean it will work the same for anyone else.
I have to renew my driver’s license this week. I wonder what weight I should use.
