Weight Loss by Month: March 2022

Let's start with a riddle:

I finished the month at the same weight that I started. I also lost five pounds this month. How is this possible?

Okay, so maybe it's not that hard of a riddle. But after gaining five pounds in the first half of March, I'm back on track with my weight loss plans and goals. 

Eesh, how many months has it been since I've been on track? Uh oh. Time to rip the band-aid off. 

After having a good stretch of 14 months, I fell off the wagon for the last six months. 

The last six months included: a trip to San Fransisco, a work trip to Rome and Greece, Halloween, my birthday, Thanksgiving, a family trip to New York, a work trip to Cancun, Christmas, New Year's, my wife's birthday, football playoffs, Valentine's Day, a work trip to New York, a family trip to Florida, and Spring Break.

Not only did I give myself permission to eat whatever I wanted on vacations and special events, on the days in between I kept compulsively eating snacks and junk food to keep the good times rolling. 

After losing 62 pounds in 14 months, I gained 31 back in five months. 

- - -

It's frustrating and I only have myself to blame. Here I am making the weight-loss recap the best post of 2021 as I'm undoing the progress. 

It's like driving from LA to NY and when you get to Pittsburgh, you turn around and drive back to Denver. 

Or when you're saving up $6000 for a hot tub and then you go and spend half of the money on something else. 

- - -

But it is what it is. I'm back on track and the past six months just means I'll have to be that much more dedicated in the future. As Shea Serrano says, you can't win a game seven without losing three games first.

It's a reminder that even 14 months of continuous action is not enough to change lifelong tendencies to overeat. 

While Brit likes to point out that I become obsessive when I'm eating healthy (checking the calories of everything, weighing, writing down how many calories I have left for the day) I saw that I'm obsessive in the opposite direction when I'm eating unhealthy. My brain sends a signal that I'm not caring how much I eat today so I might as well go to the kitchen and eat three bowls of cereal just because I can. Nevermind that I just had lunch an hour ago. An hour goes by and repeat, what else can I eat?

So yeah, I'm back on track. And posts like this are important to help me stay on track. Right now I can take it one month at a time. Just try to make some progress in April. Keep stacking good months. 

Weight Loss by Month: September 2021

April: 191

May: 186

June: 183

July: 179

August: 183

September: 178

Back into the 170s, with a 5-pound loss this month, despite lots of days of overeating. I was able to get to 179 by September 10th, and have been holding between 178 and 180 for the last few weeks. 

That brings me to a total of 62 pounds lost over the last 14 months. And the lowest recorded weight of this journey, my lowest since I was 175 in 2013.

Over the last four months, it feels like I've basically been hovering around the same weight. It's annoying after seeing so much progress, to feel like it's slowed down. That gain in August basically cost me two months. But...I'd rather be hovering around this weight than in the 230s, where I'd been hovering for the previous years. 

Part of me is eager to get to the 160s, to reach a goal weight of 165-166. But I've got a lot of travel coming up, multiple vacations and work trips planned from October to December, plus holidays and birthday. So just not gaining might be as good as I can hope for through the rest of the year. 

It's feeling very realistic that in the first year I lost 61 pounds, and it might take a full second year to lose 14 more.

One of my goals for September was to get 300,000 steps, averaging 10k a day for 30 days. And I'm on track to cross that threshold later today.

Weight Loss by Month: August 2021

August 2021 Weight Loss: -4

Here's my weight over the last four months: 

May: 186

June: 183

July: 179

August: 183

My streak of good months is over. But I'm still counting this as a win. 

Since my last check-in, I took two long vacations to Chicago and Asheville, plus a huge steak dinner with Mark in St. Louis and a big 10th birthday celebration for my oldest son. After the Asheville trip I was as high as 188 and right before the birthday weekend I was down to 181. 

So why is this a win again? If I hadn't turned healthy eating into a consistent habit, a month with this many occasions to overeat would just have been a month where I gain 10 pounds. 

Also, by having this monthly structure set up I can track it, be accountable, and aim to course correct. In previous instances, I didn't have any check-ins scheduled so one bad month just spiraled into 6+ months of overeating. So the act of recording a modest weight gain, and not ignoring it, is a serious win.

I also set a personal record for the most I've ever walked in a month. 

My previous monthly record was 205k steps back in October 2017. So I've really blown it out of the water. The trip to Asheville helped. I've played disc golf three times and walked during my kid's soccer practices. But mostly I've just been consistent with walking our dog. 117 miles in a month. That's nuts. 

As an aside, most of these steps have been in my favorite shoes ever, Adidas Lite Racer Adapt 3. I discovered Adidas cloudfoam makes the most comfortable shoe around, and now that I've tried these laceless versions of cloudfoam, I'm never going back. And when you factor in that the best player in the NFL is an Adidas spokesman, I'm going to be brand loyal to Adidas for the foreseeable future. 

- - -

With a September without any special occasions planned, I'm confident I can get back into the 170s. 

One Year of Progress

 Here's what I looked like a year ago, end of July 2020. I weighed 240 pounds, the most I've ever been.

Here's a shot from 2018 in New Orleans. For most the last four years, I was about 230. 

- - -

A year later and I now weigh 179. This what I look like after losing 61 pounds.

At 5'8.5", I've gone from a BMI of 36 to a BMI of 26.8.

The threshold of a normal weight is a BMI of 24.9. For my height, that is 166. If I reach 165, that will be 75 pounds lost. So yeah, I think 166-165 is a reasonable goal weight. 

Here's the weight loss by month:

August 2020:         12

September 2020:    7

October 2020:        8

November 2020:    3

December 2020:    0

January 2021:        7

February 2021:      5

March 2021:          4

April 2021:            3

May 2021:             5

June 2021:             3

July 2021:             4

(In December I actually lost 5, then gained them back at Christmas, but then they quickly came off again. It's probably more accurate to say I lost 3 in December and then 4 in January. Not that anyone cares.)

So that's 12 months in a row of good months. I'd previously had a 4-month healthy stretch in 2007 (where I lost 40 pounds) and a 5-month stretch in 2013 (where I lost 30 pounds). 

The last time I was in the 170s was back in August-September 2013. It didn't last long. Here's my post-college weight history in one chart:

(you can click to expand)

A lot of wild things in this chart. First that I was actually in the 170s or less from April 2007 through April 2011, which is when Mrs. Hoagie Central got pregnant. 

In fact, you can see two big increases in 2011 and 2013 during both pregnancies. Sympathy weight is a real thing. In 2013, I crossed 200 for the first time and used that motivation to turn into a successful weight loss down to the 170s. 

After that you can see a general trend of weight loss, followed by a sharp gain where I went from slightly under 200 to 230 upon moving to KC. In 2018, I had a decent weight loss progress derailed by getting fired. Then in early 2020, I lost 19 pounds, only to gain it back once the pandemic started. 

Since I moved to KC alone, there were 7 distinct times where I tried to lose weight. If you count the period from 2007-2016, there's another 8 distinct times. That's 15 times in 15 years. Which makes the point that I've never been able to maintain. Not many horizontal lines on this chart. Hoping that all the lessons I've learned this year stick, and I'll be adding a horizontal line in the 160s/170s. 

If I can lose 5 more and get down to 174, it will be the first time I've been at that weight since 2010 when I lived in Oak Park, before we had children. That's wild.  

Anyways, here's a side by side, what one year of progress looks like in one image:

Weight Loss by Month: June 2021

June: 3 pounds

57 pounds lost in 11 months. 

I started June at 186. Right after Peoria, I was as high as 189 and then got down to 181 before my Billings trip. I was 182 for most of late June. So I'm 183 today but should be temporary Billings weight. I bet in a few days I'll be down to 181 again. 

- - -

11 months of progress in a row. I've got a family vacation to Chicago the last week of July so I'll need to record progress on July 25. My goal for this month is to cross into the 170s. Cross the 60 pound lost mark. 

- - -

In early June, I got a shipment of medium shirts just to see how far away I was from wearing them. I was absolutely floored that they fit. 185 is about the upper limit for mediums on me, so they'll fit even better at 170 but they fit. I don't have an exact goal, but I'm thinking somewhere between 160 and 170. 

Just a little over three weeks left for me to reach my one-year of progress post.

Weight Loss by Month: May 2021

August – November 2020: 30 pounds 

January 2021: 7 pounds 

February 2021: 5 pounds 

March 2021: 4 pounds 

April 2021: 3 pounds

May 2021: 5 pounds

54 pounds down in 10 months. 

I think it's finally time to start using real numbers. 

- - -

On August 1, 2020 I was 240 pounds. The highest I've ever been. 

Today I am 186 pounds. The lowest I've been since June 2014. 

(I haven't been under 175 since 2009.)

In February, I went from 203 to 198. That was a big deal. This month I went from 191 to 186. Closing in on my college weight of 180. 

- - -

I've admitted many times in this space, a common sentiment: 

"Food makes me happy." -2010

"It's no secret that I derive great pleasure from food." - 2018

Back in 2007, when I first adopted healthy habits, I described it as "breaking my dependence on food" and "eating food as fuel, and not as pleasure."

But as I learned by watching Ted Lasso, every disadvantage has it's advantage. 

I used to view the idea that food makes me happy as a flaw or fault. I inherently connected food making me happy to unhealthy eating habits and being overweight and didn't see a way to untie that thread. 

But now I do. 

Food makes me happy. All I needed to do was to find a way to incorporate healthy choices, healthy habits into the equation. So I can still look forward to food. I can still try new recipes and snacks. Now my passion for food is an advantage. While I'm not about to enter any TV cooking competitions, I know how to make healthy food that I find delicious. 

Google says it can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit and an average of 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic.

After ten months of eating like this, it's now true to say that healthy eating is important to me. 

- - - 

In two months, I'll post one-year before and after progress pictures. 

Keep stacking good months.™

Weight Loss by Month: April 2021

August – November 2020: 30 pounds 

January 2021: 7 pounds 

February 2021: 5 pounds 

March 2021: 4 pounds

April 2021: 3 pounds

I've been doing this for 9 months and lost 49 pounds. I have several thoughts about the pace of current progress. First, in early April I started a pasta journey and had some birthday celebration food for my youngest. So around April 12, the scale was showing that I had gained 5 pounds in April. So if I measure from that point forward, I actually lost 8 in less than 20 days. (Of course, those five up & down are easier to come by than true progress.)

Also, I both expected progress to not be as fast 9 months in as it was when I started. For one, I do weigh a lot less so by percentage, 3 pounds now is equivalent to 4 pounds when I started. Plus, I know the body adjusts. I'm not going to be burning as much as I was back then, no matter what. Also, this year I have been lifting weights, so there might be some muscle growth that is offsetting actual progress on the scale. And one more little note, the 4th pound I lost in March actually showed up on the last day so it was probably more accurate to say 3.5 in March, 3.5 in April. 

I'm decently happy with how I look now, so I'm okay with 3 pounds a month. (I've also tried to be kind to myself on days when I'm extra hungry and/or go over my calories. I'm human and if that means that I don't beat myself up and lose 3 instead of 4 in a certain month, that's ok.) Lesson learned though, I shouldn't ever make estimates about when I'll hit a certain target weight. 

In mid-April, I was going to be content with just breaking even this month. But near the end of the month, I'm like a cop trying to hit my monthly quotas for speeding tickets, extra motivated to stay on track and not have any cheat meals. 

At 49 pounds, I can finally tell a difference on zoom. Still looking forward to surprising people when I go back into the office. 

- - -

The biggest thing that happened in April was that I started my new Daily Favorites cooking series. (I originally named it Every Day Favorites but recently changed it to Daily Favorites so that the initials would match my own.)

This has been fun and personally satisfying on multiple levels. It's wild that it took me this long to do something like this. 

Back in 2007(!), I had identified four hobbies. Writing, music, photography and cooking. This new series combines three hobbies into one project. (And I'm listening to more music this year as well.) 

But more than just fun, this series is proving to be helpful already and will continue to be a good resource indefinitely. This is my pandemic/quarantine self-improvement project. For years, I anticipate opening my Daily Favorites Collection before I do my grocery shopping. It will be easier to stay on track long-term if I have a huge variety of tasty meals in my arsenal. Perhaps, I will think back to the pandemic and wonder if I would have ever done this without the year+ of working from home. 

In case, you're wondering, I lost steam on learning Italian once it got difficult, about 11 days in. But starting that led me to the Pasta Journey. And starting that led me to the Daily Favorites series. Which I just started less than two weeks ago, but already feels like one of the most important things for myself that I've ever done. So you never know what something like a whim of trying Italian on an app can take you. 

- - -

In May, I'm excited to cross the 50 pound lost barrier. My goal is just to keep stacking good months on top of each other. This monthly check-in keeps me accountable. And it's definitely working. 

Weight Loss by Month: March 2021

August – November 2020: 30 pounds 

January 2021: 7 pounds
February 2021: 5 pounds
March 2021: 4 pounds

This month was like December. I lost 3 pounds right away in the first two weeks and at one point looked like I might lose 6-7. Then we had some staycation stuff, pizza and barbecue and with a week left in the month the scale was showing my starting weight for the month. But just like December, it's easier to lose weight that you've recently gained so I was able to get down 4 by today. 

Taking a look at my 2021 numbers, that January was deceiving as that 7 included weight originally lost in December. So, pretty consistent that in 2021, I'm losing about 4-5 pounds a month, or a pound a week. 

I'm at 46 down right now, so that means I'm on track to hit my college weight (60 pounds lost) at the end of June. 

- - - 

I get vacations now. I get birthdays and holidays now. 

These are the few times per year that you get to eat what you want. You can let loose. It's supposed to be a break from your normal life which is supposed to be healthy. 

I basically lived most of my 20's/30's like I was on vacation all the time. Want a pizza on a Tuesday? Cannoli on Thursday? Why not? I'm surprised I wasn't more overweight, in light of this. 

(A quick aside on pizza. It's not that you can't eat pizza and stick to your calories goals. It's just that's a lot easier in theory than in practice. It's virtually impossible for me to order a pizza and just have two slices and say, ok that's 700 calories. I'm going to go back for two more slices. And then once I'm way over, I might as well eat a few more slices.)

But now it all clicks. Eat well, take care of your body most of the time. Then when you go on vacation or have a special occasion, sure treat yourself to some indulgent foods. 

I'm almost 40 and just now figuring out how life and health works. Better late than never.

- - -

Another thing I'm realizing is what maintenance is going to look like for me. It's unlikely that it's going to be every day at 2000 calories. There might be some of those, but I've never been able to stick to that in my life. What is more realistic for me is that for most days I might be at 1750ish, with some days where I get to go over by eating my favorite foods like barbecue or pizza. Which is what I'm doing now, but instead of 2 days over per month, maybe it will be like once a week. 

- - -

46 pounds down. I started this on August 1. Eight good months in a row. Soon I'll be at one year. Pretty wild. 

My previous best stretches based on time were 4 months straight in Chicago, 4 months in Colorado, 5 months back in 2018 in KC. So 8 months blows that out of the water. That's just as exciting as the number of pounds down. All it took was a pandemic.

Weight Loss by Month: February 2021

 August – November 2020: 30 pounds 

January 2021: 7 pounds

February 2021: 5 pounds

This was a really great month. As it turns out there's a big difference for me from 35 to 40 pounds lost. All of a sudden, my L t-shirts fit properly. I was able to put away all the XL and that felt pretty great. 

Also, I'm now back to what I was when I left Colorado. Which means that I'm the fittest I've been since 2016. Which means I now weigh the same as I did in these photos. 

Except for about 10 days at Christmas, I've pretty much been on track for 7 months straight. Just keep stacking good months on good months. 

- - -

So 42 down. Another 18 and I'll be at what I was in college. 

So even though I'm not at a goal weight, I'm already reaping the rewards of the progress. This isn't like saving up for a jet ski, where 2/3 of the way there you still don't have a jet ski. I'm definitely happier to be at this weight than I was last summer. 

And it's going to be good for me in the long-term that it's taking so long to get to a goal weight. Because for me, maintenance is going to have to look pretty darn close to my weight loss habits. So the longer I make these habits part of my life to lose weight, the easier it will be to keep them during maintenance. 

I'm now able to start thinking about some of the outdoorsy bucket list goals from hikes to rock climbing walls to a ropes challenge course to playing tennis often, all things that seemed laughable just half a year ago.

Weight Loss by Month: January 2021

August – November 2020: 30 pounds 

January 2021: 7 pounds

A bit of a stranger update. 

After only losing 3 pounds in November, I lost 5 pounds in the first half of December. Some of that was probably catch-up weight from Thanksgiving. But then there was Christmas where I definitely got off track. In early January I got on the scale and I had gained those 5 back. But in January I got back on track, and those 5 were quick to come off again. 

So essentially I didn't lose any in December, but now I'm down 7 this month, 37 overall. 

The second thing that made this weird was that we started lifting weights. There were some days where I expected weight loss, felt a lot smaller, but then even gained weight. That could be retaining water or actual muscle building, or both. Point is, unlike in 2020, the scale might not be a great way of measuring progress. As in, I should be gaining muscle weight as I'm losing fat. 

Regardless, I'm getting in better shape, fitting in clothes that I haven't worn in 4 years. And no holiday weeks or vacations to throw me off track.

Definitely seems like I can pass 40 pounds lost in February, so that's something to look forward to. 

Given that January was inflated by those 5 from Christmas and the lifting weights, I'm not going to lose 7 in Feb. I'd be happy with 3-4 this month.

Weight Loss by Month: November 2020

 August:       12 pounds

September:  7 pounds

October:       8 pounds

November:   3 pounds

30 down.

The frustrating thing was then even before my birthday or Thanksgiving, the progress was pretty slow. Even though I was doing the same thing, my lowest weight this month was 4 pounds down. But then I gained 3 pounds on Thanksgiving. Lost two of that so far. I really tried to make up for Halloween and Thanksgiving by being extra good the day after. 

Anyways, the good news I'm still losing, still making progress. I'm not in a rush to try to get to a certain weight by a certain point in 2021. In fact, since I ultimately need to eat like this forever, the longer that I'm focused on losing, as opposed to maintaining, might be better for me. More time for choices to become habits. I'm already kind of amazed at how four months in my eating habits have changed. Avoiding unhealthy foods used to be kind of a white knuckle willpower thing and now it's already like that doesn't sound that good to me. 

Though I have thought many times at the end of my day, how much easier this would be with an extra 200-300 calories to spend, as if I was in maintenance mode. That little extra cushion could be a small snack that helps with hunger between lunch and dinner for example. By gaining all this weight, I've dug a whole that it's not enough to eat healthy at maintenance right now--I have to go all the way past that point to a deficit to lose the weight. 

December will probably be more like November than the previous months, with Christmas. But that's okay.

Weight Loss by Month: October 2020

August:       12 pounds

September:  7 pounds

October:       8 pounds

So that's 27 in the last three months. I started 80 pounds above my goal weight which is crazy and awful to think about...but only 40 pounds above what I was in Colorado. By losing these 27, I've already gotten to the lowest weight that I've been at my current job, so that's something. 

And it's not like I have to get to my goal weight to see a difference. I'm already down a shirt size. It's a noticeable change. 

So for now, focused on two things: keeping the progress going through a season that includes my birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas and reaching that 40 pounds lost total, back to where I was when I left Colorado. 

- - -

Every month that I'm losing weight I'm gaining wisdom. A couple realizations about special occasions. 

1. The first is one that learned a long time ago. If you have a tendency to overeat and give yourself permission to do so on special occasions, you can find special occasions all the time. Just in October alone, I had an anniversary, good news from work, bad news about Rocky, Halloween, primetime Chiefs games and more. If you count Friday nights and meeting up with friends as reasons to treat yourself, well, you might have more special occasion days in a month than non-special occasions. 

2. On the other hand, when you do have a legit special occasion. Anniversary, Thanksgiving, Christmas, it's not the one day or one meal that's going to throw you off. It's turning an anniversary into a weekend of eating or Thanksgiving into a week or Christmas into 2 weeks. I mean, I've had some good Christmas runs where I eat a ton of Hickory Farms meat cheese and crackers followed by slices of pie when I'm not even hungry all between meals. But that's where I get into trouble. In October, I was able to have a big anniversary dinner and get right back on track the next day. Gotta keep that same energy through the holidays. Easier said than done, of course. 

Weight Loss By Month: September 2020

August:       12 pounds

September:  7 pounds

- - -

Let's back up a little. On Jan 1, 2020 I reached a new personal weight high. Over the next two months I lost a total of 19 pounds. Then a pandemic hit. From March through July, I gained 21 pounds. That's about a pound a week, just eating whatever I wanted. Lots of pepperoni and pepper jack sandwiches. Bagels and cream cheese. Nutter Butters. Things like that. More than the foods themselves, was the amount of food. Lots of snacks, big meals at every mealtime. Some people gain a Freshman 15. I gained a Corona 21. 

So if you're keeping track, by August 1, 2020 I reached a new personal weight high. And then over the next two months I've lost a total of 19 pounds.

This year I've gained 21 pounds and lost a total of 38 pounds. 

- - -

I've had a couple of realizations. 

1. I need to let go of the idea that I can eat whatever I want. When I'm not losing weight, which tends to be about 8 or 9 months out of a typical year for me, I base every food decision on taste. Like, I got into this habit with a co-worker that for every day we would go out to lunch and pick something that's delicious. Go to a sandwich place and get a big Italian sub with chips, or go to Five Guys for a burger with fries, or Raising Cane's for chicken tenders and fries, etc. 

Well, I'm now classifying that thought process of I can choose everything on taste as a "thought process from my 20's." I can't do that anymore. It's helped to talk to friends (who else?) like Niraj and hear him say that he tries to eat healthy meals for about two-thirds of his meals in a week. 

2. My mom told me I better get to my goal weight by 40 because it gets a lot harder after that. I'm three years away from 40.

3. I've never been able to eat at maintenance. But I've realized that my "maintenance" is going to be the same as what I'm eating now to lose weight. It's likely that if I keep eating exactly what I'm eating right now, (say 1750 calories) that my body won't lose weight on that forever. It will get used to that and I'll settle at a healthy weight. 

So yeah, I basically need to stick to how I'm eating forever. I've figured out how to do without writing things down. I just need to train myself that this how I have to do things always, not a temporary thing I can switch off for months at a time.