Week 18

193.8/198.8

"I've been in the twilight of my career longer than most people have had their career." -Martina Navratilova

"What are those numbers at the top, again," you ask? The first is this morning's weight, in pounds, and the second is my trend weight used to offset anxiety about daily fluctuations. The equation for that, from the Hacker's Diet spreadsheets, starting on day 1 with weight and trend equal, is:

Today's trend = (.9 * Yesterday's trend) + (.1 * Today's weight)

I've crossed the 200 pound threshold, both in actual and trend weights, which, as you can imagine, makes me happy. Losing my final 15 pounds, though, is incredibly difficult. I've hit plateaus multiple times, and each time increased the intensity and duration of my workouts, which brought on more fatigue and hunger the next day. It has taken a lot of willpower, and the desire to stray from Calorie control gets worse, as my mind struggles to make me lazy and gluttonous again.

"Hello!" my stomach cries, "Think of the pleasure!"... to paraphrase Eli Wallach. ($10 to the first person who knows the reference.)

On the brighter side, I don't have much longer to go before I can start increasing Calories again. I've been craving protein since my strength training has started to improve. I go through eggs pretty fast now, and on gym days I have given up the TV dinner for the higher Calorie protein bar (EAS' "Myoplex Deluxe"). To some extent, I like the soreness and fatigue, the injuries-without-injury, that show I'm putting in enough effort at the gym. My belly is a fraction of what it once was, and almost non-existent when I stand up straight. However, like Martina, it seems like I've been at this for a long time now.

Now, it's time to take my first week-long vacation since I started the plan 18 weeks ago. My kid and I will be gone until next Saturday, and hopefully the good eating and exercise habits will stay with me. I'll talk about what actually happens next post.