My monthly fatloss progress report....

Today's Post:  Monday, 6-18-2012

This month’s report is a mixed review.

1.  First, I’d hoped the five new things I did or kept doing over the month since last time would help me lose a pound or two.  And, hopefully, they would help me lose one or two quarter of an inches more on my waist to add to the three quarters of an inch I lost the month before. 

But instead I gained a half pound which wasn’t too bad -- but gained back a half to three quarters of an inch on my waist which was much more disappointing.

2.  The better news is that I DID do the five new things consistently over the month since last time that I’d hoped would help me lose a pound or two, etc.

One. I ate no almond butter in my after dinner snack after eating nearly enough of it to make a pound per month difference in my fat level, about 3500 calories a month.

Two. I did run the inexpensive foot powered wheel while reading on evenings and weekends for about a total of 3 hours a week.  If that burns 150 calories an hour or about half what walking would, that could lose a half pound as that equals 1800 calories for the month.

Three.  I did well several times in my strength training a few times each week at making a strong enough effort to lift a bit more or  do more repetitions that I likely did release extra growth hormone and might have gained a bit of muscle. 

Four.  I did successfully add a second vegetable-only for lunch semi-fast each week without any noticeable problems or too much hunger.  If I’d done this by itself it could have cut about 920 calories each month including last month – enough to lose about a quarter pound. (During the last month, though, I had a couple of extra dark chocolate bars one on each of two Saturdays which added about 660 calories and likely left me with only a 260 calorie drop.  Over a couple of years that will add up to 7 pounds even with the dark chocolate.  But for just one month, it’s closer to zero.

Five.  I did eat a bit of raw broccoli florets almost every evening at my after dinner snack and did not overdo the nonfat cottage cheese or Irish cheese or no sugar apple sauce.  So my record doesn’t show I ate too many calories to compensate for not eating almond butter.  (Eating the raw broccoli florets almost every evening instead of just sometimes, helped do that.)

3.  So how did I go from losing 3 pounds without most of these efforts and gaining a half pound with them?

Apparently the persistent and many times a day bad cough I had, to clear my lungs, due to the got a severe cold I got 3 weeks before my monthly Saturday measurement on 5-19 last month, must have burned an enormous amount of calories

Month before last I didn’t do most of the things on this month’s list AND did less of my regular exercise to avoid making my cold better instead of worse.

Apparently I exercised a lot MORE during those three weeks by coughing so horribly much and hard.  I must have burned at least an extra 14,000 calories in those 3 weeks from coughing based on the math I know. In fact, it might have been closer to 21,000 calories.  It was vigorous enough, I may have added some muscle in my core muscles that contracted when I coughed.

In short, had I not added all the new things I did this month, I might have gained 2 or 3 pounds this month instead of just a half a pound.

4.  But what more do I need to do to add muscle and lose fat enough to restart losing a pound or so each month on the scale and more fat than that too?

a)  I came up with a plan to cut back on red wine with dinner just a bit.  I may or may not be able to maintain it.  But the one day last week I tried it, it did work.  That will lose a pound or two if I do it for a month which I’ll keep off if I maintain the cut-back after that.

b) It looks like I need to do enough more strenuous strength training and/or with heavier weights to add muscle and maybe also add other things to boost my level of growth hormone. 

I’ll try to do a bit more now and at least keep up the efforts I’ve been making.

Once the summer heat leaves in the mid to late fall, I may make more progress.

And, once I get a bit more control over my schedule, I’ve a plan to go to the gym one night a week for access to heavier weights which may help, particularly with adding muscle to my legs.

Also, once I can afford it, I may be able to take more of the amino acid supplements known to boost growth hormone release.

This category of actions is important since if I can gain 5 pounds of muscle, I’ll lose 15 pounds of fat by eating the same.  Even better, that will lose some belly fat out of that 15 pounds of fat.  And the 10 pounds net lost on the scale will get me back below my goal weight.

What I hope to get to is to double that muscle gain and gain 10 pounds of muscle eventually.  That would lose a total of 30 pounds of fat and I’d finally lose my fat belly if I can lose that much fat. 

c)  I’ll keep adding small strategies to cut calories as I find an opportunity to do so.  At this point that may add a pound or two loss per year of fat.  That’s not a lot but far better than nothing,  And, I have two or three I have in mind adding.

d)  I’ll keep up the efforts I’m already making.

e)  I also hope to add an exerciser I can use at work.  Since I’ve not been able to find what I need, I may have to find a company to make it.  (I know a design that will work and recently found out it wasn’t patentable when it first was put into volume use.)

I found out that having such an exerciser at work would improve my memory and mental sharpness on the days I used it.  I posted that news last month!

At my new job I do have enough more knee room under my desk, I'd known I might be able to get one of the tiny bicycle style exercisers and begin using that a few hours a day.  (They are just pedals and a support stand available online for about $150.  Not fancy; but an extra 200 calories a day on it will trim off some fat.)

And, it seemed silly not to try it already for that extra fat loss. But when I got the news it would improve me mentally too, I decided to try to implement it soon.

Then I realized I could go to the local sporting goods store to see if they had such an exerciser.  That way if I tried it and it didn't work out right away, I could return it.  The news then got better.  I asked and they would refund my money if the exerciser turned out right away not to be usable.  But even better, instead of $150, it only cost $50!

I did set that up and found that at work even with the extra knee room it was a bit too hard to stay on it and it took double the knee room I’d have needed at my last job and fifty percent more than I have now.  I do now use it at home.

But the big payoff and results will be when I can get one that I can use at work.  Even 20 hours a week for 150 calories per hour is about 3 and a half pounds of fat loss per month until my excess fat is mostly gone.

I'll let you know how I do on what I can already do and when and if I can add these other things.

My monthly fatloss progress report....

Today's Post: Monday, 4-23-2012

Since last month, the good news is that I’m still making most of the effort to lose my excess fat and keep off what I lost.:

I still eat on my every other day fewer calories and no grain plan. I still avoid soft drinks and junky packaged foods and bad ingredients. I‘ve maintained my new cut back from 7 times each four weeks for sugar at breakfast to 3 times. And, I’m still doing my jump rope, Nordic Track, Kettlebells, and my strength training with my bodyweight and my new heavier dumbbells. I still log all my exercise sessions.

I even maintained keeping a log of my variable food intake after dinner.

The Ok news is that my waist measurement remained the same.

However, since last month I gained another pound on the scale.

.Maintaining my program including the new heavier dumbbells plus the new sugar cut back should have lost a pound or two instead or remained the same but lost some on my waist.

What happened?

I got laid off from my day job and we had to pay a bit more on income tax than we thought within 2 days of each other. The good news is that I only went two days before my new job kicked in and it’s going well too. (It may turn out to be better than my old job.)

But my record showed that I ate more in my after dinner snacks instead of less and drank 2 more drinks a week than the one more I was already drinking.

Hopefully the stress will get less and the better effort I started the last two nights on my after dinner snacks I’ll continue successfully almost every day until next month – AND after that.

The idea I had to make the lower calorie and higher protein food nonfat cottage cheese a more appetizing substitute for my excessive almond butter intake by adding some powdered paprika IS working. So that will help.

And, I’ve cut back on my alcoholic drinks before successfully. So I do have a shot at doing both.

Between focusing on that and my job doing well, I expect to do better by next month.

Meanwhile, I have a shot at better future results from a strategy I’ve ended this post with for several months. At my new job I have enough more knee room under my desk, I may be able to get one of the tiny bicycle style exercisers and begin using that a few hours a day. (They are just pedals and a support stand for about $150. Not fancy; but an extra 200 calories a day on it will trim off some fat.)

(I now need to lose 10 pounds total to return to my goal weight. And, I still need to lose at least four to 6 inches off my waist.

According to pictures I’ve seen, I’m now at about 25 % bodyfat or a bit more. To remove my abdominal fat, according to those same pictures, I also need to add enough muscle to stay at or just slightly below my goal weight AND lose about 12% to 15% of my current bodyweight as fat.

This translates into losing 21 to 29 pounds of fat while gaining 11 to 19 pounds of muscle.)

I'm finally putting the initial plan in place to add the muscle. But the fat loss part still needs some work. And so does my total calories of exercise and activity. I average 1400 calories a week now. But 3500 would be better. The good news is that there may be a 2100 calorie a week fix I can actually do. The next section repeats that from last time.

* X * X *X *

(Future improvements still planned:

Eventually I’ll also need to get a specialized minibike or other seated leg exerciser I can use while seated at my desk and another I can use while reading at home or at my home computer.

They don’t yet make those that I know of but most people today need them. Given the health harm of sitting too much and how many people do that, these minibikes or other seated exerciser for your legs and chairs that match them well are coming soon I think.

Walking burns about 300 calories an hour. (200 if you are skinny and walk slowly to over 500 if you walk really fast or walk somewhat fast but are much heavier.)

Using a seated minibike or other seated exerciser that you use much less effort on but keep moving slowly most of the time you sit can easily burn 50 calories an hour.

Then if like many people today you sit for 6 hours a day, you could easily add an extra 2100 calories a week by using a seated minibike exerciser most of the time you sit at home or at work. That would help people lose about 2 and a half pounds a month for a few months once they got into the habit of always using one.

If I’d used one of the seated minibikes since I began my current fatloss plan, I’d still need to add the extra muscle to be at my goal weight. But I’d be trying to add muscle weight to get back to my goal weight! That’s because I’d be 10 to 15 pounds less fat.)

I’ve also had an idea for awhile. Before sewing machines had electric power, they had an under the work area treadle that was designed to be effective but avoid distracting the person sewing from doing their sewing.

It may be possible to find an antique sewing machine and find a manufacturer to make a design of that treadle mechanism that would do the same for people working at a desk.

It’s proven to do the job needed in actual use!)

I’ll let you know how my additional planned changes and efforts work next month.

My monthly fatloss progress report....

Today's Post: Monday, 3-19-2012

Since last month, The good news is on building more muscle. And, so far, that news is VERY good.

I'm doing well with the higher amount of weight on my dumbells I recently bought. They are getting a bit easier to lift. And, I'm beginning to see some increase in strength on other exercises. Best of all, they are enough more work, I'm getting more of a cardio workout during my dumbbell workout.

However, since last month I gained another pound on the scale.

That’s the less bad news.

The worst news is that I gained 3/4 an inch on my waist.

Since my goal is to lose 4 to 6 inches on my waist, clearly I need to lose the 9 pounds AND at least 16 pounds more of fat more that I replace with 15 pounds of muscle.

I may be on track for the muscle gain. But I need to do a good bit more to lose fat too.

I came up with in idea I hope will work. At least it might help.

I've cut back from having tons of sugar on my oatmeal every day. Now I have been having half that much 7 times a month. That already was an 8 to one cut back. I recently realized the banana breakfast with sugar I've been having every Saturday didn't taste that much better than the version I've been eating with none!

So, now instead of 7 times a month I'll be having sugar on my cereal 3 times a month. So instead of an 8 to one cut back, I'll be close to a 20 to one cut back!

Sugar is fattening enough, that should help!

And, of course I'll maintain my other cut backs and exercise that helped me take off the weight to begin with.

My new plant to limit almond butter and add broccoli each evening has been in place.

I've been doing a decent job with it too. Apparently it may have helped but wasn't enough.

I'll continue it add more doable calorie cut backs as I find them.

(I now need to lose 9 pounds total to return to my goal weight. And, I still need to lose at least four to 6 inches off my waist.

According to pictures I’ve seen, I’m now at about 25 % bodyfat. To remove my abdominal fat, according to those same pictures, I also need to add enough muscle to stay at or just slightly below my goal weight AND lose about 12% to 15% of my current bodyweight as fat.

This translates into losing 20 to 28 pounds of fat while gaining 12 to 20 pounds of muscle.)

I'm finally putting the initial plan in place to add the muscle. But the fat loss part still needs some work. And so does my total calories of exercise and activity. I average 1400 calories a week now. But 3500 would be better. The good news is that there may be a 2100 calorie a week fix I can actually do. The next section repeats that from last time.

* X * X *X *

(Future improvements still planned:

Eventually I’ll also need to get a specialized minibike or other seated leg exerciser I can use while seated at my desk and another I can use while reading at home or at my home computer.

They don’t yet make those that I know of but most people today need them. Given the health harm of sitting too much and how many people do that, these minibikes or other seated exerciser for your legs and chairs that match them well are coming soon I think.

Walking burns about 300 calories an hour. (200 if you are skinny and walk slowly to over 500 if you walk really fast or walk somewhat fast but are much heavier.)

Using a seated minibike or other seated exerciser that you use much less effort on but keep moving slowly most of the time you sit can easily burn 50 calories an hour.

Then if like many people today you sit for 6 hours a day, you could easily add an extra 2100 calories a week by using a seated minibike exerciser most of the time you sit at home or at work. That would help people lose about 2 and a half pounds a month for a few months once they got into the habit of always using one.

If I’d used one of the seated minibikes since I began my current fatloss plan, I’d still need to add the extra muscle to be at my goal weight. But I’d be trying to add muscle weight to get back to my goal weight! That’s because I’d be 10 to 15 pounds less fat.)

I’ve also had an idea for awhile. Before sewing machines had electric power, they had an under the work area treadle that was designed to be effective but avoid distracting the person sewing from doing their sewing.

It may be possible to find an antique sewing machine and find a manufacturer to make a design of that treadle mechanism that would do the same for people working at a desk.

It’s proven to do the job needed in actual use!)

I’ll let you know how my additional planned changes and efforts work next month.

My monthly fatloss progress report....

Today's Post: Monday, 2-20-2012

Since last month, The good news is on building more muscle. And, so far, that news is VERY good.

On my one-legged squats while holding a dumbbell, I went from 12 for each leg while holding a 25 lb dbl to 14 for each leg while holding the 25 lb dbl AND a 15 lb dbl in my other hand. Since the one legged style is like doing about 165 lbs on a barbell two legged squat, that's possibly as much as now doing 245 lbs.

I bought a 30 lb dbl last month just after my January measuring session. Then that Monday, I replaced the 25 lb dbl I'd been doing all my one handed upper body exercises with using that 30 lb dbl. It took some getting used to but I'm already about where I was with the 25 since that upgrade was long overdue.

Then, the Saturday I measured this time, I bought a 50 lb dbl to use with one handed shoulder shrugs and bent over rows. And, I bought a 35 lb dbl to begin to work up to on the 30 pound exercises now.

When I went to the gym I used 55 lb dbls for shrugs and 75 lb dbls for bent over rows. So the 50 pound dbl is also long overdue. But since I've not used it for a good bit, it will take getting used to AND between the two newest dbls and the 30 lb one from last month, I think I can add some muscle.

For example, if I can manage building up to one legged squats, getting into and standing up from a lunge position holding the 35 lb dbl in one hand and the 50 in the other, that will be somewhat similar to doing squats with 330 lb. If I manage to do that and not have any injuries achieving that WILL add muscle to my legs and butt and likely enough to shrink my waist!

That’s the good news.

However, since last month I gained one & a half pounds on the scale. That’s the bad news. It's even worse news too since in addition, the month before, I'd gained two and a half pounds. So although I'd lost two pounds the two months before that, in the past two months, I gained four pounds despite maintaining my basic fat loss eating pattern that initially lost me close to 20 pounds. I have kept half that off. But to be at my goal weight I now need to lose at least 8 pounds and have it all be fat.

But that's not all the bad news. Last month I'd lost some on my waist the month before. This time, I gained that back & about a quarter of an inch more. Since my goal is to lose 4 to 6 inches on my waist, clearly I need to lose the 8 pounds AND at least 15 pounds more of fat more that I replace with 15 pounds of muscle.

I may be on track for the muscle gain. But I need to do a good bit more to lose fat too.

The last two months was my holiday weight gain as you'll see. But had my fat loss program been on track, I'd have not gained any or just a pound or two NOT four pounds.

So, I need to boost my fat loss efforts.

First, here's why it was my holiday weight gain. I was really under the weather for Thanksgiving. So although I managed to go and enjoy the people, I had no appetite to eat much or enjoy the dinner. SO, I made up for that at Christmas dinner (on purpose) & ate a Thanksgiving sized meal when I'd have been a bit more restrained had Thanksgiving been normal.

Then at the end of last month, the local football team, was in the playoffs on a day I could go to the sports bar for crab cakes and beer. They lost but played well enough to win and very nearly did.

Then I watched the Superbowl at the sports bar and had crab cakes and a bit more beer.

Lastly, a week ago yesterday, there was a family dinner for my birthday. I ate well at that and had extra of the superb & very chocolate-y brownies they had for dessert!

I ate enough at those 3 dinners since I measured last month to and the Christmas dinner the month before, that had I not ate right the rest of the time and exercised, I could easily have gained more than 4 pounds!

But clearly I wasn't eating well enough to gain no pounds to replace the four pounds of fat I was losing the rest of that time.

Plus now I need to lose 8 pounds instead of 4 to get back to my goal weight.

What to do?

Because my breakfasts lunches and dinners are mostly OK and virtually the same from week to week, what varies for me is my after dinner snacks.

The better news is that the past two month I kept the journal I began about 2 months ago.

But the other part of the plan was a no show. My planned increase in broccoli was low and sporadic although I DID manage some. But it wasn't virtually every day by a long ways! And, eating less almond butter simply did NOT happen at all.

So, it's clear I need a larger and more easily accessible supply of raw broccoli florets to fill me up virtually every evening and to be far more strict on eating the spoons of almond butter. The two are solidly linked. I can eat only one serving of the almond butter on my less strict every other day and none at all on my strict days. But to be full enough to manage that, I need the larger and more easily accessible supply of raw broccoli florets to fill me up available each evening which it has not yet been.

I have a new plan to make the larger and more easily accessible supply of raw broccoli florets available each evening. Let's see by next month how I do.

I think I'll lose a pound or two a month once that's in place. What I don't know is if it will lose me all of the 8 pounds before it stops causing fat loss. We certainly will find out!

Part of the 4 pound gain over the two months was from the extra wine at the two family dinners and the beer two times that was in addition to what I normally drink.

Last week that was back to normal and it will be quite a while before those special occasions happen again.


So last month offers some promise and had some progress despite the bad news on the scale and tape measure.

(I now need to lose 8 pounds total to return to my goal weight. And, I still need to lose at least four to 6 inches off my waist.

According to pictures I’ve seen, I’m now at about 25 % bodyfat. To remove my abdominal fat, according to those same pictures, I also need to add enough muscle to stay at or just slightly below my goal weight AND lose about 12% to 15% of my current bodyweight as fat.

This translates into losing 20 to 28 pounds of fat while gaining 12 to 20 pounds of muscle.)

I'm finally putting the initial plan in place to add the muscle. But the fat loss part still needs some work. And so does my total calories of exercise and activity. I average 1400 calories a week now. But 3500 would be better. The good news is that there may be a 2100 calorie a week fix I can actually do. The next section repeats that from last time.

* X * X *X *

(Future improvements still planned:

Eventually I’ll also need to get a specialized minibike or other seated leg exerciser I can use while seated at my desk and another I can use while reading at home or at my home computer.

They don’t yet make those that I know of but most people today need them. Given the health harm of sitting too much and how many people do that, these minibikes or other seated exerciser for your legs and chairs that match them well are coming soon I think.

Walking burns about 300 calories an hour. (200 if you are skinny and walk slowly to over 500 if you walk really fast or walk somewhat fast but are much heavier.)

Using a seated minibike or other seated exerciser that you use much less effort on but keep moving slowly most of the time you sit can easily burn 50 calories an hour.

Then if like many people today you sit for 6 hours a day, you could easily add an extra 2100 calories a week by using a seated minibike exerciser most of the time you sit at home or at work. That would help people lose about 2 and a half pounds a month for a few months once they got into the habit of always using one.

If I’d used one of the seated minibikes since I began my current fatloss plan, I’d still need to add the extra muscle to be at my goal weight. But I’d be trying to add muscle weight to get back to my goal weight! That’s because I’d be 10 to 15 pounds less fat.)

I’ve also had an idea for awhile. Before sewing machines had electric power, they had an under the work area treadle that was designed to be effective but avoid distracting the person sewing from doing their sewing.

It may be possible to find an antique sewing machine and find a manufacturer to make a design of that treadle mechanism that would do the same for people working at a desk.

It’s proven to do the job needed in actual use!)

I’ll let you know how my additional planned changes and efforts work next month.

My monthly fatloss progress report....

Today's Post: Monday, 1-23-2012

Since last month, I lost a half inch or so off my waist. My chest and hips dropped about an eighth of an inch too.

That’s the good news.

I gained 2 & a half pounds on the scale. That’s the bad news.

The summary is that to lose size and inches while gaining on the scale means that all or most of the weight gain on the scale was muscle.

But to not lose on the scale or to gain that much, I likely had no fat loss.

So last month was a mixed review.

I seem to have gained muscle without any fat loss. Since I did more exercise, I ate a bit more than I should have to lose fat at the same time.

Once again, there are three reasons for it.

First, I got more exercise and more exercise likely to build muscle.

I was able to keep up my one legged squats with a dumbbell and do more repetitions each time. I have completely managed to restore my whole jump rope sessions and kettlebell exercises twice each week completely since building back from the very bad cold I had in late November.

And, we had to walk quite a bit to take transit during the almost two weeks our car was in the shop because they were too busy to get to it right away. Quite brisk 10 or 20 or 30 or 40 minute walks several times each week is a proven way to lose extra fat. Even if you have been doing leg exercises, it hits your legs from many extra angles. So if you haven’t been in practice doing it, you do build new muscle in your legs and butt.

Second, although I did my partial fast at lunch each Thursday, I did slip a bit on my alcoholic drinks. They increased from 8.5 a week to 9.5 or 10. I plan to get that back to 8.5 a week this next month.

Third, even though I did keep a log of my after dinner snacks each evening – my new strategy I just began – and I did eat a serving of broccoli most evenings, and I wasn’t excessive in eating almond butter, I apparently now need to eat it a bit less by eating it with dinner OR as an after dinner snack but not both. Or I need to eat some nonfat cottage cheese and more broccoli instead of having any almond butter as a snack on my stricter days. I’ll try both this next month to see if that helps.

(I now need to lose 6 and a half pounds total to return to my goal weight. And, I still need to lose at least four to 6 inches off my waist.

According to pictures I’ve seen, I’m now at about 22 % bodyfat or a bit more, perhaps 25%. To remove my abdominal fat, according to those same pictures, I also need to add enough muscle to stay at or just slightly below my goal weight AND lose about 12% to 15% of my current bodyweight as fat.

This translates into losing 18 to 24 pounds of fat while gaining 14 to 20 pounds of muscle.)

My strength training has gone decently lately.

But I need to add some heavier dumbbells now to add more muscle. My largest one now is 25 pounds. So I plan to buy a 30 pound one and may get a 35 pound one too this upcoming weekend.

They will come in handy on my new program, doing a set of squats with one leg at a time, one for each leg, three times a week. I’m at 11 repetitions once for each leg while holding a 25 pound dumbbell. (Last month I was doing 11 with not dumbbell at all. Doing them while holding the 25 pound dumbbell, I’ll be at 14 reps soon. Once I do that, I’ll add holding the 30 pound dumbbell as I do them. That will be as if I added 60 pounds to doing two legged squats. (Then I’ll build up to using holding the 35 pound one and then to holding a dumbbell in each hand. I can do that even before I get another even heavier dumbbell.)

Eventually that will add some thigh and butt muscle and increase my pounds of muscle. In fact, I have already been able to do them without holding a support post for balance now as I hold the 25 pound dumbbell. (Last month I was using no weight and holding on to a balance post.)

So far, that plan is working and it likely helped my improvement on the tape measure.

So by continuing to do and make progress on my strength training, I plan to keep adding muscle.

Next month I’ll focus on continuing to make progress on my strength training and on eating more fiber and nonfat protein and less almond butter.

And I’ll keep doing my other exercises and every other day stricter eating plan and the few daily calorie cut backs I added.

Ideally, I’d like to gain another pound of muscle and lose 5 pounds of fat by next month. That would show as a 4 pound weight loss on the scale. And, it would cut my waist another half inch or more.

* X * X *X *

(Future improvements still planned:

Eventually I’ll also need to get a specialized minibike or other seated leg exerciser I can use while seated at my desk and another I can use while reading at home or at my home computer.

They don’t yet make those that I know of but most people today need them. Given the health harm of sitting too much and how many people do that, these minibikes or other seated exerciser for your legs and chairs that match them well are coming soon I think.

Walking burns about 300 calories an hour. (200 if you are skinny and walk slowly to over 500 if you walk really fast or walk somewhat fast but are much heavier.)

Using a seated minibike or other seated exerciser that you use much less effort on but keep moving slowly most of the time you sit can easily burn 50 calories an hour.

Then if like many people today you sit for 6 hours a day, you could easily add an extra 2100 calories a week by using a seated minibike exerciser most of the time you sit at home or at work. That would help people lose about 2 and a half pounds a month for a few months once they got into the habit of always using one.

If I’d used one of the seated minibikes since I began my current fatloss plan, I’d still need to add the extra muscle to be at my goal weight. But I’d be trying to add muscle weight to get back to my goal weight! That’s because I’d be 10 to 15 pounds less fat.)

I’ve also had an idea for awhile. Before sewing machines had electric power, they had an under the work area treadle that was designed to be effective but avoid distracting the person sewing from doing their sewing.

It may be possible to find an antique sewing machine and find a manufacturer to make a design of that treadle mechanism that would do the same for people working at a desk.

It’s proven to do the job needed in actual use!)

The best good news is that most of what I did to lose the 15 pounds I wanted and 3 pounds extra I lost temporarily is still in place. I’m still doing those things too. And, I am still about 10 pounds lighter than I was when I started.

I’ll certainly keep doing those things!

I’ll let you know how my additional planned changes and efforts work next month.

My monthly fatloss progress report....

Today's Post: Monday, 12-19-2011

Since last month, I lost another pound.

That’s the good news. And, there are three reasons for it.

First, except for the Thursday that was Thanksgiving, I did my partial fast at lunch the other Thursdays. Second, I was able to skip drinking an extra day and averaged my new and lower number of alcoholic drinks each week, 8.5, despite drinking a bit extra on Thanksgiving. Third, one of the people who usually brings a food to Thanksgiving that I eat a bit extra was unable to make it. And other things happened too such as less appetite due to my cold, so I ate less at Thanksgiving than I have in the past.

I’m pleased the partial fast at lunch method is still working and that I was able to avoid drinking extra for the month. Clearly I’d have weighed more and gotten even fatter had I not done them.

But the bad news is that on both of the two measures of my waist I take -- a bit tight AND a bit relaxed, I gained about three quarters of an inch.

That means I lost lean weight and got fatter! Oops!

To do that I clearly lost muscle. On a guess, I gained a couple pounds of fat and lost three pounds of muscle.

What happened on the gaining muscle side that caused me to lose it instead?

Simple. In between 11-19 & 12-17, the Saturdays I took my monthly measurements, on 11-22 I came down with a really bad cold.

Much to my shock, with all the things I do that make colds half as bad and only half as long, THIS cold was triple strength! The bad part of the cold lasted a week. The almost as bad part lasted a second week. And, it took another two weeks to recover my strength and cough up all the gunk in my chest in addition.

Colds are worse in the late afternoon and early evening. And my Monday and Weds evening jump rope sessions need extra energy and deep breathing. So I had to skip those sessions. I suspect I lost muscle from my legs and butt by doing so.

In addition, I kept up my morning exercise sessions. But to avoid making my cold worse, I used lighter weight and less repetitions. So, here again I suspect I lost some muscle.

The far better news is that the recent several morning sessions are back to normal and I’ll be able to get back to my jump rope sessions tonight.

My hope is that I gain the muscle back by next month, that I lose another pound, AND lose back the 3/4 inch from my waist or even lose an inch.

(My main goal now that I’m close to my goal weight is to lose inches off my waist by adding muscle on my larger muscles like my chest and butt and legs and keep those two measures the same or increase them.

Clearly I went backwards on this one last month. Although I may not make progress on more, over the next month I should be able to regain the muscle I had.)

Also, I had a plan to get a log book pad of paper to keep track of the broccoli I ate each evening. But I was too tired in the evenings from the cold to make the extra effort at all to unthaw the frozen broccoli florets and eat some. And, I was too short on time and energy to buy the kind of log book pad of paper I plan to use.

I will have some extra shopping time the Monday after Christmas to buy the log book pad of paper. And, I’ve had excellent results following through on things I once use a log book system to track.

So, between adding back the muscle and the one day a week partial fast at lunch and that evening effort, I believe I’ll again lose a pound on the scale by next month.

The combination of adding muscle and losing weight should cut back on my waist measurements. Next month, the weight loss should be fat loss and my fat loss should be greater than the weight loss!

Let’s hope so!

I now need to lose 4 pounds total to return to my goal weight. And, I still need to lose at least four to 6 inches off my waist.

According to pictures I’ve seen, I’m now at about 22 % bodyfat or a bit more, perhaps 25%. To remove my abdominal fat, according to those same pictures, I also need to add enough muscle to stay at or just slightly below my goal weight AND lose about 12% to 15% of my current bodyweight as fat.

This translates into losing 18 to 24 pounds of fat while gaining 14 to 20 pounds of muscle.

My strength training has gone decently lately – once I finally got over my cold; but I need to add some heavier dumbbells now and eventually will need to go to the gym to use heavier weights as well to do that.

That’s mostly true for leg exercises since I’ve not done enough heavier or more challenging exercises for them.

THAT I’ve begun doing something about.

Not long ago I began doing a set of squats with one leg at a time, one for each leg, two times a week. I’m only at 11 repetitions once for each leg. But I can clearly keep adding one each time for quite awhile. In fact, it has gotten enough easier, I’ll be at 14 reps soon. Once I do that, I’ll add holding the 25 pound dumbbell as I do them. That will be as if I added 50 pounds to doing two legged squats. (Then once I get some heavier dumbbells, I can add more weight.)

Eventually that will add some thigh and butt muscle and increase my pounds of muscle. In fact, I may be able to get a more solid balancing post and add a dumbbell of enough weight to make this more likely.

So far, that plan is working but is still at too early a stage to expect much on the scale or tape measure.

(Eventually I’ll also need to get a specialized minibike or other seated leg exerciser I can use while seated at my desk and another I can use while reading at home.

They don’t yet make those that I know of but most people today need them. Given the health harm of sitting too much and how many people do that, these minibikes or other seated exerciser for your legs and chairs that match them well are coming soon I think.

Walking burns about 300 calories an hour. (200 if you are skinny and walk slowly to over 500 if you walk really fast or walk somewhat fast but are much heavier.)

Using a seated minibike or other seated exerciser that you use much less effort on but keep moving slowly most of the time you sit can easily burn 50 calories an hour.

Then if like many people today you sit for 6 hours a day, you could easily add an extra 2100 calories a week by using a seated minibike exerciser most of the time you sit at home or at work. That would help people lose about 2 and a half pounds a month for a few months once they got into the habit of always using one.

If I’d used one of the seated minibikes since I began my current fatloss plan, I’d still need to add the extra muscle to be at my goal weight. But I’d be trying to add muscle weight to get back to my goal weight! That’s because I’d be 10 to 15 pounds less fat.)

I’ve also had an idea for awhile. Before sewing machines had electric power, they had an under the work area treadle that was designed to be effective but avoid distracting the person sewing from doing their sewing.

It may be possible to find an antique sewing machine and find a manufacturer to make a design of that treadle mechanism that would do the same for people working at a desk.

It’s proven to do the job needed in actual use!

The best good news is that most of what I did to lose the 15 pounds I wanted and 3 pounds extra I lost temporarily is still in place. I’m still doing those things. And, I am still 11 pounds lighter than I was when I started.

I’ll certainly keep doing those things!

I’ll let you know how my additional planned changes and efforts work next month!

My monthly fatloss progress report....

Today's Post: Monday, 11-21-2011

Since last month, I lost pound. I’m now a pound lighter than I was a month ago and was three months ago.

But, on the two measures of my waist I take a bit tight and a bit relaxed, I gained a bit about a quarter of an inch.

The half inch losses were from my chest measurement and from my hip measurement.

(My main goal now that I’m close to my goal weight is to lose inches off my waist by adding muscle on my larger muscles like my chest and butt and legs and keep those two measures the same or increase them.

I would have been much happier to keep those the same and have lost the inches all on my waist.)

Also, I weighed half way through the month and lost the pound the first part of the month. That means that my partial fast did succeed in removing that pound and keep me from gaining it back.

But I still need something more to lose the several pounds of belly fat and small bit of weight on the scale I want to lose.

Oh well! Again this month, the results are not bad news; but they aren’t the good news I want either.

(Here’s how that relates to Thanksgiving coming up in a few days by the way.

Last Friday we posted on how to cook for Thanksgiving to still have the traditional favorites but cut the damage to your health and limit the fat gain.

And, tomorrow, we’ll post on ways to eat and enjoy the Thanksgiving day dinner that allow you to have your favorites but which also limit the damage.

To get permanent fat loss you need to keep track of how you are doing at least once a month and take corrective measures when indicated as I have with these monthly posts.

You also will do better if you employ the strategies in these two posts for holiday meals.

Thanksgiving and the other yearly holidays come every year.

By doing these few key things, including keeping up your monthly tracking you’ll not gain much when you enjoy the yearly holidays.

It’s even possible to gain Zero extra fat or pounds on the scale during the holiday season. I’ve done that before and expect to do so this year.

That means if you lose fat and weight and do likewise, the fat you lost will stay off permanently DESPITE enjoying Thanksgiving and other holidays.)

Back to my report for the last month.

I was under extra stress the past month from worry about losing a major tool to stay healthy due to the FDA threatening to remove it completely and a personal medical issue that was and is worrisome.

That tends to cause your appetite to increase and for any fat you do gain to go to your waist.

I found my control of eating almond butter only in small amounts and to eat broccoli each evening was very poor.

These things explain why I gained on my waist instead of losing and why I didn’t lose a second pound the second half of the month.

The good news is I’m still working at gaining leverage and effectiveness at ending the threat the FDA will remove virtually all supplements regardless of their protective value in preventing diseases and the avoiding the costs to treat them.

I made progress just this morning and have an idea of how get a much more powerful person than I to help.

I’m also working at gaining leverage and effectiveness at stopping and reversing the minor medical problem. On that I’ve even seen a bit of progress.

Next month, I will also make an enormous effort to be more controlled about eating less almond butter and always eating broccoli each evening.

For the month from last Saturday to a month from now, I’ll keep a log of those 2 things.

I’ve found that effective to do things new to me when I do it. And for some things, I’ve found if I don’t, nothing happens!

I now need to lose 5 pounds total to return to my goal weight. And, I still need to lose at least three to 6 inches off my waist.

According to pictures I’ve seen, I’m now at about 22 % bodyfat or a bit more, perhaps 25%. To remove my abdominal fat, according to those same pictures, I also need to add enough muscle to stay at or just slightly below my goal weight AND lose about 12% to 15% of my current bodyweight as fat.

This translates into losing 20 to 25 pounds of fat while gaining 14 to 20 pounds of muscle.

My strength training has gone decently lately; but I’ll eventually need to add some heavier dumbbells and go the gym to use heavier weights as well to do that.

That’s mostly true for leg exercises since I’ve not done enough heavier or more challenging exercises for them.

THAT I’ve begun doing something about.

Last month I began doing a set of squats with one leg one for each leg two times a week. I’m only at 8 repetitions once for each leg. But I can clearly keep adding one each time for quite awhile. Eventually that will add some thigh and butt muscle and increase my pounds of muscle. In fact, I may be able to get a more solid balancing post and add a dumbbell of enough weight to make this more likely.

So far, that plan is working but is still at too early a stage to expect much on the scale or tape measure.

(Eventually I’ll also need to get a specialized minibike exerciser I can use while seated at my desk and another I can use while reading at home.

They don’t yet make those that I know of but most people today need them. Given the health harm of sitting too much and how many people do that, these minibikes and chairs that match them well are coming soon I think.

Walking burns about 300 calories an hour. (200 if you are skinny and walk slowly to over 500 if you walk really fast or walk somewhat fast but are much heavier.)

Using a seated minibike exerciser that you use much less effort on but keep moving slowly most of the time you sit can easily burn 50 calories an hour.

Then if like many people today you sit for 6 hours a day, you could easily add an extra 2100 calories a week by using a seated minibike exerciser most of the time you sit at home or at work. That would help people lose about 2 and a half pounds a month for a few months once they got into the habit of always using one.

If I’d used one of the seated minibikes since I began my current fatloss plan, I’d still need to add the extra muscle to be at my goal weight. But I’d be trying to add muscle weight to get back to my goal weight! That’s because I’d be 10 to 15 pounds less fat.)

I’ve also had a new idea. Before sewing machines had electric power, they had an under the work area treadle that was designed to be effective but avoid distracting the person sewing from their sewing.

It may be possible to find an antique sewing machine and find a manufacturer to make a design of that treadle mechanism that would do the same for people working at a desk.

It’s proven to do the job needed in actual use!

A. Last month, my two part plan to eat differently was a bit worse due to following it inconsistently.

1. My plan to eat less almond butter was a bit worse.

I did successfully use the smaller spoon and a bit smaller serving only. The problem was that I ate about four times too many servings!

2. I had also planned to eat a few thawed frozen, organic, broccoli sprouts in place of the almond butter. (I had found before that adding nonstarchy vegetables is effective.)

Likewise, my plan to eat thawed frozen, organic, broccoli sprouts still worked.

But last month, I put the frozen chunks in their container much LESS consistently and ate some of the thawed florets only on a few evenings compared to the months before that.

B. I still had the significant worry most of last month. But I have taken action to try to resolve it. And, I have worked on building a just in case strategy too since last month.

I’ll still worry for quite a while since it will take months to know if my efforts helped, but I’m somewhat calmer emotionally. That will help me avoid gaining fat from eating too many comfort foods.

C. The best good news is that most of what I did to lose the 15 pounds I wanted and 3 pounds extra I lost temporarily is still in place. I’m still doing those things. And, I am still 10 pounds lighter than I was when I started.

I’ll certainly keep doing those things!

D. But one of the better pieces of news is that I was able to sustain my new and added way to cut calories last month.

I read two separate reports on this. One said that fasting one day a week tended to cut pounds of fat without triggering the famine response and even had health benefits. The other said that eating your normal breakfast and then just that one day, skipping your lunch and dinner had the same effect.

I’m not convinced that’s really a benefit to your health when you already don’t pig out on tons of calories of harmful foods. Nor do I think I’m likely to be able to do it or keep doing it.

BUT, I’ve decided to try something along those lines last month.

For lunch on Thursdays, I’ve been eating walnuts, pecans, a half sandwich on whole grain bread, a serving of raw broccoli and baby food winter squash. And, I’ve been eating cooked pinto beans, parmesan cheese, extra virgin olive oil, spices, and nonfat cottage cheese plus pasta sauce for dinner.

Now, on Thursdays only, I’ll only eat the serving of raw broccoli for lunch.

And, I’ll delete the pinto beans and the nonfat cottage cheese and the parmesan cheese and half the extra virgin olive oil and pasta sauce and put the remaining pasta sauce and extra virgin olive oil the baby food winter squash only that I have been eating for lunch.

The calories not in those two meals are close to enough 825 calories to cause a one pound fat loss each month.

It did work the first part of last month. And, I found it surprisingly doable.

The key issue, of course, it will only be effective if I can do it without adding a larger snack or eating extra the following day – AND if I can do it on a permanent basis!

The early reading is that keeping it up is doable for me. But avoiding giving it back by eating extra at other times didn’t work well for the second half of last month.

If my fix by keeping a record of my evening snacks works next month and from then on, that will help!

It’s still possible that if it almost works and is stays doable, I may be able to make it work better by adding some non-caloric fiber so my tummy doesn’t get quite so empty.

(PGX from the kanjac root does work for some people for this purpose and to slow blood sugar rise for people who need that. But I’d prefer to do without the added expense; it may tend to plug me up too much; and it soaks up water enough it may tend to prevent uptake of water soluble vitamins.)

So, I’ll try doing without it first. Then I’ll try half the suggested amount of the PGX just at dinner. If I can do this strategy either of those two ways, this one strategy added to what I’m already doing will cause me to lose about 14 pounds of fat over a year or so.

At worst, I’ll lose back the 5 pounds of fat I’m now carrying above my goal weight and get me back down to my goal weight.

At best, I’ll lose the 14 pounds of fat or more and add 9 pounds or more of muscle from my other work and my waist will finally get noticeably smaller and still have me at my goal weight.

I’ll let you know how these changes work next month!

My monthly fatloss progress report....

Today's Post: Monday, 10-17-2011

Since last month, I gained a half pound. Since a month ago I’d lost a half a pound, I now weigh about what I did two months ago – that’s better than a net gain. But it’s not the progress I want either!

Of the two measures of my waist I take to try to make them more comparable, the conservative, relaxed one was less and the more normal and slightly tense one was about that much more. Oh well! Again, that’s not bad news; but it’s not the good news I want either

The normally but not excessively relaxed waist measure, the conservative one, was 39 & 1/4 inches -- a bit less than that same measure was last month. The normally but not excessively tense measure was about 38 & 3/4 inches -- a bit more.

I now need to lose 6 pounds total to return to my goal weight. And, I still need to lose at least three to 6 inches off my waist.

According to pictures I’ve seen, I’m now at about 22 % bodyfat or a bit more, perhaps 25%. To remove my abdominal fat, according to those same pictures, I also need to add enough muscle to stay at or just slightly below my goal weight AND lose about 12% to 15% of my current bodyweight as fat.

This translates into losing 20 to 25 pounds of fat while gaining 14 to 20 pounds of muscle.

My strength training has gone decently lately; but I’ll eventually need to add some heavier dumbbells and go the gym to use heavier weights as well to do that. That’s mostly true for leg exercises since I’ve not done enough heavier exercises for them.

(Eventually I’ll also need to get a specialized minibike exerciser I can use while seated at my desk and another I can use while reading at home.

They don’t yet make those that I know of but most people today need them. Given the health harm of sitting too much and how many people do that, these minibikes and chairs that match them well are coming soon I think.

Walking burns about 300 calories an hour. (200 if you are skinny and walk slowly to over 500 if you walk really fast or walk somewhat fast but are much heavier.)

Using a seated minibike exerciser that you use much less effort on but keep moving slowly most of the time you sit can easily burn 50 calories an hour.

Then if like many people today you sit for 6 hours a day, you could easily add an extra 2100 calories a week by using a seated minibike exerciser most of the time you sit at home or at work. That would help people lose about 2 and a half pounds a month for a few months once they got into the habit of always using one.

If I’d used one of the seated minibikes since I began my current fatloss plan, I’d still need to add the extra muscle to be at my goal weight. But I’d be trying to add muscle weight to get back to my goal weight! That’s because I’d be 10 to 15 pounds less fat.)

A. Last month, my two part plan to eat differently was a bit better.

1. My plan to eat less almond butter was a bit better.

I was unable to cut back to one serving a week. But I did about the same number of servings but used a smaller spoon and a bit smaller serving.

2. I had also planned to eat a few thawed frozen, organic, broccoli sprouts in place of the almond butter. (I had found before that adding nonstarchy vegetables is effective.)

I DID still manage to eat a good bit more thawed frozen, organic, broccoli sprouts last month. I put the frozen chunks in their container much more consistently and ate some of the thawed florets most evenings compared to three months ago.

B. I still had the significant worry most of last month. But I have taken action to try to resolve it. And, I have worked on building a just in case strategy too since last month.

I’ll still worry for quite a while since it will take months to know if my efforts helped, but I’m somewhat calmer emotionally. That will help me avoid gaining fat from eating too many comfort foods.

C. Because before this month, I got a minor injury doing my jump rope in part because I skipped doing it a bit too often, I did not skip my jump rope sessions at all this past month. Now that I’ve done that and the cooler weather is arriving, I’ll begin to build that back. Then I’ll try to make some progress!

Similarly, I was doing my short kettlebell routine just after my jump rope, but I skipped it to help me be sure to do the jump rope one day a week and the other day when I was doing it more often, I also skipped for the same reason and because it was too hot. Now the cooler weather is arriving, I’ll begin do my short kettlebell routine again and to build that back and eventually return to making progress in it.

D. I haven’t the time on Thursday nights to go to the gym for heavier leg exercise. But I will begin to experiment with doing one leg at a time half squats and begin to work to do full squats holding my kettlebell. That will almost be as much work as squatting with 225 pounds with two legs. That’s still not much weight; but it’s a good bit more than I have been using!

If that works and adds some muscle to my legs and butt, my waist should go down and the scale may go down also.

E. The good news is that most of what I did to lose the 15 pounds I wanted and 3 pounds extra I lost temporarily is still in place. I’m still doing those things. And, I am still 9 pounds lighter than I was when I started.

I’ll certainly keep doing those things!

F. But the real news is that I will try a new way to cut calories next month.

I read two separate reports on this. One said that fasting one day a week tended to cut pounds of fat without triggering the famine response and even had health benefits. The other said that eating your normal breakfast and then just that one day, skipping your lunch and dinner had the same effect.

I’m not convinced that’s really a benefit to your health when you already don’t pig out on tons of calories of harmful foods. Nor do I think I’m likely to be able to do it or keep doing it.

BUT, I’ve decided to try something along those lines next month.

For lunch on Thursdays, I’ve been eating walnuts, pecans, a half sandwich on whole grain bread, a serving of raw broccoli and baby food winter squash. And, I’ve been eating cooked pinto beans, parmesan cheese, extra virgin olive oil, spices, and nonfat cottage cheese plus pasta sauce for dinner.

This month, on Thursdays only, I’ll only eat the serving of raw broccoli for lunch.

And, I’ll delete the pinto beans and the nonfat cottage cheese and the parmesan cheese and half the extra virgin olive oil and pasta sauce and put the remaining past sauce and extra virgin olive oil the baby food winter squash only that I have been eating for lunch.

The calories not in those two meals are close to enough 825 calories to cause a one pound fat loss by next month. That, of course, is only if I can do it without adding a large snack or eating extra the following day – AND if I can do it on a permanent basis!

The better news is that if it almost works and is almost doable, I may be able to make it work by adding some non-caloric fiber so my tummy doesn’t get quite so empty.

(PGX from the kanjac root does work for some people for this purpose and to slow blood sugar rise for people who need that. But I’d prefer to do without the added expense; it may tend to plug me up too much; and it soaks up water enough it may tend to prevent uptake of water soluble vitamins.)

So, I’ll try doing without it first. Then I’ll try half the suggested amount of the PGX just at dinner. If I can do this strategy either of those two ways, this one strategy added to what I’m already doing will cause me to lose about 14 pounds of fat over a year or so.

At worst, I’ll lose back the 6 pounds of fat I’m now carrying above my goal weight and get me back down to my goal weight.

At best, I’ll lose the 14 pounds of fat or more and add 8 pounds or more of muscle from my other work and my waist will finally get noticeably smaller and still have me at my goal weight.

I’ll let you know how that works next month!

My monthly fatloss progress report....

Today's Post: Monday, 9-19-2011

Since last month, I lost a half pound.

This past month my waist measured the same as the month before.

I also took two measures to try to make them more comparable. The normally but not excessively relaxed waist measure, the conservative one, was the same 39 & 3/4 inches as that same measure last month. The normally but not excessively tense measure was about 38 inches.

I now need to lose 5 1/2 pounds total to return to my goal weight. And, I still need to lose at least three to 6 inches off my waist.

According to pictures I’ve seen, I’m now at about 22 % bodyfat or a bit more, perhaps 25%. To remove my abdominal fat, according to those same pictures, I also need to add enough muscle to stay at or just slightly below my goal weight AND lose about 12% to 15% of my current bodyweight as fat.

This translates into losing 20 to 25 pounds of fat while gaining 14 to 20 pounds of muscle.

My strength training has gone decently lately; but I’ll eventually need to add some heavier dumbbells and go the gym to use heavier weights as well to do that. That’s mostly true for leg exercises since I’ve not done enough heavier exercises for them.

(Eventually I’ll also need to get a specialized minibike exerciser I can use while seated at my desk and another I can use while reading at home.

They don’t yet make those that I know of but most people today need them. Given the health harm of sitting too much and how many people do that, these minibikes and chairs that match them well are coming soon I think.

Walking burns about 300 calories an hour. (200 if you are skinny and walk slowly to over 500 if you walk really fast or walk somewhat fast but are much heavier.)

Using a seated minibike exerciser that you use much less effort on but keep moving slowly most of the time you sit can easily burn 50 calories an hour.

Then if like many people today you sit for 6 hours a day, you could easily add an extra 2100 calories a week by using a seated minibike exerciser most of the time you sit at home or at work. That would help people lose about 2 and a half pounds a month for a few months once they got into the habit of always using one.

If I’d used one of the seated minibikes since I began my current fatloss plan, I’d still need to add the extra muscle to be at my goal weight. But I’d be trying to add muscle weight to get back to my goal weight! That’s because I’d be 10 to 15 pounds less fat.

A. Last month, my two part plan to eat differently was a bit better.

1. My plan to eat less almond butter was a bit better.

I was unable to cut back to one serving a week. But I did cut back last month a bit from what I ate the month before that.

2. I had also planned to eat a few thawed frozen, organic, broccoli sprouts in place of the almond butter. (I had found before that adding nonstarchy vegetables is effective.)

I DID manage to eat a good bit more thawed frozen, organic, broccoli sprouts last month. I put the frozen chunks in their container much more consistently and ate some of the thawed florets most evenings last month.

To the extent that I ate less almond butter, this likely was what helped me to do that.

That was my most important goal for last month.

Next month I need to be sure to continue doing this!

B. I still had the significant worry most of last month. But I have taken action to resolve it. And, I have worked on building a just in case strategy too since last month.

I’ll still worry for quite a while since it will take months to know if my efforts helped, but I’m somewhat calmer emotionally. That will help me avoid gaining fat from eating too many comfort foods.

C. Though some of my progress was stopped by a minor injury on my two evenings a week doing jump rope, I was making progress before that. And, wanting to make sure the minor injury stays healed once it does, even though I had to cut back a bit from what I had planned, I’ve been better about doing the jump rope both evenings a week instead of just once.

D. The week before my measurement day last month, my wife and I went to a special breakfast. I ate well. I don’t think I ate enough extra to gain 3 pounds. But some of the 3 pounds I gained last month may be because I overdid a bit then.

We were unable to go to that monthly event this time. So that may have helped too.

E. The good news is that most of what I did to lose the 15 pounds I wanted and 3 pounds extra is still in place. I’m still doing those things. And, I am still 9 and 1/2 pounds lighter than I was when I started.

I’ll keep that up and work to implement the fixes from the problems I had last month and the month before.

I’ll let you know how that works next month!

My monthly fatloss progress report....

Today's Post: Monday, 8-22-2011

Since last month, I gained three pounds! So, after I lost 2 pounds the month before, for the two months since June, I gained a pound.

This past month my waist went up about an inch. And, though I may have measured differently than the month before, I definitely looked and felt fatter there.

I now need to lose 6 pounds total to return to my goal weight. And, I still need to lose at least two to 5 inches off my waist.

According to pictures I’ve seen, I’m now at about 22 % bodyfat or a bit more, perhaps 25%. To remove my abdominal fat, according to those same pictures, I also need to add enough muscle to stay at or just slightly below my goal weight AND lose about 12% of my current bodyweight as fat.

Last month, I left everything the same except four things

1. My two part plan to eat less almond butter did NOT work.

I think I must have doubled how much I ate. So my new plan is to cut back to one serving a week on only one day a week from the 14 a week or so I believe I had last month

I had also planned to eat a few thawed frozen, organic, broccoli sprouts in place of the almond butter. (I had found before that adding nonstarchy vegetables is effective.)

I didn’t remember to do that most days last month. But I must begin to stock the frozen florets into the container to thaw each night. First of all I want to lose the 3 pounds back. And, if I don’t eat the almond butter and am hungry, I need those to eat instead!

That’s my most important goal for next month.

2. I had a significant worry most of last month. This week, I’ll do what I can to resolve that. And, I’ll start building a just in case strategy too. And, though I’ll still worry for quite a while since it will take months to know if my efforts helped, I’ll make more of an effort to stay calm enough to not mess up eating right.

3. I suddenly came down with something about two weeks -- ago a continuous mild, but significant headache and sudden fatigue. To be sure I didn’t get worse instead of boosting my amount of exercise as planned, I cut back until I began to feel better and am still not quite back to where I was when I got sick. I hope to stay well and be back to the level of exercise I was doing earlier in the month last month. That will help!

4. The week before my measurement day, my wife and I went to a special breakfast. I ate well. I don’t think I ate enough extra to gain 3 pounds. But some of the 3 pounds may be because I overdid a bit then.

The good news is that most of what I did to lose the 15 pounds I wanted and 3 pounds extra is still in place. I’m still doing those things. And, I am still 9 pounds lighter than I was when I started.

I’ll keep that up and work to implement the fixes from the problems I had last month.

I’ll let you know how that works next month!