The weekend

Saturday arvo I had a dentist appointment so I dropped Liz at Target then went to see my Dentist. After the regular cleaning and a check-up he informed me that everything looked great and that while I didn't require any new work, he was recommending a *shudder* deep cleaning. He did two quadrants a couple of years ago but then we did more work, a root canal, some fillings, etc., and he never got around to the other two quadrants, which I was sort of glad about because even with the local/topical anesthesia a deep cleaning is a rather painful affair. I consider it penance for not taking good care of my teeth.

After the dentist I headed back to Target and found Liz in the cafeteria with a bowl of nacho cheese in front of her. There were nacho chips in the bowl, too, they were just hard to see because there was soooo much yellow, gooey, delicious nacho cheese. MmmmmMmMmm. It was good. Liz had a cup of Root Beer too and OMG! After eating reasonably healthy for most of the week that saturated fat & sugar tasted sooooo good. I know some people might view this as my Cheat Day so it was okay but I don't believe in 'Cheat Days'. Then again I also don't believe in Diets.

A Cheat Day is not a "reward" for eating healthy & working out for 6 days. A Cheat Day is exactly what it says it is: a day in which you cheat yourself out of the real reward, being a healthier you. And did you notice I didn't say 'dieting' and working out? That's because the word diet is commonly preceded by the phrase "I'm starting a..." or "I'm going on a..." If you look at a 'Diet' as something you "start" or "go on", then you'll also think of it as something you "finish" or "go off". I don't go "on a diet", I adjust my eating habits. I try to be conscious of what I'm eating and make healthier choices when possible. I may not always succeed, as happened Saturday, and then again on Sunday when we lunched at Top's Burgers on Colorado in Pasadena. One Reuben on toasted Rye, thank you very much. That said, I washed my Reuben down with a lot of water (no soda this time) and we split a small Fries between us, but trust me, a "small" Fries at Top's is bigger than a large at most other Burger joints. But in no way did I consider these 'rewards' for eating healthier throughout the week.

Sunday afternoon we hooked up with some friends and played Badminton for a few hours. And I do mean a few hours. We started around 4pm and it was 7pm by the time we were done. Conscious of what I'd eaten during the past couple of days I played as many games as I could. It helps that I love Badminton and am pretty good at it. Not as good as my friend Jimmy who managed to beat me in every game we played, including the doubles matches, but I still manage to give him a good run for his money. Not that the cunning sod runs that much. Jimmy is good enough to know what he can get to and what he can't, and he won't go for the shots he knows he can't reach. Me? I'm pretty sure I can get them all so I'll try for them all. Jimmy is aware of this, and good enough with his shot placement to have me running all over the court.

And for that, I thank him.

Monday morning I weighed myself and IIRC was approx. 195 lbs. I ate my usual 4 Weetabix for breakfast accompanied by approx. 2 cups of Soy Milk, then took the Highlander to the dealer for a service which took 2 hours. There I would drink two cups of coffee and eat a slice of Starbuck's Banana Walnut Loaf, take a Mustang GT for spin (through the parking lot, because I'd managed to leave my Driver's License at home) and become enamored with the Scion cT. Later at home I would have two Styrofoam Cakes (aka Rice Cakes) with Blueberry Cream Cheese and drink several glasses of water. After we picked up the kids from school we stopped for some frozen yoghurt where I had my usual small'ish portion loaded with fruit, while dinner would be half-a-dozen boiled Pork & Veg Dumplings followed by a Pomegranate w/ some vanilla yoghurt. And yet more water. It was bloody hot yesterday.

This morning after getting up I weighed myself and almost couldn't believe the scales. 189.6 lbs w/ 23% Body Fat. Under 190 lbs (barely) and Body Fat down 1% I know your morning weight can be lower due to body water lost during the night through respiration and perspiration but I actually felt good this morning and (TMI?) my output looked good, too. Not clear, but also not the yellow of someone a little dehydrated.

I found one of my Blog entries from several years ago where I mentioned I was at 22% so I'm getting back there, but I also recall that when I first came here I was approx. 14%. Of course that was 20 pounds and 12 years ago. I suspect that to get back down to 14-15% I'm going to need to go past the 180 I weighed then, when I was much more active, and shoot for a weight around 170 lbs. Before that can happen I need to hit 180 and before that I need to get down to 185. And before I get to 185 I need to keep off the weight I appear to have lost during the past couple of days.

Small steps. Because a significant amount of weight lost gradually in small steps is easier to keep off than a large amount lost abruptly, such as by someone "going on" a "crash diet".

*edit*

4 Weetabix for breakfast and a Sunshine Breakfast Muffin (from Subway) for second breakfast. English muffin with a few pieces of Ham & 1 slice of cheese, plus 2 Styrofoam Cakes with a smear of Blueberry Cream Cheese for lunch. One English Muffin, toasted, w/ BCC for a snack when I got home. To drink I had 1 16oz cup of coffee which I never finished, and several 16oz bottles of water. Afternoon pre-dinner weight? 192.2 Not too shabby :)