YMMV

My weight loss trends remain very good.  However, sometimes, I am amused if not confused by the details.

In particular, this morning I dropped three pounds, after being down a pound yesterday.  That's on top of two pounds Thursday, for a total of six pounds since Wednesday.   I fully expect half of that to come rocketing back in the normal course of events, and actually prefer it would.  My healthy target is to lose 1-3 pounds a week, no more, and it's only more than 2 pounds because I'm exercising in part to avoid muscle loss.  (I also cleared it with my physician.)

Never mind that I had pizza two nights in a row and went over my daily budget at least one day during that period.

I blame portion control and my overall clean living, in particular that I've gotten at least some light exercise in the last 24 days out of the last 30.  Maybe that's how I wore out a connector for the heart monitor, which snapped off today when I unmounted the monitor from the chest strap after riding the exercise bike:

Aw, snap!   One connector for my Polar Monitor is AWOL

Fortunately, like Foghorn Leghorn, "I always keep a spare in my locker".

Slightly more seriously, my longer trend is making me feel like a bit of a freak.    My two month record is over two pounds a week, and doesn't seem to have any short term road blocks.  If that were average results for Weight Watchers and similar sensible plans, the world be a thinner place.  Katherine and I agree, Weight Watcher's metrics just happen to be a natural compliment to my own methods.    This hit home yesterday, as when I poked about the online Weight Watcher tools I came across a page which reported the number of days I had recorded my intake, which was 100% of the days since I started.  Since both I eat and use a computer every day, why wouldn't I record the data?

In any case, I'll try to keep it going while it works.

A Miles Milestone

I have a spreadsheet which reaches back into the mists of time, with my weight recorded at least 115 times a year since 2001, and more sporadic entries going back another 10 years and beyond.   It also has acquired other data over the the years, like the occasional blood pressure check.

I am consistent when and how I weigh myself, making the weight tracking is fairly routine and accurate.  Years ago, I added prediction for any weight loss based on the periods of January, year-to-date, and the last 30 days.   This spring, the "last 30 days" prediction was off by a only days as to when would I hit my first goal (17 pounds lost), not bad for the input I gave it.

The blood pressure measurement is sufficient to assure me that I'm normal.   I am vaguely amused at how my resting pulse has dropped a little during my current fitness kick, but it's not worth tracking more closely.

The absolute worse metric in the spreadsheet I have is "miles exercised".  It started with number of the bicycle miles I had ridden, got the stationary bike added as its own column, then walking, and now elliptical trainer.   These are at best apples-to-hotdog comparisons, but I keep it up in part because it serves as a binary flag for having exercised at all on particular day, and that by itself is useful.

Yet, like swooning over cheap sticker awards for losing 5 pounds, I still care about the number of miles.   In particular, in the past ten years the most miles I've ever recorded is 602, and yesterday this young year moved beyond the rest of the pack and into second place with 308.  By summer's end I could be at a 10 year high.   That would be nice.

(Having done ~ 1500+ road miles on my bicycle in 1985, I suspect my all time record is safe for another summer, if not much longer.)

Fitness, meet Feline Fate

Getting the bike out of the back of the garage is a pain (we actually put cars in there!), and lately I've wanted it accessible.  Thus, it's been tempting fate in the front hall.

Today, feline fate visited the bike as documented on the Summerhill Kitten Farm blog.

My Next Five Year Mission

Five years and two months ago, I moved to the Puget Sound area to join Google as an SRE.  Alas, in the last year, supporting the production side of things has started to burn me out. So, as of today, it's official: I have a new job. I have transferred from SRE to regular software engineering, which puts me back where I belong: writing code.

That I have already been here for for five years is not unique, as I previously stayed at three other employers for over five years each. But it is unique that I now have no interest to go beyond down the hall, since I've never been at any company for six years -- one I left to finish school, another I departed from once they lost their hunger for bleeding edge technology, and the last seemed to view software engineers as an necessary evil.

(That last company was more comfortable with programmers who limited their world view to Microsoft IIS and SQL Server; being a snob, I am not sure they count as software engineers.  So sue me.)

But Google does want people like me, they do hunger for the bleeding edge, and there is the small fact of where it ranks in terms of the best companies to work for.   That's a beauty contest, perhaps, but it's nice to work for an entrant.

My five year mission as an SRE is complete.  So let's see what I can do to earn my keep here for another five years.

Hup, Two, Three, ... Crash!

After Saturday's ride, where I was both wildly over- and under- pedaling at times, I considered how I ride the exercise the bike versus how I ride out in the Big Blue Room.  I realized how much I used the exercise bike's cadence display feedback to help control my exertion.  

Unfortunately, my new Sigma BC 1009 STS wireless bike computer doesn't have that ... but the installation guide teased me that the next higher model, the wireless BC 1609 STS Cadence, does.   So yesterday had another trip up the street to Bothell Ski & Bike, where I asked about a trade up.   They couldn't do that per se (I was missing the packaging), but they gave me a very reasonable deal on the BC 1609.

Newly equipped, we rode out for local errands today.  Between the cadence metric and the one additional day's experience, I was far smoother, and enjoyed it more as well.  

Even a minor crash at the end didn't ruin my mood.   I lost my momentum on the last rise before the house (as Katherine describes it, a very "short but nasty hill"), and my wobbling recovery was interrupted by a looming curb.  Too much was happening, and I tipped over.  I at least used my limited aikido head knowledge, and I let my fall morph into a sideways roll rather than being stupid and trying to straight arm the sidewalk on the far side of the aforementioned curb.   The result was only minor damage: I noticed my shoulder for a few minutes, the handlebar needed to be twisted straight, and Katherine pointed out that I had a classic road rash on the outside of my leg.   

(I did straight arm a sidewalk once, on ice around New Years 1984.  I remember it well, not to mention the resulting dislocated left elbow that would ache off and on for the next fifteen years.   I'll risk the unpracticed amateur roll, thank you.)

I'm not ready to match the summer of 1985, when at ~ 150 pounds I rode over 1300 miles, but small progress is being made.

Once Around the Block

After verifying the bicycle can roll with its new toys, it sat for a over week while I returned to the stationary bike, played around with the gym at work, and also watched Seattle weather be cool, cloudy and generally less than ideal for riding.    The progress did continue on the exercise bike, and I nudged it up another level.

I almost rode outside yesterday evening, but I delayed a bit and when I realized a storm was about to pas through, I punted.

I didn't punt today, or fallback to the exercise bike.

I recruited Katherine, and returned to the scene of my previous retail crimes.  She got riding shoes, and I got  a new trunk (i.e. bag for my rear rack).   Then we pedaled down the Burke-Gilman Trail few blocks, doubled back, picked up the mail and headed home.    Total ride, ~ 5+ miles.

Stick a fork in me, I'm done.  Suffice to say, I didn't exploit the tools at my disposal to maximize efficiency.   And since there remains alot of me to haul around, I need to be efficient.

I need to learn to transfer the power and cadence balance I've acquired on the exercise bike to the road, using my gears better to keep an even a pace.

Practice, practice, practice.

A Skirmish in the Diet War

The good news is that I have lost 5% of my body weight.   But the battle continues.

Of course on the day I have already spurged on a breakfast omelet & bacon, and this afternoon I will have hot chocolate with an old high school classmate, the lunch menu includes:

Meatloaf
Beef, Onion, Garlic, Bacon, Parley, Oregano, Sage, Thyme, Parmesan, Corn Flake, Egg, Ketchup, Worcestershire, Cayenne, Paprika, Molasses, Brown Sugar, EVO and S&P

Garlic Smashed Potatoes
Potato, Kale, Garlic, Butter, Lemon and S&P

Yes, the menu includes other (healthier) choices, but I love both meatloaf and mashed potatoes.  

(Did I mention meals are free at work?)

Ceiling Cat is saying "Drew, you have done well.  See how you handle the next level!'   But, but ... I didn't want to turn up the diet knob from easy to medium yet.   Ah, well, it really does average out, and my overall progress is good.