Stupid Weight

My weight, like that of many people, doesn't want to stay in an ideal range.

By last fall, it had gotten up around 190 pounds, which is not where I wanted it to be. I am very active, so it was pretty easy to get things under control by reducing my food intake. For me, my dieting amount of food is more than most people get to eat even when they aren't controlling calories.

By early February, I had it comfortably in the 173-175 pound range, which is exactly where I like it.

Then we were off on an extended vacation in California, Arizona, and Nevada. This meant a bit over 7 weeks of American-sized restaurant meals. I took my trusty fitbit scale along to monitor the situation.

The 2 weeks in California were no problem. I was training at the Gracie Academy, and this meant I would be burning calories like a bonfire. Then it was off to phase two in Mesa, Arizona.

I became hugely less active, but continued to eat like a little piggy. After a couple of weeks of this I pulled out the scale. I was magically 190 pounds again. That was an increase of more than 15 pounds, and quite unacceptable. If I'd managed to add this much in two weeks, what shape would I be in by the end of the month?

Cutting my intake to the bone was not an option. I was one of a group of four traveling together. I would not allow any reduction in our fun, which includes eating together. When I was on my own, ate with control. No boxes of random donuts for me.

I put regular running back into my schedule. Our days were structured such that the best times for me to run happened in the afternoon, when it was stinking hot.

Kept eating big meals, but usually once per day. Kept snacking with the group, but on a much smaller scale. Kept drinking pop and wine, but somewhat less.

My mass started dropping again. From 190, I was back to about 185 by the time our stay in Arizona wound down. This left just the trip home, which would include four nights in Las Vegas; the epicenter of over eating.

While in Vegas, I did an early morning run of about 8km each day. Helen and I would then cover as much distance again just walking around and looking at stuff. We also did some light eating, plus one no-holds-barred buffet per day. The scale was buried in the very bottom of the car.

Got home yesterday. Before bed, I wanted to see where my weight was. The scale was set up, and on I climbed.

179.5 pounds. Not bad at all.

I'll be back under 175 in no time.