Daily Bread #68

Shrinking,  I am shrinking.  Or melting, who knows?  It has been pretty hot on some of my walks.  It is important to get out early.  I have been trying to do two walks most days, a longer one in the morning, a shorter one after dinner, and I like to swim in between.  Being retired gives me the time to do that almost every day.

This week my wife Anne gave me some of her clothes that are too big for her.  They fit!  This is amazing because I used to weigh 3 times as much as her.    I still weigh more, but no longer even twice as much.

I am still not getting my gallon of water in most days.  Does that make a difference? I have reduced my percentage of protein, so maybe it is OK as far as my kidney health goes. I haven’t felt really hungry, even though I ate a bit less last week, so I don’t need as much water to feel full.

The good and scary news this week is that my knee surgery is now scheduled.  September 16th.  I am excited and somewhat apprehensive.  From what I have heard doing the rehab is the most critical part.  I think I can do that given that I already have an exercise routine.  I won’t be able to swim of course, so swim season will end early for me this year.  But maybe after the surgery, I can ditch my cane on my walks.  I don’t use it indoors, unless there is a crowd.

I went to an earlier group tonight with a facilitator I had before that I like a lot.  She is leaving for another job in a couple of weeks and there will be someone new.  The time is much better for me.  I was even able to take a short walk when I got home.

I liked the new group a lot.  I missed people from the other group, but it was also good to hear some new stories.  The support and sharing is so important.

It upsets me that so many people have dropped out, but I guess that is typical.  Apparently 95% of people who diet to lose weight, gain all the lost weight back in a few years.   Kaiser’s record is somewhat better but the “failure” rate is still high.  Sticking with the lifestyle changes seem to be the most important factor in success.  Maybe it is good I am still so compulsive about this.

L’Chaim!  This week’s stats: I am drinking about 72 ounces of water most days.  My Fitbit report shows 101,769 steps last week for over 43 miles – down some from last week.  I ate approximately 9,996 calories and burned 18,227 for a deficit of 8231. I am down another 2.4 pounds for a total loss of 131.6