reply to Dad

[Replying to this post.]

Dad,

We're on the same page on all fronts. My goal on paper is 161 lbs, about 65-70 away from where I sit today. I want to lose about 30% of my body weight.

Fasting has been one of my more successful techniques, so maybe I will give that a shot. I find it easier to eat nothing for a day than to eat half of normal. And my weight tends to go down when I skip lunch (and I always skip breakfast), though I'm sure skipping dinner would be best of all. And not snacking more important still.

I exercised Sunday (soccer with whole family) and yesterday (elliptical machine). Today could make it a 3-day streak, certainly my record in the last 3 YEARS or more. We're not talking about a lot of calorie-burning, though the elliptical could get intense, but it burns TIME, and it reinforces a mindset. (I just worked hard to burn 300 calories. Am I really going to eat a brownie after that?)

But I am so very far away from where I should be that I really do need to make a huge change of some kind. Turning 40 was a bit of a wakeup call, and I lost weight that year by cutting out less-healthy foods. But after 11 months I fell off the wagon and reversed my 18 pounds of progress in under two months!

I'm trying to shake up my schedule, and exercise is part of that. My heel is still a pretty big problem, but the soccer didn't cause too much of an issue, and the elliptical seems not to bother it much at all. I just don't seem able to play basketball, or run, right now. Of course losing 50-60 pounds would help that for sure.

I will try more experimenting!