My Weight Loss Waterloo

I took a couple weeks after November ended to determine if I had lost a weight loss battle or the entire war. The month of November was certainly my weight loss Waterloo, and I don’t mean the city of Waterloo in Iowa, home of the Sistene Chapel reproduced in spray paint on the walls and ceiling of a warehouse turned into a restaurant that is now closed. Thanks, Covid.

No, I’m talking about Napoleon’s Waterloo where he lost his final battle while also gaining 5 pounds thanks to a cheesecake binge. I lost a major weight loss battle in November. Fat cells are now occupying my liver, and they are threatening to invade my pancreas unless their demands for sugared sodas and cake are met. However, I may not have lost the war. Signs in December are positive about returning to or close to my goal weight I met over the summer.

I can break November into 2 distinct halves. The first half of November was characterized by 4 things:

• Leftover Halloween candy and a lot of it.
• I had a cold.
• Daylight Savings Time ended.
• Cold weather moved in.

All of a sudden, it was cold and got dark early, so my SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) shifted into high gear. What else could I do but eat lots of excess Halloween chocolate? In addition, I like to pretend that I’ve heard that chocolate is good for a cold. The first half of November was a dark time for me, figuratively and literally. I packed on the pounds just before my Covid booster shot scheduled for mid-November. I worried that the nurse would need an extra-long needle to penetrate my newly added fat.

As the second half of November arrived, I thought I was healthy and over my cold. I really did. In hindsight, I was likely too excited about getting my Covid booster shot that I overlooked still being ill. Mistakes were made. I got the shot, and initially I had the normal reaction – sore arm and a little tired. Then, about 36 hours later, I developed a cough. A very Covidy cough. Had they given me the virus rather than the vaccine booster? I just asked for the Covid shot. Maybe I needed to be more specific. Regardless, it did not go well. I was sick for 2 weeks + with a cough and extreme fatigue, as opposed to my normal daily fatigue. I recall getting winded just walking across my backyard cleaning up dog poop. Stupid dogs. Needless to say, my exercise suffered. Take a look at this precipitous drop in steps.

Yikes! I simply could not exercise much. I have to admit it was an interesting experiment to see if I could exercise less and maintain my weight. Short answer – no.

So, where do we go from here? I’m not back up to a weight that makes me cry when I step on the scale, although the scale groans a bit, so I am motivated to get back down to my goal weight quickly. However, with the Christmas and New Year holidays looming, that appears to be an unlikely proposition.

I still was sickish the first week in December, so I am just lately getting my exercise levels back up. I traveled on business this week, and was thrilled to see this beautiful pool awaiting me.

Making it even better was this.

Open early, open late, and no pool police. I was able to get in 2 quarter mile swims during a short overnight trip. I realized that it had been 3 months since I finished swimming across Lake Michigan, and I missed swimming. I will make an extra effort to get to our local indoor public pool a couple times a month over the winter. I do realize that will not help with my steps, but it should with my overall health and wellness.

What will help increase my steps/cranks is getting my indoor bike trainer set up. So far, I have not made much progress.

Getting it out of the box would be a good first step, but then I need to fix my bike’s rear flat, clean the chain/sprocket/derailleur, and assemble bike to trainer. Sounds like a good project during the holidays. I’ll see if the wife is up to it.

This is day 3 of my 12 Days of Blogging. I hope you’re enjoying these idiotic posts along with the holiday season. Just always keep in mind the real reason for the holiday season – making money.