Waitlisted for Weight Loss

Every winter for me it is the same. I gain weight. I planned to allow myself 5 pounds of weight gain this winter. However, I never expected I would hit my 5 pound “goal” by the end of December, but there I was, staring at the scale in disbelief at the beginning of 2022. Just a tip for those of you trying to lose weight, sucking in your gut while standing on the scale and staring in disbelief does not reduce your weight.

I delayed writing this until I was sure that the weight gain was a just temporary upward blip. Instead, as I write this, I am certain that my 5 pound weight loss visitor is here for an extended stay. But the good news is that I’m holding steady there and we are over half the way through calendric winter. And instead of thinking that I have gained back 25% of the weight I lost, it helps for me to think that I have gained back 1/16th of the weight I lost 4 times. Seems less to me.

One problem could be my steps took a literal step back in December. Take a look.

I’m trending better in January. Getting my bike set-up on my trainer in the basement has helped.

However, initially I was sorely disappointed with the indoor biking experience. It was so uncomfortable to ride for any extended period of time. Yes, it was the same bike I rode outside for many miles and months in 2021, but now that I’m inside, I wanted to be able to ride while comfortably looking up and watching the television. A quick little adjustment to flip my bar ends up made all the difference in the world.

Now I can sit upright, watch TV, and ride comfortably for longer periods of time.

At this point, I have no aspirations of weight loss this winter. Can you guess the one thing I want to do?

Is the Maximus crack because of my weight gain? I hope to be Minimus once again this summer, and a good first step will be to emerge from the bleakness of January holding the line at that 5 pounds of weight gain. I’ll let you know in a couple weeks how that went. Until then, buy my award-winning book of short stories to make me feel better. Come on, help a chubby guy out.