[Pipsicle]

This a continuation of my previous thread 1520 days to go... and 644 days to go....

The most recent thread was nearing the 500 post maximum and it was a good time to start a fresh thread. For those of you just joining, this chronicles my effort to peel off 70 pounds. To be frank, I am embarrassed about how high my weight got so I only speak of it in relative terms. So far, I am about half way there with a current total loss of 36 pounds and have 34 pounds remaining to lose. Depending on where you put the starting line, it has taken me between 7.5-9 years to get here. I've been trying to lose weight longer than that but consider this the start of my last great push to get my weight under control. My notes in my little health tracking notebook started in 2017. Today, New Year's Day, I needed to start a new notebook. Below is a recap of my progress.

There have been many ups and downs in those years, 2017-2025, and a pandemic of course. The best I was doing on my own was July-November 2022. In those months, I lost an average of 3.3 pounds without medical support (i.e., Ozempic). To offer a bit of a buffer, I used a target of losing 3 pounds a month to do my calculation for the number of days left. The result is 340 days. Hence, the post title. If I can maintain this pace, I will lose the remaining 34 pounds by December 6, 2026. Indubitably, I would like to do it more quickly; wish me luck!

Currently, I am not on any GLP-1 medication but have tried it previously. It was effective for about a year. However, when I increased the dose to see if I could keep it effective, it affected my vision. It was not in the noted potential side effect way listed with the packaging. My near vision became blurry and it resolved when I stopped the medication. It also left me winded when exercising and decreased my stamina. When I took it, I lost about 30 pounds on it and have gained about half of that back. I may try the other type of GLP-1 in April (after ski season, don't want to be winded at altitude).

PROGRESS RECAP:
2017 (gained unspecified amount):

-Started recording effort in notebook

-Record keeping was spotty and it looks like I gained that year

2018 (gained 9 pounds):

-Took class on weight loss and still gained
-Started ice skating again

2019 (lost 14 pounds):

-Started taking supplements for fatigue and insulin resistance in February (none for weight loss)
-Started losing weight in June

2020 (lost 13.5 pounds):

-Weight loss went well even with the pandemic

2021 (lost 4 pounds)

-Gained Jan- April
-Lost ~10 pounds May-December

2022 (lost 9 pounds)

-Gained Jan-April
-Lost Jul-Nov

2023 (gained 19 pounds)

-pretty much gained the whole year

2024 (lost 20 pounds)

-gained Jan-Apr
-lost May-December (only after starting Ozempic in May)

2025 (gained 7 pounds):

-Stopped Ozempic in late July
-At end of August was nearly at new weight lost (vs. losing recycled weight)
-Gained Sep-Dec despite trying Ozempic again in Oct/Nov

[Pipsicle]

Have a one pound loss for the week (at -38 pounds total). Keep planning big but executing poorly.

There is a fun website that will send you medals after you complete a certain mileage. The medals have all sorts of different themes (e.g., famous cities, national parks, book series). I've thought about signing up for one but have realized it would only take me about a month to earn a 100 mile one. In a week, I move the equivalent of a marathon. Typically, I walk 12 miles, ice skate 9+ miles and do 3 miles on the elliptical. That's the one thing I have been doing well and consistently- exercise. I hold tightly to the belief that exercise is the best medicine we have.

Definitely lose the battle in the kitchen though. My ridiculous sweet tooth and appetite are, so far, overpowering adversaries. Last year when I was having issues with skating, I realized if I wanted to get my skating back I really needed to fight for it. So I would show up wearing a helmet and had a special glove to use as guide on the boards to go around the rink.

This holds for weight loss to get to better health. I need to fight for it. It's just not clear how I can start to win the food battles. Improving insulin sensitivity is a place to start. When I was losing weigh on my own, I was doing more fasting. Although another thing that I keep discounting is there was a low calorie candy available in a flavor that was really satisfying to me. That was helping me keep my sweet tooth at bay. The candy is still available but not in the flavor that was so helpful to me.

[Pipsicle]

Still struggling this year. At -34 pounds (oof- quite the gain). I started tracking my calories again today. Additionally, I am trying to balance carbs and protein. Low carb would probably do wonders for me but I can't manage it. My biggest issue is sugar. More specifically of late, it is candy.

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EDIT:
Tuesday 1/20: Lost a pound but it doesn't count unless it stays off until Sunday ('official" weigh in day). I have so many things in order (exercise, sleep, social activities) but I am losing the battle (the war, really) in the kitchen. I had one good calorie count day followed by 2 awful ones. I managed a 17 hour fast this morning. Just got to get it together. Stupid appetite!

Saturday 1/24 (AM): Scale has been holding steady at a one pound loss for most of the week. We'll see if it holds through tomorrow. Had a plan yesterday to buy one treat. Had it all picked out with the goal of going in, buying it and leaving without buying anything else. Low and behold, it was out of stock! This has happened to me so many times. I make a careful plan and whatever establishment I am relying on is unable to support said plan. Needless to say, I over bought other items. So far hanging in there. Above the goal but below the target for weight loss.

Saturday 1/24 (PM): Just popping by again because I am really hungry but my eating window does not open for another hour and six minutes. Surely, I can successfully battle my stupid appetite until my eating window opens. Currently, I am looking for work. There is an opening at the company where a previous co-worker works. This former colleague of mine was incredibly supportive of me and encouraging when we worked together. Here's the rub. She is friends with the chief viper. This viper refused to hire me several times and sabotaged me on many occasions after I did get hired by a different manager. So the question is does my former colleague think poorly of me now? Has their opinion changed? Ultimately, I am hoping not so I will reach out to her. However, thinking back to all of the rotten things the viper did bums me out. Hey, look at that- I now only have an hour until my eating window opens!

[Pipsicle]

Nice! Down two pounds (total loss -36 lbs). May it be the start of a fabulous trend! Wasn't a great week. I ate on-track one day and fasted another. That was about it. I did get all of my usual exercise in, although on different days than typical. There is an Olympic team training at my skating rink so they canceled on of the public skate sessions I usually go to.

I am going to try adding isometric exercises into my routine. They are suppose to help with blood pressure. I really need to be on a medication for high blood pressure but I have gone through 5 different one that I was unable to tolerate. I feel like it is better to be active with high blood pressure that to be completely sedentary with slight better blood pressure. I have a couple of other different things I want to try but am having trouble getting started. Neither of them rely on willpower.

[Pipsicle]

Broke even this month. No loss/no gain. Sitting at -36 pounds total loss. Went skiing last week and wow! The new dose of thyroid medicine and/or being off of GLP-1 was really noticeable. Because of the issues with my feet, I walk my skis and ski boots to the ski racks at the bottom of the ski lifts in my street boots. Then I change into my ski boots there.

Last year in particular but also true for previous years, I would have to go sit down for several minutes after walking my gear over before putting my boots on. This is a big deal to me. I just felt so much better. Additionally, I usually eat a fair amount of sugar on ski days and was able to cut it way back this year. No sugared soda, candy or hot chocolate.

This success carried through to the grocery today. Generally, I grocery shop once a week for the week. Often I will buy a lot of junk with the biggest concern being candy. Today I feel like I didn't buy any candy. Although, it would be reasonable to count the dark chocolate covered almonds as candy. In my personal view, they are not. Almonds and dark chocolate are healthy and I don't have the urge to eat the entire package in one sitting. I also bought lots of fresh fruit and veggies.

Really trying to focus in on winning more battles in the kitchen (i.e., my eating and dietary choices). Sugar has a frightening hold on me. With the increase in thyroid medication, I feel like that hold is slipping. This week, I am aiming for at least 2 fasting mornings on Tuesday and Thursday.

My blood pressure is still dreadful. I found a 10 minute exercise protocol online designed to lower blood pressure. It is mostly wall sits and planks. I thought I would be better at those, however, I could only hold them for 30 seconds each time. The program recommends 2 minutes for each round.

[Pipsicle]

Thought it was an uneventful week and that I at least maintained. Of course, I was hoping for a loss. Ultimately, I gained 3 pounds (total weight loss at -33). This is so tough and it is really demotivating. I made so many good choices during the week.

I do have an interview on Tuesday so that is good news. Really nervous for the interview because the job doesn't fully align with my experience,

My new skis are ready (had to get the bindings mounted on them). They are new old stock skis, vintage skis with no bindings which have not been used. I will get a chance to try them out on Friday.

[Pipsicle]

No news to report. Off skiing for the long weekend. I skied 7 hours and 48 minutes today (23.1 miles). Yesterday, I reached a top speed of 29.8 mph. Weeeee!

[Pipsicle]

So across 2 weeks I have lost 4 pounds. I only needed to ski 26 hours to do it. Hoping I can keep up the downward trend. I've been really tired after skiing so my routine exercise drops off. Trying to figure out ways to keep it more consistent when I am home.

[Pipsicle]

Ugh! A three pound gain since I last posted. I've been slow to post since it is basically saying the ugly part out loud. I need to lose weight because my health literally depends on it and I am not losing weight.

On a good note, since increasing the dosage of my thyroid medicine, my A1c which is usually in the prediabetic range is nearly normal. It is 5.7 and the normal range goes up to 5.6. To me, this is very exciting because my A1c did not budge when I was on Ozempic. It kind of tells me Ozempic was not a good fit for me since its original approval was to lower A1c in diabetics. I used Ozempic for about 15 months and basically stopped last July.

Also since increasing my thyroid dose, I only eat at meal times and have eliminated most snacking.