715 days to go. Yesterday I had another new low weight! That makes two for this week! My scale is about to reset itself. It resets every 10 pound loss. I have realized there is a slight flaw for accuracy in there. For example, say I am only a half pound from a ten pound loss and I lose 2 pounds at the next weigh-in. The scale will reset based on the half a pound but the remaining pound and a half will not be recorded by the scale. I have a regular scale too so I used it also. That way I'll get 'credit' for everything. Hoping the reset happens tomorrow. It seems unlikely though. I did create a deficit today but it was relatively small. It will likely reset on Wednesday after a longer fast.

714 days to go. I was able to officially change my weight today with a confirmed half pound loss. My spreadsheet is really close to this current count down (only off by one extra day). There were times when I was pretty hungry today. I managed to create a largish calorie deficit. Large enough, I am worried I missed something. I really don't think I did.

713 days to go. I was able to create a very large calorie deficit today with little effort. Wow! I'd never thought I'd be able to say that. If I could do what I did today everyday, I would be at my goal weight by September.

So I calculated my BMI today. Blah- I wouldn't recommend it. I'm not just overweight; I'm not just obese; I am obese class II. Ugh! These next 10 pounds or so are really critical. If I am able to lose them, I will just be regular obese (class I). Honestly, I would be pretty excited about that. The other critical thing is I will pass my previous largest weight loss (27 pounds). That's the most I've ever been able to lose in one period of sustain attempts.

712 days to go. Three cheers- Hip, Hip, hooray! Hip, Hip, Hooray! Hip, Hip, Hooray! My scale reset this morning which means I have lost 10 pounds! I have been working on this 10 pounds since 02Nov. So it takes me about five months to lose ten pounds. That's right on target according to my plan of trying to lose a half a pound a week consistently. I am happy my numbers and plan correlate so well. In addition, I completed a 19 hour fast and was able to create another larger calorie deficit today.

711 days to go. So a new first happened today. I had a new low weight for the second day in a row! Today, I was able to create a calorie deficit. In addition, I remembered to start my fast at 7:00 pm.

Four little things- for a long time, my focus was on trying to do four little things each day in addition to creating a standard calorie deficit. These are things that I felt would help with my weight loss if I could do them consistently. In general before the stay at home order, I was able to do 2-3 a day fairly consistently and did all four a few days during the month. Since the stay at home order, I have been doing all four with only a few days of the month where I just did 3 of them. I really feel this has helped my progress. Without further ado, here are the four little things:

1. 20 minutes of fresh air
2. Exercise (at least 20 minutes)
3. No sugared soda.
4. Going to bed at a reasonable time

Drinking sugared soda was a very bad habit of mine and I am glad I have been able to cut it back so significantly.

710 days to go. The third time wasn't the charm. No new low weight today. I did complete a 20 hour fast and created a calorie deficit.

I'm sure many of you are wondering how I know if I have created a calorie deficit. Ages ago I had a book called weight loss for dummies. It had an easy calculation for how many calories you burn in a day. According to it just by existing you burn 10 calories per pound per day. You burn more depending how active you are. So if you are sedentary you added 1, moderately active you add 2 and if you are really active you add 3. There are other calculations out there for this that are much more complicated. I've done them a few times and they always come out close to the one from the weight loss for dummies book.

I use the sedentary level and then add in the calories I burn from exercise separately. So I do the following calculation:
(weight x 11) + calories burned from exercise = total calorie expenditure for the day

Then I subtract the number of calories I have eaten that day to understand if I have created a deficit or if I have eaten too much.

709 days to go...
Created a very large calorie deficit today. Also, went walking three times and inadvertently did a 20 hour fast. I use to have a diet software (Diet Power). I really liked it because it took into account your past performance and if you were a liar. So if you were creating solid calorie deficits along the way, it would adjust your target end date accordingly. Conversely, if you were wrong estimating how many calories you were taking in (e.g. saying cheesecake only had 100 calories in it instead of 600 calories), it would lower your calorie threshold needed to reach your goal weight on the target date.

708 days to go....

Created a small calorie deficit today. Glad it counts. Realizing I feel very insecure about my success so far. I feel like it could turn around at the drop of a hat and I could gain it all back.

RECALCULATION- Confirmed Weight Loss
 

687 days to go....

I was able to confirm a two pound weight loss this morning. Since that is better than my planned half a pound/ week weight loss, it results in a recalculation. My new end date will be Sunday, February 27, 2022 (assuming I can keep at it). Dropping from 707 days left to 687. It is hard to picture an end date that far out. It is disappointing in some ways to consider that next year at this time I will still have almost another year to get there. I remind myself that it is way better than the alternative. In my head, I picture being done some time next year, in 2021. This is possible if I can keep doing as well as I am doing. In my dreams, I picture being done this year.

Today, I only got two walks in and created a huge calorie deficit because I am having some stomach trouble. It is worrisome enough that I am considering calling a doctor. However with all of the COVID-19 issues, I'd really like to avoid that so I am putting some home remedies to the test.

For those of you not bored to pieces by my math, here is the current calculation I am using:

(Total pounds left to lose * 3500 cal/lb) - (total calorie deficit created in the last seven days) = # of days left
250 calories the planned calorie deficit per day

686 days to go...

Was able to create a larger than planned calorie deficit today and got all three of my walks in. My stomach is feeling better and I am very relieved. Hoping it stays on the up swing and I will be back to normal tomorrow.

Slower and steady wins the race too...

685 days to go...

Created a calorie deficit today. It was very hard to do so and smaller than planned. I haven't taken all of my supplements in the last couple of days because my stomach was so upset. It seems they were helping me. Phasing them back in tonight.

684 days to go...

Thankfully! I met my planned calorie deficit today but it was tough. Went on my three walks. My schedule is off and I forgot to start my fast on time on Monday so it ended earlier than usual yesterday. Seven of the last eight Wednesdays (before today) were new low weights for me on the scale but not today. This is reasonable since I have been off on my intended pattern this week. On Wednesdays, I also start a longer fast. I started on time tonight but then forgot and had a couple of bites of apple. I don't think it was enough to disrupt the fast so I will count from my original start time.

I really want to get this weight off and need to stay focused. I am only about 7% of the way there time wise. Boy, I should stick with math that cheers me up.

683 days to go...

Hanging in there and did a little better than planned today. Took my three walks. I am not sleeping well lately. I think sleep is really important for weight loss. Although I have been doing well, the scale was quite uncooperative today. This is a critical point in my weight loss and I want to do everything I can to push through. Probably famous last words for many a dieter. Seriously, the sheer amount of time it takes is a challenge in and of itself. That being said, I will celebrate this one more day down. Tomorrow is another day to do well.

On a side note, I am surprised at the number of folks who only make one post. Often they are very endearing and optimistic but then we never get to hear the rest of the story.

682 days to go...

Made it through another day. I completed a sixteen hour fast. In addition, I did my three planned walks and I believe I stay on plan calorie wise. I had to guess the calories on a lot of things I ate today. I have been testing using Keto strips. I read about them when I did the Atkins diet ages ago. Although I am not in ketosis all of the time, I do burn enough fat to show up on the strip. I will test tonight to see if my calories were low enough. Still having trouble sleeping- mostly going to sleep. It takes me about two hours to fall asleep. Last night I finally fell asleep and only slept for about forty-five minutes. Then I was wide awake and it took me another hour to fall asleep again. Once I am asleep, I sleep well. It is always hard for me to get going in the morning.

681 days to go...

I was a tad over calorie wise but it wasn't enough to wipe out yesterday's deficit. Therefore, I have decide I can still count down one day. Before today I had twenty-one days where I was able to create a deficit each day. Pretty sure that is a new record for me. Definitely a recent record for me. I was able to get my three walks in. Tomorrow is official weigh-in day. If all goes well, I should be able to confirm another loss. It will be right on plan so no new adjustments to the count down.

I have realized I would like to increase my loss to at least one pound a week for nine weeks. Well, I'd really like to do that all of the time but it is unlikely. My body revolts if I try to lose more than a half pound in a week. However if I can do it for nine weeks, it will put my target end date into 2021. Still over a year a way but it is much easier to envision than nearly two full years.

Unfortunately, my body has realized I am losing weight and my appetite has been terrible. None of my usual tricks are helping. I ate 4.5 servings of ice cream today- Yikes! And I am still hungry- double Yikes!! Glad I only went over by a little with regards to calories. Tomorrow is another day and will be here soon. I also started another fast today.