Progress?

Not long ago, I hovered at the 176 lbs. mark, with hopes of dropping down into the 160 lbs. range. After leaning down, fattening up, and repeating the process a few times, I gave up the three-pound give-and-take that characterized my summer dieting. The Bar Exam seemed more important than suffering as a dieter.

Fast forward to the end of September. I weighed 188 lbs. on September 30. It was time to act fast. Since then, I've lost about a pound a day, sometimes more, sometimes less, and once gaining a pound before losing it back. Now I weigh 176 lbs. on October 8. So eight or nine days of dieting led to about twelve pounds of loss. The target is the obscenely low weight of 150 lbs. At this rate, we will have had elections before I can brag about hitting that target, and that presumes my weight loss rate remains constant. Yet the weight loss rate is rather rapid, given the old "two-pounds-per-week" rule. I expect my loss will slow to about a pound every other day as I move down to the lower 170s.

I've been sticking to eggs and Canadian bacon for breakfast, some fattier meat for lunch (lamb, pork, chicken, beef), and a lean meet for dinner (usually tuna salad consisting of tuna, pickles, celery, and fat-free mayo.) I cheated last night and had Dickey's Barbeque... that meant I barely went down today. But the hot links and pulled pork were worth it.

Yet this is not progress. Now I have "broken even" with my weight. The real gains begin now. The key ingredient that has been largely absent over the last week is... exercise! I'll have to join a gym before the day ends.