ccrdragon's tracking thread

Starting this 6/24/2021

Current weight - 237.5
Goal weight (1) - > 225
Goal weight (2) - > 200
Goal weight (3) - let's see where this lands... ideally around 175, but we will see

Exercise:
I have been a slug during the week and have spent the last 5 weekends replacing the laminate floors in the house - we had 12 year laminate that lasted 17+ years, so no complaints there. The new stuff has a limited lifetime warranty so this should be the last time I do this. 2 of the 3 bedrooms are done, the hallways are done, the family room is done and the living/dining area is 1/2 done. I will finish that area this weekend, leaving the bathroom walk-in closet and the third bedroom. The closet still has the original carpet (the house is 30 years old), so that might be scary to see what's under that - should take no more than a day to remove the carpet and replace the flooring. The third bedroom will have to wait... my son hasn't removed all of his dreck from the room, so nothing will happen until that event takes place (probably next fall).

I need to get my bike out and tune it up so that I can start riding again... might do that after the floor is done this weekend. I also need to get back to at least doing body weight exercises during the week (I'm thinking ride 3 days and do body-weight 3 days with 1 active rest day a week). Will start that the week of the 28th (yes, next week).

Anyway, that's enough rambling for now, more later.

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6/25/2021

Weight - 238.0 (damn those salty chips...)
BG - 79
Steps - 3692

Exercise - stayed active but no deliberate exercise yesterday

Plan today is to get sliders under all the furniture that doesn't have sliders in prep for tomorrow's floor work. Need to do that today since I will be the only one here tomorrow (and it really takes 2 people to get the sliders under the bigger pieces of furniture).

I was going to put my stats in here someplace...
age - 59
Height - 5' 8"
Weights - see previous posts

Also - got the sliders under the furniture, so ready to go.

6/28/2021

Weight - 238.4
BG - 99
Steps - 22,392 (Friday thru Sunday)

Weight and BG are both a little high this morning. Weight is high because of all the exercise over the weekend. Finished the flooring in the living room, moved all the furniture back and installed all of the transition pieces throughout the house. Also mowed and edged front and back. I am sore this morning so i'm pretty sure that I'm retaining some water because of the DOMS. BG is high this morning because of a chip binge last night (still managed to stay under calories for the day!).

I did not get the road bike set-up yesterday because it took longer to install the transition pieces for the flooring than I had planned on. Will have to ride the exercise bike until I get the road bike set-up.

Today's plan - ride the exercise bike at lunch for at least 40 minutes, eat decently and recover from the weekend.

6/29

No weight today... yesterday was a train wreck...

Our daughter made brownies and cup cakes for the BH to take to work... stayed out of the cup cakes (not a fan), but had to have brownies, and peanut butter, and ...

Just a really not good day food wise. Didn't get on the bike either, but I did finish the day helping weed in the garden and I also cleaned up the patio area where I had been cutting the flooring on Saturday.

Today will be better.

Tuesday and Wednesday were much better days as far as food goes - stayed under calories both days and hit protein/carb goals as well.

Still haven't done any deliberate exercise, even tho I have been staying active. Yesterday, I spent the evening clearing out the floor of the bathroom walk-in closet (I am going to put down the laminate flooring in there this weekend). Took out the house-original carpet and padding (that was nasty!). Will take some time this evening to remove the carpet tack strips and cleaning up the last of the debris from doing that.

Did start the month on a positive note - I had a minor woosh weight-wise and weighed 236.7 this morning, so that made a total of 9 lbs down for June... not what I wanted but I will definitely take it.

Goals for July:
Steps - average 5k per day
Weight - down at least 10 lbs
Exercise - 6 days a week (gardening/yard work/home improvements do count as exercise)
Food - 125g protein a day, 125g net carbs per day, eat more veggies!

Since I don't usually visit the boards on weekends (I log food, just not active on the boards), this will be a catch-up post for the last 4 days:

Friday:
Steps -> 7716
Cals -> 1739 (86p/166nc)
Exercise -> flooring prep (clean out closet, pull carpet/baseboards, etc)

Saturday:
Steps -> 9816
Cals -> 1532 (130p/129nc)
Exercise -> install flooring, baseboards, re-fill the closet

Sunday:
Steps -> 6496
Cals -> 1718 (175p/83nc)
Exercise -> busy day around the house (gardening, cleaning, etc), weekly shopping, etc

Monday:
Steps -> 7944
Cals -> 1681 (124p/103nc)
Exercise -> flooring in front coat/storage closet (all-in-1-day!)

It was a busy weekend, did alright on calories but got a little high on the carbs Friday. No deliberate exercise, but still got a lot of exercise in doing the flooring and other stuff around the house.

Started the day today by walking to the grocery store to get a few things - it's about a mile each way so a good walk. Will probably do yard work tonight. It keeps raining just enough so the grass needs to be mowed weekly.

7/7 - Wednesday

Steps -> 8192
Cals -> 1755 (129p/143nc)
Exercise -> walked to the grocery store (and back) 2+ miles

Yesterday was a good day - got in a nice walk in the morning and stayed more active the rest of the day (interesting how that works). Eating was good - protein where i want it, too many carbs tho.

I tested BG after the walk yesterday (79) and after the morning walk today (89) - the difference being the number of carbs I ate Monday vs the number of carbs I ate yesterday. When I keep the carbs down, the results are obvious. Yes, I am slightly obsessed with BG readings, but there is a family history of T2D and I have no intention of becoming another statistic. 2 of my sibs are currently T2D and my maternal GF was also T2D. Neither of my sibs are doing very well with their T2D (altho my bro did get his under control with diet and exercise when he was first diagnosed, he has slacked off a bunch since then). They are both becoming slaves to the pharmacy and I really don't want to go down that road.

I did not do the yard work yesterday - the BH had other plans for us, so the yard is still patiently waiting for me (maybe tonight).

7/8 - Thursday

Steps -> 10,696
Cals -> 1,919 (120p/162nc)
Exercise -> morning walk (2.77 miles), mowed/edged the yard

Yesterday was a good day for exercise, a so so day for food. Finally mowed and edged the yard, but had a real bout of the munchies so way overate on carbs. Finishing out the peanut butter jar didn't help either (76 grams of PB is a lot of calories).

Oh well, today is a new day and a chance to improve.

7/9 - Friday

Steps -> 10,432
Cals -> 1,548 (145p/114nc)
Exercise -> morning walk (2.74 miles), assembled the new grill that was my father's day present (it finally arrived!).

Good day for exercise yesterday with the morning walk and then being active after work. Doesn't sound like much to assemble a grill, but it came in one giant box and it took 2+ hours to unpack it and put it together. Will have to send a note to Home Depot about the packing - I ended up with a full recycle bin + 2 huge bags of styrofoam/plastic/etc from the 1 grill (a totally silly amount of packing for that thing).

Food was good for the day - since I started on the grill right after work, I didn't snack thru the evening. Kept my carbs in line and my BG this morning was 76 (surprise!).

My company has a special bonus going this summer - we get a half day of vacation (above and beyond normal vacation) each week in July and August - given to all of the employees who managed to make it thru the last year with the company. I am taking my half day this week today and I will use it to get my bike in shape and ready for riding. I plan to do my first ride tomorrow morning after my BH leaves for work.

Monday morning check-in
Friday:
Steps -> 12,028
Cals -> 1,544 (139p/103nc)
Exercise -> walked 3.25 miles to start the day, stayed active the rest of the day

Saturday:
Steps -> 6,150
Cals -> 1,337 (127p/112nc) a 'not hungry' day
Exercise -> road bike for 11.2 miles, stayed somewhat active the rest of the day

Sunday:
Steps -> 6,411
Cals -> 1,590 (108p/91nc) lotta fat... hmm
Exercise -> rest day, but did stay active during the day

It was a good weekend - finally got the bike out and rode it... went better than I had hoped considering it has been 6+ months since I have been on it. Food for the weekend was also good, even tho a little high on fats on Sunday. Tomorrow will be a non-riding day, so I will do body weight exercises during the day.

Tuesday:
Steps -> 6,842
Cals -> 1,700 (136p/105nc)
Exercise -> Road bike (11.5 miles), stayed active as well

Monday was a good day for exercise and food. The bike is feeling better, but it will take a couple more rides to get my 'bike butt' back. Yesterday was a little hungrier than normal, so I ate a little above target - but I did concentrate on protein instead of carbs which was good.

Today, I really wanted protein for lunch so I pigged on chicken and ended up with almost 100g of protein (just for lunch!). Yea, some of that will go to GNG, but since I am not trying to be in ketosis, I really don't care. I tried the ketosis route last summer, but when I started riding the bike a lot, I couldn't do both keto and ride without feeling like a wet dishrag by the end of the ride, so I upped the carbs to 125g daily and that seemed to be a good balance for me.

Good news is that the DOMS from starting to ride and doing all the physical labor of the floors has all but dissipated, so my weight is again going down (so far - 3.5 lbs this month).

Enough for today, check back in tomorrow.

Thursday
Didn't post yesterday... got busy at work with meetings and deadlines... oh well
Tuesday:
Steps -> 3,893
Cals -> 1,599 (153p/113nc)
Exercise -> rest day... needed to just take a day and be a slug

Wednesday:
Steps -> 4,866
Cals -> 1,554 (117p/154nc)
Exercise -> rode 11.72 miles in the morning, stayed somewhat active the rest of the day

Not a bad couple of days even if Tuesday was a 'slug' day. Did get a ride in before work yesterday, still need to build the BW exercises into the routine. Food was good on Tuesday, but I went way over on carbs Wednesday.

Started the day today by walking to the grocery store (3.5 mile round trip). Will be watching the carbs today... more protein should help with that. Did a BG test this morning and it was within limits - 87 - but higher than I want (notice how many carbs I ate yesterday...).

We are at the mid-point of the month (I am totally anal about numbers) so a progress report:
Daily average steps -> 7,512
Daily calories average -> 1628 (protein - 128, net carbs - 124)
Exercise days for the month -> 12 out of 14
Weight loss -> 3.6 lbs

Not bad so far, a little disappointed in the scale, but I think going from a total slug in the previous month to a fairly active lifestyle is probably hiding some progress at this point.

Friday check-in:
Steps -> 11,967
Cals -> 1,517 (141p/110nc)
Exercise -> 3.4 mi walk to the store and back, active the rest of the day

Exercise was good, it was a nice morning to walk to the store. Wife and I went to Costco after she got home from work so that added a nice little sum to my steps as well. Food was good, kept the protein up and the carbs down.

Holy carp, it's Wednesday... missed a couple of days (doing the short-form report):

Friday -> 6194; 1685; Biked 13.7 miles
Saturday -> 12,578; 1693; Biked 15.9 miles, installed a dog fence
Sunday -> 7399; 1419; Active but no scheduled exercise
Monday -> 6101; 1557; Biked 12.7 miles
Tuesday -> 2331; 1476; No exercise (stomach issues as well)

It was a very active weekend and food was mostly on point... ate a few too many carbs on Sunday, but kept protein where it should be. About mid-day on Monday I started feeling really off (stomach issues) and stuff was going thru me pretty quickly, so I didn't do anything besides work on Tuesday. Things settled down Tuesday evening and were fine this morning bu I took the morning off (no bike ride) just to let my body rest. I will be back on the bike tomorrow morning.

Thursday
Steps -> 2645
Calories -> way north of what they should have been
Exercise -> no exercise, last day of feeling punky from Monday

Yesterday was a total train wreck in terms of calories... did good during the day but just couldn't stop snacking last night. Ended up somewhere north of 2300 calories for the day (holy crap Batman!!). It was kinda scary getting on the scale this morning, set it on the floor, closed my eyes and stepped on... HUH????? I am a pound DOWN from yesterday???? WTH???

I will never understand scales and bodies as long as I live... guess I should should just stay the course and keep with the program as it seems to be working.

Friday
Steps -> 6,805
Calories -> 1,542 (130p/123nc)
Exercise -> Biked 13.9 miles

Got back on track yesterday with calories and exercise.

It feels really good to get back on the bike, I have adjusted to the seat again and I am added speed/mileage each time I go out.

Weight was down again this morning (only .1 lbs, but still down). Kinda surprised me, since my legs were still a little tight this morning and I figured DOMS would make the scale be up this morning. I am now down below my last MFP check-in weight (woohoo!).

Weekend check-in:
Friday:
Steps -> 6,601
Calories -> 1,434 (99/123)
Exercise -> Biked 13.4 miles
Saturday:
Steps -> 12,285
Calories -> 1,438 (125/123)
Exercise -> Biked 19.8 miles and then did yard work
Sunday:
Steps -> 6,958
Calories -> 1,636 (109/152)
Exercise -> No deliberate exercise, active rest day

A good weekend (even if I did have chocolate on Sunday

). Did my longest ride since lat fall on Saturday and still had enough in the tank to mow and edge the lawn. Sunday was spent doing things with the family like shopping and household chores, so a good break. Carbs were high on Sunday, but I did manage to control the carbs urges otherwise.

BG reading this morning -> 73 (after my morning ride, so no damage done with the higher carb load on Sunday).

Tuesday
Steps -> 7,383
Calories -> 1,568 (148/117)
Exercise -> Bike 13.3 miles

Monday was a good day. Kept the calories in check and kept the carbs lower. Got my ride in first thing (before the day got hot) and then stayed active during the day.

Wednesday
Steps -> 9,045
Calories -> 1,554 (127/121)
Exercise -> Walked 3.31 miles to the store and back, stayed active the rest of the day

Yesterday was an ok day, was high on carbs (but fiber kept me under goal). We shall see what today brings.

Thursday
Steps -> 6,957
Calories -> 1,646 (109/161)
Exercise -> Biked 15.8 miles to start the day

Good day for exercise, bad day for carbs...

Wow, it's already August...
July wrap-up:
Steps -> 230,945 total, daily average 7,450
Calories in -> 49,165, average protein 127 grams, average net carbs 126 grams
Exercise -> 21,576 calories burned thru deliberate exercise, 185 miles on the bike and 29 miles walking, 1 session on the spin bike.
Weight -> 8.1 lb loss for the month.

I have now lost 25 lbs since the start of May and I am finally below where I was at the start of the year (I added some weight during the winter months...). It feels good to be making progress, I am just impatient that it takes time to make the progress. I can see definite changes when I look in the mirror, my face has reached that 'gaunt' stage where my cheeks are sunk in and I am getting definition back in my arms and legs (I always lose in my face, legs and arms first), but the gut is still there.

Won't be getting out on the bike today, we had several inches of rain last night, so the bike path will have stretches that will be under water today. Will do a session on the spin bike for lunch to keep the deliberate exercise going.

Back to the journal...

Food has been on track, tho protein has been low the last couple of days.
Steps (with the exception of 1 'slug' day) have been good - still averaging 7300 steps a day.
Exercise - I have been out riding 6 days so far in August and have stayed active most days beyond that.

The last couple of days on the bike have been slower/easier days... I wiped out making the final turn onto my home street on Sunday morning (hit a rock that was hiding in a pile of grass clippings), so I am still finding bruises and scrapes from that little escapade. It has also been very hot and humid, which takes a toll while I am riding.

The good news is that I am finally solidly into the 220's now, so I am happy with my progress.

Yesterday was a good food day, under calories, reasonable on carbs and over on protein.

Rode the bike 16.1 miles yesterday morning, a good ride, somewhat slower than I would like, but any ride is a good ride. Another hot and humid morning... may have some relief from that next week, but for now, I will just carry some extra water and not push as hard (maybe).

Total steps for the day -> 7820.
Weight was up slightly this morning... prolly still retaining water from the crash.

Walked to the store yesterday morning as a break from riding the bike. Took the long way and managed to clock in 4.25 miles before making it home.

Food was good, protein and carbs both in the range that I am aiming for.

Total steps -> 11,648
Haven't weighed myself yet, will get to that shortly.

Have had a couple of not-so-good food days in a row... went over 200g in carbs yesterday. Protein has been good, just need to manage the carbs.

Rode the bike Thursday thru Saturday, logging 55 miles across the three rides. Took Sunday off, and rode yesterday and today, logging 33 miles. I have already done 184 miles on the bike this month... last month's total was 185 miles, so I will crush that number this month.

Checked my BG today (really pushed the distance and speed on the bike), 2 hours after the ride it was 66... guess all those carbs yesterday really didn't hurt.

Weight has been fluctuating a lot with the lower carb and higher carb days, but has stayed below 230 so while I am not happy with the number, I am happy that the trend has stayed down.

Today I added in body-weight exercises (push ups and squats) which will probably cause even more fluctuations... sigh.

Last week was a study in contrasts (all or nothing type mentality). I rode the bike 3 days for a total of 58.14 miles, but was an absolute slug for 2 days (it rained and I just couldn't get my lazy *kitten* to ride the spin bike those 2 days). Friday was a family day that involved a good bit of walking so there was that. Food was good except for Sunday... we made cookies with one of our grand daughters and I HAD to eat several of them.

Have been doing better this week. I have ridden the bike each of the last 3 days before work for a total of 47.88 miles (posted my best average speed this morning at 13.7 mph). Food has been good with protein staying above 100 grams each day and carbs/fat filling in the rest.

I have also added in body weight exercises during work - take a break and do push-ups and squats at regular intervals. I did 100 push-ups and 75 squats during the day yesterday and will do at least that many today.

I have already smashed my total mileage goal for the month. I did 185 miles on the bike in July and had a goal of 250 miles this month - I am now at 257 miles and counting. I should break the 300 mile mark before the end of the month (might even get close to 350 for the month - we shall see!).

Rode 16.8 miles before work this morning, did 80 push-ups, 60 squats and 1 plank (1 minute) yesterday.

Food was on target, protein good and carbs lower than I had been eating (less than 150 grams yesterday). The carbs don't seem to matter as much as long as I am consistently riding in the morning. Will have to watch that when winter shuts me down on out door riding (or just get my lazy self on the spin bike, sigh).

Weight was the same today as yesterday - no real surprise when I think about it - lunch was salty and dinner was salty, and while I sweat a lot riding in the mornings (esp. when it's already 80+ at 6:30 in the morning), I can't sweat all that salt/water out in 1 ride.

Did remember to check BG reading after the ride this morning - 75 was the result, so perfectly where I want it to be. Will keep the carbs at about the same level and that should work out quite well.

September 1
Progress update for August
Bike -> 290.62 miles for the month
Walking -> 24.37 miles
Total steps -> 215,894
Avg steps -> 6,964
Weight loss -> 1.1 lbs (see discussion below)

August was a good month for the most part, but it finished with a train wreck of a weekend. I tweaked my back while riding Friday (hit a dip in the path that I was not watching for) and couldn't do much for the last 4 days, and didn't keep a check on my eating as well, so water weight, salt, etc are killing my month end goals (that and being a total sloth for three days). Good news is that my weight is lower than the start of the month.

The other good news is that I did get a ride in this morning and didn't have any twinges from my back, so I will continue the path and see where it leads.

September goals are simple - beat the August totals in all categories:
Bike -> 350 miles
Walking -> 30 miles
Total Steps -> 250,000 (or more)
Avg steps -> >7000 per day
Weight -> 8 lbs

Sept 2:
Biked 16.72 miles yesterday and 18.24 miles today. Also did 75 push-ups (25x3) yesterday.
Food was on point -> Protein 112g, carbs 111g net.

Judging on how I was feeling at the end of my ride today, I think I will have a few more carbs today and see how it goes for tomorrow's ride.

Sept 3:
Rode 16.26 miles this morning. Did 50 push-ups after yesterday's ride, will do some thru the day today.

Food was on point - protein at 104g, carbs at 156g net. The added carbs did not help with this morning's ride, so the other limiting factor would be the humidity... it has been running between 75% and 82% for the last several days... can't sweat enough (sweat doesn't evaporate when there is that much water in the air) to cool off...

Checked blood sugar an hour after the morning ride and it was at 76 so definitely not short on carbs. Will just keep hoping that we can get some wind to come thru and clear some of this moisture from the air.