Lessons Learned & Learning 23: 690 Days of Maintenance

Prior maintenance updates: 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 120 days, 150 days, 180 days, 210 days, 240 days, 270 days, 300 days, 330 days, 360 days, 390 days, 420 days, 450 days, 480 days, 510 days, 540 days, 570 days, 600 days, 630 days, 660 days.

The vertical red lines on my chart for average weight indicate the day that I had started taking anastrazole, the drug I'm on to try to prevent cancer recurrence (day 355) and the days of my bout with what was likely E. coli (days 580-581). More on the shifts in my weight trends around those events is in my 630-day update.

Here's how my 23 30-day maintenance periods compare:



My twenty-third 30 days looked like this:


Weight: I had reached my goal weight of 150 lbs. on Dec. 17, 2013. According to MFP, that would place my net calories at 1600 for maintenance.

Between days 661 and 690 inclusive my weight averaged 148.2 and ranged from 147 to 149.

Exercise Calories Burned: I took 1 rest day (0 calories burned) during maintenance days 661-690. My average exercise calories burned for this period (including rest days) equaled 389/day. My highest burn was 622 on Oct. 21, representing 30 minutes on the treadmill plus an hour on the DeskCycle. That cycling day also put me up over 16,000 miles (since Sept. 1, 2012) in my Virtual Ride Around the Equator, about at the longitude of Marotandrano, Madagascar.

Not counted is the calorie burn from my Better Bones and Balance workouts, because I have no idea what that burn would be. In this 30-day period I have done 10 BBB workouts, eight with a 12.5-lb. weighted vest and two with a 15-lb weighted vest. Also added to my regular cycling workout is five 30-minute sessions on my manual treadmill set at a 10-degree incline, all with a 12.5-lb weighted vest.

The end of October also marked two full years of my doing the 24 Hour Challenge thread. I have consistently met the goal of exercising for at least 24 hours each month and continue on track in the November thread.

Total and Net Calories Consumed: Total calories for maintenance days 631-660 averaged 1953/day and ranged from 1694 (Oct. 12) to 2196 (Oct. 21, the day of my highest calorie burn during this period). Net calories (total calories minus exercise calories burned) averaged 1564/day (98% of maintenance) and ranged from 1318 (Oct. 16) to 1989 (Oct. 9, a rest day).

On October 10 I attended an event that donated funds to a foundation to help local cancer patients and their families. I pose here with the bra I decorated for the occasion. Titled "Time to Help," the bra's design took its cue from the foundation's mission. I'm also wearing the Sharpie tee I designed.



I arranged the mandala forms below in the pattern of a Nautilus shell. Once I printed the outline, I realized that I might have trouble maneuvering even an ultra-fine Sharpie around the smallest mandalas, so I filled them in digitally.



Details are best viewed in the original size.