2020Lose 52 Pounds in 52 Weeks Challenge

Week 51. Only one more week to go!
Still fighting to get below a weight of 185. Cooler weather (and some weak excuses) have kept me from riding my bike to burn a few thousand calories, so I’m relying on diet alone to keep it rolling (albeit at a slower pace) into the last days of our challenge. Too long at a plateau of my own doing has made it unlikely that I’ll hit a ‘healthy’ weight of 181 by January 1st 2021, so the goal is to sidestep the holidays and get as close as I can.

Starting weight: 233 lbs
Goal weight: 165 lbs
Current weight: 185.3 lbs
Total weight lost: 47.7 lbs, -3.7 lbs since last post (week 46)

This Week’s Successes:
Returned to a more consistent diet after a couple of weeks of maintenance. I also returned to daily logging, which has helped get me back on track.

This Week’s Challenges:
No exercise. Cooler temps and a lack of weather appropriate workout clothes gave me a flimsy excuse to stop riding.

Starting weight: 228.9 on 6/1/2020
Age: 50
Height: 5’8”
Goal weight: 180
6/1– 228.9
6/4– 227.9
6/9– 226.7
6/14-225.3
6/22-225.0
6/28-224.2
7/2—223.3
7/6—223.2
7/13–221.6
7/20–218.4
7/26–217.7
8/9—218.1
8/16–216.4
8/24–216.7
8/30–216.2
9/6—212.5
9/13-212.0
9/20-213.2
9/27-212.9
10/4-211.4
10/11-212.3
10/18-210.7
10/25-213.4
11/1 - 214.0
11/8 - 213.9
11/15 -212.6
11/22–212.3
11/29–210.7
12/6—212.2
12/13-210.2
12/20-210.1
12/28–211.2

Up 1.1 pounds this week... not terrible for the holidays.

17.7 pounds lost for the year so far!!

I will never ever weigh 270 again. Soon I will say the same about 260.

Starting weight: 272 (1-1-20)

Goal WT 254

12/03
12/10 258.8 holding steady hoping to hit 254.0 for 1-1-21
12/11
12/12
12/13
12/14 259.8 ready to finish 2020 strong
12/15
12/16
12/17
12/18 258.3 that goal is looking like a stretch but I can lose a couple more by new years
12/19
12/20
12/21
12/30 259.1 down 13 on the year, shooting for 258 Jan 1st. Ready to hammer down in 2021 yesssssssss

Week 52. A year in review
52 pounds in 52-weeks seemed like a decent challenge to shed the extra weight I’d been carrying for years. I lost the first 25 pounds with relative ease until Covid-19 restrictions forced me out of my routine and added a bit of tension when venturing outside. Then, the rest of the year was a slow crawl which finds me here. In all, I’ve enjoyed the journey and watching this group succeed and lamented with those who’ve stumbled. I am not done, as I still have a bit to go, and wish you well moving into the new year. Summary below:

Starting weight 1/1/2020: 233 lbs
Goal weight: 165 lbs
Ending weight 1/1/2021: 192 lbs
Total weight lost: 41 lbs

This Year’s Successes:
I bought a bike and, in total, rode nearly a 1,000 miles several times a week with the longest ride being 100k (>62 miles). I worked out in the gym for a few months until it shut down and increased my weights as I learned what worked for me. I walked (for a short time) and even tried my hand at running again (perhaps a bit earlier than advised). I learned to cook dozens of healthy meals and soups and found substitutions which allow me to keep on track while keeping my kids fed with the less healthier versions of the foods they love. My lowest recorded weight for the year was 185.1, which I’ve hit about a dozen times, but not broken past. I moved from ‘Obese’ to ‘Overweight’ and flirted with a ‘Healthy’ BMI during this year. In all, I’ve lost 21 inches off my measurements and 10% of my body fat. Finally, I’ve added friends on MFP for the first time since I joined over 10 years ago.

This Year’s Challenges:
Covid-19 and a couple of hurricanes disrupted my new routine and slowed down my progress. Once I lost over 40 pounds, I found my drive to keep losing was inversely proportional to my need to buy new clothes. I’ve not maintained the strictest of diets (though that was never the plan) and have had long lapses in logging. I also found that, once they reopened, my desire to go back to the gym has faded off.

So, Happy New Year!!! Congratulations to those of you who remained or checked back in, whether smaller than you were 52 weeks ago or not, it was a good fight and having learned, we move on to a new year and a new challenge. Thankfully, 2020 does not define us, but the challenges it presented, with hope, will place us on a course to finish what we started.