Focus

Lose 27.3 lb. by Apr 1 (or possibly just 22.3)

[thewildlyimportant]

Week 10: down 16.6 lb., 7.7 worse than target of down 24.3, 02.9 worse than adjusted target of down 19.5

Bad eating week. More below.

74% success rate (15.5/21) on my lead measures: link to full scoreboard

#1 Focus: read 15 minutes every day … 7/7

Solid again.

#2 Eat: B+ or better per day, B- or better per meal … 1.5/7

Bad. Exacerbated by the week leading to my birthday. As I type this, I have started the next week poorly. More below.

#3 Move: walk 10k step every day + complete weekly workout plan … 7/7

Solid again. I try hard for 10k steps on those 2 days per week I don’t run. My running has been great. Lifting weight 2x per week. Going to stick at LA Fitness through May as I’ve gotten into rhythm with soccer practice on Mondays and Thursdays. I’ve I’m going to try a change, I should try it in the summer. Not saying my routine is perfect, but at least it’ll be twice per week for March through May, that’s something.

Bottom line

Already looking ahead to what comes next. Need to fight that. Stick with this to April 1st and see where I’m at.

I’m already 0 for 2 eating for the next week. It’s Sunday night, I’m going to try my best and go 5 for 5 Monday to Friday, be 19 for 21, 90% for the week overall on all 3 lead measures.

Probably won’t get below 180. But I’ll be close. Then it’s on to 2Q.

[thewildlyimportant]

Week 9: down 17.2 lb., 5.6 worse than target of down 22.8, 0.8 worse than adjusted target of down 18

Closed the gap on targets ever so slightly. Feeling like 180 is in sight.

83% success rate (17.5/21) on my lead measures: link to full scoreboard

#1 Focus: read 15 minutes every day … 7/7

Reduced back down to 15 from 20 to allow for a smoother process of switching to writing from reading each morning when the coffee is ready.

#2 Eat: B+ or better per day, B- or better per meal … 3.5/7

I think I can be more lenient on myself with my weekend grading. Because a problem with weeks starting on Saturday is I start with failing then get more likely to slip during the week. If I’m perfect on Tuesday, chances are I will keep trying to be perfect the rest of the week.

#3 Move: walk 10k step every day + complete weekly workout plan … 7/7

Second consecutive week of never missing a 10k step day. And running continues to feel great right now. Just did 100 miles in February.

Back to the gym for strength. Mondays/Thursdays now fit into my schedule. Evenings. Probably will have to stick with LA Fitness through April.

Bottom line

Besides the part where I do this weekly recap blog post, this system feels nearly normal and sustainable.

[thewildlyimportant]

Week 8: down 15.4 lb., 5.8 worse than target of down 21.2, 1.1 worse than adjusted target of down 16.5

Less than ideal to be 1.1 lb. behind my adjusted target in the first week after adjusting it. Was trying to lose 1.5 this week but only lost 0.4.

More on how I landed here when discussing the lead measures below. But adjusted target of 179.9 by Apr 1 is still in reach if I can lose 1.4 per week for the remaining 5 weeks.

81% success rate (17/21) on my lead measures: link to full scoreboard

#1 Focus: read 20 minutes every day … 7/7

Finished 1Q84. Now switching between a couple books.

This has been a resounding success. Gets me starting the day in a creative headspace then writing for a bit instead of watching YouTube.

#2 Eat: B minimum every meal + no weekend alcohol… 3.5/7

OK, this is the lowest performance for any lead measure yet. Not going to dissect this too much. Just going to simplify it going forward.

Returning to the simple B+ EGPA daily goal with one caveat. The caveat being per meal eating grade minimum is B-. This is so I don’t do fast in morning for an A, light lunch for another A, then C dinner and call that a win. Let’s see how this goes.

#3 Move: walk 10k step every day + complete weekly workout plan … 6.5/7

Walking great. Running great.

Didn’t lift this week. Feels weird to skip that and only lose 0.5. But the way I score it, it’s half for walking, then half for working out. Missing lifting is only missing half a workout, so only 0.25 deduction x2.

I was sick, that’s why I skipped the gym. I would’ve soldiered through in the pre-pandemic world. But I figured other gym-goers wouldn’t have appreciated me coughing and sneezing.

Really want to buckle down and do 5 consecutive weeks of 2x strength workouts per week. Want to see some progress and learn something. Don’t think LA Fitness and weight machines is my long term plan. Definitely considering something better starting April or May, we’ll see. For now, I just need to focus on the good over the perfect.

Bottom line

I refuse to complain about losing 15.4 pounds since the 1st of the year.

[thewildlyimportant]

Week 7: down 15 lb., 4.2 worse than target of down 19.2

Weird, 2nd week in a row my Saturday morning weigh-in was above my Thursday and Friday weigh-ins. But I ate just as good on Friday as I did on Wednesday and Thursday, so I am not fur sure what’s happening. I know on Thursdays and Fridays I weigh in later, that is, after my run, which is after coffee and lots of water, so I figured it’d even out. Guess not.

Regardless, I’m committed to not obsessing over the daily details. This is about long run progress. So 187.2 it is.

To reach my 174.9 target from this point would require just over 2 lb. loss per week for the next 6 weeks. That’s more like a recipe for failure than a stretch goal, so it’s time for an adjusted target. Going to try for 179.9 before Apr 1. That’s 1.5 per week for the next 3 weeks, 1 pound per week for weeks 4 and 5, and 0.8 pounds in the final 6 days.

My worst lead measures performance to date. But still think they are set correctly. More on this below.

81% success rate (17/21) on my lead measures: link to full scoreboard

#1 Focus: read 20 minutes every day … 7/7

Still reading 1Q84. I’m on page 887 of 926. So I assume I’ll finish this week. It’s inspired me to start a blog. And the next book I’m going to read will continue this, so I am taking this as a resounding success.

#2 Eat: B minimum every meal + no weekend alcohol… 4/7

OK, what to make of this? 4 of 7 is, on the face of it, not good. Saturday was obviously bad with 2 sub-B meals, thus B- for the day. Sunday was just a miss on account of Super Bowl C+ dinner, but I still managed a B+ for the day. Then I had a 3.44 EGPA Monday but had 2 beers with dinner, so I started the week 0 for 3.

But then I rattled off a 4.0 Tuesday, then 3.78s on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. So I am heading into week 8 on a hot streak. I think this lead measure is set correctly and will try again.

#3 Move: walk 10k step every day + complete weekly workout plan … 6/7

Awesome on runs. Awesome at the gym. Somehow didn’t get many steps on a soccer Saturday (but I felt very active). Then didn’t feel like walking around the house for an extra 300 steps on my non-running Wednesday, so I did to 0.5-day deductions. I am fine with this performance but feel compelled to complete the symbolic effort of 7 for 7 next week.

Bottom line

Adjusted target gets me to 185s next week. Let’s do this!

[thewildlyimportant]

Week 6: down 14 lb., 3.1 worse than target of down 17.1

I finally broke the 190 pound threshold, so that’s something.

But it’s becoming increasingly clear that getting to 174.9 by April 1 is going to be a stretch. Not totally undoable if I bear down and do something like Whole 30. But like I wrote last week, my lead measures are more in the vain of a sustainable lifestyle as opposed to a crash course. And I prefer building sustainable habits to crash courses. So I don’t want to pivot to something more aggressive.

Probably getting close to time to set an adjusted target so I have something within in reach to strive for that will still make me happy. Because right now I would need to lose 1.9 pounds per week for the remaining 7 weeks. That likely isn’t happening.

If I softened to 179.9 from 174.9, that’d be 1.2 pounds per week for the remaining 7 weeks. That’d more like it. But I think I’m going to hold off for at least one more week before setting an adjusted target.

83% success rate (17.5/21) on my lead measures: link to full scoreboard

(Pretty low success rate on my lead measures, more on that in the specific sections below)

#1 Focus: read 20 minutes every day … 7/7

Still reading 1Q84. Keeping it at 20 minutes next week too. I wonder if I’ll finish soon.

#2 Eat: B minimum every meal + no alcohol… 4/7

OK, 4 of 7 is not great. But based on my old rules, this was a 7 for 7 week. Solid EGPA of 3.59. Only one day as low as 3.33 B+. So I’m sort of OK with the 4 of 7. The misses are due to either alcohol and/or one C+ meal on a B+ day.

Adjusting next week to allowing alcohol on weekends. But I’m typing this after the start to the Super Bowl weekend, and that’s probably a mistake lolol. We’ll see how this goes.

#3 Move: walk 10k step every day + complete weekly workout plan … 6.5/7

My weekday non-run day is always tough to get to 10k steps. I got to 9431. It rained most of the day. I was wandering around the house before bed to get my final 1500 or so, but decided to give it a rest and take the L for the day. That’s the 0.5 deduction.

On my 2nd strength day, I spent some time reviewing the weight machine equipment and organizing my go forward plan. I have some stuff in writing now, i.e. I have a plan for strength training for the next 3 weeks, more specific than simply “do something twice per week.” Hopefully, this is the start to my long journey becoming someone that lift weights. 

Bottom line

Can I see 186-something on the scale next week? 😬😬😬

[thewildlyimportant]

Week 5: down 12.2 lb., 2.4 worse than target of down 14.6

I think I’ve crafted solid lead measures for a sustainably healthy lifestyle but not necessarily aggressive enough to lose 27+ pounds in 3 months. I just figured I was heading into the year a tad bloated from the holidays and lack of movement from my toe injury, thus I would have had more low hanging fruit pound shedding early on.

That said I am not going to beat myself up about losing 12.2 pounds in 5 weeks. I am happy about how I’m focusing and eating and drinking and exercising lately, so there it is.

95% success rate (20/21) on my lead measures: link to full scoreboard

#1 Focus: read 20 minutes every day … 7/7

Still reading 1Q84. This book is 900+ pages and I have fewer than 300 pages to go. I like it and want to find out how it ends. But I am ready to move onto something else. 

#2 Eat: B minimum every meal + no alcohol… 6/7

Definitely a good idea to change to this from B+ per day. Do this and the daily EGPA takes care of itself. My weekly EGPA was its highest yet at 3.62, barely nudging out week 1′s 3.6. I had 4 A- days and 3 just below that at 3.56. This is definitely the way to go. Will continue this goal another week.

I actually weighed in at 189.0 and 189.4 on Thursday and Friday, respectively. But we had night out planned on for Saturday night that got bumped up to Friday, so that’s why I’m only 6 of 7 for the week. I made it to the final meal on the final day. Fasted until noon (morning A), very healthy lunch and snack (midday A), then 2 beers with a reasonably healthy (for a place that serves bar food) dinner (so C+ evening).

Had I opted for water, I could have gone 7/7 and probably hit my week 5 checkpoint at sub-190, which would have felt great. But I figured if this plan was really going to be sustainable, I can’t deprive my things in spots like this. It’s probably why plans like Whole 30 don’t like mid-plan weigh-ins.

#3 Move: walk 10k step every day + complete weekly workout plan … 7/7

Walking no problem. Running no problem, 5 runs, 22 miles. I am actually planning on going for 100 miles in February, so my last 3 runs of this week were the start of that.

Strength training. Did it. Went to the gym Wednesday and Sunday. Felt great first time back on Sunday. The thoughts running through my head that day were along the lines of, “I may not have the best program yet, but I am here, so that’s a win.” Gym wasn’t too busy so I was able to muddle my way through a workout. Wednesday, well, I went. Gym was packed at the after workday rush. I felt like I was in everyone’s way. Definitely left with the feeling that I need to figure out a program. That’s a medium run concern. Just trying to make the gym twice again this upcoming week again. 

Bottom line

Surely, I get below 190 this week?

Onward and downward!

[thewildlyimportant]

Week 4: down 10.6 lb., 1.5 worse than target of down 12.1

OK, so a goal of losing 12.1 lb. in just 4 weeks might’ve been a tad aggressive. But a couple things. First, I figured I was I carrying some low-hanging-fruit water weight coming off the excess of the holidays. Which I likely was demonstrated by the 4.8 lb. week 1 loss. Second, I only lost 0.4 lb.--that’s less than a half pound!-- this week, so just a reasonable week of weight loss, and I’d be within a pound of target.

Regardless, travel obviously impacted things even if I EGPA doesn’t show it. I probably graded myself on a curve subconsciously.

98.8% success rate (20.75/21) on my lead measures: link to full scoreboard

#1 Focus: read 15 minutes every day … 7/7

Still reading 1Q84. Bumping this goal to 20 minutes per day next week. The reason? 15 minutes is the length of time I wait for the coffee in the morning. I read my allotted time, get up to pour myself a cup, then sit back down and watch YouTube. If I have to read an additional 5 minutes, I’ll be forced to keep reading when I sit back down with my coffee, hopefully cutting down on that YouTube time which can’t be a good way to start my day from focus perspective.

#2 Eat: B+ average every day … 7/7

EGPA of 3.46, better than last week’s low of 3.41, back on par with week 2, still well short of week 1′s high of 3.6.

But like I mentioned above, I likely graded myself too leniently when traveling. That shouldn’t diminish how well I did, which was pretty decent considering the circumstances. Thought about writing a whole blog post of the challenges of eating well while traveling but was too lazy to do so.

Changes for next week: adjusting the B+ EGPA daily average goal to a minimum B EGPA per meal goal. Problem has been, I’d do A for the morning, A- for midday, then be able to skate through with C+ for dinner and still manage a B+ for the day. Not worried about the daily goal of B+, because I nearly always fast until noon which is an A, so even B lunch and B dinner still gets me a B+ for the day. Realistically, I do a lot of A- lunches, so a B dinner will get me a 3.55 day.

Also, tacking on a no alcohol for the week goal. Been indulging on red wine too much with dinner. This admittedly has a lot to do with those C+ dinners. I can add back red wine in a week or two if I regain my momentum.

#3 Move: walk 10k step every day + complete weekly workout plan … 6.75/7

OK, what is a 0.75?

Well, the snow and cold weather up north when traveling made my Sunday run a no go. But I managed 10k steps for that day (combo of shoveling snow and airport walking), so that got me half. Then I stepped up and hit my run mileage goal total for the week despite only running 4 times instead of 5.

So get half credit for the day due to the steps, then I’m giving myself half credit for the other half for running on account of meeting my mileage goal for the week. Thus, the 0.75. Not getting full credit because I believe firmly in hitting the number of runs for the benefit of habit building and maintaining.

Adding 2 strength training workouts to next week’s goal. (In addition to increasing run mileage.)

Bottom line

I really want to see that scale go sub-190.

[thewildlyimportant]

Week 3: down 10.2 lb., 0.6 better than target of down 9.6

I traveled at the end of this week which presented somewhat of a challenge. First time not being a perfect 7 for 7 on all lead measures. But I am satisfied with how I performed nonetheless.

95% success rate (20/21) on my lead measures: link to full scoreboard

#1 Focus: read 15 minutes every day … 7/7

Still reading 1Q84. This book is insane like many Haruki Murakami novels tend to be. But I could probably use a healthy dose of magical realism in my life right now.

#2 Eat: B+ average every day … 6/7

Held out to the the final day. Friday. My uncle’s funeral. Decided to have a couple beers at the luncheon. Then a couple beers at dinner that night. Based on my grading system, it’d be damn near impossible to score a B+ EGPA on a day where I drink 4 beers. That said I still managed a 3.22 for the day. Close. And 3.41 for the week, lowest of the 3 weeks so far, but still B+ for the week.

#3 Move: walk 10k step every day + complete weekly workout plan … 7/7

Still cranking out 10k step days like someone’s paying me to do it. First 5 day run week since my toe injury, and it felt good. Thursday’s and Friday’s were on the treadmill in a Pittsburgh hotel, but got them in. Plan was for 5 runs, totaling 15 miles. I ended up doing three 3-milers, one 3.65, one 4.

Still no closer on mixing in some weightlifting. Maybe February?

Bottom line

I am very happy with how I’m doing and where I’m at. This feels sustainable. That is, this doesn’t feel like I’m living my life on hold, biding my time to eat whatever I want and drink whatever I want when whatever “this” is is over. Feels like this is my life now. I know it’s too soon to declare victory on that front. But it feels good for now.

[thewildlyimportant]

Week 2: down 7.8 lb., 1.2 better than target of down 6.6

Touch and go this week. Weekly weigh-ins are on Saturdays. Tuesday I was 198.0, 0.6 worse than where I started the week. Made a consistent push to 196.6 by Friday.

Went to bed that night thinking I’d have a near miss to start week 2. Then, pow, woke up down another 2.2 lb. on Saturday.

Again 100% success rate on my lead measures: link to full scoreboard

#1 Focus: read 15 minutes every day … 7/7

I should have picked a shorter book to get a quick win. But I am reading 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami on my Kindle, not realizing until I got into it how long it was. At the pace I’m reading, I’ll finish the 900 or so pages sometime in mid-February.

Maybe that’s a good thing though. Keeps the “focus” component of my scoreboard consistent for a long while, not distracting myself by constantly searching for something new to “focus” on.

#2 Eat: B+ average every day … 7/7

My EGPA was down to 3.46 this week from 3.6 the week before. Didn’t have any A days, only one A- day, and 3 days came in right at that B+ mark.

Only ate at restaurants twice. First time was on Saturday night when my father-in-law took us out to Cooper’s Hawk to celebrate good news at his job. I ordered salmon of the “Life Balance” menu. Second time was a regular turkey sub at Jersey Mike’s after soccer practice due to an overly busy family Thursday.

I had 2 beers on Saturday. I think I had 1-2 glasses of red wine on Sunday and Friday. I’m not officially tracking alcohol, but this is something to keep an eye on. (Now I realize, those were my 3 B+ days.)

#3 Move: walk 10k step every day + complete weekly workout plan … 7/7

Another simple workout plan, still no strength training, bumping runs up to 4 from 3, still just 3 miles per run. I ended up running for 3.25, 3, 3.1 and 4, thus 13.35 total. My pace is coming back too, by the end of the week running 9 to 9:30 minute miles comfortably.

It is difficult to get to 10,000 steps on days I work from home and don’t run. I can walk the dog 3 times and still be 1,000 short at 8p and need to shuffle around the house organizing things to get there.

Bottom line

I am happy where I am at for now. But I can’t let up.

[thewildlyimportant]

Week 1: down 4.8 lb., 1.2 better than target of down 3.6

100% success rate on my lead measures: link to full scoreboard

#1 Focus: read 15 minutes every day ... 7/7

Arguably this has nothing to do with losing weight. But I do it first thing in the morning and it puts me in the right headspace to start the day rather than jumping right into YouTube.

I’d estimate I read for more like 20-30 minute per day last week, but I stop counting each day at 15.

#2 Eat: B+ average every day ... 7/7

This is my own grading scale, with fasting until noon and a Whole 30 or Paleo lunch, snack and dinner being an A, then having deductions from there. It’s not perfect and could use some tweaking obviously. But in future weeks if I start to plateau, I can calibrate this target accordingly.

My eating GPA this week was actually a cum laude of 3.6. I had one A day and one A- day. I actually had only one day as low as a B+, which was day 7.

#3 Move:  walk 10k step every day + complete weekly workout plan ... 7/7

My workout plan was simple this week, just run 3 times for 3 miles each. I am finally getting back into running after taking a month off after my (unrelated to running) toe injury. It is sort of sad for running to be this difficult after running 5 days a week, 6+ miles per run, totaling 135 miles in November.

My plan is to get back to 5 run days per week by late January, start adding mileage throughout February, and maybe by March my running will start to resemble what it looks liked for most of 2020 and 2021. Hopefully, I will be at 100 miles per month by April at the latest.

I have joined a gym and will layer in strength training in soon. Hope to have something figured out by February.

It’s surprisingly hard to get to 10k steps on non-running days when you work from home, but plenty of dog walks got me there.

Bottom line

Solid week 1, on to week 2 which may prove to be harder (I know because I’m writing this in mid week 2).

[thewildlyimportant]

I plan to lose 27.3 pounds by April 1st.

I need to lose weight.

I have cycled through phases of being relatively healthy and relatively unhealthy for the last 20 years.

When I am in one of the relatively unhealthy phases--like I was the last month or so of the year--it becomes this running thought through my mind that I need to get back on track health-wise, and everything will be better.

These periods have had to hold me back to some extent because my mind is preoccupied with this one thing and not more important things.

I am too old and too smart to keep letting this happen.

I am going to use 4DX to get back on track.

#1 - focus on the wildly important

I plan to lose 27.3 pounds by April 1st. Why the specific number?

#2 - work on moving lead metrics

I will track sets of 3 lead metrics: focus, eat and move. 

I am not sure how important the focus ones will be, but they are about ensuring I am in the right headspace. For now, it’s essentially reading every day.

Eat, for now, is essentially about ensuring I eat every day at a B+ grade (based on my own stupid grading system).

Move, for now, is walking 10k steps every day and sticking to a workout plan.

#3 - keep a compelling scoreboard

I am doing this on a Google sheet, keeping score of the lead metrics, tracking the lag metric/wildly important goal.

#4 - maintain a cadence of accountability

I will blog about my scoreboard and progress each week.