Hit a Snag in Project 61

11/12/2014 - 252lbs -- 56 pounds lost since 8/30/2011
No Ride Today

I have this task I have laid out before me, and to give it some character and motivation I have called it Project 61. The title comes from the fact that I am 61 years old. See the correlation? Project 61?? 61 years old?? It saddens me that I had to explain it to you.

In August of 2011, I had worked my way up to 308 pounds and my wife and I decided to do something about our weights. In the last half of 2011, I went car-light - using walking, bicycling and public transportation instead of the car. For a period of 8 months, til the beginning of March 2012, I drove my car only about once a week. I didn't diet, but lost about 33 pounds during this period. Then, at 275, Bonnie and I decided to go on Weight Watchers - which BTW works - and I ended up losing another 45 pounds through 2012. 308 to 230 is a 78 pound weight loss. For the full story, click on the "My Weight Loss Story" above.

In 2013 and 2014, I have gained back (as of this morning, 11/12/14) 22 pounds of the 78, making a net loss to date of 56 pounds. 21 weeks ago, realizing that I was beginning to gain it back, and unable to "diet" any longer (which is an entirely different discussion), I started the above mentioned Project 61. It consists of merely riding my bicycle for at least 30 minutes per day, averaging 4 days per week, at what I consider an aerobic rate. Every time I have ridden with this frequency, I have never gained weight and have on many times lost weight, regardless of diet. Well, this past Sunday I completed 21 straight weeks of 4 rides per week, and the result has been what I expected: Some substantial size loss, without any scale weight loss. This indicates a gain in lean weight (muscles) along with a loss of fat.

But the title of this piece says "Hit a Snag" - and I did. Both Bonnie and I have caught monster colds, and so I'm taking some time off of cycling to get rid of this cold. Taking the week off means it will take forever to get back up to a 4-ride-per-week average, so I just may start it over. I'll call it Project 61-1/2.

See you on the bike!