It’s now been five months since I started the Newt Gingrich weight loss program, and I’m overdue for another report. (I forgot and didn’t post the month 4 update in time, and by the time I remembered to do so it was far enough past the due date that I decided just to skip month 4 and do the month 5 post instead.) Unfortunately at the moment I’m doing about as well as Newt’s campaign, which is to say not that well: I weighed in this morning at 70.8 kg, which is 0.8 kg over my final goal weight of 70.0 kg. So I screwed up my courage just now and went to Newt’s site to make a donation; if you’re the sort of person who likes to read FEC reports then you’ll see my name there in future.
This month’s thought:
It’s hard to break through a barrier. I seem to have hit a plateau in terms of weight loss somewhere between 70 and 71kg; I’m not really gaining weight, but I’m not losing it either. I suspect the key to further weight loss is going to be to increase my level of physical activity; fortunately my knee (which had been giving me a little bit of trouble) seems to be better now, so I should be able to increase the amount of walking I do and possibly even do some light jogging.
On the plus side, I did get my BMI below 25, which was another goal of mine. There’s of course nothing magic about being just below 25 BMI versus being just above it, but at least I can now officially claim that I’m at “normal weight” and not “overweight” per the generally-used BMI categories.
I now begin the next phase of the program, in which my goal is to stay at or under goal weight. If I’m not under goal weight at the end of the next five months then I’ll be visiting Newt’s donation page once more.
Dave - 2011-08-18 16:59
Frank, The good news for you is your donation will remain a secret (well at least a secret to those who do not read about it here) since only donations above $200 are itemized in FEC reports….
hecker - 2011-08-18 18:04
Yes, but Newt will know, and I’m sure I’ll be hearing from him :-)
guest (guest@gmail.com) - 2011-09-06 23:54
Why are you weighing yourself in kg?
hecker - 2011-09-07 01:10
a) Because I used to be a physics major, b) because the formula for BMI is much simpler if height and weight are expressed in metric units, and c) because it keeps me from focusing on a particular “weight in pounds” figure.
donald heape - 2011-09-17 17:18
I’ve bee losing weight since 2008 and have lost 102 lbs. you need to increase your physical activity levels the further along you get, and always eat the right foods.