Destination 210: The Inevitable Plateau

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I knew the day would come, but I didn’t think it would be so soon. I’ve hit kind of a plateau around 220 in the past week and it seems like the loss from diet alone is starting to slow down. This is where it’s time to really buckle down on exercising. Thankfully, Utah’s putrid winter air has begun to clear, so it’ll be easier to get that done.

On Monday, I walked 12,500 steps, a good bit over the recommended 10,000 per day. Unfortunately, I was 1) wearing the wrong kind of shoes (I was dressed up to be at the capitol) and 2) pushing myself a bit too hard. Now my left foot hurts pretty badly and is taking me out of the walking game for a few days. It makes me think of when I was biking to work and how much those first two weeks really sucked, even doing it just two days a week. My legs were sore, my hands were worse (go figure), and it didn’t feel like I would be able to do it long term.

But by the third week, it was getting easier. After a few months, even the uphill portion back home wasn’t all that hard. I’m going to maintain a few goals to make sure I walk more.

• Walk to church. This is a no-brainer. It takes 10 minutes. The building is RIGHT THERE. I can spare an extra nine minutes each way to get some more exercise.
• Walk to the store. Smith’s is only half a mile away. There’s no reason I shouldn’t be walking there and back if I need something.
• Walk or bike around the neighborhood at least twice a week. This means I need to better plan my time. I stay up way too late. I need to either use that time to get in a night ride/walk or go to bed earlier so I can ride/walk in the morning before work. Or I need to start using part of my lunch break to get one in.
• Sleep. Sleep is important. A lack of sleep is correlated with weight gain. I usually only get 7-7.5 hours per night, not all of it restful. If I’m tired, I’m not going to get moving. It may be related with some kind of sleep apnea so I’m thinking on getting a treatment like CPAP. What is CPAP? It basically stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure and it pushes air into your nose or mouse to stop the snoring and apneas.

Thankfully, the Withings Pulse I got for Christmas helps me stay honest on these goals. It monitors my sleep, so I’ll know if I’m getting enough. It also keeps track of my steps per day so I know if I’m being active or a slug. I can’t lie to the technology, so it keeps me accountable.

PS I’m still proud of my progress. I came in at 219.6 this morning. That’s 24.8 pounds since November 24. I can almost taste the goal.