Day 32. Summary of Project 43, and where we go from here.

Yesterday was the official end of Project 43 and it was a success! I compiled a few statistics during this first phase of Mission 44, along with notes about each:

• Starting weight = 344.3 pounds

At my December 2018 checkup, my weight was 349.9. I was wearing shoes and jeans on the scale so this really wasn't much of an improvement.

• Ending Weight = 316.3 pounds

The goal was 319.3 pounds. 

• Weight Lost = 28.0 pounds

This is three pounds more than my goal of 25 pounds!

• Miles Walked = 99

I'd had planned to walk three miles a day for a total of 93 miles during January. While I exceeded the goal, I'm disappointed that I didn't break the 100 mile mark.

• Days Stretched = 4 out of 31

I like to stretch before bed. Well, I say I like to, but I actually must not because I make every excuse to go to bed without stretching. I want flexibility to be part of my fitness plan but I may need a new approach.

• Days Journaled = 31 out of 31

Accountability is a cornerstone of Mission 44 and recordkeeping is a key part of this. My journaling began as data on post-it notes and evolved into a notebook full of details about my eating, my blood sugar, my exercise, my daily weight, whether I made my bed that day, and how I felt about all of these things (the last one was unplanned, but when I look back in the journal there are faces and comments that remind me of my attitude toward certain results.

And speaking of blood sugar...

• Average Blood Sugar = 110.8 Mg/dL

This is significantly better than my June 2018 average of 139.6 Mg/dL, the last time I tracked blood sugar with any regularity. I was taking Metformin at the time and was prescribed Januvia. I stopped taking both during the first week of January 2019. I didn't have a numerical goal here, I only wanted to control my blood sugar naturally and it appears I succeed.

• Calculated A1C = 5.3 ("normal" range)

This is huge. At our December appointment, my doctor told me my A1C was above 8, deep within the "dangerous" range. I know that my calculated number is not accurate because A1C measures a longer time period than a single month, but I'm still very pleased with what this says for the long term, especially considering that I achieved this without medication.

That's all as far as the things I planned to track. There were anecdotal things I noticed as well:

• My scale would show a greater weight loss on mornings after I ate raw broccoli the previous day. (Note: correlation does not imply causation!)
• A 40+ hour fast broke a plateau late in the month and I continued to lose weight every day following the fast.
• I found that I slept better and woke up refreshed about ten days into Project 43. This was an unfamiliar yet welcome feeling. Also, at the end of the month my wife said that I didn't make noises in my sleep that made her feel like she should be calling an ambulance.
• Another thing my wife volunteered one evening was that she could tell I was beginning to look slimmer. I wish I'd made a note of this in my journal but I remember it was late in the month.
• I cooked dinner for my family 14 days of January. This is more than I cooked all of 2018. This allowed me to control sugar, sodium, and carbs, and I believe it played a major role in my weight loss.
• I tried to dump my lisinopril because I noticed that after exercising for a few weeks, the dose was making me feel really worn out in the morning. I after a few days without the medication I determined that I didn't have a good handle on my blood pressure and started taking it again, this time cutting the pills in half. It helped.
• On January 15th I had to buy a new pair of shorts. They were a size smaller than what I had been using for almost ten years. The old pair had begun falling off and I had to hold them up on my morning walks! 

My 43rd birthday was the final day of Project 43. My daughter asked me if I "felt older" and I could honestly tell her I felt younger than I had in a very long time.

Tomorrow I'll get into the details of the second phase of Mission 44. See you then!


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General disclaimers: In my posts I describe things that I am doing to reclaim my health based on what I know about myself. Please don't emulate my actions. I'm not a doctor, and when you read things in my blog they are not meant as advice to you or anyone else. They are simply a record of my own experience. Things like abandoning prescribed medicines and walking for miles while dealing with morbid obesity are bad ideas, but I'm an idiot and do them anyway. Don't be like me. Talk to your doctor before making major lifestyle changes, please. Also, if I write about a product, service or book and provide a link to it, you should assume that I'm part of a related affiliate program. This blog needs to be supported somehow!