Staying motivated

On Thursday, for the first time in a LONG time, I ran to work. I ran to work carrying my breakfast and my lunch, my work clothes, and a bike helmet for the ride home that afternoon. I also carried the bike for the ride home.

All up, I ran just over 5 miles carrying a 51-pound pack. It was slow, but I never stopped running. I had never carried that bike on a run before; previously, I carried a different folding bike. Fortunately, this one was still perfectly functional after the run. Unfortunately, it rubbed a patch raw on my back. I also ended up taking the night shift Friday morning. I ended up having to run errands right afterwards, and by the time I got home, I was just too shattered to go for my swim. So today, instead of running (and possibly exacerbating the raw patch on my back), I'm going to go for a swim. That means this week will at least have contained two of each type of workout (counting the brick as a bike and a run).

I received some R-4 yulex gloves and booties in the mail from Patagonia. The gloves fit...well, like a glove. The booties, on the other hand, were far too small. They got returned, and a new pair should be on its way. Between those and the fact that I haven't even used the thicker of my two wetsuits yet, I should be able to swim through the winter. I might have to add a hood. I have also considered looking on craigslist for wetsuits in poor condition and cutting them apart to make second layers for specific areas; a vest, for example, or additional layers for my legs.

The spreadsheet for tracking various statistics related to my life is going reasonably well. As anticipated, it's far from perfect. Tracking dietary macros becomes more difficult as my diet becomes more complex and I consume more of my calories from sources besides meal replacement shakes. I think I will use my weight as a metric for how strict my macro tracking is. The spreadsheet highlights in yellow anything at or above 81 kilograms; that will be my "your weight is increasing; be careful" notification, but I won't bother tracking macros. 82 or more brings an orange highlight; I think I will use that as a "start tracking macros and eating a deficit of 500-1000 calories/day". If it's a significant jump, I may also use it as a trigger for a day of fasting. 83 kilos or above results in the color being red; that will be my marker for strict ketosis, absolutely no more than 50g carbs total (not net) per day, and to stay that way until my weight is back under 81. 2 kilograms of fat represents about a week of eating 1000 calories per day less than I use. I'm not going to exceed the 1000 calorie deficit per day, with the exception of any fasting days. If I do choose to fast for a day, it will be Sunday (my rest day), and the following day's brick workout will be followed immediately by eating.

I should have made a video of myself at 210+ pounds, asking present me to keep the weight off. Past me did the hard work; getting the weight off. It's up to present me to do my part.