2017 Stats - Weight

2017 was pretty similar to 2016, except I started 2016 at a bit lower weight (because 2015 was my calorie counting experiment). For 2017 my goal was to stay between 155-160 lbs, which I managed to do reasonably well. I guess I don't need to worry too much about the low end, but having it there helps me see 155 as my target weight whereas having a goal to stay under 160 would make me feel more like 160 is my target weight.

It was interesting that my peak weight last year was on July 14, because I usually start exercising much more frequently (most every day) once school gets out at in the middle of May. Last summer was the first time in quite a while I didn't do any straight weight training, I just ran and did P90X3 (which does include some weight work). I suspect that I'm gaining a bit of muscle weight when I exercise more (at least that's the explanation that I like most). Fortunately I got a new scale for Christmas that calculates body fat, muscle mass, and water weight (yea, more data!), so I might be able to test my hypothesis. I don't have much confidence in the accuracy of these measurements, but I'm hoping that the trends in the values will be useful.

I came across in interesting website, healthywage.com, that allows you to place a wager on whether or not you can reach a weight loss goal. You choose a monthly wager (which has to accumulate to at least $100) and a goal (which has to be a minimum of 10% of your body weight), and then they pay you if you reach your goal. In general I'm not a fan of quick fixes (fad diets, unsustainable exercise routines, and the always ridiculous cleanses), but if you're confident that you'll be able to lose a fair amount of weight, you might as well earn some cash while you're at it.

Rather than quick fixes, I think that sustainable lifestyle changes are the way to go (swap ground turkey for ground beef, establish a reasonable, enjoyable exercise routine, etc.). I was looking at the US News & World Report's diet rankings and was happy to see the Mediterranean Diet was tied for first. The diet basically says: eat lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and very little red meat and sugar. Hey look, eating healthy is basically exactly what everyone always knew it was. It does advise eating seafood a couple of times a week, which isn't great on the grocery budget, but I think we might give it a try.