New Year Weight Goals

I wouldn’t describe myself as totally obsessive with regard to how much I weigh, but the runner in me likes to track body weight and body fat, just like I log my daily runs. Over the holiday period I didn’t pay much attention to what I ate and drank, but as soon as New Year’s Day rolled around, I (like most other people I would imagine), decided to take stock of where I was and set a few weight loss goals.

There’s no need to disclose the actual numbers, but I decided on a drop of about 4lbs to get to the weight I consider “standard” for my height and build. I also set a more aggressive goal in my mind of losing an additional 2 or 3lbs which I consider to be my “racing weight”, although I must admit I haven’t been at “racing weight” for at least a couple of years! 🙂

Well, three weeks have passed since New Year’s Day, so I figured it was time for a progress report:

By steadily increasing the amount of aerobic activity (typically running & biking) and paying closer attention to the foods and drink I’ve been consuming, I’ve managed to lose 2.4lbs to date. Actually, there have been a couple of days where I’ve been as much as 4lbs under my starting weight, but these are quite rare and more likely due to poor hydration.

Furthermore, according to my Tanita Body Composition scales, almost 2lbs of this 2.4lbs weight loss can be attributed to body fat loss – 14.5lbs on January 1st, compared to 12.6lbs today.

The only downside, if there is one, is a slight loss in lean body mass over the three weeks (0.5lbs), but I figure once I finally start a regular strength training program, this will change for the better.

So, initial progress is good – just over a pound to go until I reach my ideal standard weight, and about 3-4lbs away from racing weight, which I’d love to reach by the Shamrock Marathon on March 16th.

The graphs at the top of this post show body fat and weight (in lbs) over time, and feature a trend line which smooths out all the rough spots of the chart. As you can see, I’m definitely headed in the right direction, which is a great motivator for the next couple of months.

Postscript: I’ve just re-read my post and maybe I need to rethink the opening “totally obsessive” comment?! What do you think?