Dearest Rachel – I think part of the problem with this past weekend was that, when I previously would attempt to fast for the entire length of a given Sunday, I would grab a reasonable lunch on Saturday before showing up at church for rehearsal. This time around, I basically had breakfast – a bowlContinue reading “Healthy at Home”
Tag Archives: weight
Getting Back to Fasting
Dearest Rachel – I’ve mentioned before – and you remember from the twisted Christmas carols we used to listen to, particularly on our way to and from your parents’, back in the day – how the past couple of weeks’ holidays do a number on one’s resolve toward keeping fit. Bad enough that the weekendContinue reading “Getting Back to Fasting”
Not Ready for Central Time
Dearest Rachel – Setting aside that he’s dealing with the cold that he caught on the last day or so of the trip (which I may very well catch soon enough, and is why, despite it being Thursday, we won’t be over at the folks’ place for dinner this evening. Dad is getting more andContinue reading “Not Ready for Central Time”
Dancing Around Another Line
Dearest Rachel – It’s been a little over a year now – more like thirteen or fourteen months, in fact – since I managed to drop myself down below two hundred and twenty pounds, seemingly never to rise from it again. Why, barely a month after crossing that line, I was coming dangerously close (inContinue reading “Dancing Around Another Line”
To See Where I Stand
Dearest Rachel – Well, honey, despite my best efforts to take advantage of as much of the darkness as possible – especially since I wasn’t going to be heading into the ‘office’ today – my day this morning started at six, regardless. It was too late for me to realistically put in my full timeContinue reading “To See Where I Stand”
Could Have Been So Much Worse
Dearest Rachel – You might have noticed that I’ve said very little about my weight or exercise regimen over the past couple of weeks, but you probably haven’t been wondering much about its absence. After all, Daniel and I have been cruising, and you know what it’s like. You were with me on enough ofContinue reading “Could Have Been So Much Worse”
Rattle Around in Your Bones
Dearest Rachel – I hardly need to refresh your memory that summer is Daniel’s least favorite season. Despite this being common knowledge between us, he will often complain about the heat – and I can’t say as I blame him; it’s at least ten, and possibly as much as twenty degrees hotter up here thanContinue reading “Rattle Around in Your Bones”
Hate to Disappoint
Dearest Rachel – As happens every week these days, I’m meeting up with Lars to walk for a couple of hours (granted, due to the combination of the recent heat wave and the current threat of rain, we’ll be doing so for the second straight week at the mall over in Rosemont, rather than theContinue reading “Hate to Disappoint”
A Recursive Change of Subject
Dearest Rachel – I don’t know if it’s annoying or depressing to have – or need – a filter on what I say, but such is life sometimes. There was a conversation yesterday that got me thinking about how the three of us would spend rather a lot of time in companionable silence, apart fromContinue reading “A Recursive Change of Subject”
The Price of Recovery
Dearest Rachel – Well, as much as I may have complained yesterday that it wasn’t instantaneous, my foot certainly feels much better this morning. I can still feel a slight nagging if I try to wiggle my big toe, and there’s a noticeable twinge if I put too much weight on the meaty part ofContinue reading “The Price of Recovery”
Watching the Numbers Bounce
Dearest Rachel – Ever since I determined that ‘Megumi’ (assuming, as always, that she exists) wouldn’t be interested in a 275-pound dad bod, I’ve been finally getting around to doing more things that would cause (or at least encourage) me to lose weight; particularly the basics of eating less (and/or healthier) and exercising. It hasn’tContinue reading “Watching the Numbers Bounce”
Cramping My Schedule
Dearest Rachel – I’ll admit, I had planned to skip my usual weekday workout this morning anyway. Sure, I hadn’t hit the gym all weekend, due to working in the booth – which required a lot more active attention to details than some times, due to the unpredictable nature of baptism weekend – nor didContinue reading “Cramping My Schedule”
Hoover Parenting
Dearest Rachel – It should hardly come as breaking news that, with a few exceptions, I’m no fan of leftovers. There’s something decidedly distasteful about being obliged to eat more of the same meal you couldn’t finish the day or two before, simply because if you don’t, it’s going to be forgotten about in theContinue reading “Hoover Parenting”
Back From Backsliding
Dearest Rachel – I woke up with an idea to write you about this morning, and even began adding to it between reps at the gym (I’ve gotten into a pattern of doing twenty-five crunches at a time, with pauses in between on the way to a total of a hundred – remember when thatContinue reading “Back From Backsliding”
Ice Cream Headache
Dearest Rachel – It should come as no surprise that, upon returning from the cruise last month, I found myself not only no longer dancing around the two-ten line that I’d been considering a near-permanent plateau after four or five months, but hovering around the two-twenty line I hadn’t been at for as many monthsContinue reading “Ice Cream Headache”
Cause and Effect?
Dearest Rachel – I know I’ve touched on the subject even since the new year began; for all I know, you’re tired of hearing about it. But as it’s a long-term goal that will take several years yet to fully accomplish (let alone what reaching what this goal is meant to result in), you’ll justContinue reading “Cause and Effect?”
Two Lines to Cross
Dearest Rachel – It was light when I woke up this morning, which astonished me, since I’d retired for the night at what you would have remembered as a traditional weekday bedtime of a little after 10:30. Yes, I was in bed before the ball dropped in Times Square, let alone midnight here in theContinue reading “Two Lines to Cross”
A Weight Off My Ankles
Dearest Rachel – Since I wasn’t completely laid up by my cold during the latter half of last week – sure, I confined myself to the house for a day, but it wasn’t as if I was flat on my back for the better part of twenty-four hours like I used to be – itContinue reading “A Weight Off My Ankles”
Puzzling Dissatisfaction
Dearest Rachel – Two hundred ten point five. That’s what I was looking at this morning when I first woke up; before making my way to the gym to work out. Yesterday aside, I’d only seen that number after a hour or more of vigorous exercise, and only a couple of times before bobbing backContinue reading “Puzzling Dissatisfaction”
Walking On Fumes
Dearest Rachel – When I got up this morning at 3:30 (I have no idea why or how – I was up until 10:30 last night watching videos with Daniel, so it’s not like I had what I would call an early bedtime. Yes, I know you’d call it that, but five hours isn’t aContinue reading “Walking On Fumes”
To Descend Without Stumbling
Dearest Rachel – I’ll say one thing for these weekends in which I’ve purposed myself to go without eating for forty-plus hours; they make Monday that much more bearable (even setting aside the fact that I don’t have to worry about going to work anymore). At least this morning, I can finally allow myself somethingContinue reading “To Descend Without Stumbling”
Taking Compliments
Dearest Rachel – Yesterday had me breaking my weekend fast at a holiday party at Jeff and Julie’s place; ironically, my last meal had taken place Saturday morning with Jeff in attendance as well, so he probably thinks I eat a lot more often than I do. I can’t recall at this point if you’dContinue reading “Taking Compliments”
Am I Really Doing Well?
Dearest Rachel – One of the side effects of this new habit of mine of daily exercise is the paradoxical fact that I wake up more sore than when I went to bed. One of the very points of sleep is to let your body rest and heal itself, so that by morning, you shouldContinue reading “Am I Really Doing Well?”
Jackson Pollock Morning
Dearest Rachel – It’s six o’clock of a Saturday morning, and with it comes this sensation that I really don’t feel like doing anything just yet. Not heading to work out (despite registering my highest weight in several days), not wanting to write you (more due to not wanting to bothering with having to write,Continue reading “Jackson Pollock Morning”
Finding Myself Well
Dearest Rachel – Hope this letter finds you well. I also hope that you don’t mind that it’s coming to you a bit later than I usually try to get them sent to you, but the events of the morning have kept me busier than usual; plus, they strike me as being more worth tellingContinue reading “Finding Myself Well”
Lowering the Ceiling
Dearest Rachel – …And this is why I think I can still take a little pride in just maintaining my weight while traveling the world on that cruise ship, despite never quite being able to escape from that same ten-pound range I would occasionally feel trapped in. The fact that I didn’t gain a considerableContinue reading “Lowering the Ceiling”
I Still Have My Appetite
Dearest Rachel – It’s almost funny; last week, I was struck at various times by a good half-dozen ideas of thoughts to tell you about – and which didn’t pertain to the moment at hand, so they could be kept in reserve until such time as I didn’t have much to tell you about fromContinue reading “I Still Have My Appetite”
It Takes More Than Just Sweat
Dearest Rachel – It’s been a very hot weekend, honey. Not just outside – which has indeed been hot, getting well up into the 90s – but inside as well. On Friday, Logan pointed out that the pipes for the air conditioner had frost all over them, and when I called the HVAC people toContinue reading “It Takes More Than Just Sweat”
Counting Steps
Dearest Rachel – You know, it’s hard for me to get a sense of proportion sometimes, especially when it comes to distances. I try my best to relate the length of the walk between our house and the fitness center to that of, say, the Serenade of the Seas, but I just can’t seem toContinue reading “Counting Steps”
Lapse
Dearest Rachel – These letters aren’t meant to be a confessional of any sort, but occasionally I feel a little compelled to do so regardless. And I know the thing that I’d be confessing this morning wouldn’t be of any concern to you – while I don’t think we we exactly enabled each other, weContinue reading “Lapse”
Improbable Hand-Me-Downs
Dearest Rachel – I know that, over the past year or so that I’ve combined watching what I eat with a regular pattern of exercising, I’ve managed to get myself down to a reasonable (if not yet necessarily ideal) weight. I’ve shed more than fifty pounds, to the point where I’ve spent the last couple ofContinue reading “Improbable Hand-Me-Downs”
Backing Away From the Brink
Dearest Rachel – The other day, after our usual walk from Harms Woods to New Trier H.S. and back, Lars and I decided to revisit a place we’d been to once before the holidays. It’s in his neck of the woods, but he’s not ordinarily a fan of what it offers – although in fairness toContinue reading “Backing Away From the Brink”
The Hundred Kilo Coup
Dearest Rachel – Another weekend, another day and a half of fasting, with all the attendant effects. Some of them are good – even intended, which I’ll get to eventually – but some of them can be a real test of willpower. I actually felt slightly bad on Saturday night when one of the guysContinue reading “The Hundred Kilo Coup”
But Why Are They Starting to Notice?
Dearest Rachel – After nearly a year and a half of keeping track, and doing this thing or that to try to determine what might best assist me in my efforts to lose weight, it would seem that the process is starting to bear fruit. People are noticing. When I arrived at the folks’ lastContinue reading “But Why Are They Starting to Notice?”
The Effects of Bingeing
Dearest Rachel – I think I’ve filled you in several times already about my new tradition of fasting on Sunday on the weekends when I’m working in the booth. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if you’ve gotten tired of hearing about it; there are times when I get tired of describing what I haveContinue reading “The Effects of Bingeing”
Thoughts In Recovery
Dearest Rachel – I hope that you’ll forgive me if this morning, my letter turns out to be considerably more fragmented than the last couple I’ve sent you. After committing more than four thousand words to… not paper, exactly… text, I suppose? it shouldn’t come as any surprise that anything I might say now isContinue reading “Thoughts In Recovery”
Old Reliable?
Dearest Rachel – There are some days when I don’t have a whole lot to write you about, and way too much time to do so. So I’ll fill a lot of space just complaining about the fact that, for all the things that I may have done in the day, there’s nothing particularly specialContinue reading “Old Reliable?”
Indulgences
Dearest Rachel – This past weekend has been the first – and consequently, the only – one this month in which I wasn’t working in the booth at church. This meant that Daniel and I could go to church together – and therefore, since I was the one responsible for getting him there and backContinue reading “Indulgences”
Six Pounds of Scattered Thoughts
Dearest Rachel – Once again, I begin a morning – and a week – with no single, coherent topic to discuss with you today. So I hope that you’ll forgive me for just throwing out a couple of paragraphs here and there as I splash through my stream of consciousness; try not to get tooContinue reading “Six Pounds of Scattered Thoughts”
Six-and-a-Half
The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself. Mary Schmich, “Advice, like youth, is wasted on the young,” Chicago Tribune, June 1, 1997 Dearest Rachel – In this case, the epigraph is only half right. Sure, the race that is life is a bit of a marathon, but in the incrementContinue reading “Six-and-a-Half”
Picking Up After Him
Dearest Rachel – Another morning of waking up to a dark room. Even as I realize that it’s now September, I’m still pretty sure that it shouldn’t be this dark when I’m waking up. Sure enough, it’s not even five o’clock yet. My subconscious superego chirps that it’s an opportune moment to prepare to goContinue reading “Picking Up After Him”
The Deals I Make with Myself
Dearest Rachel – It’s still pitch black when I open my eyes this morning for the first time. Without even looking at the clock on my nightstand, my superego points out that I probably have just enough time to throw on shorts and a t-shirt, and head out to the fitness center for a workout.Continue reading “The Deals I Make with Myself”
Greetings From the Robinsons
Dearest Rachel – Well, it seems as though my subconscious decided to take the night off last night; I guess I can’t expect it to come up with something to tell you about every night. After all, there are plenty of real-life things I could be telling you about. It’s just that none of themContinue reading “Greetings From the Robinsons”
An Exercise in Willpower
Dearest Rachel – So, after a day of trying to get Daniel to eat a little more (which turned out to be less than necessary, as he’s more than capable of doing so, if he wants to, and there’s something in front of him) by setting more of an example than I probably ought toContinue reading “An Exercise in Willpower”
Dragged Along in My Wake
Dearest Rachel – Last night, I actually managed to stay up until 10:30 again, despite having first woken up at a little after four (although at that time, I did try to go back to sleep for an hour or so before conceding defeat and writing to you about it) and finding myself painfully awareContinue reading “Dragged Along in My Wake”
Impossible Things Before Breakfast
Dearest Rachel – Lewis Carroll’s Red Queen claimed that she prided herself on believing “six impossible things before breakfast.” I’m not nearly so ambitious, honey – indeed, I rarely bother to try to believe the impossible at all, let alone so many such things at once – but just for today, it seemed like IContinue reading “Impossible Things Before Breakfast”
Penance
Dearest Rachel – I’m not entirely sure why l’m coming to you with this, as if I was confessing to a priest or something. It’s not that you ever concerned yourself with nagging me about my weight, even though I was twice the individual you were. You probably looked on it as a sort ofContinue reading “Penance”
Trudging the Trudge
Dearest Rachel – Last night I went to bed early; before ten, so I could wake up a little after five and get to the gym more or less when it opened. I didn’t bother to shower yesterday, so I figured I’d get my second workout of the week in before taking one this morning.Continue reading “Trudging the Trudge”
I Can Only Be ‘Good’ for So Long
Dearest Rachel – Since I can’t quite tell you a success story about my drawn-out battle with weight loss – at least, not until I can prove to myself that I’ve attained a measure of lasting success – allow me to regale you with… well, would it count as a failure story? It’s not allContinue reading “I Can Only Be ‘Good’ for So Long”
Overclocking the Mind
Dearest Rachel – I probably did myself no favors by stepping on the scale last night. Ever since pulling that calf muscle on Friday, I’ve been relatively indolent, at least on a physical level. In a way, that’s to be expected; I don’t make a habit of working out over the weekends as a generalContinue reading “Overclocking the Mind”
Little Things in the Morning
Dearest Rachel – You’ve heard tell from me on one day or another about how I have so little to write to you, and that’s still quite true; in the nine hundred days since your departure, some of them have simply run together, and offered nothing in particular to set them apart in terms ofContinue reading “Little Things in the Morning”
Not There Yet
Dearest Rachel – I keep hearing from people that one of these days, working out will be second nature to me. There will come a point in time, or so I’m told, in which I can’t go a day or two without exercising like I do at the gym. Not so much out of guiltContinue reading “Not There Yet”
Off My Meds
Dearest Rachel – I don’t remember exactly how long ago it was; I’m think it’s been seven years since Mohinder browbeat me into going for an annual physical. I rarely saw the value in them, as I basically knew what I would hear from my doctor, and I felt I either didn’t need (because IContinue reading “Off My Meds”
A Week of Weight Loss Whiplash
Dearest Rachel – Not that I’m anywhere close to my goal, but I figure I might as well fill you in on how things are going with regard to my attempts to get myself in shape. I feel a little apologetic about never making a point of doing this when you were around, but it’sContinue reading “A Week of Weight Loss Whiplash”
Letters to Rachel 