Dear readers, this is all very unexpected and frankly beyond reason. I should have gained weight. I weighed 138lbs yesterday (up 2.5lbs from my lowest weight so far) and this morning I was afraid to get on the scale. I fully expected it to show another increase to something like 141, and I will explain why in a moment. But the scale did not show 141. After climbing on the scales three or four times, in disbelief, I decided to pick the highest weight of 133 as likely the most accurate. My goal is 133lbs.

I hit my goal. I’ve lost 37lbs in five months. I just don’t know how.

Here’s what happened. As you know from recent posts, I have been on a roll with exercise. For about a month, each day has adhered to a routine of yoga in the mornings, brisk walks during the day and dumbbells after work. It was all going great. To be honest, I was struggling a bit with my diet because all the exercise was making me extremely hungry. But I found that when I could keep my calorie intake under control and ate enough protein, I weighed less when getting on the scales in the mornings. And if I over-ate, the exercise made sure I stayed the same weight. So that’s what I was doing until last weekend.

Last weekend we in Britain had two Bank Holidays on the Thursday and Friday, because it was the Queen’s Jubilee. Bank Holidays are national holidays, so when you count the weekend, some of us had four days off work. I celebrated in traditional British style by staying at home and assembling flat-pack furniture. Here’s where the wheels started coming off my health regime.

Saturday 4 June (136lbs). With my partner, assembled large items of furniture. Heaved boxes around, drove in every screw by hand. It took about 5 or 6 hours altogether. It was very physical work and I felt entirely justified in not attempting to do any weights or other exercise that day – enough already.

Sunday 5 June (135lbs – new lowest weight). Built more furniture. This time it only took a couple of hours but it continued to be physically strenuous. I didn’t exercise separately. Muscles (legs, abs) felt quite solid and stiff, which I took to be a good sign that I’d been doing physical work.

Monday 6 June (137lbs – I assume water weight in sore muscles?). By this time I’ve developed a slight phobia of exercise. Have not lifted any dumbbells since last Thursday or Friday. Done no yoga. I went for a 60-minute walk, because it seemed like the easiest thing and I was afraid not to. I was hungry all day on Monday. I ate the usual high protein, healthy breakfast and lunch, then went on a sudden binge and ate crisps, chocolate bars and sugary popcorn.

Tuesday 7 June (138lbs – this is what you get for over-eating). No yoga, no dumbbells. Am convinced I have lost all my muscle. Went for a walk for the specific purpose of going to the shops and buying junk food. Fiendish desire for sugar rages, unabated. I ate four pieces of baklava, dried banana chips, a whole bag of Fruitella chews and various other sugary nonsense, so much of it that I couldn’t eat any normal food. By the end of the day I am stuffed, I am sick of the taste of sugar and I am absolutely dreading getting on the scales the next morning. I have massively exceeded my calorie budget two days in a row, plus sugar means instant bloating and water retention.

Wednesday 8 June. 133lbs. Apparently I have lost 5lbs overnight. I have also reached my goal.

Make it make sense.

Look at this graph, I weighed myself every day since starting this health regime on 10 January. In all that time, I have never dropped 5lbs in one day – until now.

If you like data as much as I do, here’s a second graph that you might find interesting. I took this same weight loss journey back in 2019 and saved the data. Here, the orange line is 2022 weight loss, same as above, and the blue line is the 2019 weight loss journey, right before the pandemic. I have to say, losing weight the second time around was MUCH easier because I had more confidence and knew what I was doing. I enjoyed comparing the two charts as I was losing weight; trying to keep the orange line slightly ahead of the blue line.

Here’s my BMI. Trying to get to the middle of the healthy range has been a great motivator over the last 5 months.

I fully expect to have regained a bunch of weight when I get on the scales tomorrow, because miracles like this cannot be real. Nonetheless. I shall enjoy today as much as possible, in case my perfect goal weight has disappeared again tomorrow.

And that’s all today’s weight loss news.