Holiday Weight Loss

After two weeks of holidays, my total weight loss was 4.6 pounds.  While that represents a falling-off of my original rate, such is to be expected.  And at least I can say I lost weight during the holidays, which is something uncommon in America.  I’m hoping that, with school back in session and me more on a regular schedule, I might up that rate a little bit.

My blood pressure hardly changed at all, which was disappointing after several weeks of strong improvement.  Of course 120/86 is still better than 180/120(!) and even than 120/90, though barely.  My doctor put me back on ramipril last week but it hasn’t seemed to have an effect yet.

One thing is that my physical activity is probably starting to have less impact, ironically.  I walk for half an hour every day (so far on the treadmill) and now cover 1.5 miles compared to less than one when I started.  But because I’ve shed the weight, each step is less effective at burning calories.  I’ll probably have to recalibrate my workout.  Maybe I’ll start doing some resistance-band stuff at night.

The other factor in slowing my weight loss has been my unlocking of the secret of making “chicken chips”, which are (sort of) chips made from the HMR chicken soup.  Prepared correctly, they turn out somewhat crispy and a not-bad substitute for potato chips.  HMR doesn’t publish the recipe (in fact, it’s a bit of an acquired art) because they don’t particularly like people making them.  This week I discovered why:  Although they count as a meal replacement (like a shake or entree), they are far less filling.  It’s entirely natural to just keep eating them,  just like chips or pretzels.  This means you fill up more on “empty” calories.

As a result, I’ve made a pact with myself not to have the chips casually, even though I enjoy them a lot.  I’m still going to use them when I’m in a chip-snacking situation (such as a SuperBowl party) but not during a regular day.  Hopefully that will help avoid a further slowdown in weight loss.