2023 My Weight Loss Journey from 184 lbs --> 165 lbs ; 19 lbs lost

I've tried for years to lose weight and each attempt has ended in failure. While I was able to see short term gains, I would lose focus and give up in a short period of time. I've decided once again to try as my weight has hit 184 lbs and it’s making me feel depressed as I look and feel bloated.

Summary - I plateaued at 165 lbs as of May 2024

While this is short of my goal of 150 lbs. It’s a start and I’ll keep working towards it, but thus far seem to have hit 165 and been here ever since.

Old goal 155, new goal 150

My original goal was to reach 155 lbs. I'll need to lose 29 pounds or 101,500 calories. I'm budgeting 2 pounds per week so about 15-29 weeks to realistically achieve this.

After learning 155 lbs is BMI 22.2. I’m going for 150 lbs or another 5 lbs for 34 lbs total weight loss.

Outline, Plan & Log

Summary - Weekly
Vacation Perspective of 20k steps/day
Diet Strategy
Goal - 10k steps/day
Diet - Avoid Junk Food & Eat Healthier
Diet - Limit Alcohol
Reward - AirPods
Journey Log

I. Summary

Starting Weight - 184 lbs
Week 01 - Goal 182 - 4 lbs lost - 180 lbs
Week 02 - Goal 180 - 5 lbs lost - 175 lbs
Week 03 - Goal 178 - 0 lbs lost - 175 lbs
Week 04 - Goal 176 - 2 lbs lost - 173 lbs
Week 05 - Goal 174 - 3 lbs lost - 170 lbs
Week 06 - Goal 172 - 1 lbs lost - 169 lbs
Week 07 - Goal 170 - 2 lbs lost - 167 lbs
Week 08 - Goal 168 - 2 lbs gain - 169 lbs
Week 09 - Goal 166 - 4 lbs lost - 165 lbs
Week 10 - Goal 164 - 3 lbs gain - 168 lbs
Week 11 - Goal 166 - 1 lbs lost - 167 lbs
Week 12 - Goal 165 - 0 lbs lost - 167 lbs
Week 13 - Goal 165 - 2 lbs lost - 165 lbs
Week 14 - Goal 163 - 1 lbs lost - 164 lbs
Week 15 - Goal 161 - 0 lbs lost - 164 lbs
Week 16 - Goal 161 - 0 lbs lost - 164 lbs
Week 17 - Goal 161 - 0 lbs lost - 164 lbs
Week 18 - Goal 161
Week 19 - Goal 1xx
Week 20 - Goal 1xx
Week 21 - Goal 1xx
Week 22 - Goal 1xx
Week 23 - Goal 1xx
Week 24 - Goal 1xx

If I can lose 2 pounds per week then I can hit my targets. I’ve had to reset my weekly goals a few times as I’ve been plateauing or gaining weight.

II. Vacation helped me learn I can walk 20k steps per day

The 2 week vacation has helped me see I can do 20k steps in a day and not feel as if I walked that much. My previous average was 5k a day and I had to push it to hit 7-8k with deliberate 15-20 minute walking sessions.

III. Diet Strategy to hit 155 lbs by Dec 2023 (30 weeks)

I will get serious and focus on 3 things to achieve my goal of 155 lbs weight:

Walking 10k steps a day (100 minutes @ 3 mph)
Avoid junk food snacks at work
Eat better & healthier food for meals
Limit Alcohol

IV. Goal will be 10k steps per day or 100 minutes

10k steps per day or 5 miles at 3 mph will take me 100 minutes per day. If I can somehow get better to 4 mph I can do that in 75 minutes, but I’ll stick to what’s realistic as I’ve been trying for years to lose weight.

V. Diet - Avoid Junk Food & Eat Healthier

This will be harder than walking 100 minutes per day as I eat junk food as I’m depressed about my weight and stress from work and life. But it’s a vicious cycle and to get better I need to admit I gotta break the cycle by avoiding chips, cookies and soda. Just 1 serving is 200-400 calories that’ll require me to walk for an hour to burn off.

And that’s the crazy part our bodies are so efficient at not burning calories eating 5 bags of chips will cost me 5 hours of walking. In a survival situation it would be ideal that so few calories can sustain me, but not so in my urban lifestyle.

I’ll also eat healthier as lack of more healthy fruits and vegetables makes me crave junk food. More quick fruits like a banana, oranges and apples.

VI. Diet - Limit Alcohol

This one is tough, but I'm going to reduce drinking and limit my consumption to 1-2 times per week and then only 1-2 drinks.

VII. Rewards for Achieving - AirPod

When I’m depressed about my weight. I’ll just go for a walk. My reward will be a pair of regular Air Pod 2nd Gen. Gotta focus on something good.

VIII. Journey Log

Week# 1 - 6/11/23 - 4 lbs lost - 180 lbs

Monday - 6.2k
Tuesday - 8.5k
Wednesday - 7.6k
Thursday - 9.3k
Friday - 5.4k
Saturday - 13.9k
Sunday -16k
Total = 66.9k or about -4% below target of 70k

I've tried my best, but its difficult to walk 5 miles per day without a purpose. It was easier to do so in Japan and Korea as you have to walk to get anywhere. US driving is required to get anywhere, I end up driving to a mall to actually walk for exercise, the irony of that statement.

A. Start Early in Day and do small 5-10 minutes throughout workday

What helped me on Tuesday ~ Thursday, was forcing myself to walk in the morning around my company's campus. That helped me gain 1k steps for the day.

B. Equipment Matters - Good Fitting Shoes a Must

Experienced foot pain and decided my shoes are causing me problems and not worth wasting time and possibly causing injury with my 9.5M size shoes so I dumped the Court Vision, Converse and cold storage my AJ1 Mid's. I'll keep my AJ1 Low 9.5M and added a pair of AJ1 Low 10.5M so I can continue my exercise journey.

The equipment matters so I'll invest in some good & comfortable pair of shoes so I can focus on exercising

Week# 2 - 6/18/23 - 5 lbs lost - 175 lbs

Monday - 13k
Tuesday - 9k
Wednesday - 12.3k
Thursday - 12.8k
Friday - 7.8k
Saturday - 14k
Sunday - 14.5k

Total = 85k or about +21% above target of 70k

I'm getting into the rhythm and able to hit over 10k steps per day. The trick is the Morning walk then 2 walks at work and finally an afternoon walk. Yes this is a time suck devoting almost 100 minutes a day for walking exercise, but how else?

Other benefit it seems I don't feel as bloated and perhaps eating healthy foods and exercise seems to be reducing inflammation. My face used to always feel puffy, but not anymore. For now weight stays firm at 180 lbs. We'll keep working on that to try get it down to 178 lbs by end of this week.

A. Speed Up the Workout - Speed Walking to 3.3 mph

I’m getting used to the long walks and increased my walking speed by 20% to 17 minutes a mile. This helps me finish my workouts earlier and that helps me get on with the rest of my day. I’m also improving my VO2 levels to 32, as I’m hitting 140 heartbeats. The fast loss of 6 lbs is kinda spooky, as all I did is walk more and eat healthier. I can now consistently do 3 miles in 51 minutes…saves me 10 minutes from when I started this journey and was doing 61 minutes to hit 3 miles.

B. Don’t wanna lose weight too fast…

While, yes losing weight is good. Losing too much too fast, I’m worried about loose skin. I expect gains to diminish as my body loses mostly all the easy weight.

Another benefit, I'm starting my day early at 6 am and feel ready for the day by 8 am after a shower and a good breakfast. I'm able to do a lot more during the day and typically achieve all my errands and tasks by noon and can just relax for the rest of the day. In a way, I have more time to spend in leisure because of a good exercise workout early in the morning.

C. Limit Max Total per Day - 13-14k is max to avoid injuries

I start to feel pain in my feet after 5 miles of walking. I break out my walks to limit each session to 2-3 miles and only 2 long sessions per day. Once I hit 12k steps after a workout. I call it quits for rest of the day. I’m able to hit that on weekends by Noon.

It’s also nice to get this badge. What held me back all these years was not logging my exercise and doing something long enough to warrant logging.

Week# 3 - 6/25/23 - 0 lbs lost - 175 lbs

Monday - 13k
Tuesday - 13k
Wednesday - 7.7k
Thursday - 10.3k
Friday - 7.4k
Saturday - 15.3k
Sunday - 14.3k

Total = 80.7k or about 15% above target of 70k

Failure! I didn't lose any weight this week, although I do feel stronger and walking for 30 minutes is no longer a problem, I've become accustomed to it. This must be the plateau effect and after 2 weeks of weight loss, I hit a rut. Just keep going.

A. Limit Max Per Day to avoid injuries

My calves sometimes ache at different times during the day warning me to limit the walks and I’ve throttled down to 2 miles for morning and 2 miles for afternoon on weekdays. I’ll increase to 3 miles for weekend mornings and that should keep me in the 10-14k steps per day.

B. Diet - reducing calories; 2 big meals and a light dinner

I was doing mega breakfasts for prior 2 weeks. I still lost weight so I’m throttling it down to about 1/2 to 2/3 this size for future weeks. I’m keeping the fruit & veggies as well as OJ and Milk so cutting down the rice, egg and meat.

I also will cut back to 8 oz portions of steak and meat on weekend late lunches. Was doing a full pound of steak or BBQ at one go.

I do like eating 2 big meals and a light dinner or none at all. I’ll keep that trend to train my body to not crave food for 14-16 hours per day.

C. Type of Socks Matters - Ankle vs Low Cut

I never really cared the type of sock, but it matters if you’re going to be doing 10-15k steps per day and especially 3 mile walks.

I was using low cut socks and for most part they were fine, but as I sped up my walking speed I developed blisters on the back of my ankle. Switching to ankle high socks worked wonders!

Also finding thicker socks with more padding and cushioning can help. I’ll experiment with the types of socks as it helps reduce stress on my feet and legs and hopefully reduce chance for an injury.

Week# 4 - 7/2/23 - 2 lbs lost - 173 lbs

Monday - 12.5k
Tuesday - 11.3k
Wednesday - 4.1k
Thursday - 9.5k
Friday - 5.5k
Saturday - 8.6k
Sunday - 11.2k

Total = 62.6k or about 11% below target of 70k

1 Month Checkpoint = 11 lbs lost

Most of the weight I lost was in the first 2 weeks. Nothing for 3rd week and finally started seeing weight drop again in 4th week.

A. Calories matter more than Exercise

This is a no brainer and no amount of exercise can compensate for extra calories. I also run the risk of eating more calories after an intensive exercise session.

So it’s all about calorie counting. But the twist is higher quality calories from fresh fruits, vegetables and other healthy food. Not simply straight caloric counting. Still avoid junk food like soda and chips.

B. Moderation in Exercise

Was too ambitious thinking I’ll do 12 hours a week of exercise. Cutting back to 4 hours so about 30 minute walks in the morning.

Week#5 - 7/9/23 - 3 lbs lost - 170 lbs - 50% of Goal to 155!

Monday - 7.6k
Tuesday - 7.8k
Wednesday - 7.3k
Thursday - 9.8k
Friday - 9.3k
Saturday - 11.8k
Sunday - 11.2k

Total = 65.1k or about 7%below target of 70k

I've experimented for past few weeks and decided moderation in exercise and diet are the real key to losing weight. Doing additional workouts are not yielding as much results other than making me more tired and prone to injuries.

Instead, focusing on calorie counting and eating a balanced and healthy diet is achieving greater gains. This makes sense as 1 mile of walking can burn only 100 calories and avoiding a can of soda or bang of chips saves me 200-300 calories which would take me almost an hour to walk off. Not eating the bag of chips which takes only a few minutes is worth an hour of exercise.

I’m halfway to 155!

This was harder than I imagined, but with deliberate and consistency I am getting to my target goal of 155 lbs. losing 14 pounds in 5 weeks was realistic and it’s feasible to achieve my goal within 8 more weeks of dieting and exercise.

Week#6 - 7/16/23 - 1 lbs lost - 169 lbs

Monday - 12.1k
Tuesday - 8.8k
Wednesday - 7.3k
Thursday - 7.7k
Friday - 6k
Saturday - 10k
Sunday - 10k

Total = 63k or about -10% below target of 70k

Switched to mile view and about 4.8 miles is equivalent to 10k steps.

A loss is a loss and while only 1 pound, I finally broke the barrier and hit below 170. I’m now 169 pounds.

While I reduced my exercise to 30 minutes in the morning and whatever else I do for the rest of the day, it’s the reduction in calories by limiting to 1 large breakfast, medium size lunch and a small dinner, only snacks would be fruit or a small serving of nuts.

Every 100 calories less eaten saves me having to walk a mile to burn it off.

Week#7 - 7/23/33 - 2 lbs lost - 167 lbs

Monday - 7.4k
Tuesday - 8.4k
Wednesday - 7.2k
Thursday - 7.1k
Friday - 4.8k
Saturday - 10k
Sunday - 13.5k

Total = 58.5k or about -16% below target of 70k

Got tired and stressed from work so missed 2 days of exercise. Made me feel even more miserable.

Week#8 - 7/30/23 - 2 lbs gained - 169 lbs

Monday - 10.7k
Tuesday - 9.5k
Wednesday - 16.2k
Thursday - 10.2k
Friday - 6k
Saturday - 11.4K
Sunday - 11k

Total = 74.4k or about 6% above target of 70k

The LA trip set me back a bit as I was eating and drinking considerably and added 2 pounds of weight. Kinda expected and okay with it. Helps me know how easily it is to gain weight. So I’m now behind my goals and have to work on catching up next week.

Same time, don’t overdo it.

Week#9 - 8/6/23 - 4 lbs lost - 165 lbs

Monday - 8.4k
Tuesday - 7.9k
Wednesday - 7.3k
Thursday - 10.9k
Friday - 5.6k
Saturday - 11.5k
Sunday - 10.2k

Total = 61.9k or about -12% below target of 70k

I revised my goal to even lower weight of 150 lbs as that is closer to an ideal BMI of 21.5. As 155 lbs is BMI 22.2.

It appears any weight gain is temporary as I gained 2 pounds the prior week due to overeating while in LA as I lost it and then some by getting back on my diet regimen. Helpful to know for Holiday Season and other days when overeating is expected like at parties and events.

Week#10 - 8/13/23 - 3 lbs gain - 168 lbs

Monday - 6.7k
Tuesday - 5.6k
Wednesday - 4.8k
Thursday - 10k
Friday - 5.9k
Saturday - 10.3k
Sunday - 8.3k

Total = 51.8k or about -26% below target of 70k

Lots of events and big dinner functions, inevitably gained weight. Working now to get back on track. It’s so easy to gain back weight.

I’m also well below my walking goal.

Week#11 - 8/20/23 - 1 lbs lost - 167 lbs

Monday - 6.4k
Tuesday - 7.8k
Wednesday - 10.4k
Thursday - 9.3k
Friday - 5.5k
Saturday - 12.1k
Sunday - 6.2k

Total = 57.6k or about -18% below target of 70k

Week#12 - 8/27/23 - No Change - 167 lbs

Monday - 6.5k
Tuesday - 5.1k
Wednesday - 8.6k
Thursday - 8.5k
Friday - 5.6k
Saturday - 8.3k
Sunday - 8.9k

Total = 51.5k or about -26% below target of 70k

Plateaued this week. But then I wasn’t taking dieting seriously and ate quite a few snacks at work and consumed several alcoholic drinks per day. Being flat is actually good considering that perspective.

Week#13 - 9/3/23 - 2 lbs loss - 165 lbs

Monday - 6.1k
Tuesday - 5.4k
Wednesday - 8.6k
Thursday - 7.6k
Friday - 6.6k
Saturday - 13k
Sunday - 8.5k

Total = 55.7k or about -20% below target of 70k

That’s enough of a break from dieting as I cut back on the snacks and resume proper nutrition. Pump exercise back up and need to get to 10k steps a day average.

It is very easy to fall behind in dieting. The key has always been eating healthy and portion control. Calorie counting. Exercise only helps invigorate the body and keep your mind off of things.

Week#14 - 9/10/23 - 1 lbs lost - 164 lbs

Monday - 8.2k
Tuesday - 7.7k
Wednesday - 7.2k
Thursday - 6.1k
Friday - 3.7k
Saturday - 9.7k
Sunday - 9k

Total = 51.5k or about -26% below target of 70k

Week#15 - 9/17/23 - 0 lbs lost - 164 lbs

Monday - 9.5k
Tuesday - 8.3k
Wednesday - 7.5k
Thursday - 5.4K
Friday - 7.3k
Saturday - 11.2k
Sunday - 9.2k

Total = 58.4K or about -17% below target of 70k

Plateau yet again. I guess it’s better than gaining weight. Just keep trying. Increasing my walking steps might be helping avoid weight gain.

Week#16 - 9/24/23 - 0 lbs lost - 164 lbs

Monday - 7.1k
Tuesday - 7.5k
Wednesday - 7.3k
Thursday - 8.6k
Friday - 5.8k
Saturday - 6.4K
Sunday - 7.6k

Total = 50.3k or about -28% below target of 70k

Flatlined and not walking as much as I should.

Week#17 - 10/1/23 - 0 lbs lost - 164 lbs

Monday - 7.1k
Tuesday - 6.4k
Wednesday - 7.2k
Thursday - 5.9k
Friday - 7k
Saturday - 10.7k
Sunday - 8.9k

Total = 53.1k or about -24% below target of 70k

This sucks. Flatlined.

Week#18 - 10/8/23

Monday - 9.3k
Tuesday - 5.7k
Wednesday - 7.9k
Thursday -
Friday -
Saturday -
Sunday -